The Aardvark Blog

HIstory and fun this summer
19/06/2014

I have been working today on another event planned for this summer the Aardvark History Weekend. One theme in the weekend will be the Herefordshire Picturesque movement and  I now have confirmed that Professor Charles Watkins will be coming to talk about Uvedale Price,  and Peter Burden will be talking about Richard Payne Knight. We will also have some exhibits, as well as a collection of early 20th century photographs of Herefordshire that I have recently purchased.

Other strands in the History Weekend include models of the Siege of Brampton Bryan, artefacts from the civil war and a chance to learn the long bow for children and adults alike.

The Picturesque movement was one of the dominant aesthetic movements of the 18th century, and Herefordshire is a fantastic place to explore it. In addition to Price and Payne Knight, there was also the extraordinary Viscount Bateman who pulled down one of the finest Romanesque churches in the country in order to create a picturesque ruin in his home village of Shobdon. Known as the 'Shobdon Arches' they are a must for any visitors to the area who are interested in history and architecture. Fortunately Bateman redeemed himself by building the extraordinary church in Shobdon, unique not just in the area, but also in the whole country. Designed in a style akin to Strawberry Hill Gothic, the church has recently been restored and is now looking even more striking.

I have also been in the church at Brampton Bryan working details out ahead of tomorrow nights concert by world renowned early music pioneer Jordi Savall. This extraordinary performer has been composing, playing and conducting for over 40 years and it is a great honour that he has chosen  to come to our village to play. Tickets are almost sold out, but there are a few left so if you would like to hear him either visit the Gregynog Festival website or call Aardvark Books.

in addition to working on Aardvark events I have also been buying books for the shop. After a bit of a hiatus new books are flowing into the shop and I was particularly pleased to purchase some interesting railway books as that section had looked a little thin recently. In addition to some military history books, there are also some general books covering all topics. Books are the lifeblood of the shop, and we have been very busy recently and this month is likely to be our busiest June in the shop for some years ( we have nearly passed last year's sales total with a third of the month to go.

All these new books will be available from the Aardvark website, so do keep checking out our latest selections.