BOOK LAUNCH: THE COMMON PLACE BOOK OF JOHN GWIN

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BOOK LAUNCH: THE COMMON PLACE BOOK OF JOHN GWIN 


Published by the South Wales Record Society

Members of the South Wales Record Society can also pick their own copies up at the launch at Llangwm Village Hall is on the B4235 Usk-Chepstow road and there is a car park a little further along the road to Chepstow, at postcode NP15 1HQ.

The book is available in paperback or hardback, xii + 212 pages, illustrated. Copies can also be ordered through the Society’s web site at http://www.southwalesrecordsociety.co.uk/ or by post: £18 paperback, £28 hardback for addresses in the UK, with reductions for members of the Society. Complete and return the form to the West Glamorgan Archive Service, Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road, Swansea SA1 3SN. John Gwin lived at Llangwm near Usk in the middle years of the seventeenth century. 

His commonplace book is a treasure trove of medical remedies, snippets of local and family history, notes on the management of the Worcester estates, poetry by the leading Puritan William Wroth, advice on the choice of marriage partners, tips on good husbandry, and details of the ownership of church pews and the repair of the churchyard wall. It offers us an unparalleled insight into the cultural and intellectual world of south-east Wales in a period of civil war and continuing religious and political upheaval.

The South Wales Record Society will be launching its edition of the book in the Llangwm Village Hall from 2.30 on Saturday 10 December. There will be introductory talks by two of the editors and a chance to buy copies of the book at a special price of £12 for the paperback, £25 for the hardback (cash or cheques only).



To Purchase a copy please send a copy of The Commonplace Book of John Gwin to

(name) .......................................... ......... ..........................

(address) ....................................................... ........... ....... ................. .... ... .... .... ... .... .... ... .... .... ... ..
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... ...... ................................................. ............................................ ..(postcode).... ................... ....
I enclose cheque made payable to ‘South Wales Record Society’ for ..............
In case of query please give your telephone number and/or email address : ...................... ..............

Gwin synopsis

John Gwin lived at Llangwm near Usk in the middle years of the seventeenth century. One of the county’s lesser gentry, he worked for the high-profile Catholic Marquess of Worcester: but he had friends and relatives among the county’s leading Puritans. He was insatiably curious, a keen fruit farmer, interested in scientific and medical developments, a devoted family man, an energetic churchwarden. All this is reflected in his commonplace book, the notebook in which he jotted down things he wanted to remember. The book is a treasure trove of medical remedies, snippets of local and family history, notes on the management of the Worcester estates, poetry by the leading Puritan William Wroth, advice on the choice of marriage partners, tips on good husbandry, and details on the ownership of church pews and the repair of the churchyard wall. It offers us an unparalleled insight into the cultural and intellectual world of south-east Wales in a period of civil war and continuing religious and political upheaval.

 Madeleine Gray is Professor Emerita of Ecclesiastical History at the University of South Wales. She has close links with a number of heritage and community organisations, including the Church Monuments Society. She has published extensively on late medieval and early modern history with a particular focus on visual and material evidence for the history of religious belief and practice. She appears regularly on television and radio, and is currently working on a survey of medieval tomb carvings in Wales.

Tony Hopkins was formerly Gwent County Archivist. He took semi-retirement in 2019 since when he has worked part-time for Gwent Archives as a cataloguer. Tony currently edits The Monmouthshire Antiquary and Gwent Local History and edited a previous volume for SWRS on Muster Rolls for Monmouthshire in the Tudor period. He also co-edited the medieval volume of the Gwent County History series. Tony has published numerous articles relating to the history of Gwent and is the author of two books on Neath, his native town.

 Alun Withey is a senior lecturer in history at the University of Exeter. He is a historian of medicine and the body in the long eighteenth century, and his books have included studies of medicine in early modern Wales, fashioning the body in the eighteenth century and, most recently, the history of facial hair. Alun is a BBC/AHRC 'New Generation Thinker' and has appeared widely on radio and television. His interest in John Gwyn's commonplace book goes back to 2006 and was the topic of his undergraduate dissertation.



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