LATEST NEWS
In this section of our website we have combined our previous News Page with our Noticeboard page to keep you up to date with news from the Breconshire Local & Family History Society, and other developments in local history and family history in general. In order to keep this news page a manageable length, we will periodically move the older news items into our News Archive.
We also have a Facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/breconblfhs
New Website Resources
We've added a couple of new links to useful websites on our Links page.
Federation of Family History Societies - a website to showcase member organisations and act as a gateway for family historians to find the help and expertise they need to grow their tree.
Name and Place - a dynamic database and mapping application designed for Local History projects. A digital and archival database, managing layers of census and parish registers, and historical documents together with the capture of visual documents such as maps and old postcards etc.
With thanks to the British Association for Local History for bringing these to our attention.
21st May 2019
D L Wooding’s Transcript of the Llanafan fawr Parish Records 1633-1694, at National Library of Wales.
David Lewis Wooding (1828 - 1891), genealogist, historian, bibliophile and shopkeeper, had access to these very early Parish Records for the Parish of Llanafan Fawr, Breconshire. He transcribed these and made notes in the margins to give further details on individuals mentioned there.
The late Peter Owen of Builth Wells, was able to access these transcriptions and allowed the National Library of Wales to make copies of them. The copies made by the NLW was not catalogued, but now thanks to the enquiries made by Peter Owen’s son, the location of these papers is known.
- A microfilm copy of the transcripts is available in the South Reading Room, on the open access shelf mark: E7.
- A hard copy is available on special request.
For information about D L Wooding, see the following website:
https://biography.wales/
28th January 2019
'Pictures & Posies' Event - 28th to 30th September, St. Mary's Church, Talachddu
Brecknock History Festival
Today the BLFHS has put up our display in Brecon Library for Brecknock History Festival. The exhibition is on the theme "People of Breconshire" and the highlight of the exhibition is information about the life and work of Dr Mary Elizabeth "Eppynt" Phillips [1874 - 1956]. Born in Brecon, she was the first female Doctor of Medicine to receive her initial training in Cardiff. She was a suffragist and had a distinguished War career with the Scottish Women's Hospital for Foreign Service, in Belgium, Malta and Serbia. The exhibition also includes some vignettes of other leading women from Brecon, Frances Hodsen, Elsie Pritchard, Olive Wheeler and Gwenllian Morgan. The exhibition will be on show for the whole of the month of September.
3rd September 2018
New on the Website - Members Only
The parish of Llanfeugan has now been added to the website. It is a work in progress and there is some information still to be uploaded, but general information and our Transcriptions of records held for the Aber Independent Chapel are available.
If anyone has any interesting photographs or information about the parish and they would like to have it added to the website, please email Jennie Williams, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
3rd September 2018
July Monthly Meeting - Tuesday 3rd July
Our monthly meeting for July will take the form of an outing - Another Walk around Historic Brecon with Margaret Sommers.
The Walk will begin at the Lych Gate of Brecon Cathedral at 2pm and the route will be as follows:
- From Lych Gate we will walk through the Graveyard, stopping at significant graves.
- We will exit the Graveyard at the opposite end, where the path leads into the Groves – Margaret will talk about the Holy Well and the Reservoir in the Groves.
- We will walk down to the Honddu River and cross the pedestrian bridge.
- We will walk up the Struet towards the Town Centre, ending the Tour at the top of Castle Street (near the Tenovus Charity Shop) and along the route Margaret will talk about the Woollen Mill which once occupied the grounds of the Bishops Garden. Along the Struet, the sites of various significant houses, shops and businesses will be pointed out.
Following the Walk, many of us might like to have a tea or coffee together, which we can arrange at the time.
Our meetings are open to non-members, but there is a charge of £1 per person.
[Please wear walking shoes and be prepared for rain!]
14th June 2016