03 Sep Retracing my family footsteps at Pontganol
It’s been quite a while since I posted anything about the history of the cottage, but finding a photo at my Dad’s house this week made me think about trying a little harder on the whole family history research front.
This little black and white image was taken at the front of the cottage (the porch appeared in some other shots it was with, looking virtually identical to how it appears to guests today) but I love this one as it clearly shows Llangynidr mountain rising up behind the front gate and thick stone wall of the cottage. It gives a glimpse what it must have looked like when the estate houses hadn’t been built – with an uninterrupted view to the mountain beyond. It’s part of a series of family photos of people posing with the new baby in front of the porch and in the garden of the cottage. I assume that the baby was my cousin Andrew, who worked as a translator for the UN, after an early career in Africa working for the BBC World Service.
This probably dates it to the early 50’s, my Mum was born in ’38 and she looks about 10 in this photo. I must have a family tree with dates on it somewhere so I should be able to date it more accurately. I imagine that there are also records of when the estate was built as well to confirm or deny my thoughts.
For me, the photo is even better because there’s a young girl in the picture who looks very much like me. I’m pretty sure that’s my Mum and she was probably visiting my Great Aunt Hilda, who lived in the cottage and who I think is the mother of the very young baby in the shot. My Mum and I seem to look very similar as children, so it’s a truly lovely picture to find.