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Welsh Family History

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Welcome to Welsh Family History - we're experienced genealogists based in South Wales, dedicated to uncovering and sharing the fascinating family stories and local history we've discovered through our research.

28/08/2026

Great Bulmoor Farm | The End of an Era

The final chapter of Great Bulmoor as a working family farm came in the 1980s, but its legacy lives on. Lewis Phillips died in 1961, Maud in 1967, and their son Phillip remained at Bulmoor until his death in 1983, having spent his whole life there.

After Phillip’s death, the estate was sold and the farm divided. The farmhouse was renovated, the old outbuildings became homes, and the surrounding land changed hands. Yet even then, Bulmoor continued to reveal its past: further earthworks uncovered Roman walls, strengthening the belief that a civilian Roman settlement once stood there.

Today, Great Bulmoor survives in a different form - its buildings altered, its land changed, its views now reaching across a golf course. But its story remains powerful: a place of farming, family, cider-making, archaeology, memory, and mystery.

27/08/2026

Bulmoor Fam | Bulmoor Lido and Famous Visitors

Great Bulmoor’s story took an unexpected turn in the 1930s. In 1934, part of the farmland was sold for the creation of Bulmore Lido - an open-air swimming pool, cafe, and restaurant that soon became one of Newport’s best-loved destinations.

Set in 8.5 acres, the lido drew hundreds of visitors arriving by bus, bicycle, and on foot. For decades it was a cherished place of summer memories before its eventual decline and demolition in the late 1980s.

Bulmoor also attracted the attention of notable visitors. Local historian Fred J. Hando visited in 1955 and recorded the cider house in loving detail, recalling its ancient doorway, timber windows, and old press. Sir Cyril Fox, Lord Raglan, and even Sir Mortimer Wheeler all took an interest in the farm and its remarkable history.

26/08/2026

Great Bulmoor Farm | The Phillips Family

The modern story of Great Bulmoor is closely tied to the Phillips family. In 1910, Ebenezer "Lewis" Phillips and his wife Maud took on Great Bulmoor, leasing it from the Jacobs family before Lewis later purchased the farm outright in the 1920s.

The 1911 Census shows Bulmoor as a busy working farm and cider mill (photo below 1955), with laborers living in the outbuildings and Lewis managing the land, livestock, and horses. Their son, Phillip Frederick Lewis Phillips, grew up there and would spend his entire life at the farm.

Bulmoor was not an isolated place. It was part of the life of the wider countryside - neighboring farms, agricultural shows, workers, family connections, and even the Llangibby Hunt all formed part of its story. For the Phillips family, it was both home and livelihood.

25/08/2026

Bulmoor Farm | Roman Finds

Great Bulmoor was not only an old farm - it was also a place of extraordinary Roman discovery. As early as 1815, excavations uncovered a Roman building and a group of gravestones, some of which had been laid face down in the floor.

Later investigations in 1975 revealed more masonry structures dating from the 2nd or 3rd century AD. The orchard at Bulmoor was once believed to contain a Roman cemetery, and one poignant inscription found there read: “Hail, Julia, dearest wife: For ever farewell.”

Historians and archaeologists long suspected that Bulmoor may have been the site of a Roman villa or even part of a larger civilian settlement connected to nearby Caerleon. For a farmstead beside the Usk, Bulmoor held secrets stretching back nearly 2,000 years.

24/08/2026

Great Bulmoor Farm | A Farm with Deep Roots

Great Bulmoor Farm - also found in historical records as Bull More, Bullmore and Bullmoor - has one of the richest histories in Monmouthshire. In 1921, the South Wales Argus described it as the oldest farm in the county, with some of its surviving buildings dating back to the 16th century.

But the original Great Bulmoor was not the large farmhouse it later became. The name once referred to the older whitewashed cottage and stone outbuildings that stood between Bulmoor Road and the River Usk. Among them was a remarkable cider house, complete with a horse-powered cider press - a vivid reminder of the farm’s working past.

For generations, Bulmoor was more than just a farm. It was a place of labour, local tradition and a deep connection to the landscape around Caerleon and the Usk.

23/08/2026

Another visit to the now-closed Langstone Church, where we went to visit the graves of the Skinner and Francis families. It was particularly poignant to find the old church sign lying on the ground, a reminder of the church’s uncertain future.

While we were there, we also located the grave of Stephen Baker, who once lived at Langstone Court. Stephen was a first cousin of the Francis sisters, their connection going back to their 2nd great-grandmother, Ann Baker of Pye Corner Farm.

It is always fascinating to uncover these connections between local families, particularly when they lead us back to the farms and communities where generations of their ancestors lived.

22/08/2026

We had the opportunity this week to visit the Richard Dadd exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. It was our first chance to see, at first hand, the two remarkable portraits he painted of Sir Thomas Phillips, the lawyer and former Mayor of Newport, during their extraordinary travels across Europe and the Middle East in 1842.

Throughout the expedition, Dadd filled sketchbooks with detailed studies of landscapes, architecture, people, animals and local customs. Among the surviving works are two watercolour portraits of Sir Thomas: one depicting him in traditional Arab dress and the other in Turkish costume.

The expedition was to have a profound and tragic impact on Dadd. During their travels, he began to display increasingly erratic behaviour, becoming argumentative over religious matters and experiencing disturbing delusions. Within a few years, his mental health had deteriorated dramatically, and he spent the rest of his life in mental hospitals, where he continued to paint.

Seeing these portraits in person provided a fascinating connection to Sir Thomas Phillips and brought to life a remarkable episode in the history of the Phillips family.

Find out more: https://skinnerfamilyhistory.com/richard-dadd/

20/08/2026

St Mary Magdalene’s, Goldcliff

We were really sorry to see that St Mary Magdalene’s Church is now closed. It is a church we have visited many times over the years while tracing members of the Williams and Morgan farming families of Goldcliff and Nash.

Cadw dates the origins of the church to the 12th century, although the building was substantially rebuilt in the 14th century. It is thought that some of the material may have come from Goldcliff Priory, following its destruction during a storm in 1424.

One feature of the church is a plaque installed by the churchwardens in 1609, commemorating the devastating Bristol Channel floods of 1607 and the human and material losses suffered by the local community.

For us, places like St Mary Magdalene’s are more than historic buildings. They are an important part of the landscape in which the families we research lived, worshipped and were laid to rest.

19/08/2026

Delighted to see that the historic Waterloo Inn is once again open for business in Nash the perfect place for a drink after conducting grave research at nearby St Mary’s Church.

The Waterloo has played a part in the lives of so many of the local families we have researched over the years. One was local farmer Ebenezer Phillips, who made the newspapers following a brawl here with two brothers.

On this particular occasion, however, it seems Ebenezer was the victim rather than the aggressor - which, from what we have discovered about him, made a pleasant change!

18/08/2026

It is always a pleasure to visit the beautiful St Bridget’s Church at St Brides, Netherwent.

Today, the church stands peacefully alone among the surrounding fields, but its setting has a fascinating history. In the 10th century, the church stood alongside a medieval settlement, which was eventually deserted, believed to have been abandoned during the devastating plague.

Today, we were here on behalf of a client to photograph the graves of two brave members of the Harris family, both of whom served during the Great War.

Visiting these historic churches and cemeteries is always a privilege. Beyond the records and documents, standing beside the graves of our ancestors can bring their stories vividly back to life.

https://welshfamilyhistory.com/field-research/

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Bridgend
CF356UW

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Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm
Saturday	8am - 5pm

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https://welshfamilyhistory.com/

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