English 
Cymraeg
Hanes Yr Eglwys Newydd Cymru
101 peth nad oeddech chi (fwy na thebyg) yn eu gwybod am Yr Eglwys Newydd
We hadn’t lived in Whitchurch long, before we began to hear some intriguing stories of the village. And yet, there was so little evidence of previous times.
Yes, there was the library, and Whitchurch Hospital, but where was the old church? the tinplate works? was there really an old castle?
Now fifty years later, I wasn’t much further along. I’d read Edgar Chappell’s book, but found it a little ‘dusty’. Ernie Broad’s meanderings were far more interesting, but hard to follow. Of course, there were the wonderful black-and-white photographs showing the village in the ‘olden days’.
Through AWEN, we’d set up a Reminiscence Group at the library, and clearly, I wasn’t alone in trying to find out more about the village. There were so many questions (and not enough answers).
The history of the village seemed like a complicated jigsaw puzzle, without a picture to guide us, not certain whether all the pieces were available, and which ones were the important ‘corner’ ones to make a start?
We had our local experts, Chris down at the Philog, Terry and his memories as a local Whitchurch boy, and Gwawr with all the history of the hospital. And so many others, each with their own stories.
You start exploring, and you find the first answers, and then one or two pieces seem to join up. Were they true? where would I find out more? Perhaps the opening of our wonderful library a hundred years ago, thanks to the generosity of Andrew Carnegie, or the story of Melingriffith. Both seemed almost legendary, and maybe worth looking into.
A list was needed, to act as a possible programme for the Reminiscence Group. Then some basic ground rules.
And then came COVID and the compulsory lockdowns. No more face-to-face meetings.
Was this the opportunity I’d been waiting for?
With compulsory isolation, was there an appetite for a regular on-line blog? Would this help to answer some of the questions, to invite sharing and feedback perhaps?
So, through AWEN volunteers, ‘101 Things’ was created as a weekly chronicle on the AWEN web-page and also on Facebook. I’d convinced myself that interest would wane after a month or so, so the project wouldn’t be too onerous.
The stories would tell themselves, and I’d enjoy the sketching.
Who would believe that two-and-a-half-years later the chronicle was completed. My idiosyncratic stroll through the lost history of the village was done.
Without further ado…