Memories of the Nelson

Transcription

1 Home Mid South West This document is a snapshot of content from a discontinued BBC website, originally published between It has been made available for archival & research purposes only. Please see the foot of this document for Archive Terms of Use. Tom Williams standing on bridge over Dulas Brook with the former station in the background. Philip Williams: "Tom Williams my grandfather was the Police Sergeant in Cusop until he retired from the then 'Herefordshire Police Force'. On retirement, he took over as landlord of the 'Nelson Inn' opposite the Hay-on-Wye railway station. I cannot remember the exact dates but I think it was the early to mid 50s and on into the early to mid 60s. Incidentally, the middle of the bridge my Grandfather is standing on was (and I think still is) the English/Welsh border." your comments Black Month Fest Auction Alastair Jones,Glasbury My memory of the Nelson dates from August 1962.I was staying the weekend with my father in Ffynnon Gynydd, about 5 miles from Hay. I was an extremely impecunious 19-year-old articled clerk and visited the Nelson for the one and only time in my life on the evening of Saturday 11th August. I was alone, with very little money, but I did(and still do) have a talent for the piano.after a pint of scumpy I asked if it would be in order for me to play and was told that I could. From that moment I did not have to buy a drink(i had about 6 pints of scrumpy) and I was even given a free supper of liver and onions. The following day I returned to Birmingham, where I lived, and, emboldened by the scrumpy, asked Linda to go out with me.she said yes and we are still together after 44 years. We love the area so much that we came to live in Glasbury in Tue Sep 12 09:33: Glynis Jones, Sydney, Australia Hi there Phil, Great to see you posting up some photos of

2 the Nelson and of Tom Williams. He, of course, was my Grandad too and I have great memories of visiting the Nelson as a child with the rest of the family. We had a wonderful Christmas lunch in the bar area one year - the tables seemed to go on forever by the time all the family was seated. We all ended up playing darts and quoits well into the evening. Another thing I remember was the walled garden at the side of the Nelson. The number of hours I must have spent on top of that wall taking down car numbers!! Then of course, when it was time to go home to Derby where we lived at the time, there was a half a crown from Nana and Grandad. A fortune to me in those days... Tue Apr 18 11:13: This site is now closed and cannot accept new comments.

3 Home Mid South West Group photo outside the Nelson Inn. Philip Williams: "The people in the group are standing on the small car park at the front of The Nelson. They are from L to R Back Row Tom Williams,?, Alan Williams, Mrs Williams my Grandmother. Front Row Not Sure but might be Bill Gundy in a mack?,?,?, Betty Williams Alan's Wife,?" Can you fill in the blanks? Get in touch if you can! Black Month Fest Auction

4 Home Mid South West The Nelson Inn Philip Williams: "The Nelson and the Station are all in England. Also a strange thing, although Hay is in, the postal address when I lived there was Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire, which is England. I do not know if it is still the same? Also, before all the county changes, you could at the same time stand in two countries - England and - and also three counties - Herefordshire, Breconshire, Radnorshire. But you would get wet feet as it was in the middle of the River Wye!" Black Month Fest Auction

5 Home Mid during the late 1950s and early sixties. He's sent us four old 1935, was sent in by John Michael Smith in October 2008: South West The Nelson in a flood during the early 60s. Philip Williams: "The reason for the flood was that the Wye was very high at the time which in turn made the also high Dulas Brook back up and overflow. We were lucky in The Nelson but the people who lived in Dulas Terrace had a bad time."

6 Home Mid South West John Michael Smith:" Here is a photo of my parents' wedding group standing outside 'The Nelson'. My parents, Alice (nee Forknall) and William Bernard Smith, were married from the Nelson in October 1935, when it was run by my paternal grandparents. My mother, the bride, recently celebrated her ninety-eighth birthday (in September, 2008). Black Month Fest Auction