About Mona Morgan
All Mona M Morgan ever wanted to do was teach, and at the end of a year as pupil-teacher in Painscastle School she gained a post as an uncertified teacher in Hereford Street School, Presteigne. After little more than a year she was transferred to the school in her home village of Newchurch, before being moved to New Radnor from where she was released, in 1950, to follow a teachers’ training course in Cartrefle College, Wrexham. On completing her training she was appointed to a post at Ledbury Girls’ School but, in 1960, she chose to return to Radnorshire and remained at Clyro Primary School until her retirement in 1976.
Through joining the Kilvert Society Mona Morgan met the man who, on her retirement, she married, and they made their home at Hay-on-Wye. Whilst writing an article on country characters for Country Quest she was struck by the changes that had taken place since her childhood, and as more recollections of far-off days returned she amused herself, on wet afternoons, by sitting down and recording them. In no time she had enough material for a book recalling bygone days in her corner of Radnorshire: Growing Up in Kilvert Country.
Growing up in Kilvert Country by Mona Morgan (1990) - See the cover of the book below
This book recalls the author’s childhood and early life in rural Radnorshire between the two World Wars, before it was absorbed into the huge county of Powys. Radnorshire, at that time an almost unknown place, had the sparsest population of any county in England and Wales. It was a remote and romantic place, with a truly pastoral landscape unmarred by industry of any kind.
Unchanged from the days when the famous diarist, Francis Kilvert, trod its paths in the 1870s, it was a place where strangers were never seen ad where signposts were unnecessary. The story tells of a time before the advent of the motor car, when people walked from place to place using the network of footpaths that criss-crossed the countryside, and goes on to describe the changes brought about when traps and waggons were finally replaced by motor transport.
Centred on the author, her family and life on the family farm, the story encompasses the wider community, the local characters, customs and dialect, the craftsmen, education and social life, and describes the countryside and its wildlife.
Twenty-Four Walks in the Kilvert Country by MM Morgan (1980) - See the cover of the book below.
Mona’s introduction to this book reads as follows:
Kilvert, as we know, was an enthusiastic walker, often covering distances of ten miles or more. Some of his walks would have been considerably longer had he not taken advantage of the many footpaths crossing the country-side at that time.
Today practically all of the footpaths have gone, and we should find ourselves trespassing if we tried to follow in his steps. The only way we can see most of the places he visited comparatively near to Clyro is to walk around the lanes. This, however, can be quite rewarding, as most of the lanes are quiet and pretty, and often provide panoramic views.
Practically all the houses visited by Kilvert that still remain occupied have been enlarged, extensively altered or even rebuilt. In some places a new house stands alongside the old one.
All Mona M Morgan ever wanted to do was teach, and at the end of a year as pupil-teacher in Painscastle School she gained a post as an uncertified teacher in Hereford Street School, Presteigne. After little more than a year she was transferred to the school in her home village of Newchurch, before being moved to New Radnor from where she was released, in 1950, to follow a teachers’ training course in Cartrefle College, Wrexham. On completing her training she was appointed to a post at Ledbury Girls’ School but, in 1960, she chose to return to Radnorshire and remained at Clyro Primary School until her retirement in 1976.
Through joining the Kilvert Society Mona Morgan met the man who, on her retirement, she married, and they made their home at Hay-on-Wye. Whilst writing an article on country characters for Country Quest she was struck by the changes that had taken place since her childhood, and as more recollections of far-off days returned she amused herself, on wet afternoons, by sitting down and recording them. In no time she had enough material for a book recalling bygone days in her corner of Radnorshire: Growing Up in Kilvert Country.
Growing up in Kilvert Country by Mona Morgan (1990) - See the cover of the book below
This book recalls the author’s childhood and early life in rural Radnorshire between the two World Wars, before it was absorbed into the huge county of Powys. Radnorshire, at that time an almost unknown place, had the sparsest population of any county in England and Wales. It was a remote and romantic place, with a truly pastoral landscape unmarred by industry of any kind.
Unchanged from the days when the famous diarist, Francis Kilvert, trod its paths in the 1870s, it was a place where strangers were never seen ad where signposts were unnecessary. The story tells of a time before the advent of the motor car, when people walked from place to place using the network of footpaths that criss-crossed the countryside, and goes on to describe the changes brought about when traps and waggons were finally replaced by motor transport.
Centred on the author, her family and life on the family farm, the story encompasses the wider community, the local characters, customs and dialect, the craftsmen, education and social life, and describes the countryside and its wildlife.
Twenty-Four Walks in the Kilvert Country by MM Morgan (1980) - See the cover of the book below.
Mona’s introduction to this book reads as follows:
Kilvert, as we know, was an enthusiastic walker, often covering distances of ten miles or more. Some of his walks would have been considerably longer had he not taken advantage of the many footpaths crossing the country-side at that time.
Today practically all of the footpaths have gone, and we should find ourselves trespassing if we tried to follow in his steps. The only way we can see most of the places he visited comparatively near to Clyro is to walk around the lanes. This, however, can be quite rewarding, as most of the lanes are quiet and pretty, and often provide panoramic views.
Practically all the houses visited by Kilvert that still remain occupied have been enlarged, extensively altered or even rebuilt. In some places a new house stands alongside the old one.
