The Lost Tombs of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, and his Son William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon, in Tintern Abbey

The tombs of William Herbert, earl of Pembroke (d. 1469), his son William Herbert, earl of Huntingdon (d. 1491) and their wives, were lost after the dissolution of Tintern Abbey. A distant relative, Sir Thomas Herbert of Tintern (d. 1682), provided drawings of them in a family history, the ‘Herbertorum Prosapia’. Much doubt has been cast on the accuracy of these drawings. This article considers the career of Sir Thomas Herbert and the accuracy (or otherwise) of some of his other work; outlines the lives of the earlier Herberts; and concludes that, while the drawings are clearly not totally accurate, they may have some basis in fact or in local tradition

The Tomb of Gwladus Ddu and William ap Thomas in the Priory Church of St. Mary, Abergavenny

The tomb of Sir William ap Thomas (d. 1445) and his wife Gwladus Ddu, ‘the Star of Gwent’ (d. 1454), is one of the glories of the priory church of St Mary in Abergavenny. The Abergavenny tombs have long been regarded as the best collection of funerary sculptures in Wales and are certainly the best studied. As well as Churchyard’s chorographical poem The Worthines of Wales, antiquarian descriptions include the diary of the Royalist soldier Richard Symonds and an anonymous manuscript of 1646 included in Richard Gough’s 1789 edition of Camden’s Britannia.1 Recent studies have included, as well as Lindley’s work, Rhianydd Biebrach’s PhD thesis ‘Monuments and Commemoration in the Diocese of Llandaff c. 1200-c. 1540’2 and the same author’s ‘Commemoration and Culture: the monuments of Abergavenny Priory in context’.3 There is nevertheless scope for more to be done. This article will look at William and Gwladus’s tomb in detail and consider whether new light can be thrown on some of the debates about its design

Chemistry in Art: The Science of Dye

Fabric arts, and the practice of dyeing fabric using various resist techniques, is a tradition that goes back centuries, and is unique among art mediums in its relation to science, as the innovations in dye production have directly affected the art form. The development of synthetic dyes in the 1800’s greatly affected the way fabric is dyed, and subsequently the way clothes were made and consumed. As opposed to dyes made of natural materials, synthetic dyes cam in more colors, were brighter, easier to make in large quantities, and lasted longer since they didn’t fade with repeated washings. The practice of making dye from natural materials fell to the wayside, but never completely died out, with people always returning to the ancient art and the beautiful fabric-dyeing techniques that accompanied it. The aim of this project was to develop a series of lessons that focus on the unique relationship that exists between art and chemistry by exploring natural dyes and the art of shibori, a Japanese manual resist dyeing technique