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Proceedings were opened by Prof Robin Grove-White, Chair of ISWE’s Advisory Board, who explained how ISWE has ‘flourished’ since its foundation, and the integral role that Dr Shaun Evans has played since his appointment as Director in 2015, highlighting his energy, talent and commitment. Robin described how many of ISWE’s core ‘axioms of practice’ are reflected in Shaun’s book, including the centrality of landed estates to Welsh life until the twentieth century; the richness of estate records; the value in adopting a place-based approach; and the importance of revising and developing scholarly understandings of Welsh history and identity, before he handed over to Dr Rees.

First, in order to provide context for the rest of the conversation, Lowri invited Shaun to describe the nature of ‘coming of age celebrations’. These celebrations were held to mark the twenty-first birthday of an heir or heiress, when they attained their legal majority and could therefore officially inherit a landed estate and assume the role of ‘landlord’. The coming of age celebration emerged as a newly invented tradition in the eighteenth century, and by the nineteenth century such celebrations had become widespread across the British Isles; in fact, they had become ‘almost obligatory’ for the gentry and aristocracy. Shaun emphasised the extremely public and communal nature of these celebrations, which engaged the entirety of society associated with the landed estate, from tenants to workers to schoolchildren. As a general rule, the bigger the estate the more extravagant the celebration! Common modes of celebration included the decoration of the town or village, the ringing of church bells, public addresses, bonfires and fireworks, music and dancing, feasting and beer.

Herein lies the explanation for the striking cover of Shaun’s book: a portrait of the enormous white ox of Nannau, which was the focal point of a coming of age celebration on the Nannau estate in 1824. A portrait of the ox and its cowman was created prior to the celebration, the scale of the beast symbolizing livestock improvement on the estate and the generosity of the landowner. During the celebrations, the ox was roasted and its meat used for feasting and distribution to the poor. Finally, after the celebrations the portrait was displayed over the main dining table and the horns and hoofs of the ox made into candelabra. The white ox of Nannau is an enduring symbol of coming of age celebrations, which makes it a fitting image for the cover of this book; indeed, Shaun joked that this is a rare instance where he wants people to judge the book by its cover!

It was great to hear more about what drew Dr Evans to this subject in the first place. Shaun explained how growing up on the Mostyn estate in Flintshire, where his father continues to work as a forester, he became intrigued by a horse chestnut tree growing right in the middle of a crossroads, which was considered something of a local landmark. After further investigation, he discovered that the tree had been planted as part of a ‘coming of age’ celebration, which was the first time he had encountered the term. Shaun went on to research the Mostyn estate for his PhD, during the course of which he gave many talks to local history and community groups. He explained how on several occasions, an elderly member of the audience came up to him at the end with a commemorative mug which had been presented to their Nain or Taid during a coming of age celebration on the Mostyn estate. Through his work with ISWE and ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Archives and Special Collections, Shaun was forever encountering references to and material culture relating to coming of age celebrations. However, it soon became apparent that very little had been written on these celebrations, in a Welsh or wider context, so Shaun decided to embark upon the first comprehensive study. Coming of age celebrations are particularly interesting because they brought landowners into direct contact with the communities over which they held influence. The nature of these celebrations means that this research is very well positioned within ISWE, which endeavours to combine a ‘top down’ approach which takes into account the interests, identities and influence of landowners with a ‘bottom up’ approach which takes into account the interests, lives and experiences of the communities which made their landed estates operational.

Following on from this, Lowri’s next question was ‘what exactly can coming of age celebrations tell us about landowner-tenant and landowner-community relationships?’ One of the main reasons why Shaun became so interested in these celebrations was that they present a picture of landowner-tenant relationships which defies the traditional historiographical interpretation that by the nineteenth century landowners and their tenants belonged to different worlds, with the former characterised as Anglican, English-speaking and Tory, and the latter belonging to the nonconformist, Welsh-speaking, radical demographic. On the contrary, these celebrations demonstrate that there was a strong sense of connection between landlords and their tenants, and that many tenants took great pride in their association with a landed estate.

The audience was particularly intrigued as to whether there was a distinctly Welsh dimension to these celebrations, or whether the Welsh were simply emulating an English practice. Shaun explained that although the core activities were consistent across the British Isles, coming of age celebrations did become integrated into the world of Welsh culture and poetry, with ‘quasi-traditional praise poetry’, harp music, singing, and ‘cwrw da’ featuring prominently. In fact, coming of age celebrations aligned with the re-emergence of the Eisteddfod towards the end of the nineteenth century. Moreover, Shaun has found that the Welsh language featured prominently in these celebrations, irrespective of whether the landowning family were able to speak it, which added a unique dimension to these celebrations in Wales. The first big coming of age celebration in Wales, which took place on the Wynnstay estate in 1770, provided a ‘template’ for other estates. Other landowners picked up on the appropriate modes of celebration by attending celebrations on neighbouring estates and consuming the extensive newspaper coverage of these events. It is clear that the gentry continued to play a key part in Wales and ‘Welshness’ into the nineteenth century. What is particularly interesting is how this traditional concept of Welshness based on the gentry and their ancestry and influence in society, virtues such as hospitality, and festive activities were at odds with the new forms of Welshness which emerged over the course of the nineteenth century, connected with chapels and nonconformity, a theme which is explored in a dedicated chapter of the book. Shaun also expressed his hope that researchers in Ireland, Scotland and England will undertake comparable studies in the future, which will help to further establish just how distinctive the Welsh celebrations were.

The book covers a period of approximately 150 years, which raises the question of whether the nature of these celebrations changed and evolved? We heard how by the 1850s, the focus of the celebrations had become the discourse and dialogue between the landowning family and the community, the physical manifestation of which was the illuminated addresses that were funded by public subscription and presented to the heir or heiress. These addresses provided the tenants with an opportunity to set out models of acceptable behaviour for their future landlords and emphasise what mattered to them most, for example having a resident landlord and the freedom to vote as they pleased in parliamentary elections, to the extent that they almost read like contracts between tenant and landlord.

This raised the question of whether there were differences between coming of age celebrations for heirs and heiresses? Shaun explained that celebrations for heiresses were commonplace, which underlines the point that female landowners were not at all unusual. Moreover, coming of age celebrations highlight the fact that heiresses were expected to assume the role of ‘landlord’ on their inheritance, just like their male counterparts. However, there were some divergences in terms of the celebrations themselves, for example speeches by women were uncommon until the end of the nineteenth century, and the tenants of heiresses showed a greater concern for who their future ‘landlord’ would marry and what the consequences would be for the community (e.g., the prospect of absenteeism). The book includes a list of coming of age celebrations centred on heiresses in the appendix, which Shaun hopes will encourage further study in this field.

Another theme explored during the launch was the physical legacy of coming of age celebrations. These celebrations transformed towns and villages, sometimes temporarily and sometimes permanently – through the construction of churches, clock towers, water pumps, and the planting of trees. We heard about some very site-specific celebrations, such as rock cannon displays in slate-quarrying communities. In terms of material culture, the presentation of commemorative wares such as plates, cups, medals, and framed prints to schoolchildren was commonplace, as was the presentation of gifts to heirs and heiresses, including the aforementioned illuminated addresses. We were fortunate enough to have a display of such items in the room, courtesy of the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Archives and Special Collections team, including a bound album from the Baron Hill estate.

To close the conversation, Lowri invited Shaun to share some of his favourite examples of coming of age celebrations he has come across in his research. One example which has particularly stuck with him was a coming of age celebration on the Faenol estate in the 1860s, which involved a 500-strong choir singing in Dinorwic quarry. Another example is the celebration held on the Nanhoron estate, when vernacular artist John Roberts of Llanystymdwy was commissioned to create models to represent the heraldic figures on the Nanhoron coat of arms as well as the historical figures from whom the family claimed descent, such as Llywelyn ab Iorwerth and Ednyfed Fychan. In terms of celebrations in the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ area, one of the most interesting examples is one that »å¾±»å²Ô’t go ahead: in the 1850s, Lord Penrhyn decided to gift £2,000 to the people of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ to spend as they saw fit in lieu of a coming of age celebration for his son, the result being the entertainment venue Penrhyn Hall. According to Shaun, the fact that an heir to such a prominent estate »å¾±»å²Ô’t have coming of age celebration was ‘astonishingly unusual’. It is also particularly interesting to consider whether there is any connection between the lack of coming of age celebration and the fraught landowner-community relationship which followed, especially in relation to the Great Strike of 1900.

Right at the beginning of the conversation, Shaun paid tribute to ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ colleagues, doctoral researchers, archivists and members of the community who had helped to facilitate access to country house collections and shape his interpretations and arguments, emphasising the collaborative nature of the book. The enthusiasm for Shaun’s research in the room was palpable, and inherent in the thoughtful questions posed by members of the audience in the Q&A at the end. One audience member asked whether there were such things as ‘coming of age celebration planners’ comparable to contemporary wedding planners? Shaun explained that although they had a feeling of spontaneity, significant planning and expenditure went into these celebrations, and that by the end of the nineteenth century some of the more prominent gentry families were enlisting the service of professionals. Catalogues for caterers and fireworks also demonstrate that coming of age celebrations had become ‘big business’ by this period. Another audience member enquired whether these celebrations invited political criticism? It was fascinating to hear that despite the changing political climate and land reform agenda around the turn of the twentieth century, coming of age celebrations continued to be held across the country. The widely held sentiment was that the landlord-tenant and landlord-community relationship was too important to be politicised, and any attempts to hijack the celebrations were quickly shut down. This led to some interesting paradoxes, where staunch reform campaigners chaired coming of age celebrations and liberal newspapers reported on coming of age celebrations in a positive light.  

Finally, the audience were particularly curious about whether coming of age celebrations are held on landed estates today, and which factors led to their decline? Shaun explained that coming of age celebrations mattered and were important social occasions so long as the estate was an important feature of social, political and economic life of Wales. The decline of these celebrations therefore happened in parallel with the break-up of landed estates in the early-to-mid-twentieth century. The First World War and the death of dozens of prospective heirs also put a halt to these celebrations.

That concluded a hugely successful launch, and all that was left to do was direct people towards the book, which is . Please use the discount code BB135 for a 35% saving. Everyone associated with ISWE sends Shaun our warmest congratulations on the publication of his wonderful book, which makes an outstanding contribution to the study of the gentry and landed estates in Wales.

Authored by Dr Bethan Scorey.  With thanks to Dr Mari Wiliam for the photographs.