South Wales Echo

Burnt relics represented years of digs

Echo Reporter

THE Glamorgan/Gwent Archaeological Trust are still counting the cost of the disastrous fire which swept through their Swansea warehouse last Sunday evening destroying thousands of relics of Welsh heritage.

The trust’s director Mr Gareth Dowdell said today it was still impossible to judge exactly what had been destroyed and what might be recovered.

“There were literally thousands of pieces collected over seven years stored at the warehouse,” he said. “In addition to the excavation material there were also casual finds there. We had not had the chance to properly study some of the finds stored there. All the materials from the excavations at Cae Castell, Rumney, Cardiff, have been destroyed and so have those from the Roman building at The Knap, Barry, from the Roman Villa site at Llandough and from Barry Village. Most of the material from the Cowbridge digs, which represented years of work, has also gone.”

“And the finds from the late Bronze Age hill slope fort at Coed-y-Cymdda, near Wenvoe, the materials from the 1977 excavations at Cosmeston, near Penarth, and the further trial excavations there last year all went. In all cases about 90 per cent of the material seems to be totally unrecoverable. We also lost two offices, a complete photographic studio and darkroom and an enormous wealth of photographic material. We have taken a giant step backwards and it is going to take us years not just months to get over this. Obviously we have got very comprehensive records of the excavations and, thankfully, a lot have been salvaged now. It is ironic that the weekend we launched our Crisis In Archaeology appeal to the Welsh Office for adequate funding we should receive this major blow. The devastation caused by the fire makes it even more vital now that we get adequate funds. The cost of the fire as far as archaeological loss is concerned cannot be measured in terms of pounds and pence. What we are dealing with here is a large part of the heritage of Wales that has survived for thousands of years being destroyed in a matter of minutes.”

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… Notable buildings in the village included Great House Farm and a dilapidated Swiss Cottage next the church …

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… the High Court in Cardiff yesterday Mr [Justice] Hollis gave Mr Bill Buckler[’s] family six [weeks] to vacate Great [House] Farm Llandough after ruling [a] 10-acre block [belonged] to British Petroleum Properties Ltd … defiant Mr Buckler now to take case to the Court of Appeal …

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… at the centre of an ownership wrangle between farmer Mr Bill Buckler and British Petroleum Properties … welcomed with open arms by a local farmer …

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… been waged for two generations of the Buckler family Mr Buckler’s mother fought and lost three previous High Court cases [stating] she was the rightful owner of the estate In 1974 BP Properties agreed to allow Mrs Buckler to remain in the farmhouse rent free …

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… But Mr Buckler is refusing to leave the Great House Farm at Llan-dough near Cardiff for medical attention because he fears the bailiffs will return A dozen police officers were on the farm as the bailiffs tried to evict the Buckler family …

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… CARDIFF MP Alun Michael has asked the Lord Chancellor to look at the case of defiant farmer Bill Buckler who fought off baliffs with chainsaw keep his house And Mr Buckler -himself has warned that someone would …

Angry scenes as farmer evicted

By Peter Bibby

A bitter feud over rights that lasted 33 years.

Action on farm. From page 1.

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… who forced their way into the 400-year-old Great House Farm at Llandough near Cardiff have already half the roof off one of the out-buildings But farmer’s wife [Branwen] who fears BP Properties Ltd will now flatten the farmhouse and won the court …

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… Monday when a summons against BP will be heard. Mr Justice Anthony Evans has allowed the condition that Mrs Buckler should be able to go into the house and collect belongings as long as BP solicitors agree… The Buckler family have petitioned to have […]

History fight to save farm

By Peter Bibby

THE threatened farmhouse at the centre of an eviction row will be visited by historic buildings inspectors this weekend to see if it is worth saving from demolition.

Officials from the Welsh historic monuments body, Cadw, confirmed today they are considering an appeal to ask the Secretary of State for Wales to protect Great House Farm, Llandough, near Cardiff, as a listed building.

The family of farmer Billy Buckler, evicted from the farmhouse by BP bailiffs earlier this week, called in Cadw in a last-ditch bid to save their old home. Mr Buckler’s family have been fighting a 33-year legal battle to prove they own the old farmhouse, parts of which could date back to the 12th Century.

[Injunction] But after Law Lords appeal judges ruled in favour of BP Properties this year, the bailiffs moved in. Mr Buckler, a 39-year-old father of three, has been in Llandough Hospital since his eviction on Wednesday.

BP said they intend to demolish the farmhouse and outbuildings on the 10-acre site overlooking Cardiff Bay and put in for planning permission to build new homes.

The family [state] that within hours of forcing their way in to their house, the bailiffs had begun the demolition work and a High Court judge issued an interim injunction ordering that the farmhouse and its contents must not be touched.

A spokeswoman for Cadw confirmed they were considering “spot-listing” the farmhouse, an emergency procedure in which any building which may be of architectural or historical importance can be protected. She said: “An inspector has been taken off another case to look at this and we are trying to move as quickly as possible.”

[Razed] “He will be paying a visit to the farmhouse, look at any records of the history of the area and discuss it with the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historical Monuments.”

But Cadw may have act fast. On Monday the High Court are to consider the case for saving Great House Farm, and if the Bucklers fail to have the order extended, the farmhouse could be razed to the ground within days.

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EVICTED farmer Bill Buckler, caught up in a 33-year wrangle over his South Wales home, was taken from his hospital bed to face charges of assault on two bailiffs.

Billy’s unhappy family

By Jim Clarke

WHEN the bailiffs refused to let South Wales farmer Billy Buckler back into his family home they found eight other people sharing the rambling old farmhouse.

What were they all doing there? It seems that Billy opened his doors to everyone except the bailiff and his men. Billy’s friends and then their friends and then friends of friends turned up at Great House Farm in Llandough, Cardiff, for short stays that become permanent residencies.

So the eviction of Billy, his wife Branwen and their three children Hywel, Rhys and Amy has made another group of people being made homeless.

Some of the tenants are unemployed and had their rent at the farm paid by the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council. One man works in a Cardiff club and two others will have to abandon business projects as a result of the eviction.

“Billy and Branwen have had a hard time of it recently, but we’ve all tried to get behind them and help get the farm back on its feet,” said Chris Thompson.

Karen Griffiths, aged 21, from Cardiff, told how the pressure of the legal battles with BP had taken their toll on Billy. “Sometimes we’ve seen him break down and cry,” she said.

Most of the young people who were evicted had been living a semi-communal life on the farm for around a year. Karen, who was made redundant from Llandaff Tech earlier this year, and her friend Terry Rayment had been travelling and living on a bus for a time before they found a place to stay on the farm — now they are back on the bus in a nearby lay-by with their two dogs, a cat and all the possessions they could carry out of the farm.

“The farm was a happy place to stay,” said Terry, who has known the family for years. Karen told how the residents of Great House Farm would go out on “wood runs” together, collecting fuel from the nearby woods to feed the open fires in the huge farmhouse.

Thirty-year-old Chris had just started a light haulage business backed by the Enterprise Allowance Scheme. “It was going really well and I had plenty of work coming in, but without a base to work from or a phone I’ve had it,” he said.

The bailiffs refused to comment on the [accusations] laid by the former tenants of the farm.

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… Her husband’s family have been battling for more than 30 years to prove they owned the historic farmhouse at Llandough. That fight came to an end yesterday afternoon in the High Court in Cardiff and within hours owners BP Properties …

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… a Vale of Glamorgan councillor and BP pensioner said the decision by BP Properties to flatten the buildings was ‘disgusting’. He plans to write to them in protest. Mr Billy Buckler’s family had battled for 33 years to prove they owned […]

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[…] a bid to stop BP Properties profiting from the demolition earlier this week [of] an 800-year-old farmhouse on the outskirts of Cardiff. A small group of Llan-dough villagers met local councillors last night to express their anger at the way BP had demolished […]

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[…] Buckler, aged 40, who lived with family at Great House Farm, Llan-dough, until [it] was demolished by BP Properties this week, was freed on bail by magistrates yesterday. He faces charges […]

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… who lived at Great House Farm, Llan-dough, near Cardiff […] Mr Buckler, evicted from the farm house by BP Properties, who demolished the building a week later […]

Reader’s letter

I WAS concerned to read the report headlined Bulldozed Before Breakfast (Echo, December 6). How awful for the unfortunate Buckler family …

Bail change for evicted farmer

EVICTED South Wales farmer Billy Buckler, whose Llandough house was demolished late last year, has had bail conditions changed on charges of assault, [damage to property] and wanton or furious driving. Buckler, aged 40 […]

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[…] to the ground by BP Properties following a 30 year legal battle over ownership between the company and farmer Mr Billy Buckler. The lorries moved onto the site at 7.30am today and the operation is likely to take several days. Mr Buckler has been unable to […]

Evicted farmer freed after pleading guilty

A FARMER who lost his family home at Great House Farm, Llandough, when the premises were demolished at the end of last year today admitted two […]

[…] farmer freed

FARMER BILLY Buckler vowed to continue his fight over the loss of his historic family home and more than 70 acres of land […]

From farm to a bus

By Peter Collins

SOUTH Wales farmer Billy Buckler, whose home was demolished last year after a 40-year-old row over ownership, now plans to live in an old bus which he is converting into a mobile home.

Until December last year Mr Buckler and his family lived at Great House Farm, Llandough. But following a High Court hearing, BP Properties, the owners of the land, moved in and demolished the property.

Since then Mr Buckler, his wife, Branwen, and their three children have been living with his sister in Penarth. […]

Mr Buckler [stated] that £30,000 worth of his personal possessions had been taken from the Great House Farm site following the demolition. […]

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… Lewis Road Llandough … acres of Prime Residential Building Land For Sale by Private Treaty …

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… company chiefs are bidding [to] build homes on land where battling South Wales farmer Billy Buckler fought unsuccessfully to stop bailiffs evicting him … Great House Farm Llandough … a legal wrangle stretching back 33 years …

… No objection has been made by Llandough Community Council but they [… want?] the land registered as village green …

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… The woodland was sold to the LAW by BP Pension Fund which owned it until 1988 …

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… in Llandough and Leckwith from the Land Authority for Wales …

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… between Leckwith Hill [and] Llandough including 18 acres of special scientific interest …

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… It enabled the council to pay contractors working on the nearby Great House Farm housing development to improve the grassed area …