South Wales Argus cutting March 20th 1986
The headstone of Henry Hunt Frost.
John Frost in his will had requested:
"that I be buried by the side of my wife and son in
Horfield Churchyard."
Removal of the headstone.
This is a difficult and potentially dangerous task.
Les Thomas (standing centre picture) supervises.
Les Thomas working on the new headstone to mark the grave
of John Frost, his wife Mary and son Henry Hunt Frost.
Neil Kinnock unveiling the new headstone.
Richard Frame and Alexander Cordell,
author of Requiem for a Patriot.
Alexander must have almost relived John Frost's life from the time of the trial onwards
as he wrote Requiem For A Patriot. It's something of an ordeal reading the book in which
John Frost describes the hardships he experienced, writing it must have drained the author!
Alexander Cordell is probably better known for his novel Rape Of The Fair Country.
And where's the headstone now? Well a strange and unlikely place...
inside the high walls of the Mynde in Caerleon. The walls, which according to local
tradition, were built to keep the Chartists out!
UPDATE: In 2020 the headstone was donated to Newport Museum and Art Gallery. Conservation work was carried out on to stabilise its condition and it is now on display in the museum.
Link: Friends of Newport Museum & Art Gallery.
Link: Newport Museum & Art Gallery.
The text on this plaque on the wall of the Mynde reads:
"In the last quarter of the twentieth century we have taken the Right to Vote for granted. This was not always so, and in 1839 after the failure of petitioning the Government of the day, the men of Britain and South Wales sought to change the system through marches and demonstration - this was known as the Chartist Uprising. John Jenkins the owner of Mynde House and Master of the Ponthir Tin Plate Works, concerned for his property, constructed the Mynde Wall in order to keep marauding demonstrators out. The wall in front of you is what remains of his efforts."
Note: Images © copyright 2024
Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.
Many thanks to Richard Frame for his assistance.
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