Stories | Brecon Story

Discover the stories of our town - the stories that enrich both the built environment and the places that you can visit here as well as simply the essence of the place. Brecon is proud of its heritage and culture.

Listen, watch and enjoy!

If you have a story you would like to share please do get in touch: breconstory@gmail.com

Browse our stories below:

John Uzzell Edwards lecture at y Gaer Brecon by his wife Mary

John Uzzell Edwards - The Quilt Paintings

This engaging and remarkable lecture about painter John Uzzell Edwards was written and delivered by his wife, Mary, who now lives in Brecon.
The talk accompanied the exhibition of The Quilt Paintings at y Gaer. It was recorded by Brecon Story for the Brecknock Society and Museum Friends as part of their monthly Talks at y Gaer.

WALK: The Brecon Story guided history walk around Brecon

Innovative walk to share Brecon’s long and colourful history

On Sunday 4th June at 2pm, Brecon local families and visitors alike are being invited to take an innovative new history walk led by Brecon's new Mayor.

purple plaque unveiling for Dr Frances Hoggan

Brecon’s pioneering woman doctor honoured with Purple Plaque

A pioneering, Brecon-born woman doctor, campaigner and social reformer has been honoured with Wales’ 11th Purple Plaque, unveiled on the place of her birth in High Street, Brecon.

Jonathan Morgan brecon author and historian

What’s in a name?

Local historian & author Jonathan Morgan talks to Brecon Story about some of the families that have shaped Brecon’s history.

Fun and Festivities with Brecon With Bells On

A fun-filled day of free music and entertainment through town, Brecon With Bells On is the annual event that celebrates the switching on of the town lights and heralds the start of the build-up to Christmas.

Come and join the Brecon Town Concert Band

The Brecon Town Concert Band has been entertaining people across Mid Wales and beyond for half a century and it is inviting new members to come and join them in making music.
The group includes wind, brass and percussion players of all levels - from learners to professionals, aged from eight to eighty.

Joyce and Les Williams at 100 and 102 years old

Happiness at 100 years old

If you want a few tips for a happy and contented old age, Joyce and Leslie Williams from Brecon could help.

The couple have both received telegrams from the Queen - Joyce this June, when she reached her hundredth birthday, and Leslie more than two years ago - as he heads for his 103rd birthday.

Platinum Jubilee

The streets of Brecon were vibrant with celebration, in commemoration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The appreciation for her 70 years of service to the UK were contained within a four-day period of varying festivities; from a street party in Lion Street, to a Freddy Mercury tribute act at the Brecon Promenade bandstand.

bugler at the centenary of the welsh borderers chapel in Brecon Cathedral

Brecon Celebrates Centenary of Regimental Memorial

The centenary of the South Wales Borderers and Monmouthshire Regiments’ war memorial has been marked in a moving service in Brecon Cathedral. A service was held in the Cathedral’s Havard Chapel - home to many regimental colours and other reminders of the regiments’ illustrious past.

The Joys of Jazz

Brecon bustled with local people, mixed with visitors from across the UK and beyond to enjoy the Brecon Jazz Festival - and the Brecon Frazz Parade, the community-led ‘open to all’ carnival march through the town.

The annual Gurkha parade in Brecon town, Wales

Celebrating Brecon’s Gurkha community

Hundreds of people crowded into the centre of Brecon to watch the 37th annual Gurkha Brecon Freedom parade. The event sees locally-based Gurkha soldiers parade through the town, marking their rights as honorary citizens.

The Origins of Brecon Jazz

This recollection of the festival origins by Jean Hosie , who became the festival administrator, describes how the first festival was planned, artists were invited, a programme put together, and business owners around the town persuaded to join the initiative and to provide multiple venues over a weekend in August.

Mini food festival with ESOL students at Brecon College

Food – A symbol of cultural diversity

English for Speakers of Other Language students share recipes and food, offering an insight into some of the various communities making up Brecon’s cultural identity.

The Plough Chapel

One of the most enduring of Brecon Stories: ‘The Plough Chapel got its name from the tavern that once occupied the site.’ It is a tale that has echoed down the generations, and a name that has been given to a succession of buildings.

Brecon Story is awarded a £10k grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund

A £10,000 ‘Christmas Present’

Brecon Story Project lands a £10,000 ‘Christmas Present’. A pioneering project celebrating Brecon’s history and culture is welcoming the arrival of a major ‘present’, just in time for Christmas.

Enough is Enough

A group of singers and musicians from Brecon and the surrounding area has joined an international challenge to raise awareness of the environmental issues being discussed at the COP 26 negotiations in Glasgow.

Yn y llyvyr - the first book ever printed in the Welsh language

Yn y Lhyvyr Hwnn

Many people are unaware that the first printed book in the Welsh language, 'Yn y Lhyvyr Hwnn', was written by a prominent Breconian - so an important 'first' for Brecon!

Many paths to Brecon for Gurkhas

Brecon’s small but visible community of Nepalese people is made up of those settled here - about 70 families - and those stationed here with the British Army for 18 months to two years. We spoke to Guptaman Gurung and his daughter, Garima, about their experiences.

Portrait of Mayor Gwenllian Morgan in Brecon Guildhall

1st Female Mayor of Wales

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we delve into Brecon’s history and put a spotlight on Gwenllian Morgan, a woman responsible for breaking boundaries and widening the horizons of women everywhere by becoming the first female Mayor to be elected not only in Brecon, but in Wales from 1910-11.

Illumine

Illumine was an 18-month digital arts training project for young ‘Image Makers’

A solitary and beautiful performance of The Cresset Stone

The year of 2020 came with many challenges not least for our heritage and cultural venues in Brecon and for the people who enjoy these spaces. However one of the positives of the year was a visual and sound recording in Brecon Cathedral of a solo violinist playing a piece of music entitled The Cresset Stone by composer Hilary Tann.

Sir Bryn Terfel concert at Brecon Cathedral copyright The Metropolitan Opera

A Gift for the Spirit and the Town

Within the bleak mid-winter, a bright light came to sing at Brecon Cathedral. Hear how this came to happen as Nic Groombridge interviews the Dean of Brecon.

Brecon Jazz - A Worldwide Phenomenon

Lynne Gornall and Roger Cannon tell us how a visit to Brecon Jazz Festival led to them making the town their home, and reflect on the event’s place in the international jazz scene.

This year’s festival went online for the first time do look at their website for highlights.

Brecknock Sinfonia, i the foreground is a man playing a harpsichord, a female cellist has her back towards the camera. In the background are four violinists, violins on their shoulders and bow held in the air

Baroque Music in Brecon

Kate Gedge of Brecon Baroque Festival fills us in on how the event has become a fixture on the international music scene.

This year’s festival went online for the first time do look at their website for highlights.

Image of ballet dancers in nutcracker ballet

Brecon Festival Ballet

When the Brecon Festival Ballet performed The Nutcracker at Theatr Brycheiniog in December 2019, it notched up a lot of firsts. Sadly 2020 meant many changes but there are big plans for the future.

Brecon Inspires Artists

Punch Maughan, owner of Found Gallery, speaks with artists Michael Howard and Roger Reese, who are contributing to a fabulous exhibition at the contemporary gallery in September 2020.

The Community's Theatre

Velvet and Jay, new staff members at Theatr Brycheiniog, give us their thoughts on Brecon’s creative and cultural scene.

Opening celebration of Brecon Jazz Festival

A Photographer's View

Moving from Pontypridd to Brecon in 1971, photographer Gena Davies was surprised to hear about a new jazz festival happening in the town in 1983.

Brecon’s canal: 200 years of heritage

Clare lives in Brecon and works for Canal and River Trust. One of her responsibilities is managing the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal.

A personal perspective

Elizabeth and her husband moved to Brecon in 2004, but both their families have much longer associations with the town.

Brecon canal with colourful canal boats in the foreground

A Stonemason’s Love Of The Canal

Rachael works as a stonemason for the Canal and River Trust, using her skills to preserve the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, a vitally important piece of local heritage.

Image of interior of Brecon Cathedral, stain glass window in background with wooden cross in foreground

Brecon's Cathedral

Brecon is special because its real gems are hidden and waiting to be explored

Welcoming visitors to Brecon

Alison Meacham of Visit Brecon tells us about her long love of Brecon and her role welcoming visitors to the town.

Image shows regimental uniforms in Brecon Museum

Rorke’s Drift

Brecon’s long and storied military history takes in many of the most significant conflicts of the last several hundred years, but perhaps the most famous is the battle of Rorke’s Drift during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.

Illustrated image of the Battle of Agincourt

The Welsh Archers

The stirring story of Henry V’s forces defeating a much larger French army has become one of the most celebrated events in British history. What’s a little less well known is the role Brecon and its people played in this famous battle of Agincourt.

Brecon's Glassmaker

The brainchild of glassmaker Kathryn Roberts, Gate Gallery and Glassworks is a glittering example of Brecon’s lively arts and crafts scene.

A Magnet for Artists

Ardent’s Brecon-born Gallery Manager Gemma Schiebe, describes the town as a magnet for artists and a place where younger creators like herself are helped and encouraged by their peers.