The Diaries of John Bird 1790-1803
John Bird of Cardiff, clerk to the first Marquess of Bute, kept a record of local events that had some bearing upon the interests of the Cardiff Castle estate. There is a full introduction and notes on the personalities of the diary by Hilary M Thomas. A joint publication with Glamorgan Archive Service.
South Wales Record Society publication no. 4
Edited by Hilary M. Thomas
Published 1987
ISBN 0 9508676 3 2 (hardback)
This book is out of print, but a digital version can be seen on Welsh Journals Online.
Reviews:
David Boorman in Welsh History Review: ‘[The diaries are] our main source of information not only for [Bute] estate matters for the period which they cover but also for the history of Cardiff itself at the end of the eighteenth century … Hilary Thomas has put us in her debt by providing a lengthy introduction which not only deals with Bird’s career but also sets that career firmly in the context of local political, social and economic developments.’
Dr Prys Morgan in Morgannwg: ‘The book will be essential to all Welsh historians who wish to follow the history of Cardiff and Glamorgan at a crucial stage in their modern development. Indeed, it will be indispensable to those who wish to know more about the shadowy world, so often ignored by Welsh history books, of the middling sorts hovering between the aristocrats and the common people.’