Amgueddfa Cymru — Museum Wales — Email Correspondence Catalogue

From: Sion Buckler
To: Cardiff Council FOI (cc Cardiff Castle, Welsh Government FOI, Arts Council England FOI, DCMS FOI, Amgueddfa Cymru FOI, National Library of Wales)
Date: 2 July 2026, 19:51 UTC
Subject: Great House Farm, Llandough | Cardiff Castle Furniture

Freedom of Information Act 2000 Request

Sir/Madam,

I am making this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I seek all recorded information held concerning furniture, furnishings, antiques, fixtures, heirlooms and other movable property originating from Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough, including any and all items we received from Bute Estate, Cardiff Castle, Cardiff Council. Weather it be museums, archives or any other public body. I know museums have artifacts from our land in Llandough.

Specifically, I request copies of all:

1. Inventories, catalogues and asset registers.
2. Acquisition, disposal, loan and transfer records.
3. Provenance files and ownership records.
4. Photographs of items identified as originating from Great House Farm.
5. Correspondence concerning the identification, recovery, ownership or location of such items.
6. Internal reports, legal advice and memoranda relating to Great House Farm furniture or household effects.
7. Correspondence mentioning the Buckler or Williams families in connection with these items.
8. Records concerning any efforts by Cardiff Council or Cardiff Castle to trace, recover or secure items believed to have originated from Great House Farm.
9. Correspondence with the Bute Estate, museums, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), Arts Council England or any other public authority regarding objects from Great House Farm.

For context, I am allegeing that my family was unlawfully dispossessed of Great House Farm through fraud, and that furniture and other historic possessions belonging to the family were consequently dispersed. It's possible the bailiffs from BP were also SAS soldiers. We are still gathering actionable intelligence.

I appreciate that the Freedom of Information Act does not require the authority to determine the merits of that allegation. However, it is directly relevant to understanding why I seek the recorded information.

I am currently developing a full-scale replica of Great House Farm in Patagonia, Argentina as a museum dedicated to preserving the history of the house, its occupants and its contents. Should records identify surviving items from the farm, whether held by Cardiff Council, Cardiff Castle, museums or other public institutions, I intend to pursue their lawful return or transfer so they may ultimately be reunited with the reconstructed Great House Farm museum. This statement is provided solely as context for my request and does not seek a determination under the Freedom of Information Act.

If any information is withheld, please identify each exemption relied upon and explain why it applies, including the outcome of any public interest test where required.

If another public authority is more likely to hold the requested information, I would be grateful if you would transfer the request or advise me accordingly.

I look forward to your response within the statutory time limit.

Yours faithfully,

Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)

Note: Original request recovered from the quoted text of the Museum's 13 July reply.

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 13 July 2026, 11:06 UTC
Subject: RE: Great House Farm, Llandough | Cardiff Castle Furniture

Dear Sion

We note that your request was addressed to Cardiff Council, with Amgueddfa Cymru copied into the correspondence. Please confirm whether you intended this request to be made to Amgueddfa Cymru as well.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
Amgueddfa Cymru

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 13 July 2026, 17:57 UTC
Subject: Re: Great House Farm, Llandough | Cardiff Castle Furniture

Yes please.

I am trying to gather all information.
Mine and my families claim to ownership of the land was never extinguished, as confirmed by the land registry recently. This land is my birthplace and I am the heir and successor to the claim. I was in the home when we were dispossessed of it and when it was demolished in front of us in 1988.

So this is not just an enquiry from a member of the public. This concerns my interest in the land and my personal story and data.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Regards,

Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergenant)
Royal Signals Cyber & Electronic Warfare Professional & Life Member
02031377118

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 3 August 2026, 13:39 UTC
Subject: FOI 2026-020 - Great House Farm, Llandough | Cardiff Castle Furniture

Dear Sion

Thank you for your request for information received on 2nd July 2026, concerning furniture, furnishings, antiques, fixtures, heirlooms and other movable property originating from Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough.

Following searches of the Museum's collections management systems and associated records, Amgueddfa Cymru has not identified any furniture, furnishings, antiques, fixtures, heirlooms or other movable property recorded as originating from Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough.

Accordingly, Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold recorded information falling within the scope of items 1 to 9 of your request relating to such objects.
For clarity:

- We have not identified any objects of the type described in your request as originating from Great House Farm.
- We have not identified inventories, catalogues, acquisition records, disposal records, loan records, provenance files, ownership records, photographs, correspondence, reports, memoranda or related records concerning such objects within the scope of your request.
- We have not identified any records relating to the identification, recovery, ownership or location of furniture or household effects from Great House Farm.

We note your references to archaeological material from land associated with Great House Farm. However, archaeological finds are outside the scope of this response because they do not fall within your request for furniture, furnishings, antiques, fixtures, heirlooms and other movable property. We understand that archaeological material is the subject of a separate information request and will be dealt with separately.

Under section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, our response is therefore that Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold the requested information.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
Amgueddfa Cymru

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 3 August 2026, 16:29 UTC
Subject: Re: FOI 2026-020 - Great House Farm, Llandough | Cardiff Castle Furniture

Dear FOI Team,

Thank you for your response.

I note your position that Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold recorded information within the scope of my request.

However, I would be grateful if you could clarify the searches undertaken to reach that conclusion.

In particular, please confirm:

- Which collections management systems, databases and "associated records" were searched.
- Whether searches extended beyond accessioned objects to include acquisition files, provenance files, curator correspondence, donor files, temporary custody records, unaccessioned material, photographs and administrative records.
- The search terms used (for example: "Great House Farm", "Ty Mawr", "Llandough", "Williams", "Buckler", "Bute Estate" and any other relevant variants).
- Whether any potentially relevant records have been transferred to another institution or destroyed in accordance with a retention policy.

My original request was not limited to identifying surviving objects. It also sought records relating to their provenance, acquisition, transfer, ownership, photographs and correspondence. This reflects the fact that the contents of Great House Farm may have been dispersed following the property's demolition, meaning relevant records could exist even if no objects were ultimately accessioned by the Museum.

If, following those searches, Amgueddfa Cymru remains satisfied that no recorded information is held, I would be grateful for confirmation of that position.

Finally, if you are aware of another public authority that is more likely to hold records falling within the scope of my request, I would appreciate your advice in accordance with your duty to provide advice and assistance.

Thank you for your assistance.

Yours faithfully,

Sion Buckler

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 14 August 2026, 08:43 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI 2026-020 - Great House Farm, Llandough | Cardiff Castle Furniture

Dear Sion

Thank you for your email.

Following receipt of your query, Amgueddfa Cymru undertook further enquiries to satisfy itself that no information had been overlooked when responding to your request.

These enquiries included a review of records held across the Museum's collections and a review of archived electronic systems and records by the Museum's Information Technology team. The review considered all collections management systems used by the Museum, including those most likely to contain information falling within the scope of your request.

For the History collections, searches were undertaken of the Collections Management System (CMS), accession files, donor indexes, location indexes and associated collection documentation. Searches were carried out using terms including "Great House Farm", "Ty Mawr", "Llandough", "Buckler" and "Bute". Additional consideration was given to acquisition records, provenance information and associated administrative records.

For the Art collections, searches were undertaken within the collections management system across description, comments, acquisition notes and place fields using the terms "Ty Mawr", "Great House Farm", "Great House", "Williams", "Buckler", "Llandough" and combinations of those terms. No additional paper archives relating to Great House Farm, Ty Mawr, Great House or Buckler were identified.

The Museum's Information Technology team also reviewed archived electronic systems and records retained by the Museum.

These enquiries identified some information relating generally to Great House Farm and the surrounding area. However, no information was identified concerning furniture, furnishings, antiques, fixtures, heirlooms or other movable property originating from Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough. We did not identify any inventories, catalogues, acquisition records, disposal records, loan records, provenance files, ownership records, photographs, correspondence or other records falling within categories 1 to 9 of your request.

We are also not aware of any relevant collection records relating to such material having been transferred to another institution or destroyed.

Accordingly, having completed these additional enquiries, Amgueddfa Cymru remains satisfied that it does not hold recorded information within the scope of your request and our response under section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 remains unchanged.
In relation to your request for advice and assistance, Cardiff Council and Cardiff Castle would appear to be the organisations most likely to hold records relating to furniture, furnishings or other movable property associated with Great House Farm.

If you remain dissatisfied with this response, you may request an internal review within 40 working days of the date of this email.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
Amgueddfa Cymru

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 14 August 2026, 17:40 UTC
Subject: Re: FOI 2026-020 - Great House Farm, Llandough | Cardiff Castle Furniture — internal review request

FOI Team,

Thank you for your detailed response and for undertaking the additional enquiries.

I appreciate the further information you have provided concerning the searches undertaken. However, I would like to request an internal review under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

My concern is not simply that no objects have been identified. It is whether the searches undertaken have fully addressed the scope of my original request, particularly the documentary evidence concerning the provenance, acquisition, transfer, ownership, identification and dispersal of material originating from Great House Farm (Ty Mawr).

I would be grateful if the internal review could consider the following points.

1. Information identified concerning Great House Farm

Your response states that the additional enquiries identified "some information relating generally to Great House Farm and the surrounding area".

Please could you identify what categories of information this refers to and, where it is not exempt, provide the relevant recorded information or explain where it can be accessed?

This appears potentially relevant to the original request even if it does not itself identify furniture or household objects.

2. Scope of the archived electronic search

You state that the Information Technology team reviewed "archived electronic systems and records retained by the Museum".

Please could the review clarify:

- which archived systems were searched;
- the approximate date ranges covered;
- whether historical email or correspondence archives were searched;
- whether legacy collections-management databases were searched;
- whether databases or systems preceding the current CMS were searched; and
- whether any archived systems were unavailable, incomplete or incapable of being searched.

3. Correspondence and administrative records

My original request expressly sought correspondence concerning the identification, recovery, ownership or location of objects, as well as correspondence with the Bute Estate, Cardiff Council, Cardiff Castle and other public authorities.

Your response refers generally to "associated collection documentation" and "administrative records", but does not make clear whether historical correspondence files were specifically searched.

Please could the internal review establish whether searches were made of:

- curator correspondence;
- departmental correspondence files;
- donor correspondence;
- acquisition correspondence;
- disposal correspondence;
- loan correspondence;
- provenance correspondence;
- correspondence with Cardiff Council;
- correspondence with Cardiff Castle;
- correspondence with the Bute Estate;
- correspondence with other museums or public authorities; and
- any relevant institutional or external correspondence indexes.

4. Search terms

Thank you for identifying many of the search terms used.

Please could the internal review confirm whether the search also included combinations and variants involving: "Bute Estate", "Bute", "Cardiff Castle", "Cardiff Council", "Great House Farm", "Ty Mawr", "Great House", "Llandough", "Buckler", "Williams", "Mary Williams", "Mary Doreen Williams", "household effects", "contents", "furniture", "furnishings", "heirlooms", "fixtures", "estate", "dispersal", "recovery", "provenance", "ownership", "transfer", "demolition".

I appreciate that historical records may not have been consistently indexed, which is why I would be grateful for confirmation of the methodology used.

5. Transfer, disposal and destruction

Your response states:

"We are also not aware of any relevant collection records relating to such material having been transferred to another institution or destroyed."

Please could the internal review clarify whether this conclusion is based upon:

a. a search of transfer/accession-out records;
b. a review of retention and disposal records;
c. enquiries with relevant collections staff;
d. review of archival transfer documentation; or
e. institutional knowledge rather than a documentary search.

I am particularly interested in distinguishing between "no record exists" and "no record was identified in the systems searched".

6. The original request concerning external institutions

The original request was deliberately framed broadly because the question concerns possible dispersal of the contents of a demolished historic property.

It expressly included records concerning Cardiff Council, Cardiff Castle, the Bute Estate, museums, Arts Council England, DCMS, RCEWA and other public authorities.

I would therefore be grateful if the review could confirm whether records of communications or transactions involving those bodies were searched within Amgueddfa Cymru's records, rather than simply searching the Museum's object catalogue for Great House Farm objects.

7. Advice and assistance

You have stated that Cardiff Council and Cardiff Castle "would appear to be the organisations most likely to hold records relating to furniture, furnishings or other movable property associated with Great House Farm".

I appreciate that you cannot transfer another authority's records to me. However, could you please provide any further information available to the Museum as to which particular department, collection, archive or record series at Cardiff Council or Cardiff Castle is most likely to contain such material?

That would materially assist me in directing subsequent FOI and archival enquiries.

I am grateful for the additional work already undertaken. I am requesting the internal review because I would like the record to be clear as to precisely what was searched, what information was identified, and what the negative result does and does not establish.

I am not asking Amgueddfa Cymru to determine any allegation concerning the historical ownership of Great House Farm. The purpose of the review is simply to ensure that the documentary search corresponds fully with the scope of the original FOI request.

Please treat this email as my formal request for an internal review of FOI 2026-020.

Regards,

Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)
Royal Signals Cyber and Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member
Williams / Buckler Family Estate

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 8 September 2026, 08:29 UTC
Subject: Internal Review: FOI 2026-020 - Great House Farm, Llandough | Cardiff Castle Furniture

Dear Mr Buckler

Thank you for your request for an internal review of FOI 2026-020 concerning furniture, furnishings, antiques, fixtures, heirlooms and other movable property originating from Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough.

The reviewer has considered your original request, the responses provided by the Museum, the additional enquiries undertaken following your request for clarification on 3rd August 2026, and the concerns raised in your email requesting an internal review.

We are satisfied that the request was interpreted correctly and that reasonable and proportionate searches were undertaken to identify information falling within the scope of the request. Following the original response, the Museum undertook additional enquiries across relevant collections records and archived electronic records in order to satisfy itself that no information had been overlooked.

We are satisfied that the searches undertaken were appropriate to the nature and scope of the request and that no further searches are required in order to determine whether Amgueddfa Cymru holds information within scope. The review therefore upholds the original decision that Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold recorded information concerning furniture, furnishings, antiques, fixtures, heirlooms or other movable property originating from Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough falling within categories 1 to 9 of your request.

Response to the points raised

1. Information identified concerning Great House Farm
During the additional enquiries, a small number of records referring generally to Great House Farm, Llandough were identified. These records do not relate to furniture, furnishings, antiques, fixtures, heirlooms or other movable property originating from Great House Farm and do not fall within categories 1 to 9 of your original request. The reviewer is therefore satisfied that they fall outside the scope of the request.

2. Scope of the archived electronic search

We are satisfied that archived electronic records reasonably capable of containing information within scope were considered as part of the searches undertaken. Any data stored within a system or database pre-dating the existing Collections Management Systems, would have been migrated into the incumbent solution, and therefore included in the search.

3. Correspondence and administrative records
The review considered whether correspondence or administrative records relating to the requested items were held.

The Museum's collections records include accession documentation and associated collection records relating to objects acquired by the Museum. Searches of those records did not identify any furniture, furnishings, antiques, fixtures, heirlooms or other movable property originating from Great House Farm. As no such objects were identified as having been acquired by the Museum, no associated acquisition, provenance, ownership, loan, disposal or related correspondence concerning such objects was identified.

The review did not identify evidence that the Museum holds correspondence concerning the identification, ownership, recovery or location of Great House Farm furniture or household effects.

4. Search terms
We are satisfied that appropriate search terms and variants were used across the relevant collections management systems, collection records and associated documentation. These included relevant location names, property names, family names and associated variants reasonably capable of identifying records within scope.

The review is satisfied that the search methodology was reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances.

5. Transfer, disposal and destruction
The statement that the Museum is not aware of relevant records having been transferred or destroyed reflects the outcome of the searches undertaken and the knowledge of relevant collections staff. The review did not identify any records showing that information within the scope of your request had been transferred to another institution or destroyed.

For clarity, the Museum's position is that no relevant records were identified.

6. Records concerning external institutions
We note that your request sought records concerning communications with Cardiff Council, Cardiff Castle, the Bute Estate and other bodies regarding objects originating from Great House Farm. Searches were not limited solely to object catalogue records. Relevant collection documentation and associated records were also considered.

No records were identified concerning furniture, furnishings, antiques, fixtures, heirlooms, or other movable property originating from Great House Farm, including correspondence with the organisations referred to in your request.

7. Advice and assistance
The Museum does not hold information identifying a specific department, collection, archive or record series within Cardiff Council or Cardiff Castle that is likely to contain the information you seek. The advice previously provided reflected our general view that those organisations would be more likely than Amgueddfa Cymru to hold records relating to the ownership, management or disposal of property associated with Great House Farm.

Conclusion
Having considered all of the information available, we are satisfied that Amgueddfa Cymru undertook reasonable and proportionate searches and that, on the balance of probabilities, the Museum does not hold recorded information falling within the scope of your request. The original decision is therefore upheld.

If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 8 September 2026, 12:16 UTC
Subject: Re: Internal Review: FOI 2026-020 - Great House Farm, Llandough | Cardiff Castle Furniture

Dear FOI Team,

Thank you for the internal review outcome dated 8 September 2026.

I note that the review upholds the original decision. I do not, however, consider that the review has answered the substantive questions raised in my request for internal review.

I am therefore putting the position on record, while also making a separate new request for recorded information which your review confirms already exists.

1. Records identified during the additional searches

On 14 August 2026, Amgueddfa Cymru stated that the additional enquiries had identified:

"some information relating generally to Great House Farm and the surrounding area".

The internal review now describes these as:

"a small number of records referring generally to Great House Farm, Llandough".

The wording has therefore changed slightly, but the material fact has not: the Museum confirms that records referring to Great House Farm were identified.

My internal-review request specifically asked for those records to be identified and, where not exempt, provided.

The review does not do so.

Simply stating that the records are considered to fall outside categories 1 to 9 does not identify what they are, where they are held, when they were created, or their reference numbers.

2. Archived electronic systems

My request of 14 August specifically asked:

- which archived systems were searched;
- the approximate date ranges covered;
- whether historical email or correspondence archives were searched;
- whether legacy collections-management databases were searched; and
- whether any archived systems were unavailable, incomplete or incapable of being searched.

The review answers none of these questions individually.

Instead, it states:

"archived electronic records reasonably capable of containing information within scope were considered"

and:

"Any data stored within a system or database pre-dating the existing Collections Management Systems, would have been migrated into the incumbent solution, and therefore included in the search."

The first statement describes a conclusion, rather than identifying the systems actually searched.

The second is an assumption about migration completeness. "Would have been migrated" is not a search result and does not establish that the relevant historical data was in fact migrated, completely migrated, retained, searchable and included in the particular search undertaken.

3. Correspondence independent of accessioned objects

This is the most significant issue.

The original request expressly sought correspondence and administrative records concerning, among other things:

- identification;
- recovery;
- ownership;
- location;
- the Buckler and Williams families;
- Cardiff Council;
- Cardiff Castle;
- the Bute Estate;
- museums; and
- other public authorities.

Those categories were deliberately not restricted to objects which had subsequently been accessioned by the Museum.

The review states:

"As no such objects were identified as having been acquired by the Museum, no associated acquisition, provenance, ownership, loan, disposal or related correspondence concerning such objects was identified."

That reasoning addresses correspondence attached to an identified accessioned object. It does not establish that correspondence was searched for independently of an accession record.

For example, an enquiry concerning an item, a communication about possible provenance, a request to identify an object, a discussion concerning temporary custody, a disposal enquiry, a communication with another institution, or correspondence about the contents of a property could exist without the item ever becoming an accessioned Museum object.

Accordingly, the fact that no accessioned object was identified does not itself establish that no such correspondence existed or was held.

The subsequent statement:

"The review did not identify evidence that the Museum holds correspondence concerning the identification, ownership, recovery or location of Great House Farm furniture or household effects."

still does not establish whether the relevant correspondence repositories were actually searched.

4. Search terms

My internal-review request set out specific terms and variants and asked the Museum to confirm whether those terms had been used.

The review now states only:

"appropriate search terms and variants were used"

and refers generally to:

"location names, property names, family names and associated variants".

That does not confirm whether the specific terms identified in my request were searched.

In particular, the review does not say whether searches included combinations or variants involving:

"Bute Estate", "Bute", "Cardiff Castle", "Cardiff Council", "household effects", "contents", "dispersal", "recovery", "transfer", "demolition", "provenance", "ownership"

and the other terms specifically identified in my 14 August correspondence.

The distinction matters because a search for a property name or family name is not necessarily equivalent to a search for correspondence concerning the dispersal, recovery, transfer or ownership of its contents.

5. Transfer, disposal and destruction

My request also asked what evidential basis existed for the earlier statement that the Museum was not aware of relevant records having been transferred to another institution or destroyed.

The review now says:

"The statement that the Museum is not aware of relevant records having been transferred or destroyed reflects the outcome of the searches undertaken and the knowledge of relevant collections staff."

This combines two different things: documentary searches and institutional recollection.

It does not tell me whether the Museum searched:

- transfer or accession-out records;
- disposal records;
- retention and destruction records;
- archival transfer documentation; or
- other records capable of establishing whether material had previously been transferred or destroyed.

There is an important distinction between:

"no record of transfer or destruction was identified in the records searched"

and:

"there is no evidence that any transfer or destruction occurred".

The review does not make that distinction sufficiently clear.

6. Searches concerning external institutions

The original request expressly contemplated records concerning Cardiff Council, Cardiff Castle, the Bute Estate and other external bodies.

The review states:

"Searches were not limited solely to object catalogue records."

That is helpful, but it still does not identify what non-catalogue repositories were searched.

For example, it does not identify whether searches were made of curator correspondence, departmental files, donor correspondence, acquisition/disposal correspondence, provenance files, loan files, institutional correspondence indexes, or other historical administrative records in which communications with external institutions might have been recorded.

Again, the issue is not whether the Museum considers the search reasonable. It is whether the relevant classes of records were actually searched.

7. The significance of the "balance of probabilities" conclusion

I note the review's conclusion that, "on the balance of probabilities", the Museum does not hold recorded information within the scope of the request.

I do not dispute that a negative FOI determination may ultimately be reached on that basis.

However, the balance-of-probabilities conclusion necessarily depends upon the quality, scope and rigour of the searches on which it is based. The ICO's guidance states that, where a requester disputes whether relevant information has been located, the authority should be able to provide a reasoned and detailed account of how it determined that further information was not held, including the areas searched, staff consulted and, for electronic searches, the keywords, accounts and time parameters used.

My concern remains that the review repeatedly substitutes statements such as "we are satisfied", "appropriate", "reasonably capable" and "on the balance of probabilities" for the underlying factual information about what was actually searched.

I therefore consider the review outcome insufficiently informative on the specific search methodology raised in my review request.

I reserve my right to refer the handling of FOI 2026-020 and the internal review to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Separate new FOI request

Separately from the above, I am now making a new request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

This new request is deliberately limited to recorded information which your own correspondence confirms was identified or generated in connection with the searches already undertaken.

Please provide:

A. Records identified

The "small number of records referring generally to Great House Farm, Llandough" identified during the additional enquiries referred to in your email of 14 August 2026 and the internal review outcome of 8 September 2026.

For each record, please provide, where recorded:

- title or description;
- date;
- collection, series or department;
- system or repository;
- reference, accession or record number; and
- a copy of the record, subject to any applicable exemption.

If any part of a record is exempt, please identify the exemption relied upon and provide the remainder where reasonably practicable.

Limb A is confined to the records your 14 August and 8 September letters say were identified in the FOI 2026-020 additional enquiries. It is not a new collection-wide search. If any of those records are also in scope of FOI 2026-032 or FOI 2026-036, please schedule them once and cross-refer. Please do not refuse this request as a duplicate.

B. Existing search records

Any recorded information already held concerning the searches undertaken for FOI 2026-020 or its internal review, including any existing:

- search notes;
- search logs;
- search checklists;
- system lists;
- search-term lists;
- IT tickets or instructions;
- archived-system enquiries;
- staff search records; or
- other contemporaneous records documenting the searches undertaken.

I am asking only for recorded information already held. I am not asking the Museum to create a new narrative or retrospective report.

If no such search records are held, please state that expressly.

Please register this as a new FOI request and provide it with its own reference number. It is not a further internal review of FOI 2026-020, nor is it a request to reopen or amend FOI 2026-032 or FOI 2026-036.

I would therefore be grateful if this request could be processed separately and not treated as a clarification or continuation of those matters.

Regards,

Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)
Royal Signals Cyber and Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member

Note: This email also makes a new request (limbs A and B) for the records identified in the FOI 2026-020 searches.

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 27 July 2026, 01:21 UTC
Subject: FOI - Great House Farm, Llandough
Attachments: 1 image (1000006308.jpg) — the published local-history page cited

Dear Freedom of Information Team,

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and, where applicable, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

A published local history account states that, during works to replace the stone floor of the dining room at Great House Farm (also known as Ty Mawr), Llandough, Cardiff, the remains of a soldier and his horse were discovered beneath the floor.

The remains were subsequently re-buried in the churchyard, and the soldier's visor and lance were given to the National Museum of Wales (Amgueddfa Cymru).

I therefore request the following recorded information held by Amgueddfa Cymru:

Any records relating to the acquisition, accession, donation, transfer or deposit of a medieval visor, lance, helmet, or other items of armour associated with Great House Farm / Ty Mawr / Llandough.

The accession number(s), date of acquisition or transfer, name of the donor or transferring body, and any provenance or discovery notes linked to these objects.

Any catalogue entries, object records, or internal correspondence concerning the above items.

Any records of associated human or animal remains from the same discovery, including notes on reburial.

Any related excavation, watching-brief, or discovery reports held by the Museum.

If any of the requested information is already publicly available (for example via the Museum's online collections database), I would be grateful if you could simply provide the relevant accession numbers or catalogue links.

Please treat this as a request for recorded information only. I am not seeking advice or opinion.

I look forward to your response within the statutory timescale.

Yours faithfully,

Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 27 July 2026, 14:58 UTC
Subject: Ref 2026/024 - FOI - Great House Farm, Llandough

Dear Sion

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request, received on 27th July.

We are processing your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The statutory deadline for responding is 20 working days from the date of receipt. We therefore aim to provide a response by 24th August 2026.

If we require any clarification in order to process your request, we will contact you.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
Amgueddfa Cymru

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 25 August 2026, 07:25 UTC
Subject: FOI - 2026-024 - Great House Farm, Llandough

Dear Mr Buckler,

Thank you for your request for information received on 27 July 2026 concerning records relating to a reported discovery at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough, including a soldier, horse remains and items described as a visor and lance.

Amgueddfa Cymru has undertaken searches of its collections management systems, accession records and associated documentation.

We have not identified any records relating to the acquisition, accession, donation, transfer or deposit of a medieval visor, lance, helmet or other item of armour associated with Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough. We have also not identified records relating to the specific discovery described in your request, including records of associated human or animal remains, reburial records, excavation reports, watching briefs or discovery reports.

Accordingly, under section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, our response is that Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold the requested information.

For completeness, our searches identified records relating to other archaeological finds from Church Farm, Llandough and to other archaeological discoveries recorded at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough. These records do not relate to, nor are they otherwise associated with, the discovery described in your request. We have therefore not considered them to fall within the scope of this request.

If you are dissatisfied with this response, you may request an internal review by writing to the FOI Requests mailbox within 40 working days of the date of this letter.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
Amgueddfa Cymru

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 26 August 2026, 06:24 UTC
Subject: Re: FOI - 2026-024 - Great House Farm, Llandough — internal review request

Dear FOI Team,

Thank you for your response.

I am requesting an internal review of the handling of my request. I do not consider the response sufficient because it appears that the searches were conducted too narrowly around the later description of a "medieval visor, lance, helmet or other item of armour", rather than around the underlying historical discovery at Great House Farm itself.

The issue I am investigating is a reported nineteenth-century discovery at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough. My understanding from contemporary or near-contemporary newspaper and historical accounts is that the discovery was described as involving the remains of a Roman soldier, with associated remains and objects. The dating and description of the individual objects as "medieval" may therefore itself be inaccurate, or may represent a later conflation or retelling of the original discovery.

Your response is particularly significant because it states:

"Our searches identified records relating to ... other archaeological discoveries recorded at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough. These records do not relate to, nor are they otherwise associated with, the discovery described in your request. We have therefore not considered them to fall within the scope of this request."

I respectfully challenge that approach.

The central question is precisely whether the discovery described in later historical accounts can be identified, corroborated, corrected or explained through the Museum's records concerning archaeological discoveries at Great House Farm. If the Museum has identified records relating to other discoveries at the same historically significant site, it is not sufficient simply to conclude internally that they are unrelated without disclosing what those discoveries are, when they were recorded, and the basis upon which that conclusion was reached.

I therefore request that the internal review reconsider the scope of my request and undertake searches using, at minimum, the following terms and concepts: Great House Farm; Ty Mawr; Llandough; Llandough, Cardiff; Roman soldier; Roman burial; Roman grave; Roman remains; human remains; skeleton; horse remains; equine remains; soldier and horse; cavalry burial; military burial; grave goods; Roman military equipment; visor; helmet; lance; spear; armour; archaeological discovery; nineteenth-century discovery; 1870 and adjacent years.

Please also search for relevant records under alternative historical place-name indexing, donor names, findspot descriptions, parish names and catalogue terminology where the precise modern name "Great House Farm" may not have been used.

Most importantly, I ask that you disclose sufficient information about the "other archaeological discoveries" which your searches identified at Great House Farm to enable me to understand and assess the Museum's conclusion that they are unrelated. This should include, so far as held:

1. A description or title of each relevant discovery or record.
2. The approximate date of the discovery or record.
3. The nature of the material or remains involved.
4. Any accession number, catalogue number or archival reference.
5. The recorded provenance or findspot.
6. Any dating attributed to the discovery.
7. The basis upon which Amgueddfa Cymru concluded that each record was unrelated to the nineteenth-century discovery described in my request.

I am not asking the Museum to create new archaeological opinions or undertake speculative research. I am asking for recorded information which has already been identified during the searches and which directly concerns archaeological discoveries at the specific site named in my request.

If the Museum maintains that any of those records fall outside the original scope, then please treat this email additionally as a refined request for the recorded information identified above.

I would also ask the reviewer to consider whether the original response gave insufficient weight to the possibility that the historical account may have inaccurately dated or described the find. A search which excludes Roman, nineteenth-century, burial and equine terminology risks missing the very records capable of establishing what was actually discovered beneath Great House Farm.

Given that your searches have already identified records concerning archaeological discoveries at Great House Farm itself, I would be grateful for a full reconsideration and disclosure of the recorded information requested above.

Yours faithfully,

Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)
Royal Signals Cyber and Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 26 August 2026, 09:56 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI - 2026-024 - Great House Farm, Llandough — internal review accepted; new request FOI 2026-032 registered

Dear Mr Buckler

Thank you for your email requesting an internal review of our response to FOI 2026-024.

Internal Review
We have accepted your request for an internal review of FOI 2026-024.

The purpose of an internal review is to consider whether Amgueddfa Cymru handled the original request appropriately, including whether:

- the request was interpreted correctly;
- reasonable and proportionate searches were undertaken;
- relevant information held by the Museum was identified and considered; and
- the response complied with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The internal review process is not ordinarily intended to redefine or broaden the scope of the original request, nor to conduct new searches solely on the basis of additional search terms or lines of enquiry proposed after the original response has been issued.
Nevertheless, the reviewer will consider the points raised in your correspondence when assessing whether the original request was interpreted appropriately and whether the searches undertaken were reasonable in the circumstances.

We aim to provide the outcome of the internal review within 20 working days of receipt of your request. If, exceptionally, we are unable to conclude the review within that period, we will write to you again explaining the position.

Additional Information Request
Your email also requests information concerning other archaeological discoveries recorded at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough, including details of those discoveries and the records identified during our searches. We consider this element of your correspondence to be a new request for recorded information, distinct from FOI 2026-024.

We have therefore registered this as a separate Freedom of Information request, ref FOI 2026-32.

Under section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, we will respond to that request within 20 working days of receipt. Based on the date your correspondence was received, we aim to respond to the new request by 23 September 2026.

The internal review and the new request will be considered separately and may result in separate responses.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
Amgueddfa Cymru

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 22 September 2026, 09:24 UTC
Subject: FOI Internal Review - 2026-024 - Great House Farm, Llandough

Dear Mr Buckler

Thank you for your request for an internal review of Amgueddfa Cymru's response to your Freedom of Information request concerning a reported archaeological discovery at Great House Farm, Llandough.

I have now completed my review of the handling of your request, including the searches undertaken and the concerns raised in your request for review.

Having reviewed the original request, the searches conducted and the response provided, I am satisfied that the request was handled appropriately and that reasonable and proportionate searches were undertaken in those locations where information falling within the scope of the request would reasonably be expected to be held.

In your request for review, you suggest that additional searches should have been undertaken using a wider range of terms and concepts, including references to Roman burials, military burials, cavalry burials, human remains, horse remains and other archaeological terminology. I have carefully considered this point. However, when assessing whether information is held for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the relevant issue is not whether every conceivable search term has been used, but whether the authority has undertaken searches that are reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances and reasonably likely to identify relevant information if held.

Your request concerned a specific reported discovery at a named location. Accordingly, the location identified in the request was used as the primary search criterion. Searches were undertaken across Amgueddfa Cymru's information holdings where records relating to acquisitions, accessions, archaeological finds, provenance information and associated correspondence would reasonably be expected to be held. This included collections management systems, accession records, archived documentation, shared electronic records and other organisational record repositories.

Records identified through those searches were reviewed by collections staff and the FOI team to determine whether they related to the reported discovery described in your request. As the search methodology was location-based rather than focused on a particular object type, archaeological period or interpretation, it was reasonably likely of identifying relevant records regardless of whether associated material had been recorded as Roman, medieval or otherwise. I have therefore considered your suggestion that later historical accounts may have inaccurately described the nature, date or attribution of the reported discovery. I am satisfied that this possibility would not have affected the outcome of the searches undertaken.

I have also considered whether broader keyword searches would have been appropriate. Given the scale and diversity of Amgueddfa Cymru's collections and records, generic terms such as "horse", "burial" or "skeleton" would retrieve large volumes of records relating to many different sites and periods and would not provide a reliable or proportionate means of locating records relating to a specific reported discovery at a named location. I am satisfied that the location-based search strategy adopted was the most appropriate and proportionate approach.

The searches undertaken did not identify any records relating to:
* the acquisition, accession, donation, transfer or deposit of a visor, lance, helmet, armour or related objects associated with the discovery described in your request;
* associated human or animal remains connected with that discovery;
* reburial records relating to that discovery; or
* excavation reports, discovery reports or watching-brief records relating to the discovery described in your request.

Having reviewed both the scope of the original request and the searches undertaken, I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that, if information relating to the reported discovery were held by Amgueddfa Cymru, those searches would have been likely to identify it.

You also raised concerns regarding the reference in the original response to other archaeological records identified during the course of the searches. Those records were reviewed and were not considered to relate to, or otherwise be associated with, the reported discovery described in your request. However, I can confirm that this aspect has been subject to further consideration and a separate response will be issued in relation to those records.

I therefore uphold the original conclusion that Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold recorded information falling within the scope of your request.

This concludes Amgueddfa Cymru's internal review process. If you remain dissatisfied, you may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office under section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 8 September 2026, 03:04 UTC
Subject: Great House Farm, Llandough, Cardiff

FOI Team,

This is a new request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It is not a repeat of FOI 2026-024 and it is not a comment on the internal review of that request.

In your letter of 25 August 2026 (FOI 2026-024) you stated:

“For completeness, our searches identified records relating to other archaeological finds from Church Farm, Llandough and to other archaeological discoveries recorded at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough. These records do not relate to, nor are they otherwise associated with, the discovery described in your request. We have therefore not considered them to fall within the scope of this request.”

I now request those records.

Please provide:

1. A schedule of every object, archive file, accession, loan, enquiry or correspondence record that Amgueddfa Cymru holds which is indexed, provenanced or otherwise recorded as from Great House Farm / Ty Mawr / Llandough Farm, Llandough (Penarth / Vale of Glamorgan). For each entry: accession or archive number, object or file title, date of acquisition or creation, donor or excavator if recorded, and a one-line description.

2. The same schedule for Church Farm, Llandough, but only so far as the records were retrieved in the 2026-024 search and can be identified without a new full trawl.

3. Any accession, register entry, day-book, donations book or correspondence in the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru or of its predecessor Cardiff Museum / Welsh Museum of Natural History / National Museum of Wales, dated 1875–1915, recording ironwork, armour, a visor, a lance, a helmet, “armour from Llandough”, or a find from Great House / Llandough Farm.

Published sources which state that such ironwork is in the National Museum, and which therefore make a search of predecessor registers reasonable, are:

• GGAT, Land at Great House Farm, Llandough: An Archaeological Assessment, August 1990 (planning file 89/01396/OUT and 92/00671/RES): “it is likely that some medieval ironwork which is held by the National Museum of Wales was discovered under the rear wing c 1880 (RCAHMW 1988).”

• Holbrook & Thomas, Medieval Archaeology 49 (2005), p. 70 n. 142: “medieval ironwork was discovered under the rear wing of Great House Farm
c. 1880. It is now in the collections of the National Museums & Galleries of Wales.”

I note that the National Museum of Wales was not founded until 1907. If a find of c.1880 entered a public collection in Cardiff it would have done so through the earlier municipal museum. Please search those predecessor accession registers, not only the post-1907 NMW database.

4. Any object record for Llandough ironwork that is not labelled “visor” or “lance” but is or was associated with the farmhouse floor or rear wing / dairy (the room identified on H. J. Thomas’s 1974 RCAHMW plan).

Please treat this as a request for recorded information only.

Regards,

Sion Buckler
hywelapbuckler@gmail.com

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 8 September 2026, 09:08 UTC
Subject: FOI: 2026-036 - Great House Farm, Llandough, Cardiff

Dear Mr Buckler

Thank you for your email.

I note that this request covers the same subject matter as FOI:2026-032 and extends the scope of the information requested in that case.

In order to avoid duplication and ensure that we provide a single, comprehensive response, our intention is to treat FOI:2026-036 as replacing FOI:2026-032 and to close FOI:2026-032 accordingly.

Unless we hear from you to the contrary within the next few working days, we will proceed on that basis and respond to the broader request contained in FOI:2026-036.

Please note that your request for an internal review of FOI:2026-024 remains a separate matter and will continue to be considered independently.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 8 September 2026, 12:17 UTC
Subject: Re: FOI: 2026-036 - Great House Farm, Llandough, Cardiff

FOI Team,

Thank you for your email concerning FOI:2026-036.

I do not agree that FOI:2026-032 should be closed or treated as replaced.

The three matters are distinct and should remain so.

Internal review of FOI 2026-024
This remains a review of how the original 27 July request was interpreted and searched. I confirm it is separate. Nothing in FOI:2026-036 is a comment on that review.

FOI 2026-032 (your letter of 26 August 2026; also written by you as FOI 2026-32) This is the request you yourselves extracted from my 26 August email. Its subject is the records your searches for FOI 2026-024 had already identified: the “other archaeological discoveries recorded at Great House Farm (Ty Mawr), Llandough” and the Church Farm, Llandough finds which you excluded from 2026-024 as out of scope. You registered that as a new request and gave a response date of 23 September 2026. That request has not been withdrawn. Those records have already been located. They do not require a new collection-wide trawl.

FOI:2026-036 (my email of 8 September 2026). This is a new request. It is not a restatement of 2026-032. It has additional limbs:

a schedule of every object, archive file, accession, loan, enquiry or correspondence record indexed, provenanced or otherwise recorded as from Great House Farm / Ty Mawr / Llandough Farm;

the Church Farm schedule only so far as already retrieved in the 2026-024 search, and without a new full trawl;

predecessor accession, register, day-book, donations-book and correspondence searches for 1875–1915 (Cardiff Museum / Welsh Museum of Natural History / National Museum of Wales) for ironwork, armour, visor, lance, helmet, “armour from Llandough”, or a find from Great House / Llandough Farm;

object records for Llandough ironwork not labelled “visor” or “lance” but associated with the farmhouse floor or rear wing / dairy.

If it assists you administratively, I have no objection to a single letter that answers both 2026-032 and 2026-036, provided that:
a. FOI 2026-032 is not closed, withdrawn or treated as superseded;

b. the records already identified in the 2026-024 search are scheduled and disclosed as a discrete part of that letter, and that part is provided by the date you gave for 2026-032 (23 September 2026);

c. the additional limbs of 2026-036 remain live and are answered on the 2026-036 timescale;

d. the two requests are not aggregated so as to refuse either under section 12;
e. the internal review of FOI 2026-024 continues independently.

The purpose of 2026-036 was to obtain the records you had already found and set aside, together with the predecessor-register and full-site schedule work that 2026-024 did not cover. It was not an invitation to extinguish 2026-032 or to restart the clock on material already retrieved.

Please confirm that FOI 2026-032 remains open on the terms above.

Regards,

Sion Buckler
hywelapbuckler@gmail.com

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 8 September 2026, 13:14 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI: 2026-036 - Great House Farm, Llandough, Cardiff

Dear Mr Buckler

Thank you for your email.

I note your position and can confirm that FOI:2026-032 will remain open and will be processed separately from FOI:2026-036.

In all honesty, my suggestion that FOI:2026-036 replace FOI:2026-032 was not made with a view to aggregating the requests or considering the application of a section 12 exemption. It was intended as an administrative measure to avoid duplication of work and correspondence for a small collections team where two requests cover substantially the same subject matter.

However, I note that you wish the requests to remain separate and we will proceed on that basis.

Also, to confirm, the internal review of FOI:2026-024 will continue independently.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 9 September 2026, 16:12 UTC
Subject: FOI: 2026-036 - Great House Farm, Llandough, Cardiff

Diolch,

I myself am at the mercy of having to leave no stone unturned with this and must explore all avenues because much has eventually come to light, but not easily with other institutions.

I have encountered parties trying opt out of FOI even GDPR and SAR. Then trying to refer me to other agencies before conducting a search. Then total denial any result were found. Even lying to me. Then a search but negligent and incompetently. Then I've actually had to show snippeted of my copies of records they should hold. Then I've had to insist on internal reviews to be sure of what was searched matched what I asked. I've even had conditional acceptances whereby even my last employer, of my last of my 22 years in Oath, the Vale of Glamorgan Council, asked for what I had before they'd show me what they had. Or other oddities.

I know with what happened in the last century with our farmhouse involved a lot of scandle, in order to disposses us of our country treasure 800 year old home, which we owned, before being removed by force from the land we still own, and demolishing our home since 1667 to develop 20 houses in its place, which the entire community petitioned when the plan was just 13 houses, and on a roman villa and monestry and medieval burial site, which authories knew full well was there. I'm just trying to get answers for my family and to understand what exactly happened in a fact find and on an evidence basis. But the Llandough councillors refusal to respond and the non response from MPs is a further outrage on what is already a very sensitive subject. My surviving family who didn't die in mysterious ways at convenient times during all this, have been too terrified to speak up or out again about any of this, living like hostages under the occupying British, suffering in silence for the last 38 straight years. And the land registry responses also raise more questions. Many local authorities take the maximum time to respond at each interval. Our family are having to re-live a horrendous ordeal, to even say anything about our home and lands true history and herritage and the defective title upon which 20 family homes now exist.

The narrative and public records are all very wrong and misleading and deceiving. I have corroborating family testimony confirming records were removed/ stolen and not just from our home but the public library. Many institutions report gaps in records and cannot account for destroyed/ missing records.

So I thank you in advance for your co-operation in this matter. I believe a collective effort will mean a lot should the Senedd authorise a public enquiry or my family get justice. But this was and still is a matter of national public interest.

Marconi was staying with us at our home there, in 1897, while conducting the successful experiment of radio at Lavernock Point. Meanwhile Cardiff Council refuse to even put the inventors name on the statue of the radio at Cardiff Bay because Cardiff is now a city of sanctuary and Marconi was right wing politically. And alledgedly an anti semite, but my research from that also suggests that wasn't the case. I'm actually having to depend on Germanies spy's accounts of what happened between my family and Marconi due to the Brit'ish States concealment and rewriting of history.

We should remember, especially as Welsh under British occupancy and rule, that the British Establishment invented concentration work camps. And is renowned for ethnically cleansing entire races of indigenous. What my family and our history and herritage and culture and language were subjected to for the last century, was nothing short of that.

I enclose for your interest ITV footage, unaired/ gatekept, of our home being looted of all our furniture we got from Cardiff Castle. While my baby sister was made to watch. It's believed the BP Bailiffs were in fact undercover soldiers.

The complete story and chronology has not been told. It appears to begin with Cedwyn the giant/ St Cedwyn. A 2,200 year old iron age round house.

The 1820 church wasn't the first built. And I find it highly suspect CADW rejected our 800 year old county treasure home next door, from receiving Grade II listing status so it couldn't be demolished, whereas the church, also rebuilt again in the 1840's I believe, was awarded Grade II in 1989.

There's not even a park bench plaque to Marconi there or a tourist information board for the rich history and herritage. Church View Close, Llandough constitutes a terrorist cell/ network/ concentration work camp. This should be an outrage to any historian. Which isn't my field, I'm just a military cyber warfare professional.

Regards,

Sion

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 5 October 2026, 13:04 UTC
Subject: FW: 2026-036- Great House Farm, Llandough, Cardiff
Attachments: 63-24 letter.pdf; 63.24.1.pdf; 63.24.2.pdf

Dear Mr Buckler

Thank you for your request.

Amgueddfa Cymru has previously responded to requests concerning Great House Farm / Ty Mawr / Llandough Farm, Llandough, including FOI 2026-024 and FOI 2026-032. In responding to the present request, further enquiries were undertaken with Archaeology, Industry and Social History Collections. These enquiries built upon the searches already undertaken for the earlier requests.

Collections staff reviewed records identified through references to Great House Farm, Ty Mawr and Llandough Farm, Llandough (Vale of Glamorgan), together with records returned through associated place-name searches. Records relating to the wider Llandough area, to other locations sharing the name "Llandough", or to other properties bearing the name "Great House Farm" were reviewed but were not considered to relate to the location specified in your request.

Question 1
A schedule of every object, archive file, accession, loan, enquiry or correspondence record that Amgueddfa Cymru holds which is indexed, provenanced or otherwise recorded as from Great House Farm / Ty Mawr / Llandough Farm, Llandough (Penarth / Vale of Glamorgan).
The schedules provided in response to FOI 2026-032 contained the records previously identified as relating to the location specified in your request.
The additional enquiries undertaken for this request identified the following records:
Reference
Title
Date
Description
Ref 13.2
Waterwheel from Llandough Farm
Collected 1 April 1979
Waterwheel collected from Llandough Farm. Museum records state that the item was donated by Wales and West Housing Association in connection with development of the site. The item was never formally accessioned and has subsequently been deaccessioned.
MS 3360/3
Particulars, Conditions and Plans of the Sale of Nine Well-Known Farms in the Vale of Glamorgan forming part of the Llandough Estate
1924
Photostat copy. Collections staff identified a page relating to Great House Farm within the document. Provided in FOI: 2026-032
No further records relating specifically to Great House Farm / Ty Mawr / Llandough Farm, Llandough were identified.

Question 2
The same schedule for Church Farm, Llandough, but only insofar as records were retrieved during the searches undertaken for FOI 2026-024 and can be identified without a new full search.
The record identified is:
Reference
Title
Description
63.24
Archaeological accession
Details attached
No further records were identified from the material retrieved during the searches undertaken for FOI 2026-024.

Question 3
Any accession, register entry, day-book, donations book or correspondence in the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru or of its predecessor Cardiff Museum / Welsh Museum of Natural History / National Museum of Wales, dated 1875-1915, recording ironwork, armour, a visor, a lance, a helmet, "armour from Llandough", or a find from Great House / Llandough Farm.
No such records were identified.

For clarification, the accession registers maintained by Cardiff Museum form the earliest accession registers of the National Museum of Wales collection. Objects held by Cardiff Museum were not re-accessioned when responsibility for the collections transferred to the National Museum of Wales and the accession numbering sequence continued uninterrupted. Searches of the earliest accession registers therefore encompass the former Cardiff Museum accession records.

As part of the enquiries undertaken in response to this request and previous requests concerning the same location, accession records and associated collections documentation were reviewed for the objects and locations specified above. No accession record, register entry, day-book entry, donations book entry or correspondence dated between 1875 and 1915 relating to finds from Great House Farm, Ty Mawr or Llandough Farm was identified.

Question 4
Any object record for Llandough ironwork that is not labelled "visor" or "lance" but is or was associated with the farmhouse floor or rear wing / dairy.
No such records were identified.

Archaeology Collections have confirmed that they hold no record of any additional ironwork from Llandough associated with the farmhouse floor, rear wing or dairy beyond material already considered in previous responses concerning this location.

I hope this information is helpful.

If you are dissatisfied with the way your request has been handled, you may request an internal review. Requests for an internal review should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of this response.

If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for a decision. The ICO can be contacted at www.ico.org.uk.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

Note: The two schedules in this email were tables; their cells are shown one per line as they appear in the plain-text email.

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 22 September 2026, 10:42 UTC
Subject: FOI - 2026-032 - Great House Farm, Llandough
Attachments: FOI 2026-032 - 1924.jpeg; FOI 2026-032 - burial data.pdf; FOI 2026-032 - Filling the gaps.pdf; FOI 2026-032 - Llandough excavation.pdf; FOI 2026-032 - PAS finds.pdf; FOI 2026-032 - Roman Villa LLandough.pdf; FOI 2026-032 - Timeline Doc by Sion Bucklet.pdf; Llandough 82-44H details.xlsx; Llandough 95-56H details.xlsx; FOI - 2026-032 - explanatory doc.docx; Llandough 95-56H list.xls; Llandough 82.44H list.xls

Dear Mr Buckler

Thank you for your request for information, registered as FOI 2026-032.

As explained in our previous correspondence, this request has been considered separately from the internal review relating to FOI 2026-024.

We have identified a number of records relating to archaeological discoveries recorded at Great House Farm and Church Farm, both at Llandough. These records were identified during searches undertaken in connection with the earlier request but were not considered to fall within the scope of that request, which concerned a specific reported discovery.

We have now reviewed those records for the purposes of your new request.

Attached are copies of the relevant records. Certain information has been redacted from the disclosed records under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, where it comprises the personal data of third parties. Disclosure of that information would contravene the data protection principles set out in UK data protection legislation.

To assist interpretation, we have also included a brief descriptor for each record, together with any available reference or catalogue information held within the Museum's records.

Further to these documents, we have also identified some publicly available records which I have referenced below.

An Early-medieval Monastic Cemetery at Llandough, Glamorgan: Excavations in 1994: Medieval Archaeology: Vol 49 , No 1 - Get Access<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1179/007660905x54044?needAccess=true>

Highlight 5: Llandough early medieval cemetery, Glamorgan (1994) - Cotswold Archaeology<https://cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/highlight-5-llandough-early-medieval-cemetery-glamorgan-1994/>

Please note that the provision of these records should not be taken as indicating any association between them and the discovery you have described in FOI 2026-024. The records are being disclosed in response to your separate request for information relating to other archaeological discoveries recorded at the site.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of this request, you may request an internal review within 40 working days of this response.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

Note: FOI 2026-032 was registered by the Museum from the family's internal-review email of 26 August 2026 (transcribed under FOI 2026-024 above).

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 27 September 2026, 04:16 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI - 2026-032 - Great House Farm, Llandough

Dear FOI Team,

FOI 2026-032

Diolch yn fawr. Thank you for the records, the descriptors and the published references. This is a thorough response and it is genuinely useful.

One correction of place is required.

The request concerns Great House Farm (Tŷ Mawr), Llandough near Penarth / Cardiff. Among the disclosed PAS material is at least one record for a different property of the same name: Great House Farm, Llandough near Cowbridge (including 2022.18.1, NGR SS9934672805, medieval lead Romanesque mount). There is also a Great House farm entry at Llandow. Those are not the site named in the request. Two Llandoughs, and more than one Great House Farm, sit in the same county. The homonym is easy to miss and material.

Please treat the Cowbridge / Llandow entries as out of scope for this request unless you hold recorded information showing they were, at any time, indexed, cited, or treated as if they related to Great House Farm, Llandough (Penarth / Cardiff). If any such cross-attribution exists in historic files, catalogues, correspondence, or search notes, that recorded information is within scope and I ask that it be disclosed.

If labels or findspot fields are now amended to distinguish the two farms, please do not overwrite the original wording without retaining the prior form. I ask that any correction be recorded as a dated amendment, with the earlier descriptor preserved, so the sequence of how the records stood when searches were first run remains inspectable. Please do not destroy, weed, or replace the versions as disclosed on 22 September 2026.

One small point from my email of 26 August also remains. As item 7 I asked for any recorded information showing the basis on which the Museum concluded that the identified records were unrelated to the reported nineteenth-century discovery. If that conclusion was reached by staff judgement and not written down, please simply confirm that no recorded information is held on that point. I am not asking for a new opinion.

Could you also confirm the date by which you expect to respond to FOI 2026-036?

Cofion,

Sion Buckler
greathousefarmwiki.wordpress.com

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 28 September 2026, 07:13 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI - 2026-032 - Great House Farm, Llandough

Mr Buckler

Thank you for your email.

Just to clarify, our collections management system records items individually and does not group records together based on similar place names. We are not aware of any recorded information showing that records for Great House Farm, Llandough (near Cowbridge) or Great House Farm, Llandow were ever catalogued or treated within the collections system as relating to Great House Farm, Llandough (near Penarth/Cardiff). The references to similarly named locations arose from our searches for information relevant to your request, rather than from any overlap within the collections records themselves.

In relation to item 7 of your email of 26 August, we do not hold any separate recorded information explaining the basis on which staff concluded that the identified records were unrelated to the reported nineteenth-century discovery. That conclusion was reached through staff assessment of the available records, and no further recorded information is held.

I hope this helps clarify our position.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 28 September 2026, 07:17 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI - 2026-032 - Great House Farm, Llandough

Apologies, regarding FOI: 2026-036, we aim to provide a response by 6th October.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 7 October 2026, 04:29 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI 2026-036 – Great House Farm, Llandough – filtered schedule still not supplied; unanswered points from FOI 2026-032 correction

Dear FOI Team,

FOI 2026-036 – response of 5 October 2026

Thank you for the letter. I note the additional records identified (Ref 13.2 waterwheel and the page of MS 3360/3).

What remains unanswered
On 27 September I corrected the place names in the FOI 2026-032 pack, identifying at least PAS 2022.18.1 (NGR SS9934672805) and a separate Great House Farm entry at Llandow as belonging to different properties. Your reply of 28 September accepted the distinction: the collections system does not group by similar names, no recorded cross-attribution is held, and those hits arose from the search rather than catalogue overlap.

The 5 October letter does not supply a cleaned / filtered schedule showing which of the FOI 2026-032 items survive that filter. Until that is provided, the cross-reference still carries the Cowbridge and Llandow material. That is the point left open on 28 September and still open now.

What you have not said
You have not stated, item by item, which of the earlier schedule entries are now excluded as relating to Great House Farm near Cowbridge or Great House Farm, Llandow. You have not confirmed the parish of the page of MS 3360/3 that you identify as relating to Great House Farm (which Llandough, and any vendor / tenant / acreage / parcel detail that identifies the holding). You have not confirmed whether Ref 13.2 (waterwheel collected 1 April 1979 from “Llandough Farm”, donor Wales and West Housing Association) is recorded as the Penarth site opposite the hospital, or as the farmhouse demolished by BP on 6 December 1988.

Please therefore supply:
1. A filtered schedule of the FOI 2026-032 records that remain after exclusion of all items relating to Great House Farm / Llandough near Cowbridge and to Great House Farm, Llandow. For each surviving entry: accession or archive number, title, date, and one-line description.
2. Explicit parish confirmation for the page of MS 3360/3 identified as relating to Great House Farm: which Llandough, and any vendor / tenant / acreage / parcel detail that identifies the holding.
3. Confirmation whether Ref 13.2 is recorded as the Penarth site opposite the hospital, or as the farmhouse demolished by BP on 6 December 1988.

These are requests for recorded information already within the searches undertaken. I am not seeking new searches or opinions. The unanswered point is the filter that you accepted was necessary on 28 September but have not yet applied in a disclosed schedule.

Cofion,

Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)
Royal Signals Cyber/Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 7 October 2026, 07:11 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI 2026-036 – Great House Farm, Llandough – filtered schedule still not supplied; unanswered points from FOI 2026-032 correction

Dear Mr Buckler

Thank you for your email.

In relation to the filtered schedule, Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold a separate recorded document identifying, item by item, which search results were excluded following review. Search results were reviewed by staff to determine whether they related to the location specified in your request, and the outcome of that review was reflected in our response of 5 October 2026. We do not hold a separate audit schedule of those decisions.

In relation to MS 3360/3, the relevant page was previously supplied in response to FOI 2026-032. That page records that "Great House" formed part of the Llandough Estate sale particulars of 1924, was occupied by W.G. Thomas & Sons, comprised approximately 202 acres, was situated in the Parish of Llanfair, and describes the homestead as being situated in the Village of Llandough. No additional recorded information identifying the holding has been identified within the material reviewed.

In relation to Ref 13.2, the collections record describes the item as a "Waterwheel from Llandough Farm (opposite hospital)". No further location information has been identified within the record.

We trust this clarifies the position.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 7 October 2026, 17:10 UTC
Subject: Re: FOI 2026-036 – Great House Farm, Llandough – filtered schedule still not supplied; unanswered points from FOI 2026-032 correction

FOI Team,

Thank you for the clarification.

Your email of 7 October materially clarifies the position, and I have now corrected my records to distinguish the different Llandough farmsteads.

Ref 13.2 — Llandough Farm opposite the hospital

I understand and accept the distinction in your catalogue description:

“Waterwheel from Llandough Farm (opposite hospital)”

This refers to the separate Llandough Farm in the Llandough near Penarth/Cardiff locality, not to Great House Farm / Tŷ Mawr. I am not seeking to attribute the waterwheel to Great House Farm.

I will therefore treat Ref 13.2 as a separate Llandough Farm record unless a primary Museum record expressly establishes otherwise.

MS 3360/3 — Great House / Llandough Estate

The more significant clarification is the information you have now supplied from MS 3360/3.

You state that the page records that:

- “Great House” formed part of the Llandough Estate sale particulars of 1924;
- it was occupied by W.G. Thomas & Sons;
- it comprised approximately 202 acres;
- it was situated in the Parish of Llanfair; and
- the homestead was situated in the Village of Llandough.

Those particulars provide a much more specific identification than the earlier catalogue description.

I am particularly interested in the combination of Llandough Estate + Parish of Llanfair + Village of Llandough + approximately 202 acres + W.G. Thomas & Sons.

Could you therefore confirm one narrow point from the record already examined:

Does the MS 3360/3 page or plan itself contain any further recorded identifier which identifies which historical Llandough is meant — for example the specific place-name form, neighbouring farms, estate owner, parish/benefice wording, acreage breakdown, plan number, tenant information, road, church or other geographical feature?

I am not asking the Museum to make a new identification or to provide an opinion. I am asking only whether such information is actually recorded in the page or plan you have already examined.

There is an important reason for keeping this distinction precise. There are two different farmsteads in the Llandough near Penarth/Cardiff locality relevant to the Museum's records:

1. Great House Farm / Tŷ Mawr, beside St Dochdwy's Church; and
2. Llandough Farm, separately described by the Museum as “opposite hospital”.

They must not be treated as alternative names for one farm.

There is also a separate question concerning the Museum's wording “Llandough Church Farm” in the 1858 provenance of accession 63.24. I now understand that this should not automatically be equated with either of the above merely because it contains the word Llandough. Unless the underlying historical evidence expressly identifies the 1858 “Church Farm”, I will continue to record that identity as unresolved.

Filtered schedule

I also accept your clarification that the Museum does not hold a separate recorded audit schedule showing, item by item, which search results staff excluded after reviewing the results.

I therefore do not ask the Museum to create such a schedule.

For the purposes of the record, I will instead distinguish between:

- records positively identified as Great House Farm / Tŷ Mawr;
- records positively identified as the separate Llandough Farm opposite the hospital;
- records from other Llandoughs, including Llandough-juxta-Cowbridge;
- and source-specific records whose location remains unresolved.

The new MS 3360/3 particulars are sufficiently distinctive to make the underlying page and plan an important identification source, so I would be grateful for confirmation of whether any further geographical identifier is actually recorded there.

Thank you again for the clarification.

Cofion,

Sion Buckler

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 8 October 2026, 09:22 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI 2026-036 – Great House Farm, Llandough – filtered schedule still not supplied; unanswered points from FOI 2026-032 correction

Dear Mr Buckler

Thank you for your email.

The Museum has reviewed the material held under reference MS 3360/3 and has already provided the relevant page identified during that review.

There is no catalogue record identifying Great House Farm within this document. Following additional research by Collections staff, one page within the larger document was identified as relating to Great House Farm and was supplied to you.

The information contained on that page has already been disclosed and summarised in our previous correspondence. No further recorded information relating to Great House Farm has been identified within the material held under reference MS 3360/3.

We therefore have nothing further to add on this matter.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 10 October 2026, 19:14 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI 2026-036 – Great House Farm, Llandough – filtered schedule still not supplied; unanswered points from FOI 2026-032 correction

Dear FOI Team,

FOI 2026-036 — your letter of 7 October 2026

Thank you. I note three points from that letter.

1. You do not hold a separate recorded document listing, item by item, which search results were excluded. Please state which systems were searched for that schedule (collections database, search-export, review log, email, paper file) and whether a physical file was retrieved, and by whom and on what date. A not-held answer is incomplete without that (FOIA s.16).

2. MS 3360/3: the page already supplied records Great House as part of the 1924 Llandough Estate sale particulars, occupied by W.G. Thomas & Sons, about 202 acres, Parish of Llanfair, homestead in the Village of Llandough. Please confirm whether the catalogue or the page itself names which Llandough (Llandough-juxta-Penarth or Llandough-juxta-Cowbridge). If that is not on the page or in the catalogue entry, say so.

3. Ref 13.2 is recorded as a waterwheel from Llandough Farm (opposite hospital). I treat that as the Penarth hospital site, not the farmhouse demolished on 6 December 1988, unless a further recorded field says otherwise.

I am not asking for a new search or for a document you say you do not hold. I am asking for the systems searched and the physical-file check on the not-held point, and the parish identification if it is already on the page or catalogue entry.

Cofion,

Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)
Royal Signals Cyber/Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 12 October 2026, 15:01 UTC
Subject: RE: FOI 2026-036 – Great House Farm, Llandough – filtered schedule still not supplied; unanswered points from FOI 2026-032 correction

Mr Buckler

Thank you for your email.

In relation to the "filtered schedule", as previously explained, Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold a separate recorded document identifying, item by item, which search results were excluded following review. The review was undertaken by staff using the records and search results identified during the handling of the request. No separate audit schedule, review log or equivalent record of exclusion decisions was created.

In relation to MS 3360/3, following further review we have confirmed that the page previously supplied does not relate to the property that was the subject of FOI 2026-036. While the document refers to a property known as "Great House", it relates to a holding in the Parish of Llanfair and not to Great House Farm/Tŷ Mawr, Llandough (near Penarth/Cardiff), which was the subject of your request. The document should therefore be regarded as outside the scope of FOI 2026-036.

We do not hold any further recorded information linking MS 3360/3 to Great House Farm/Tŷ Mawr, Llandough (near Penarth/Cardiff).

In relation to Ref 13.2, our position remains unchanged. The collections record describes the item as a "Waterwheel from Llandough Farm (opposite hospital)". No further location information has been identified within that record.

We have no further recorded information to provide in relation to these matters.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774

From: Sion Buckler
To: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
Date: 10 October 2026, 19:11 UTC
Subject: FOI 2026-024 / 032 / 036 – outstanding item 7: recorded basis for treating already-found records as “unrelated / not in scope”

Dear FOI Team,

Thank you for the disclosures under FOI 2026-032 (22 September) and 2026-036 (5 October).

On 25 August 2026 you stated that searches had located records of “other archaeological discoveries at Great House Farm and Church Farm” which were withheld as “not in scope”. On 26 August I asked for those records and, specifically, the recorded basis for calling them unrelated (item 7).

That question remains unanswered. The later disclosures released certain Church Farm and other-site material but still did not supply the internal note, search-log entry or other record that justified the original classification.

I therefore request:

1. The recorded basis (search log, file note, email or other document) that led the Museum to treat the already-found Great House Farm / Church Farm records as unrelated or out of scope on 25 August 2026.
2. If no such written basis exists, an explicit statement to that effect.
3. Confirmation that the full set of records located in the August searches has now been disclosed or, if any remain withheld, the precise exemption relied upon for each.

Please treat this as a request for the information that should have been provided under the internal review of 2026-024. This is for the completeness of the evidence library on the public record.

Yours faithfully,

Sion Buckler (Ret'd Sergeant)
Royal Signals Cyber/Electronic Warfare Professional and Life Member

From: Amgueddfa Cymru FOI Team
To: Sion Buckler
Date: 12 October 2026, 14:56 UTC
Subject: RE: ALLANOL/EXTERNAL - FOI 2026-024 / 032 / 036 – outstanding item 7: recorded basis for treating already-found records as “unrelated / not in scope”

Mr Buckler

Thank you for your email.

In relation to your request for the recorded basis on which records were treated as outside the scope of FOI 2026-024, Amgueddfa Cymru does not hold a separate search log, file note, internal note or other recorded document setting out the rationale for that assessment.

The original response was based on searches which identified no records relating to the reported discovery described in your request, namely the alleged discovery of a soldier, horse remains and associated armour at Great House Farm, Llandough. While searches identified records relating to other archaeological finds from Church Farm and archaeological investigations at Great House Farm, staff concluded that those records did not relate to the specific discovery described in your request and therefore fell outside its scope. No separate record of that assessment was created. We have since provided you with the records referred to as being from Church Farm.

No records remain withheld.

Cofion cynnes,

FOI Team
foi.requests @museumwales.ac.uk
amgueddfa.cymru | museum.wales

Rhif elusen | Charity number 525774