Gwendoline Dow, Lydney Art School student.

Contributor: Malcolm Jones.

Gwendoline’s preliminary reconstruction drawing of the Roman buildings at Lydney Park, Gloucestershire. A modified version including figures of people, animals and more detail appeared in the report of the archaeological dig carried out in 1928/1929 by Mortimer and Tessa Wheeler. The report was published in 1932 by the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Malcolm Jones added: “… Gwendoline May Jones (nee Dow) was born in 1916 in Chalford near Stroud, Gloucestershire and lived in Lydney between 1923 and 1948. … As a young student she enrolled in the Lydney School of Art c. 1932 until 1936 and completed many drawings, shop posters and sketches within the Lydney town and for Lord Bledisloe including the ‘Address of Welcome’ presented to him on his return from New Zealand where he had served five years as Governor General..
On Lord Bledisloe’s recommendation to archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler, Gwendoline produced the drawings for the Temple of Nodens in Lydney Park for which she sadly received no acknowledgement”.

Malcolm continued: “… she was loaned an old book from the Bathurst collection which had a small reproduction of an aerial view of the Temple by an ‘Unknown artist’* upon which she based her larger reconstruction drawings, before adding the figures as requested by REMW (Mortimer Wheeler) …

In 1935 the Freemasons had a visit to the Temple of Nodens and view of the Roman site led by their host Lord Bledisloe. During this visit Gwendoline’s drawings were viewed and discussed. 
They did not … invite Gwendoline( my mother) to the opening inspection of the drawings in Lydney Park, which the Art Master and many of the male dignitaries attended.”.
In 1998, in a kind gesture, my parents were invited back for tea at Lydney Park to see some of the items she had produced for the Bledisloe family now kept in their Museum.

Lydney Art School