Coast Line of South Wales

George and Maurice Holley, Cardiff pharmacists and pianists, go on a tour, witnessing the crowds at Barry and the seaweed drying near Castlemartin for the making of laver bread.

Brothers George and Maurice Holley who worked as pharmacists in Cardiff (George in North Road, Maurice in Wellfield Road) tour their local coastline and record, albeit it briefly, the seaweed drying huts near Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire. Once dried, the red porphyra would be made into the delicacy known as laver bread. George processed films and photographs in a studio at the back of his shop. Both brothers were talented pianists and regular church-goers.

The gathering of seaweed - red porphyra - at Freshwater Bay West was established as a commercial business in the 1870s, women being employed to tend to its drying and storing before it was sent off to Pembroke and Swansea. In its heyday, the business used 20 drying huts. By the end of WWII, however, the trade had all but died out. Happily, interest in this underrated food is now on the increase, particularly as it is regarded as a ‘superfood’, being full of protein and containing many vitamins and minerals. It was traditionally eaten for breakfast, often rolled in oatmeal and fried in bacon fat. The gathering of seaweed - red porphyra - at Freshwater Bay West was established as a commercial business in the 1870s, women being employed to tend to its drying and storing before it was sent off to Pembroke and Swansea. In its heyday, the business used 20 drying huts. By the end of WWII, however, the trade had all but died out. Happily, interest in this underrated food is now on the increase, particularly as it is regarded as a ‘superfood’, being full of protein and containing many vitamins and minerals. It was traditionally eaten for breakfast, often rolled in oatmeal and fried in bacon fat.