In the middle of Abergavenny in times gone by was a farmyard - with barns and all.

It belonged to the Holland family who had a small shop with a home attached in Tudor Street, remembers historian and artist Glyn Harris, who was born in the street.

The Hollands shared an entrance with a family next door, who were closely related to Glyn as a result of which he was a regular visitor to the property.

"If you used the front entrance you turned left for the Hollands and right for the Harris family," remembers Glyn. "I didn't realise as a child but I now know, that the old oak paneling walls to the joint entry were made of Tudor oak, similar to the panels in the ancient King's Arms pub."

A very old and steep series of steps at the rear led down into a farmyard that came out into Byfield Lane. One of the sons, Beckett Holland kept racehorses in the stables, and pigs, chickens and ducks were also kept there.

Glyn never heard of Beckett's horses winning, but remembers that he had a lot of bad luck, one horse breaking a leg while racing a train, and another running into a steel rail in Bailey Park during a race.

During those "hard times", Glyn heard a number of stories of men getting six months in jail for stealing chickens. He also knew of one poor chap jailed for six months for stealing a cabbage from a field on his way home from work.

"These stories made me realise, even at the age of six, that if you didn't want to starve you must have land to keep a sheep, a pig and chickens," says Glyn, who eventually achieved his ambition at the age of 45 by getting his own smallholding.