From the Merthyr Telegraph 150 years ago today….
Education in Merthyr
Tag: Georgetown
John Lloyd
by Laura Bray
Merthyr has produced many notable people over the years and John Lloyd is one of the more recent ones. Indeed, some of you may remember him. My mother certainly talks fondly about him – her childhood companion.
John was born in Cyfarthfa Row, Georgetown in 1930. He was an only son – and indeed brought up as an only child, as his sister sadly died in childhood.
John had a normal upbringing and after leaving school joined the Merthyr Express, moving from there to the South Wales Echo and Western Mail. He left Merthyr in his late 20s and went up to London to join the Daily Express as a sub-editor on the sports pages, where he remained for 40 years. But John was so much more than that – he had a flair for reporting and for making contacts so much so that he occasionally acted for as PR for the big Welsh names such as Dorothy Squires, who was a life-long friend, Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones. There are reports of his London flat being so packed with visitors during the Rugby Internationals that he slept in the bath or at the office.
By all accounts he was an incredibly generous man, and one who could get tickets for almost event – from theatre tickets to Wimbledon, rugby matches to FA Cup final. There was almost nobody in London John did not know – from sportsmen to show business to mostly anyone who was part of the London Welsh!
But the story that mostly is told about him is how he delayed the departure of the Intercity 125 train from Paddington for 6 minutes, log enough to enable the Cardiff City Players to catch up after a match against Leyton Orient. And did so, just by standing on the platform chatting to the driver! Only he would have had the nerve!
But John was not just a journalist – he was also the Secretary of the Dorothy Squires fan-club and owner of a newsagents in London’s Gray’s Inn Road. It was his local paper shop and he bought it because it was about to close down and it was so handy for colleagues and friends at The Times, and for where he lived in nearby Trinity Court.
John died in April 2016, aged 87, an ambassador for Wales and for Merthyr to the end.
Do you have any memories of John? Please share them in the comments box below.
Fire at Merthyr
From the Evening Express 120 years ago today…
Merthyr’s Heritage Plaques: Dr Joseph Parry
by Keith Lewis-Jones
Dr Joseph Parry
Plaque sited at 4 Chapel Row,CF48 1BN
Joseph Parry was born on 24 May 1841 in the front, side room of 4 Chapel Row, Georgetown, Merthyr Tydfil. At the age of seventeen he began to take music lessons and made rapid progress. He sent four compositions to the Swansea Eisteddfod in 1863 signing them ‘Bachgen Bach o Ferthyr, erioed, erioed’ (A Merthyr boy forever and ever).
In 1868 he entered the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied for three years.
It is estimated that his songs numbered about 300, including the well-loved ‘Myfanwy’, in addition to some 300 anthems, chorales, glees, choruses, operas and orchestral works. He is probably best known internationally for his hymn tune ‘Aberystwyth’ – ‘Jesu, lover of my soul’.
Dewi Bowen – A Tribute
by Mansell Richards
Earlier this year, on 16 June, Merthyr lost one of its great characters, and a huge champion of the town’s heritage, when Dewi Bowen passed away at the age of 93. Here his friend and former colleague, Mansell Richards pays tribute to the great man.
Dewi Bowen was a legend in his home village of Cefn-Coed, a legend at Cyfarthfa Castle School and a legend across the town of Merthyr Tydfil.
A naturally amusing man, he enjoyed making people laugh, whether passers-by in the street, his school pupils and their teachers – not forgetting headmasters – canteen ladies and caretakers, councillors and mayors. But he will be remembered mainly as a gifted artist and teacher. His imaginative artistic output was prodigious: his illustrations of scenes redolent of Merthyr and district’s rich and colourful history can be counted in their hundreds. It is no exaggeration to say that no individual over the decades contributed more to the heritage of this famous Welsh town.
Dewi was born on 7 August 1927 at number 87, High Street, Cefn-Coed-y-Cymmer (he loved to give his village its full title). From an early age he showed artistic talent which was nurtured at his beloved Vaynor and Penderyn Grammar School. In 1944 on leaving school at seventeen, he was directed to work as a coal miner for 2 years as part of the national war effort against Hitler’s Germany. This meant he had to postpone entry to art college. Dewi took pride in his years as a ‘Bevin boy’ at Elliot Colliery, New Tredegar and the Rock Colliery, Glynneath.
Indeed his memories of being a young miner never left him. Many of his detailed illustrations were based on his observations of those hard- working men who risked their lives daily in often dangerous conditions.
Similarly, he identified strongly with the soldier in both World Wars, but especially during the First World War. He never tired of telling of his father’s experience at Gallipoli and Mesopotamia, while his mother served as a nurse in both those wars. This strong affinity with the soldier never left him. Thus in later years, he joined a British Legion excursion to Flanders in order to be present at the unveiling of a sculptured red dragon monument at the site of the Battle of Mametz Wood, where thousands of Welshmen had been killed in 1916.
Dewi never refused work for charities. His cleverly designed, eye-catching posters, advertising fund-raising events appeared at local shops, pubs and libraries. Indeed, he and his scholarly brother Dr Elwyn Bowen MBE, to whom he was devoted, made a massive contribution toward necessary funding, estimated at tens of thousands of pounds, when the Urdd National Eisteddfod visited Merthyr in 1987.
Dewi rejoiced also in designing the scenery for the Cefn-Coed Operatic Society which flourished during the 1950s and, contributed greatly in this respect to the annual stage musicals and concerts performed by pupils and staff of Cyfarthfa High School, a school he served loyally for 30 years.
Continuing along the cultural path, his work was regularly exhibited at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, while he contributed to many heritage projects across Merthyr and other districts of South Wales.
He took a particular interest in the preservation of the Joseph Parry Birthplace Project which won the Prince of Wales award. He played a pivotal role in this success for his school. The visitor to 4, Chapel Row, Georgetown will see a beautifully inscribed stone plaque alongside its front door. Not only did Dewi purchase the block of dressed-stone out of his own pocket, but he lovingly carved the inscription, including the evocative words, ‘Joseph Parry, y bachgen bach o Ferthyr, erioed, erioed- Joseph Parry, a little boy from Merthyr , forever, forever’. This carved tablet will remain a monument to the creative talent of Dewi Bowen.
His final contribution to the Merthyr cultural scene was to provide the superb illustrations for a book on Merthyr place-names, compiled by Malcolm Llewelyn. Dewi was delighted to be invited as a guest to the book’s launch last year.
But let us return to his never-to-be-forgotten humour, which appealed to people of all ages. At Cyfarthfa School, some pupils with only limited talent were known to have opted for art, mostly for the pleasure of being taught by him. Several brought him regular small gifts of sweets, while one girl, aware of his liking for wimberry tart, presented him with one every autumn. He was, undoubtedly, one of Cyfarthfa School’s most popular teachers.
One story he liked to tell concerned a friendship he had at Cardiff College of Art with the beautiful future actress Anna Kashfi, who was later to marry the Hollywood star, Marlon Brando. When teased about this, Dewi replied ‘I never understood how she preferred Brando to Bowen!’
Dewi never owned a car, preferring to walk almost everywhere. He particularly loved walking holidays during his earlier years. He visited the Holy Land and parts of Russia. When asked why he loved walking so much, he replied. ‘If you’ve spent 3 days in an ancient bus crossing the Negev Desert in the company of 2 Arabs and 50 sheep, you too, would enjoy walking’.
On another occasion he accompanied a friend to see a Wales/England rugby match at Twickenham. With Wales snatching victory towards the end, Dewi insisted on joining the triumphant Welsh supporters on the famous pitch. He astonished his friend by asking for help in order to ascend one of the very high rugby posts. After climbing unsteadily onto his friend’s shoulders, they were both confronted by a London policeman, who turned to the friend with the instruction ‘put the gentleman down please sir’. Some yards away a group of Cyfarthfa sixth-formers were holding their sides with laughter.
Dewi loved music, especially light opera. He was a regular visitor to Cardiff theatres to enjoy Gilbert and Sullivan productions. He loved singing some of the songs in his distinctive sweet tenor voice, often when talking to friends on the telephone. Dewi would entertain at the drop of a hat.
But his greatest love was his family. He nursed his mother who lived to be a hundred during her final years, while his admiration for his brother Elwyn was profound. He received considerable love and support from his exceptionally loyal nieces, Ann and Elizabeth and sister-in-law Gwynfa, while he gained much joy from his young great nephews, Ewan and Llyr.
There can be no better epitaph to Dewi than in Shakespeare’s words:-
‘We shall not live to see his like again’.
Merthyr: Then and Now
GEORGE STREET, GEORGETOWN
Everything about this area has changed!!! The Dynevor Arms has gone, all of the houses on George Street have gone – even the famous Hill House, home to the Williams family for many generations (which can be seen at the top of George Street in the first photo), the roundabout is in a different place, and even the tips are no more!!!
Strangely enough, the cars have changed too!!!!
Redevelopment – an improvement or just wanton vandalism? What do you think?
Merthyr’s Boxers
I have received the photo and message below from Suzanne Frederick-Bird.
Hi, Would love to know more about this photo. My grandfather is second from the right back row. i.e.,first man on right back row without a shirt. His name was Jake Frederick of Georgetown. He earned a few shillings as a fist fighter, sometimes walking to Rhymney to fight.
If anyone has any information about this photo, please contact me at merthyr.history@gmail.com and I will pass it on to Suzanne.
A Whimsical Tale
Here is a little story to make you smile, courtesy of Mansell Richards……
Two Merthyr miners in the days following the First World War, met regularly on Brecon Road, after a day’s work underground, and the relaxing tin bath scrub, in front of the fire. One hailed from the community of Caepantywyll, the other from Georgetown. The conversation went something like this:
“Tom you had a tough time at Gallipoli but I had it even worse on the Somme. Did you know I was captured, taken to a German prisoner of war camp, where I was interrogated regularly and even tortured from time to time? I was regularly questioned by a fine-looking German officer, a large man topping six feet in height, whose English was perfect, not surprising perhaps, as he had been educated at an English private school. But do you know Tom, really he was quite dull….HE COULDN’T SPELL CAEPANTYWYLL!!”
Memories of Old Merthyr
We continue our serialisation of the memories of Merthyr in the 1830’s by an un-named correspondent to the Merthyr Express, courtesy of Michael Donovan.
In a cottage in the row, say 6 or 8 doors up, there was an old blind man, Thomas Evans, who had been a hammerman at Cyfarthfa. He was of the scientific society at the ‘Dynevor’, and was pleased if anyone would sit and read to him (this said advisedly and from experience).
Two dwellings followed owned by Mr David Williams (known as Williams of Pontyrhun). He was a widower, and had a family of two sons and two daughters. One of the later kept a school, but became Mrs John Jones (druggist etc.) of Aberdare. One of the sons, John, was the editor of the Silurian paper, which started at Brecon in the Whig interest, to whom the late Mr Peter Williams, of the Merthyr Telegraph, was apprenticed. The other son emigrated to Australia.
At the top, not many doors from the gate house, Mr Thomas Shepherd, then the cashier at Cyfarthfa Works lived. He removed to Navigation House after the death of Mr George Forrest, and then became superintendent of the Glamorganshire Canal.
Restarting from the bridge and crossing the tramroad, some short distance up on the left, a Mr Walter Morgan resided. He had been brought up as a solicitor, but was then in the brewery business. The brewery was situated behind the house, and had entrance from a road at the back.
Mr Morgan had two daughters and one son. The eldest married, but her painfully sudden death seemed to show that she was not happy. The youngest became Mrs Macnamara, wife of a barrister, who became judge of one of the East Indian courts. Her brother, who also was a barrister, became the same, but whether both were in Calcutta or elsewhere cannot be recalled.
The ascent was steep shortly after passing Mr Morgan’s residence. A Captain Oakey lived in residence on the left and overlooked the flat portion of Georgetown etc. He had been at sea for many years and then lived retired.
Upon Mr Crawshay – the grandfather of the present generation – buying a lot of old stores from Woolwich, they were sent to Cyfarthfa to be manufactured into bar iron, and there were some pieces of ordnance as well as round balls amongst the lot. Mr Robert Thompson Crawshay had one at least of the cannons taken to the tip above Nantygwenith and fired them (for I think there was more than one). The good old captain, who was enjoying his siesta upon the first firing and stretched upon his sofa, from association of his past life rolled himself off the sofa and on to the floor. So strange is habit.
Above Captain Oakey’s was the house occupied by Mr Jeffries, the blast furnace manager at Cyfarthfa. There were then no other houses except an isolated cottage or two until Penyrheolgerrig was come to.
To be continued at a later date……
Merthyr’s Bridges: Ynysgau Bridge
By the mid 1800s, the only bridge of any note across the Taff in central Merthyr was the Iron Bridge at the bottom of Castle Street, the only other bridge being Jackson’s Bridge further up the river. It soon became obvious that the Iron Bridge was not adequate for the amount of traffic needing to cross the river.
In June 1860, the Surveyor of the Local Board of Health submitted a plan for a new bridge to be situated downstream of the Iron Bridge to carry traffic from the town to Georgetown. His proposal stated:
“The proposed bridge to be erected….is the continuance of the line of Victoria Street and its terminus by Ynysgau Chapel, and crossing the river Taff on the skew at an angle of sixty-five degrees – thus forming a direct communication between Victoria Street and Penry Street, which will effect greater facility of traffic that the inconsistent turns at the present site”.
The proposed new bridge would cross the river in one single 80 foot span, and would be built of wrought iron plate girders six feet deep. It would be 24 feet wide, five foot of which would be set aside for a pedestrian footpath on the north side. The cost of the new bridge was estimated at £1,700, and would take about four months to complete.
The Board of Health decided to hold over the report for a month to allow them time to consider the proposals. Ten years later, the bridge still hadn’t been built.
It was in 1879 that it became obvious that the situation at the Iron Bridge was critical and that a new bridge was needed straight away. The Board finally dusted off the old plans, and the new bridge was begun. The work was entrusted to Messrs Patton and Co of Crumlin Viaduct Works, and the bridge was finally completed on 17 March 1880.
The bridge remained the primary road bridge in the centre of Merthyr until the 1960s, by which time everyone was becoming increasingly concerned by the way the bridge would move and spring alarmingly every time heavy vehicles passed over it. It was decided that a new bridge was required, and a new concrete bridge was built 50 yards upstream (the present bridge near the Fire Station).
The old bridge closed in November 1963 when the new bridge was opened, and the structure was dismantled in 1964.