Tag: Dowlais Ironworks

The Glamorganshire Canal – and the Rise of Rail

By Laura Bray

We all know the story – a wager between Samuel Homfray  of the Penydarren Ironworks, and Richard Crawshay of Cyfarthfa that Trevithick’s steam locomotive could haul ten tens of iron from Penydarren to Abercynon, and we all know that Homfray won his bet, and Merthyr became known across the world as the home of the first railway.

But have you ever wondered why the bet was made? Perhaps it just a whim between two very rich two men with money to burn. After all the bet was sizeable 500 guineas or something like £40,000 in today’s money.  Perhaps it was because Homfray, who had used Trevithick’s engines to drive a hammer in the ironworks, was a pioneer.  Or was it because of the Glamorganshire Canal…..?

The Glamorganshire Canal in Merthyr. Photo Courtesy of the Alan George Archive

By the late 18th century, Merthyr was probably the most important manufacturing town in Britain, with a population 8 times larger than that of Cardiff, which was the nearest port.  However, the river wharfs in Cardiff were rapidly reaching capacity and could not keep up with the maritime demands made by Merthyr’s four ironworks.  In addition, it was prohibitively expensive to get the goods from Merthyr to Cardiff, costing the ironmasters something like £14,000 p.a. – a sum equivalent to around £1m today.

Richard Crawshay. Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery

It was within this context that Richard Crawshay took the lead in lobbying for a Parliamentary Bill in order to get the powers to build a canal from Merthyr to Cardiff, and in 1790 the Glamorganshire Canal Act was passed. The Act provided that a company be formed of The Company of Proprietors of the Glamorganshire Canal Navigation with power to purchase land for making the canal and to carry out the necessary works.  The Act also laid down the route that was to be followed, authorised the raising of £90,000 to meet the cost of completing the canal, and laid down the maximum charges for carrying various classes of goods, up to 5d. per ton per mile for carrying stone, iron, timber, etc. and up to 2d. per ton per mile for carrying iron stone, iron ore, coal, lime-stone, etc. It also stated that the distribution of Company profits was not to exceed £8% per annum upon the capital sum actually laid out in making the canal.

The Canal Company appointed a Committee from amongst its shareholders to be responsible for the management of the Company’s affairs, and the first Committee meeting was held on 19 July 1790 at the Cardiff Arms Inn, when it was decided to enter into a contract with Thomas Dadford senior, Thomas Dadford junior and Thomas Sheasby to construct the canal at a cost of £48,228, exclusive of the cost of land. This is about 3 times the annual cost of sending goods to Cardiff, so it was estimated that all costs would be recouped in as little as three years.

Construction work started in August 1790 and it was a massive undertaking – over its length of 25 miles, the land drops by 543 feet, so it was necessary to build 51 locks, some double, and one in Nantgarw, a triple lock; some locks were 10 feet high and the one in Aberfan topped 14’6″. In addition. there was the necessity for an aqueduct to be built at Abercynon, a tunnel under Queen St in Cardiff, several feeders to be created and, as the canal came closer to Merthyr, it had to be cut through sheer mountain rock.  By 1794, however, there was a functioning and effective new transport link between Merthyr and Cardiff at a final cost of £103,600.

Aberfan Lock. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

But even before the canal was completed it had become clear that it needed to be extended beyond Cardiff so as to give access directly to the sea.  Another £20,000 was raised by subscription and a deal was struck with the Marquis of Bute, who owned the land, to build a sea lock and canal basin, which enabled ships of 200 tons to dock. The Sea Lock itself was 103 feet long with gates 27 feet wide.

The canal made transport to Cardiff very cheap, but generated very high revenues.  It was designed to take canal boats of up to 25 tons, each drawn by a horse, with a man and a boy.  By 1836 there were about 200 boats on the canal, each doing 3 round trips every fortnight.  That’s a lot of tonnage at an average of 3d a ton.

But all was not well in the Committee.  From the start, it was dominated by Richard Crawshay, who tended to regard the canal as his and his attempts to squeeze the profits of the other ironmasters was bitterly resented. As early as 1794 Richard Hill Of the Plymouth Works complained that the Canal Company was using water from the river that was legally his.  Guest, in Dowlais, was also vocal about how we could access the canal from his works.  A branch canal seemed impractical so a tramroad was proposed  to which the canal company contributed £1000.  This was competed in 1791 – before the canal.  The Crawshays built a second tramroad between the Gurnos Quarry and their works in Cyfarthfa and a third was built in 1799 by the Hills, linking the Morlais Quarry with the Dowlais to Merthyr Tramroad at Penydarren.

But by 1798, tensions in the committee were so great that they blew.  As a consequence, the other ironmasters were dropped for the canal committee, leaving only Crawshay, and it was another 26 years before they rejoined.  But discussions took place between them about how to break the Crawshay stranglehold of the canal, and the answer seemed to be the construction of a tramroad from Merthyr, to meet the canal at Abercynon.  This tramroad, which opened in 1802 and was built without an Act of Parliament, linking the two existing tramroads from Dowlais to Merthyr and from Morlais to Penydarren.  From the point of view of Guest, Homfray and Hill, although the trams using it were horse drawn,  this new tramroad avoided the delays caused by the locks between Merthyr and Abercynon.

This is the background to the bet that was made between Homfray and Crawshay.  Could the new stream locomotive pull a load of iron?  Could it supersede canal power?

We all know that it did, but broke the rails on the way down, so could not come back.  But progress had been made.  The Taff Vale Railway Company opened as far as Abercynon only 40 years later, and to Merthyr a year later and the canal’s decline was inexorable and it had all but ceased by 1900.

Looking back, it is reasonable to ask, if there had been no canal, where would the home of the steam locomotive be?  Not Merthyr, that’s for sure.

Merthyr’s Chapels: Bethania Chapel, Dowlais

Bethania Welsh Independent Chapel, Dowlais

In the early part of the 19th Century, members of the Independent chapels in Merthyr who were living in Dowlais began holding meetings at various houses around the town.

When Josiah John Guest arrived in Dowlais and expanded the Dowlais Works, the population increased to an extent that the need arose for the Independent worshippers in Dowlais to have their own chapel. The old Bethel Chapel became vacant in 1822 so services could be held there on Sunday evenings. Rev Methusalem Jones of Bethesda Chapel in Merthyr was instrumental in starting the cause in Dowlais and he had oversight of the congregation for a time until he had a difference of opinion with some of the congregation and left them. Rev Samuel Evans of Zoar Chapel then took over the care of the congregation.

Within a year however, it was realised that the small Bethel Chapel was not adequate for the congregation, so land was found and a chapel was built in 1823 for the cost of £444 and called Bethania.

In 1826 Rev Thomas Jones, a student from Newtown, was invited to Bethania and was ordained as minister of the chapel on 23 March 1826. The congregation increased rapidly and the chapel was rebuilt in 1827. However, within a short time a serious disagreement occurred at the chapel which resulted in Rev Jones and several of the congregation leaving and starting their own cause; this eventually became Bryn Sion Chapel. Rev Samuel Evans once again took charge of the chapel and stayed here until his death.

Following Rev Samuel Evans’ death, Rev John Hughes was inducted as Bethania’s minister in December 1833. Under his leadership the congregation grew rapidly and in 1838 it was decided to build a new larger chapel and the chapel was rebuilt at a cost of £1000 by Mr Thomas Sandbrook, a member of the chapel.

The re-built Bethania Chapel

In 1849, a serious cholera epidemic broke out in Merthyr with 1,682 deaths in Merthyr and Dowlais alone. In the aftermath of this epidemic, a religious revival occurred and despite its huge size, Bethania Chapel could not accommodate the huge increase in the congregation. It was decided that it would be impractical to build an even larger chapel, so a new chapel was built nearby called Gwernllwyn.

In 1855 a schoolroom was built at Pwll-yr-hwyaid, and this was followed by schoolrooms at Gellifaelog and Caeharris.

Bethania Chapel Caeharris Schoolroom. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive.

In 1883 the interior of the chapel was renovated with a new pulpit and seating costing £1350; and a new organ installed costing £350. In 1886, the vestry was constructed behind the chapel. Major renovations were again carried out on the chapel in 1896 when the main entrance of the chapel was altered and a large porch built, and the chapel was we see it today took shape. These renovations cost £500.

The chapel closed in 1999, but in 2012 the building was renovated by the Victory Church who now hold their services there.

The Mystery of Dr Gabe – part 2

by Lynette Rees

Merthyr had three large ironworks at the time: Cyfarthfa, Dowlais and Plymouth, and there were many coal pits in the area which would tie in with the fact her husband had been a collier.

These are the facts I could find out about John Bernard Gabe from a 1908 Welsh newspaper:

  • He’d had a serious illness which had overtaken him eighteen months beforehand, but he had still attended his duties and died the eve before his birthday
  • He’d never fully recovered from that illness
  • He’d been ill for two to three days before his death
  • He’d been out motoring with friends the week before his death in North Wales
  • He died from congestion to the bowels
  • He was living in Morriston Swansea at the time
  • He was a native of Cefn, Merthyr, being the ONLY surviving son of the late Mr. John Gabe.
  • He died aged 55 years of age
  • He received his education at London and Cork Universities and become fully qualified at Glasgow University.
  • He came to Morriston while a young man, as assistant to the late Dr. Henry Davies, whom he afterwards, succeeded.
  • At the point of his death he was in partnership with Dr. Morgan.
  • He was patron of the Loyal J. B. Lodge [Order of Shepherds]
  • He left behind a widow [unnamed] and five chidren sons: Howel, Leslie and Vincent and two daughters Beryl and Thaisa?
  • His son Howel was completing his studies to follow his father into the medical profession.
  • The deceased was a brother-in-law of the Rev. T. Sinclair Evans, Swansea

I think this information proves that John Bernard Gabe is not the same person as John Rees Gabe as some people seem to think. John Rees Gabe ended up in Mecklmeurst Square in London. It says in the article that John Bernard was the only surviving son of Rees Gabe which would imply the other Doctor [John Rees] Gabe was dead, but that isn’t so, as the article was printed in 1908 yet, John Rees didn’t die until 1920. So perhaps they weren’t even brothers but related.

Though, I strongly believe that both were brothers, but the one who attended the Miller’s Court murder of Mary Jane Kelly was ‘Joseph’ Gabe, who for some reason changed his name when he turned up in London. Don’t forget he’d been involved in several high profile inquiries that had hit the newspapers, maybe he didn’t want people to know when he moved away. He settled in London with his family at 16 Mecklenburgh Square St. Pancras.

Now the other curious thing about this is that if say, this John Rees Gabe, was nothing to do with John Bernard Gabe [though one heck of a coincidence both are listed as doctors!] then why is there evidence of a John Rees Gabe from Merthyr being with a Rachel M. Gabe. Rachel M. Gabe can be found on the census showing Rees Gabe as her father.

The 1881 Census shows a 27-year-old John B. Gabe as being a General Practioner, LSA, etc born in Merthyr Tydfil but by then married to a woman called ‘Annie’ and living in Llangefelach Road, Clase. Going by the other names mentioned [including his mother-in-law] then his 22-year-old wife Annie, was originally a Rosser by birth. The couple are childless so far in this census. See source here:

Dr. John B. Gabe

1891 Census return for 16 Mecklenburgh Sq, St Pancras:

  • John R Gabe (Head), 39, born Merthyr Tydfil. Registered Medical Practitioner
  • Marion LS (Wife), 35, born St Helens, Lancashire
  • Caroline M (Daur), 10, born London, Spitalfields. Scholar
  • Winifred A (Daur), 7, born London, Spitalfields. Scholar
  • Ivor S (Son), 5, born London, St Pancras
  • Rachel M (Visitor), 23, born Merthyr Tydfil [John’s sister]
  • Frederick G Foniham (Visitor), 37, born St Helens, Lancashire. Woollen Agent
  • Ellen F Cobb (Servant), 28, born Plymouth. Domestic Servant

The only thing I can think of that makes any sense is that Joseph [John Rees] and John Bernard were brothers from Merthyr, who trained to become doctors. John Bernard moved to the Swansea area where he married and lived the rest of his life as a successful well-respected doctor. Joseph went to London where he also worked as a Medical Officer as he did at St Tydfil’s Workhouse, but he changed his name! Now why do that? Was it because he came under suspicion for any wrong doings at the Workhouse? Was he either Joseph Gabe or John Rees Gabe or even John Jones Gabe [see later explanation for this.]

I’ve also found mention of the Doctor Gabe at Merthyr returning from Cardiff several times where there was also an Infirmary. Mary Kelly was said to have entered an Infirmary and moved to London afterwards.

Did both Doctor John [Joseph?] Gabe and Mary Jane Kelly know one another before they both set off for London? Did he change his name? If so, why do that? And why was Doctor John Rees Gabe one of the first doctors on the scene when he was known to be a gynaecologist? Why was there an obstetrician there too? In fact, I’ve read reports that state in all, six doctors were present at the scene.

There are more questions than answers, that’s for sure….

And now this afternoon, I just found evidence that the Doctor J. Gabe working at St Tydfil’s was still there on the Board of Guardians in 1881/1882 when John Bernard was registered on the census living in the Swansea, it seems this must surely be John Rees Gabe, except in certain articles the name is referred to as J. J. Gabe and I even found him referred to as John Jones Gabe. It seems unlikely to me there would have been 3 doctors with the name John Gabe working in Merthyr. At that time there were only about 15 Gabes registered in the area.

Curious!

Many thanks to Lynette for allowing me  to use this. To read the original article please see

The Mystery of Doctor Gabe from Merthyr

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.

Reader, take a ride by the Taff Vale Railway from Merthyr to Troedyrhiw, and the locus in quo ought to be recognised.

William Williams by an unknown artist. Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery

Mr Henry Kirkhouse was the chief mineral agent at Cyfarthfa, but two of his sons were with him. They resided at Llwyncelyn. Old Mr Wm Williams (known as No 8) was the mechanical engineer; he lived at Pwll Watt. Mr Thomas, the cashier, lived at Nantygwenith Turnpike Gate. Mr Jeffries was the furnace manager at Cyfarthfa, and Mr John Jones was so for Ynysfach. There were some excellent workmen at Cyfarthfa – Saunders, the master moulder of one part and Wm Thomas of the other foundry. The master fitter’s name has slipped my memory, but one of the men, David Charles, can be recalled.

Cyfarthfa was always celebrated for its machinery and engines. Watkin George, the predecessor of Mr Williams, was a man of noted ability; and, as far as known, that reputation is still maintained. George Cope Pearce was the mechanical engineer for a quarter of a century, his predecessor being his brother-in-law, John P Roe. The Williams family were good engineers too.

I forbear to mention some things that can be remembered lest I am prolix, but George Cope Pearce was so original that some two or three things will be stated. His desire for engineering was so strong as to induce his running away from home (his father was the custos of Hereford cathedral), and in coming to Dowlais he enquired for work. Seeing he was not of the class that generally applied, enquiries were made of him, with the result that, while he was hanging on in hopes, his father was communicated with, and came for him; but Sir John (Guest) agreed to take him on after spending some terms at King’s Engineering College. This was done, but his family and friends endeavoured to turn him.

In 1838 he was loco. superintendent at Dowlais; but as was the general rule, he did not get money enough to satisfy him, and went to Messrs Powell at Clydach, near Abergavenny, and engaged in their service. This becoming known, Mr Thomas Evans took him in hand, and by fair promises induced him to write a letter abandoning the idea. Cope could not get the advance expected, and ere three months had gone, Mr Evans began ruling with usual iron rod. They had a few words, and, upon Mr Evans alluding to his having written the letter, heard, “Oh yes; but I forgot to post it”. What followed need not be said. He went to Clydach, and, after a few years, thinking their machinery did not require such a high-priced man, Messrs Powell spoke to him, pointing out what an easy place he had. “Oh then you want a smash or two, I suppose. Well, I daresay that can be arranged, if you wish”. Do not think this is untrue, for it is a fact.

He left Clydach some years ago and came to Cyfarthfa. He was very friendly with William Menelaus. Menelaus was a hot-tempered man, and Pearce was quite the opposite. “Now Menelaus”, he said, “you are very foolish to go on so; it would pay you better to pay a man 30s a week to do the swearing”. He was a good horologist, a microscopist and a musician. Amongst his other makings was a machine to delineate sound curves.

My last visit to Cefn Cemetery was to pay the only tribute to his memory, and I was rather surprised at the paucity of attendance, knowing how highly he was esteemed. He sleeps, however, quite as soundly. During one of the many conversations I asked him, “Why did you leave Cyfarthfa?”. “Well, you see, I had been there some time, and got on very well with the old ones, but somehow or other, not much with the young ones, and rather than lose my temper I resigned”.

To be continued at a later date.

Adrian Stephens and the ‘Steam Whistle’

by Laura Bray

Following on from the recent article about J.O. Francis’ romantic reminiscences of the railway, you have to ask – what is a railway without a locomotive and what is locomotive without a whistle?

“The Western Mail” had an answer, printing, on Friday 4th January 1935, an article with the banner “Romance of the First Steam Whistle”.

Adrian Stephens. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Like so many inventions, the steam whistle was born in the Dowlais Iron Company.  Its inventor was Adrian Stephens, a Cornishman by birth, who had come to Merthyr in the early 19th century, and had initially worked as Chief Engineer at the Plymouth Iron Works before moving to a similar role in the Dowlais works in about 1827.  Here he had charge of the mill and the blowing engines.

Never a place blessed with health and safety standards, iron working was particularly dangerous, and in about 1835 there was an explosion where one of the old non-tubular boilers burst, with the loss of several lives.  An investigation into the incident suggested that there was negligence – smoke and grime had made the safety gauges unreadable, and the stoker had failed to ensure an adequate supply of water was pumped in.

John Josiah Guest tasked Adrian Stephens with the job of finding a way to prevent a reoccurrence, and after some experimentation with a long tube similar to a tin whistle, and then some organ pipes that Stephens asked Guest to source, he eventually came up with a local copper tube, made like a bosun’s pipe, but wider and with a larger vent.  The end of the tube was fixed to the top if the boiler, with the other held submerged in the water in the boiler.  As the water ran dry, the steam was pushed up the pipe and a shrill whistle sounded, thereby allowing action to be taken before the pressure caused an explosion.  Not surprisingly, the workers hated it, regarding it as a nuisance to be put out of action.   Stephens therefore enclosed it in a cage, and it was in this form that it was adopted by all the Merthyr ironworks – and then added to every boiler, railway locomotive and steam ship around the world.

Adrian Stephens’ Steam Whistle. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Stephens did not patent his invention.  Writing to his niece in 1872 he said “Neither in want, nor caring for money at the time, I did not think of taking a patent”.  He was even unsure about which year he had introduced it, guessing 1835, as it was before Guest was created a baronet (1838).

But his steam whistle was not the only railway connected achievement – Stephens was also credited with planning the “Lady Charlotte”, the first locomotive to be used at the Dowlais Works.

After Guest’s death, Stephens moved to the Penydarren Ironworks, where he invented, according to his son, the “Hot Blast”, which made the furnaces hotter and more efficient, before ending his career as a Civil Engineer for Anthony Hill in the Plymouth Works.

Stephens died in 1876 by which stage his invention had revolutionised steam safety.  He is buried in Cefn Cemetery, within hearing distance of the Merthyr-Brecon/LNWR trains whistling up and down the track.

So the next time you hear the “whoo whoo” from the heritage railway or the magnificent Flying Scotsman, think of Adrian Stephens and Merthyr’s role in that Age of Romance.

Adrian Stephens’ grave at Cefn Cemetery. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

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.

Now it always occurs to me that the doctoring system is a remainder of what in other cases would be called the truck system. Pray understand, I know how careful and skilful medical men are generally, and how admirably they perform their duties, yet there is always the thought that the system does not always co-ordinate with those general principles adopted in other things.

My own conviction is that truck in the early age of Merthyr was actually a necessity. When the works really began they were small, and no certainty of continuance. I am well aware of attempts that have been tried in various systems to alter it, but the system seems too firmly rooted to be altered for some time at least. An experiment in the adoption of a another method is, I believe, now being tried.

After a while Plymouth had Mr Probert (who by the bye, had been an assistant of Mr Russell), and so remained until his death, I think, but yet doubt that he resigned previously. Penydarren had Mr John Martin, and Mr Russell retained Dowlais, but it passed into the hands of his nephew Mr John Russell, for some time, and on his leaving Dr John Ludford White came to Dowlais.

This gentleman married a niece of Mr Wm. Forman, of the firm of Thompson and Forman, Cannon House, Queen Street, London, and after some years moved to Oxford, with the intention, it was said, of taking higher degrees. Dr White obtained the appointment through the recommendation of the London physician of Sir J John Guest, and in order that an accurate knowledge of the requirements might be, had visited Dowlais to see for himself. I remember him there, and an incident followed that will be mentioned when Dowlais is visited which will show the kind-heartedness of Sir John, and I hope also to mention one demonstrating his decision of character and another where I saw him weep.

We now return to Mr Russell’s surgery. A little further down, on the other side was Adullam (sic) Chapel, and cottages thence to the road to Twynyrodyn, while on the same side as Mr Russell’s was the way from the High Street, John Street by name, cottages somewhat irregular. The old playhouse also stood here; yes reader. It was a stone and mortar structure, and was for a long time unused.

An extract from the 1851 Public Health Map showing Tramroadside North from Church Street to the Old Playhouse

Further on there was the Fountain Inn, between which and the Glove and Shears the road passed to Dowlais over Twynyrodyn, Pwllyrwhiad etc, but we cross and a few yards brings me to what was the boundary wall of Hoare’s garden, which continued down to where the line to Dowlais is now.

The bottom end of Tramroadside North from the 1851 map

It has been my pleasure to see many gardens, but in all my experience I never saw one kept in such trim as this. Upon its being taken for the railway, Hoare started a garden and public house, if I remember well, at Aberdare Junction. Owing to the Taff Vale Company not allowing anyone to cross the line, a very long way around became a necessity to get there, and he did not do as well as anticipated or (I think) deserved.

Lower down the tramroad were some cottages on the right hand side, in one of which, adjoining the Shoulder of Mutton, a cask of powder exploded. It was kept under the bed upstairs for safety, and, lifting the roof off its walls, it fell some dozen yards away. The roof was covered with the thin flagstones often used and very little damaged. No one was fatally injured but one or two were injured, and altogether it was a wonderful escape. Moral: Do not keep a cask of explosive material upstairs under the bed!

To be continued at a later date……

Merthyr’s Ironmasters: G T Clark – part 2

This article is a transcription from a publication now in the public domain:  Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1901

On the formation of the British Iron Trade Association in 1876, Clark was elected its first president, and his ‘Inaugural Address’ (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) attracted much attention, provoking considerable controversy in the United States by reason of its trenchant exposure of protection. Few employers of labour have ever studied the social well-being of their workers so earnestly as Clark. At his own expense he provided a hospital for the Dowlais workmen, while the Dowlais schools, the largest in the kingdom, owed their success almost entirely to his direction. He was an early supporter of the volunteer movement, and himself raised a battalion in the Dowlais district. He was chairman of every local authority in the place, and his manifold services in the work of local government are commemorated by a marble bust, the work of Joseph Edwards, placed in the board-room of the Merthyr poor-law guardians. He was sheriff of Glamorganshire in 1868.

George Thomas Clark by Joseph Edwards

Clark’s reputation, however, mainly rests on his archaeological work, and, to a lesser extent, on his historical research, though these were but the relaxations of an otherwise busy life. For half a century he was recognised as the highest authority on all mediæval fortifications, and was the first to give a clear insight into the military and historical importance of the earthworks of this country, and especially to show the use made of the mound – ‘the hill of the burh’ – in Norman times. Before going to India he took a prominent part in the movement which brought about the foundation in 1843 of the Archæological Association (now the Royal Archæological Institute), and, after his return, was constantly associated with its work for the rest of his life contributing papers to its journal, attending its annual meetings, and acquiring a unique reputation as a field-lecturer, inasmuch as the castles visited were ‘called up to their first life by his massive vigour’.

He was also one of three trustees of the Cambrian Archæological Association. Commencing with an account of Caerphilly Castle as early as 1834, he contributed to the ‘Transactions’ of various societies, and to the ‘Builder,’ a large number of articles dealing with his favourite subject. In 1884 these were collected in his ‘Mediæval Military Architecture in England ‘ (London, 2 vols) a work which is not likely to be superseded, though its information may be supplemented with minor additions of detail.

Next to his purely archaeological attainments should probably be ranked his knowledge of heraldry and genealogy. He wrote the article on heraldry for the ‘Encyclopædia Britannica,’ while his privately printed pedigree of the Babington family has been described as ‘perhaps unsurpassed for its dimensions and grandeur of type.’

His other works were for the most part elaborate contributions towards the history of his adopted county of Glamorgan, the following being the more important among them:

‘Thirteen Views of the Castle of St. Donat’s, with a Notice of the Stradling Family,’ Shrewsbury, 1871.

‘Some Account of Robert Mansel and of Admiral Sir Thomas Button,’ Dowlais, 1883.

‘The Land of Morgan, being a Contribution towards the History of the Lordship of Glamorgan,’ London, 1883, 8vo.

‘Limbus Patrum Morganiae et Glamorganiæ. Being the Genealogies of the Older Families of the Lordships of Morgan and Glamorgan,’ London, 1886, 8vo. Most of these pedigrees had been published ‘nearly a quarter of a century’ previously in the ‘Merthyr Guardian.’

‘Cartæ et Alia Munimenta quæ ad Dominium de Glamorgan pertinent.’ Sumptuously printed, for private circulation only, this great collection of Glamorgan charters extends to 2,300 quarto pages, making four volumes, of which the first was issued in 1885 from a private press at Dowlais, and the other three (in 1890-1-3) from Cardiff.

Clark also edited some devotional works by his father and his ancestor, Samuel Clarke (1599-1682), and wrote numerous articles on the history and antiquities of Glamorgan.

Clark died on 31 Jan. 1898 at Tal-y-garn, near Llantrisant, where he had resided during his later years, and was buried there at St. Ann’s Church, which he had built to the memory of his wife, Ann Price, second daughter of Henry Lewis of Greenmeadow, near Cardiff, and coheiress of Wyndham Lewis. She was married to Clark on 3 April 1850, and died on 6 April 1885, leaving a son (Godfrey Lewis Clark) and a daughter.

Merthyr’s Ironmasters: G T Clark – part 1

This article is a transcription from a publication now in the public domain:  Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1901

George Thomas was born in London on 26 May 1809, the eldest son of George Clark (1777–1848), chaplain to the royal military asylum, Chelsea, and Clara, only surviving daughter of Thomas Dicey of Claybrook Hall, Leicestershire, and he was educated at the Charterhouse. Adopting engineering as a profession, he was entrusted by Brunel with the construction of two divisions of the Great Western Railway; the Paddington terminus and the bridges at Basildon and Moulsford being his principal works While thus engaged he compiled ‘A Guide-book to the Great Western Railway, containing some Account of the Construction of the Line, with Notices of the Objects best worth Attention upon its Course’ (London, 1839). This, the first guide to the line, was published officially without his name, and dedicated to Brunel. A more detailed account, which he subsequently wrote, of the geology and archæology of the country traversed by the railway, was published, with numerous illustrations, as ‘The History and Description of the Great Western Railway’ (London, 1846); but the only name attached to it was that of the artist, John C. Bourne.

In about 1843 Clark went to India, where he was employed by the government to report on the sewerage of the native town at Bombay, and afterwards upon the extension of the salt works of the district. Here he advocated the construction of the first railway in India, that from Bombay to Tannah, afterwards merged in the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, for the promoters of which he also reported on the feasibility of an extension through one of the mountain passes of the Sahyadri or Western Ghauts. On account of the climate he declined an offer of the chief engineership of the new line and returned to England. In consequence of an article on sanitary reform which he contributed to the ‘Westminster Review,’ he was appointed a superintending inspector under the Public Health Act, 1848, and reported on the sanitary condition of a large number of towns and districts, in many of which local boards were formed through his efforts. His success as an inspector was recognised by his promotion to be one of the three commissioners which then constituted the general board of health.

Towards the close of 1852 Clark, however, became trustee of the Dowlais Estate and Ironworks, under the will of Sir Josiah John Guest. For some time previously the works had been carried on at a loss; but having procured the necessary capital and induced Henry Austin Bruce (afterwards Lord Aberdare) to share with him the responsibility of the trusteeship, Clark took up his residence at Dowlais and devoted all his energies to the development of the works and the redemption of the estate. As Bruce devoted himself to politics, the whole responsibility of management devolved on Clark alone, whose rare capacity for administration was displayed no less by his rapid mastery of a complicated situation than by his wise selection of heads of departments, chief among whom was his manager, William Menelaus.

© William Menelaus (1818-1882); Hagarty, Parker; Cardiff University; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/william-menelaus-18181882-159291

To Clark and Menelaus belongs the credit of being the first ironmasters to assist (Sir) Henry Bessemer to perfect his process for making malleable iron direct from the ore. The inventor was invited to Dowlais to conduct experiments, with the result that the first rail ever rolled without the intervention of the puddling process was produced at Dowlais. The prompt adoption of Mushet’s further invention enabled Dowlais to be first in the field in the production of steel rails, and to enjoy for some time the monopoly of that trade in Wales. The consequent expansion of the industry, and the difficulty of procuring an adequate supply of suitable ores at home, led Clark, in conjunction with the Consett Iron Company and Messrs. Krupp of Essen, to acquire an extensive tract of iron-ore deposits near Bilbao in Spain.

A Bessemer Converter

To render the works independent of the vicissitudes of the coal trade he also purchased large coal areas, undeveloped for the most part, in Glamorganshire. To save the inland transport he finally procured the establishment, in 1888-91, of furnaces and mills in connection with Dowlais, on the seaboard at Cardiff. He was induced by Lord Wimborne (Ivor Guest, eldest son of Josiah John) to continue his administration of the Dowlais undertakings down to the end of March 1897, though his trusteeship had expired more than twenty years previously. Under his regime Dowlais became in effect a great training school which supplied to similar undertakings elsewhere a much larger number of managers and leading men than any other iron or steel works in the country.

To be continued…….

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.

There has not been much reference yet to Caedraw, nor can there be much recalled to describe. The Gas Works were erected here, a Mr Evans being the first manager, and a brother of his the deputy. There were two breweries near the end of the road joining Bridge Street, one owned by a Mr John Toop; the other, which was smaller, owned by Mr Anstie, who kept the shop in Pontmorlais previously. This Mr Anstie bought the property between the road in Caedraw and the Isle of Wight, and came to reside there after improving the buildings.

A section of the 1851 Public Health Map showing Caedraw

The basin tramroad was ordinarily used as a pedestrian thoroughfare, in fact many houses had no other way of approach. I cannot recall anyone ever being prevented from walking the tramroad, although it might not have always been judicious to do so on account of safety. Things are so altered now, and we are accustomed to the change, that it takes consideration to recall things quite decidedly. For instance, brakes to slacken the speed or stop conveyances were unknown. The ‘sprag’ was the only thing used, and these projected at variable distances from the wheels of the trams, if the trams were going fast – for they would occasionally run wild – it was a serious matter to be caught in any narrow part of the road. It was also a hazardous thing for the haulier to put them in or take them out, and many a limb as well as life has been lost by a slip.

As one instance of there being no other way of going to or coming from a residence on the Tramroad, somewhere behind the Morlais Castle Inn can be cited. It was the residence of Mr Roger Williams (I think it was his own property). He was a public functionary, but whether relieving officer or assistant overseer is not remembered now. If we went down the Tramroad towards Twynyrodyn, before coming to Professional Row we should see a door on the right hand. This is where a Mr Russell stayed. He was a brother of the Mr Russell who was the doctor of Dowlais, Penydarren and Plymouth Works at one time. He lived in the lowest of the three houses in Professional Row, and his surgery was at the back with public entrance from the Tramroad.

Old Mr Russell, his brother, and others attended the surgery, but the one very often attendant upon the patient was the brother, about whom I remember the remark that after enquiring as to symptoms he always gave two pills in a paper, and the patients were often (very often) so hurt, that the pills used to be thrown over the Tramroad wall into the field on the other side, whence they were collected to again be served out.

To be continued at a later date……