Tag: River Taff

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.

Some little little distance below the bridge of the Taff Vale branch to Dowlais is come by – the objection to obtaining the parliamentary powers to make which has already been alluded to, but one thing was done that has not been stated. The minerals under Scyhorfawr (sic.) land were in the hands of the Plymouth Company (or rather Mr A. Hill, for he had become sole proprietor), and to prove they had not been all worked a pit was sunk as near as could be to the centre line of the intended railway. Persons called it “spite pit”. However, it was done for a purpose, and it answered it.

Sir Josiah John Guest

The terms of the settlement have been mentioned, but the various fencings cannot be. I can recall one rather angry meeting in which Mr E. J. Hutchings tried to make things smooth, with some success. This was the last fight between Sir J. John Guest and Mr Anthony Hill. They had had many encounters before, and found each other sturdy opponents, and Anthony Hill, on being told of Sir John’s death, with tears in his eyes, said: “Ah what fights we have had”.

Sir John was a Whig, Mr Hill a Tory. They differed, therefore, in political matters, but it was in other matters they combated most; for instance, Sir John was chairman of the Taff Vale Railway Company, and wanted the line to be made in a straight line from the Troedyrhiw Station, keeping the old church tower as a guide. This would have materially affected Plymouth, and as anyone can now see, Mr Hill compelled its making with the minimum of injury either by way of severance or otherwise to his works.

Sir John is buried in Dowlais; Mr Hill in a lonely grave in Pontyrhun. Peace to their manes. I can bear testimony to the goodness of both. It may not be remembered very clearly, but Troedyrhiw Farm was then the freehold of the Dowlais Company, and upon the parting of Guest and Lewis it became solely Mr Lewis’s, and by the irony of fate the minerals are worked by pits sunk by Mr Hill, thus forming a part of what is yet known as Hill’s Plymouth Collieries, although the one who gives the name has passed away above 40 years.

Troedyrhiw Farm. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

By way of antithesis to differences, let me cite a case of another description. The ownership of some land was determined by by the course of the river, and the different properties were leased to ironmasters. Time rolled on, the surface was of little account, so that the river spread out and shifted the course of it’s ordinary current. When the working of the minerals was approaching, the line of the boundary necessarily arose. Instead of litigation or any unpleasantness, those that were interested arranged together in a friendly way, and showed a modern instance of what Pope said of the man Ross:

Is there a variance? Enter but his door.
Baulk’d are the courts, and contest is no more.

To be continued at a later date.

Merthyr’s Bridges: St Tydfil’s Bridge

Not exactly history, but St Tydfil’s Bridge is an iconic structure that will be part of Merthyr’s History in future generations. We all know it, you either love or hate it, but what do you know about it?

Here’s a transcription of an article that tells us all about its construction:

An iconic steel composite bridge forms the centrepiece of a multi-million pound regeneration scheme in the South Wales town of Merthyr Tydfil.

Spanning the River Taff and connecting a recently redeveloped college with the town centre, the River Taff Central Link Bridge forms an important element of Merthyr Tydfil’s £24M regeneration programme.

The new bridge will offer better transportation links across the River Taff

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Welsh Government, the regeneration masterplan encompasses a number of town centre enhancements with the new road bridge helping to make the riverside area an attractive destination for future investment.

The council’s Regeneration Manager Gavin Lewis wanted something that would be a feature and not simply a typical highway bridge structure. A number of design options went out to consultation with the local planning and highways authorities, together with other stakeholders, and the favoured design was for a bridge with an iconic arch.

Once a bridge design was selected locally based civil engineering company Alun Griffiths was chosen as the principal contractor for the project, while Mabey Bridge was awarded the bridge construction subcontract package.

Designed by Capita, the bridge’s stand out feature is 136t skewed arch. Measuring 40.9m across its base and reaching a maximum height of 18.5m, it was fabricated from 60mm thick plate. Connecting the arch to the bridge deck are a total of 14 × 80mm diameter hangers ranging in length from 4.7m to 22.5m.

One of the project’s main technical challenges revolved around the hangers and the associated cable tensioning. “During the non-linear analysis of the installation and stressing procedure for the hangers, we found that some hangers would go into compression if the full pre-stress design was induced in an adjacent hanger,” says Christopher Prosser, Capita Project Engineer. “We therefore had to design an incremental tensioning sequence to prevent this occurring. The designed sequence was later streamlined by Mabey Bridge during the construction phase in order to speed up the process.”

The appearance of the bridge was critical to the overall design and so it was decided that each hanger fin plate would be designed with the same geometry, but with varying orientation to suit the alignment of the hangers. This required Capita to extensively model each element to ensure there were no clashes and determine the practicalities of completing the internal welds, while ensuring the alignment of the hangers between the top and bottom plates was correct both aesthetically and structurally.

When designing the structure it was also necessary to take into account the BS EN 1993-1-11 requirement for the loss of a hanger without any restriction to live load capacity. “This required us to model what effect the loss of a hanger had on the remaining structural elements for the critical loading case. This analysis resulted in the increasing of the diameter of the hangers and associated fixings,” says Mr. Prosser.

For the site erection programme, the 29m long x 19.8m wide deck was the first steelwork to be installed earlier this year by Mabey Bridge. It is formed with a ladder configuration with two main 900mm deep × 600m wide outer girders, each 29m-long, connected by a series of nine crossbeams.

“We erected the deck steelwork using MEWPs positioned on each riverbank in conjunction with one 250t capacity crane,” says Andy Hosking, Mabey Bridge Project Manager. “Once the beams were erected we then bolted on the cantilevers which support the parapets as well as having the deck connection for the hangers.”

Mabey Bridge’s contract required it to have input in a number of aspects relating to the project, not just the steelwork detailing, but also construction methodology, and cable installation and stressing. However, the company’s main recommendation was to fully assemble the arch and then lift the complete structure into position.

The arch was lifted into place as one large piecewidth

This eliminated working at height as well as having environmental benefits as no trestles were installed into the fast flowing river. Working in this way also reduced the construction programme as steelwork fabrication was carried out off site by Mabey Bridge while Alun Griffiths was constructing the substructure on site.

The arch was transported to site in four equal sections from Mabey Bridge’s Newhouse manufacturing facility which is 88km away from Merthyr Tydfil. Once on site, the sections were placed on temporary trestles and welded together to produce the continuous and completed arch.

Using a single 550t capacity mobile crane positioned on one of the riverbanks, the entire arch was lifted into a vertical position, slewed over the river to its final position where it was fixed to the abutments. “The entire lifting procedure took eight hours and a large crowd, including school children and council representatives, gathered to watch,” says Mr Hosking.

Commenting on the bridge, which is scheduled to open in November, Daniel Francis, Project Manager for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, says: “It is an iconic structure that also opens up areas of the town for future development. It is also a key structure in our redevelopment programme that will, along with a new road system, cater for our anticipated increase in visitors to the town.”

This article is transcribed with the kind permission of The British Constructional Steelwork Association Limited. To view the original article, please click:

https://www.steelconstruction.info/River_Taff_Central_Link_Bridge,_Merthyr_Tydfil

Merthyr in the Tudor Period

In 1540, an English traveller, John Leland, spent some time travelling through Wales. Luckily, he kept an account of his journey, the relevant part about the Merthyr area is transcribed below.

“Merthyr Tydfil is in the commote of Senghenydd Uwch Caiach which is in the cantref of Eweinlwg. To go from east to west in the highest part of Glamorganshire towards the roots of the Black Mountains, is a sixteen mile of wild ground almost all.

Uwch Caiach stretcheth up to Taf by the east bank from Caiach to Morlays Castelle (sic), and two miles upward by north-north-east to Cae Drain, where the boundary is between Upper Monmouthshire, Breconshire and the Uwch Caiach part of Senghenydd.

Morlays Castelle standeth in a good valley of corn and grass and is on the right bank of the Morlays Brook*. This castle is a ruin and belongs to the King. Morlays Brook……comes out of the Breconshire hills, near Upper Monmouthshire and to Morlays Castelle, and about a mile lower in the parish called Merthyr it goeth into the east bank of the Taf.

There is a hill called Cefn Glas**, and stands between Cynon and Taf. This is the boundary between Miscin (sic) and Senghenydd. The ground between Cynon and Pennar is hilly and woody.

The water of the Taf cometh so down from woody hills and often bringeth down such log and trees, that the country would not be able to rebuild the bridges if they were stone, for they are so often broken.”

*  Actually the Taf Fechan River

**  Part of the Aberdare Mountain which overlooks Quakers Yard

Scheduled Monuments in Merthyr

I recently received an enquiry asking whether there were any Scheduled Monuments in Merthyr Tydfil. The following is transcribed from Wikipedia:-

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough has 43 scheduled monuments. The prehistoric scheduled sites include many burial cairns and several defensive enclosures. The Roman period is represented by a Roman Road. The medieval periods include two inscribed stones, several house platforms and two castle sites. Finally the modern period has 14 sites, mainly related to Merthyr’s industries, including coal mining, transportation and iron works. Almost all of Merthyr Tydfil was in the historic county of Glamorgan, with several of the northernmost sites having been in Brecknockshire.

Scheduled monuments have statutory protection. The compilation of the list is undertaken by Cadw Welsh Historic Monuments, which is an executive agency of the National Assembly of Wales. The list of scheduled monuments below is supplied by Cadw with additional material from RCAHMW (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales) and Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust.

Name Site type Community Details Historic County
Gelligaer Standing Stone Standing stone Bedlinog A 2 m (6.6 ft) high stone on open moorland. Probably Bronze Age and with the possible remains of a Bronze Age burial alongside. An inscription on the stone, now mostly illegible, is described as either post-Roman/Early Christian or Early Medieval. Glamorganshire
Coed Cae Round Cairns Round cairn Bedlinog Located in a cairnfield with at least 19 stony mounds, the scheduling consists of a group of eight Bronze Age burial cairns. Glamorganshire
Gelligaer Common Round Cairns Round cairn Bedlinog A group of eleven Bronze Age burial cairns. Glamorganshire
Carn Castell y Meibion ring cairn Ring cairn Cyfarthfa

Troed-y-rhiw

 A ring cairn, possibly dating to the Bronze Age, with a 8 m (26 ft) diameter and surrounded by a 3 m (9.8 ft) wide stony ring bank. Glamorganshire
Brynbychan Round Cairn Round cairn Merthyr Vale, A Bronze Age circular cairn with a diameter of 18 m (59 ft). There is an OS triangulation pillar on the site. Glamorganshire
Cefn Merthyr Round Cairns Cairnfield Merthyr Vale Glamorganshire
Morlais Hill ring cairn Ring cairn Pant Glamorganshire
Tir Lan round barrow cemetery Round barrow Treharris The remains of six Bronze Age round barrows, three to the north-west and three to the south-east of Tir Lan farm. All six remain substantially intact despite being reduced by ploughing in the past. Glamorganshire
Garn Las Earthwork Round cairn Troed-y-rhiw The remains a circular burial cairn measuring 14 m (46 ft) in diameter, probably dating to the Bronze Age. Glamorganshire
Merthyr Common Round Cairns Round cairn Troed-y-rhiw A group of six Bronze Age burial cairns ranging from 5 to 19 m (16 to 62 ft) in diameter. Glamorganshire
Carn Ddu platform cairn Platform Cairn Vaynor Glamorganshire
Cefn Cil-Sanws ring cairn Ring cairn Vaynor Glamorganshire
Cefn Cil-Sanws, Cairn on SW side of Round Cairn Vaynor Brecknockshire
Coetgae’r Gwartheg barrow cemetery Round cairn Vaynor Glamorganshire
Garn Pontsticill ring cairn Ring cairn Vaynor Glamorganshire
Dyke 315m E of Tyla-Glas Ditch Bedlinog The remains of a later prehistoric/medieval dyke with a clearly defined bank and ditch running east-west across a ridge top. The 3 m (9.8 ft) wide ditch is 1.5 m (4.9 ft) deep at its east end. Glamorganshire
Cefn Cil-Sanws Defended Enclosure Enclosure – Defensive Vaynor Brecknockshire
Enclosure East of Nant Cwm Moel Enclosure – Defensive Vaynor Glamorganshire
Enclosure on Coedcae’r Ychain Enclosure – Defensive Vaynor Glamorganshire
Gelligaer Common Roman Road Road Bedlinog Glamorganshire
Nant Crew Inscribed Stone (now in St John’s Church, Cefn Coed ) Standing stone Vaynor A 1.5 m (5 ft) high square-sectioned pillar stone thought to date to the Bronze Age. A Latin inscription on the west face and cross incised on the north face are from the 6th and 7th-9th centuries. Holes in the stone indicate that it had been used as a gatepost. Brecknockshire
Platform Houses and Cairn Cemetery on Dinas Noddfa House platforms (& Cairnfield) Bedlinog Medieval house platforms, also prehistoric cairnfield Glamorganshire
Platform Houses on Coly Uchaf Platform house Bedlinog Glamorganshire
Morlais Castle Castle Pant The collapsed remains of a castle begun in 1288 by Gilbert de Clare, Lord of Glamorgan. The walls enclosed an area of approximately 130 by 60 m (430 by 200 ft). It was captured during the 1294-95 rebellion of Madog ap Llywelyn and may have been abandoned shortly afterwards. Glamorganshire
Cae Burdydd Castle Motte Vaynor A 3 m (9.8 ft) high motte and ditch dating to the medieval period. The diameter of 23 m (75 ft) narrows to 9 m (30 ft) at the top. Brecknockshire
Cefn Car settlement Building (Unclassified) Vaynor Glamorganshire
Gurnos Quarry Tramroad & Leat Industrial monument Gurnos Glamorganshire
Sarn Howell Pond and Watercourses Pond Town Glamorganshire
Abercanaid egg-ended boiler Egg-ended Boiler, re-purposed as garden shed Troed-y-rhiw Glamorganshire
Cyfarthfa Canal Level Canal Level Cyfarthfa Glamorganshire
Cyfarthfa Tramroad Section at Heolgerrig Tramroad Cyfarthfa Glamorganshire
Iron Ore Scours and Patch Workings at Winch Fawr, Merthyr Tydfil Iron mine Cyfarthfa Glamorganshire
Ynys Fach Iron Furnaces Industrial monument Cyfarthfa Glamorganshire
Penydarren Tram Road Trackway Merthyr Vale Glamorganshire
Iron Canal Bridge from Rhydycar Bridge Park Glamorganshire
Pont-y-Cafnau tramroad bridge Bridge Park An ironwork bridge spanning the River Taff constructed in 1793. The name, meaning “bridge of troughs”, comes from its unusual three tier design of a tramroad between two watercourses, one beneath the bridge deck and the other on an upper wooden structure which is no longer present. Pont-y-Cafnau is also Grade II* listed. Glamorganshire
Merthyr Tramroad: Morlais Castle section Tramroad Pant Glamorganshire
Merthyr Tramroad Tunnel (Trevithick’s Tunnel) Tramroad Troed-y-rhiw Glamorganshire
Cwmdu Air Shaft & Fan Air Shaft Cyfarthfa Glamorganshire
Remains of Blast Furnaces, Cyfarthfa Ironworks Blast Furnace Park Glamorganshire
Tai Mawr Leat for Cyfarthfa Iron Works Leat Park Glamorganshire
Deserted Iron Mining Village, Ffos-y-fran Industrial monument Troed-y-rhiw Glamorganshire

Please follow the link below to see the original:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scheduled_monuments_in_Merthyr_Tydfil_County_Borough

Merthyr’s Lost Landmarks: St Cynon’s Church, Quaker’s Yard

Today marks the 160th anniversary of the opening of St Cynon’s Church in Quaker’s Yard. Unfortunately, it is yet another Merthyr landmark that has disappeared into the ether.

Photo courtesy of www.treharrisdistrict.co.uk

With the growth of the iron industry in Merthyr, the population ‘down the valley’ also increased due to subsequent developments associated with the industry. Foremost amongst these was the development of the Glamorganshire Canal which passed near to Quakers’ Yard. The small church at Llanfabon soon became too small to accommodate the burgeoning congregation, so it was decided, with the backing of Thomas Shepherd Esq., the General Manager of the Glamorganshire Canal to build a new church.

The site for the new church, on a commanding position overlooking the River Taff (now Fiddler’s Elbow), was given by Baroness Windsor, the landowner, and the foundation stones were laid on 18 July 1861. The new building, which measured 73ft by 22ft, was designed by Messrs Pritchard and Suddon, architects, of Llandaff, and the contractor assigned to carry out the work was Mr Richard Mathias. The Gothic style church was built of local Blue Pennant sandstone from the Park and Pandy Quarry in Trelewis, with Bath stone dressing, and comprised of a chancel, nave, south porch and belfry. There was also a small vestry at the north side of the east end. The church could seat 200 people, and in total cost £4,820, which included stained glass windows and an American organ. It was officially opened on 10 July 1862, and was consecrated the following year.

Photo courtesy of www.treharrisdistrict.co.uk

Above the main entrance to the church was a sculpture depicting Jesus as the Good Shepherd, with the inscription ‘I give unto them eternal life’ (right). Local legend says that the sculpture was the work of a tramp who was passing through the area.

In 1876, enough funds had been raised to build a school. It was used as both a Sunday School and as a National School to educate the children of the area. The school continued to operate until 1949, and at the time of its closure was the last Church School in the Borough.

St Cynon’s Church and School. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

In its heyday, St Cynon’s boasted its own brass band and football club, but as the congregation dwindled, the church was forced to close on 9 March 1986. Over the next few years the church fell into disrepair and was vandalised on several occasion, and in late 1989 the Church authorities decided to demolish the building. When the church was demolished, the sculpture of ‘Good Shepherd’ was saved and is now in the porch at St Matthias Church in Treharris.

Quakers’ Yard – A Potted History

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson’s Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Quakers’ Yard like this:

“QUAKERS-YARD, a village in the E of Glamorgan; on the river Taff at the influx of the Bargoed, adjacent to the Taff Vale Extension railway, at the junction of the branch to Hirwain, 7½ miles S S E of Merthyr-Tydvil. It took its name from an old burying-place of Quakers; stands in a fine curve of the valley, engirt all round by hills; and has a station with telegraph at the railway junction.”

The village of Quakers’ Yard was originally known as ‘Rhyd y Grug’ or ‘The Ford of the Rustling Waters’, grew up at the confluence of the Taff Bargoed River and the River Taff, and the name was derived from the fact that the Taff was quite shallow here and there had been a ford crossing the river at this point. The village later became known by its more usual name because of the Quaker burial ground that was erected in the village (see previous article – http://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=5069).

Quaker’s Yard was, until the second half of the 19th century, a quiet rural spot. There was a corn mill, Melin Caiach and a small woollen mill on the banks of the Taff Bargoed, as well as a small scattering of houses. With the building of a bridge across the Taff to replace the ford, the village could even boast two inns – the Quakers’ Yard Inn and the Glantaff Inn.

Quakers’ Yard Bridge and Quakers’ Burial Ground. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Industrial Revolution, of course, changed all that. Soon the coal trade totally revolutionized the nature of the environment, creating booming and burgeoning communities like nearby Treharris and Trelewis. The link to Quakerism remained strong. Treharris was named after William Harris, a Quaker businessman whose family owned a fleet of steam ships, while streets in the new towns were named after famous Quakers such as William Penn and George Fox.

Religion in the village wasn’t confined to Quakerism. In 1831, members of Groeswen Chapel in Caerphilly broke away from their chapel and built and Welsh Independent Chapel called Soar in the village, The Welsh Independents also built Libanus in 1833 and the Welsh Baptists built Berthlwyd in 1841. There was also a Welsh Wesleyan chapel – Horeb, and a Primitive Methodist chapel – Ebenezer. Finally, in 1862, the Anglicans opened St Cynon’s Church at Fiddler’s Elbow.

In 1858 the Quaker’s Yard High Level station was opened. Together with the village’s Low Level station this created a lively and bustling railway junction where passengers could embark for places like Merthyr and Aberdare and coal could be dispatched down the valley to the docks at Cardiff. In 1840 the engineer – and guiding force behind the Great Western Railway – Isambard Kingdom Brunel began work on a six-arched viaduct across the River Taff. While the High Level station closed in 1964, the viaduct is still there, carrying traffic from Merthyr to Cardiff.

Quakers’ Yard Viaduct and Truant School. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive.

As the village grew so schools were built here or in the surrounding area. In 1894, the borough’s infamous Truant School was built in Quakers’ Yard, and in 1906, the Woodlands Junior School was built along the river Taff; 70 years later the building was used for a Welsh Medium Junior School, Ysgol Cymraeg  Rhyd y Grug. After the First World War, Merthyr Tydfil acquired some prefab buildings for a new secondary school and on the 2 May 1922 Quakers’ Yard Grammar School officially opened by Mayor David Davies, although this wasn’t actually situated in the village, but in Edwardsville.

Perhaps the most famous man to emerge from Quaker’s Yard was the world flyweight boxing champion Jimmy Wilde (right) who was born in the village in 1892. Known as ‘the ghost with a hammer in his hand’, Wilde fought an amazing 864 bouts, losing only four of them, and reigned as champion between 1916 and 1921 (see previous article – http://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=150).

Aberfan’s First Tragedy

by Brian Jones

Visitors to the cemetery in Aberfan can be forgiven for not recognising a military monument dedicated to the memory of seven young local men who perished a few years after the construction of the Merthyr Vale Colliery which opened in 1876. They were volunteers, part of the Volunteer Army, originally a citizen army of part time soldiers created as a popular movement in 1859. This army was later integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reform of 1881, and then became the Territorial Army in 1908. Volunteer soldiers were required to train for up to four weeks each year and this included two weeks at “Summer Camp”.

The Martini-Henry single shot became the standard issue rifle for the army in 1871 and thereafter all full and part time soldiers trained with this issue. These military and equipment changes coincided locally with the rapid increase of population as Welsh and English workers and their families moved into the South Wales valleys. Deep coal mines were opened and work began to divert the River Taff and sink No.1 shaft at the Taff Vale Colliery in 1869. The first coal was brought to the surface more than six years later and in time the mine was renamed as the Merthyr Vale Colliery. The terraced communities of Mount Pleasant,  Aberfan and Merthyr Vale were constructed and the first places of worship opened in 1876 with Bethania Welsh Independent and Aberfan Calvinistic Methodist chapels. In that same year the eight acre cemetery at Bryntaf (Aberfan) was opened.

The steep hilltop cemetery is now dominated by the graves and monument to the 144 souls who perished in the Aberfan Disaster of October 1966. However visitors to the cemetery can easily fail to notice a 10ft monument near the main cemetery entrance. This is topped by three bronze Martini-Henry rifles on a varied stone base weighing 25 tons. The monument was designed by Lieutenant C.B.Fowler of Llandaff and constructed by Messrs Corfield and Morgan of Cardiff. A bronze Cypress wreath marks this as a tribute to seven young soldiers of “E Company” of the Welch (Welsh) Regiment’s Third Volunteer Brigade who drowned in the Bristol Channel, between Lavernock and Penarth, on 1 August 1888.

Photo courtesy of David Pike

The ceremony to dedicate the monument over the graves was held on Sunday 30 March 1890, attended by dignitaries and officers and men numbering 1,118 of the 3rd Volunteer Brigade (Welch Regiment) accompanied by the Cardiff Band and Dowlais Band to the Regimental tune of “The March of the Men of Harlech”. An inscribed shield of marble bears the names of the deceased:

Henry Brown 18 years

John Walter Webber 17 years

Willie Colston 20 years

Fred J. James 17 years

James Simons 18 years

Pryce James Potter 18 years

Thomas Hughes 18 years

Three of the deceased were colliers, one a fitter, three building tradesmen and two of the seven were from the neighbouring area of Treharris. These two were thought to be from the Nelson Company of the Volunteer Brigade. All seven were likely friends at the Summer Camp going out to celebrate not knowing of theirpending fate.

Michael Statham has provided a detailed account of the tragedy (on the website www.historypoints.org), based on records from the inquest as follows:

“Seven volunteers drowned off the coast here (Lavernock) in a boating accident in 1888. The Merthyr Vale detachment of the Welch Regiment’s Third Volunteer Brigade was on a summer camp in Lavernock. On the evening of Wednesday 1 August, 10 soldiers hired the boat MAGGIE to take them to Penarth. The boat was operated by Joseph Hall, aged 31.

It was almost high tide when the boat passed Ranny pool, where several fishing poles were located and a reef caused a strong current. Joseph tried to pull clear of a fishing pole which was submerged by the tide, but the heavily-laden boat struck it. Reacting to the collision, the passengers became agitated, stood up and moved about. Their movements caused the boat to ship water and eventually capsize.

Four soldiers tried to swim to shore but were drowned. The rest managed to right the craft, but it capsized again as they scrambled to get back into it. This happened a number of times. At one point Joseph was lucky to extricate himself from beneath the upturned boat.

By the time help arrived, three more soldiers had drowned. Joseph was saved along with three of his passengers: Albert Williams, William Dowdeswell and Watkin Moss. The drowned men’s bodies were recovered the following week: two on Monday, two on Tuesday and the remaining three on Wednesday. Most were recovered close to the accident scene but the last to be found, James Potter was picked up off Barry, c.6 miles away.

At the inquest it was noted that the MAGGIE was licensed to carry eight passengers. Joseph said that he had taken the 10 men because they had told him that he must take them all or none of them would go. He was found guilty of Gross Neglect. He was severely reprimanded by the Coroner but exonerated from guilt of a criminal offence”

The hamlet of Lavernock (Larnog) is seven miles from Cardiff and as this tragedy fades into history it is also overshadowed by the experiment conducted by Marconi on 13 May 1897. He transmitted the first radio message (morse code) over water from Lavernock Point to the small offshore island of Flat Holm.

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 are two trivialities that must be stated about Penydarren before alluding to that which will perpetuate its memory for all time. (1) The end of the forge was a pure example of Doric architecture, (2) and the small stack of the roll lathe boiler was an exact model one-fifth the size of the monument on Fish Street Hill, London.

Penydarren Ironworks in the early 1800s. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Petherick family had positions in the early days of Penydarren, and Evan Hopkins, the author of “Magnetic Distribution of Metalliferous Veins” went thence to South America about the deposits there. It is, however, as the parent of the locomotive that Penydarren will ever be remembered. As there seem to be doubts about some things I will endeavour to put it clear, although not strictly within my own personal recollections.

Notwithstanding the great genius of James Watt, and the wonderful sagacity of Mathew Boulton, the idea of using steam in a cylinder to give motion to a piston, and allowing it then to escape into the atmosphere, was thought to be too dangerous, and the condensation of the steam was adhered to them.

Richard Trevithick (left), however, more daring, did not allow himself to be influenced by such fears, but towards the close of the 18th century began to put his thoughts into use. He made a road locomotive, and in 1802, injunction with Andrew Vivian, obtained the patent.

It is only my idea that the Pethericks were the means of introducing Trevithick to Penydarren, for one (a Mr John Petherick), wrote in 1858 that, “I perfectly remember when a boy, about the year 1802, seeing Trevithick’s first locomotive, worked by himself, come through the principal street of Cambourne”. But be that as it may, this, or another of Trevithick’s make, travelled to London, and often ran upon some ground near Bethlehem Hospital, and also where Euston Station now stands. It must be borne in mind that it was thought quite impossible to get sufficient grip between the wheels and a road to cause them to move the carriage forward.

It is clear Trevithick was in the neighbourhood about 1800, for stationary engines were made by him or from his designs both at Penydarren and Tredegar Works. These have been seen at work by me. His first locomotive was used about the works, and very probably hauled some of the cinders which for the tip alongside of the Morlais Brook and River Taff. The fact of an engine having cast iron wheels, running on an iron road being able not only to propel itself forward but draw a load after it was there demonstrated, and must have been a subject of controversy because a bet of £1,000 was made between Mr Homfray and Mr Crawshay as to the possibility of its taking ten tons of iron down to the basin and bringing the empty trams back.

The ten tons of iron was take to its destination, but for some cause the engine and the empties did not return to the works as satisfactorily as hoped for. The weight of the engine is stated to have been about five tons, and the gross weight altogether of 25 tons.

It seems as if Mr Homfray was an exceedingly hot tempered man, and it is clear that Trevithick had the same infirmity. This I have from one who was able to recall both personally. It would scarcely be proper to trace here how engines were designed by Trevithick, and did work elsewhere soon afterward, and how Trevithick himself having more enticing engagements allowed others to carry on the work he had begun.

To be continued at a later date…..

Merthyr’s Bridges: Pontyrhun, Troedyrhiw

by David Collier

Pontyrhun in 1912. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Legend has it that the bridge over the river Taff in Troedyrhiw is located at the place where Tydfil’s brother Rhun was killed, in around the year 480, by Saxon or British pagans or a band of marauding Picts. It is commonly accepted that, thereafter, bridges constructed on this spot have been known by names which mean ‘Rhun’s Bridge’. These include Pontyrhun, Pontrhun and Pont-y-Rhun.

There is, however, a less colourful explanation  for the name of this bridge. In his book ‘Bridges of Merthyr Tydfil’ W. L. Davies states that this ancient site is “the most natural and only location for a bridge crossing below the meeting of the two Taffs at Cefn Coed-y-cymmer”. It is, therefore, possible that the name of this bridge is derived from it being the FIRST bridge in the lower valley as suggested by ‘Pont yr Un’ (roughly translatable as ‘bridge one’) as printed on at least one early map.

The first known record of a bridge at this spot dates from the 1540’s when it would have been made of wood. Later replacements were of a stone arch construction but, by 1857, a wrought iron structure was in place. Disaster struck on 15 December 1878 when the foundations on the west bank were washed away.

Pontyrhun following the collapse. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

This bridge was reconstructed in 1880 and remained in place with regular repairs and strengthening until 1945 when plans were prepared for a new bridge which was then completed. By the 1960’s it was apparent that this bridge was inadequate for the amount of traffic that it then carried and so on 3 October 1965 it was closed for 13 weeks whilst a new bridge, that remains in use to this day, was erected.

This article has been transcribed from the Friends of Saron web-page, and is used here with the kind permission of David Collier. To see the original article please see: https://friendsofsaron.wordpress.com/2020/08/24/pontyrhun-bridge-troedyrhiw/