Brecon Road – The Melting Pot – Merthyr Tydfil's History and Culture

Beer, Brewing and Public Houses in the Merthyr Tydfil Locality – part 2

by Brian Jones

Prior to the early 19^th century public houses, coaching inns, hotels and hostelries sold beer of variable quality in vessels of various sizes and without restrictions on opening times. Governments did not interfere in the trade however the “Gin Riots” in England, particularly in London, of the early 18^th century prompted legislation spread over many decades in order to standardise units of measures, pub opening times and the legal definition of beers, wines and spirits. Premises had to be licenced, pub landlords needed to apply for licences and it was necessary for them to keep their pubs in good order for fear of losing their licence. Licensed Victuallers, or pub landlords, became more professional and local licensed victualler Associations were formed. Some important Acts of Parliament were:-

1824 British Weights and Measures Act which defined the imperial measurements for (amongst others) the pint and half pint.
1830 Beerhouse Act which sought to encourage the establishment of pubs with more supervision plus the promotion of beer sales as a more wholesome beverage than gin and other spirits. This Act resulted in a significant increase in the number of public houses.
1921 The Licensing Act made permanent the World War I restriction on alcohol sales, establishing standard opening hours for licensed premises.
2003 Licensing Act aimed to pull a host of previous legislation together and covers the production, advertising, sale and taxation of products based on their alcohol by volume (ABV) Alcohol is now defined if it exceeds 1.2% ABV.

In 1835 ironworks were the major employer in the locality whilst the coal industry still remained relatively small scale. The population was less than 14,000 and “Pigot’s Directory” described Merthyr as a market town. His listing of the local businesses has the characteristics of a growing urban population with bakers, blacksmiths, booksellers, boot makers, hardware dealers, hairdressers, tanners etc. The directory also lists over 50 pubs and retailers of beer. Nearly all of the pubs no longer exist with a few exceptions such as The Crown and The Vulcan, both in the High Street, the Wyndham in Glebeland Street and the Glove and Shears (now a fast food outlet) adjacent to the Labour Club. It is remarkable that these premises still exist after nearly 200 years!

The local pubs in the era of the iron aside from selling beer, also served as centres of trade and mischief. Most of the ironworkers were not employed by the Ironmasters but by contractors, and their gangmasters would pay workers in the pubs, initially in tokens, and after the Truck Act of 1819 in coin of the realm. These men were captive customers and in the decades that followed drunkenness became a significant social problem. Local press was littered with stories of assaults, thefts and public indecency whilst under the influence of alcohol, and such was public concern that alcohol became political in nature. It transpired that the Beerhouse Act of 1830 had been too lax and a rift emerged between the political parties; the Conservative Party represented Brewers and Licensees and the Liberal Party represented those groups seeking to reduce the effects of “demon drink”. In Wales this came to a head in 1881 when pressure from Non-Conformists forced the prohibition of the sale of alcohol on Sundays. In time the national Liberal Party supported a 3 year Royal Commission into Liquor Licensing because of concerns about alcohol consumption, public order and social progress. In 1908 a Licensing Act sought to reduce pub licenses and opening hours and a later Act in 1921 reinforced changes in the laws.

Deep Coal mines were sunk in the 1880s and a surge in the transport of coal by the improved rail transport, coincided with immigration into the coalfield and a second rapid increase in population. Tom Hier produced a significant piece of work set out in the Alan George archives, He listed in alphabetical order more than 500 pubs in the Merthyr locality and these establishments became important economic and social centres The list starts with Aberfan Hotel and finishes with the Zebro in Mary Street, Dowlais and spans the economic history of the locality from farming to the Iron works era, through the railway age and then coal mining. Here are a few examples of the number of pubs with similar names:-

12 Plough /Farmers Arms
7 Rolling Mill/Puddlers Arms/Blast Furnace
12 Railway/ Locomotive /Station
12 Miners/Colliers Arms

There were also a small number of pubs with curious names which mirrored the makeup of the population. Greyhound racing had been a popular pastime and there were at least 10 pubs named the Greyhound. The Irish communities of both Merthyr and Dowlais had their own Shamrock pubs at Bethesda Street and Cross Street respectively whilst the leather tanners at “The Skinyard” near Jackson Bridge had the Tanyard pub in Bethesda Street.

The Tanyard Inn. Courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Throughout the 19^th and into the 20^th century the beer trade expanded however most breweries confined their sales to premises within a relatively short distance because the mode of transport was a limiting factor. Beer wagons were drawn by sturdy horses who could manage heavy loads on the flat or slightly sloping ground but not the steep climbs from one valley to the next one. That was to change at the end of World War I with the manufacture of petrol driven lorries. Prior to 1914 The Rhymney Brewery company had bought out local breweries however they were now able to expand their transport fleet and this enabled them to further economise by closing the local brewers and concentrate production at their brewery in Rhymney. In addition their sales outlets increased with the acquisition of freehold premises and now they owned more than 70 pubs in the Merthyr locality and the “Hobby Horse” reigned supreme adorning pubs such as:-

Eagle Inn (right). Courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Aberfan Hotel. Courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Glamorgan Arms in Abercanaid. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

To concentrate on the ownership of pubs as part of the real estate owned by the breweries can diminish their importance as part of the social fabric of 19^th and 20^th century communities. It was not all about beer sales and beer drinking! In the first 100 years after the opening of the four local ironworks pubs were the centres for trade, conversation, smoking and music. Welsh was the dominant language and the Welsh harp was the principal instrument played. The singing voice accompanied the 3 string harp in the men only pubs often described as “spit and sawdust” places. Clay pipes would be given to customers and sometimes these would bear the name of the pub.

In the next 100 years Government legislation and “good order” gained the upper hand. The increased efforts of local government, licensees and the police saw pubs change their character, more English was spoken, women were allowed to enter “The Snug” but not the bar! The pub no longer became the working man stronghold and respectability saw increased use by the middle and professional classes. By way of example Cyfarthfa Castle Grammar school teachers met in the Lamb Inn in Castle Street each Friday evening and the Football Referees Association held their meetings tin the Narrow Gauge, Glebeland Street. The laws of Association and Rugby football had been codified and clubs were formed in pubs especially after World War II. Some examples are a rugby team at the Lamb and a football team at the Iron Horse, Galon Uchaf. Pub darts was popular with darts leagues whilst table games included cribbage, dominoes and cards.

The Lamb Inn. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Selling alcohol, keeping good order and resolving disputes were the job of both landlords and landladies however they also raised families and a brief note is made of some of these. Thomas Stevens served in “B” Company at the battle of Rourke’s Drift (1879) and his family kept the Robin Hood pub in Dowlais. Aladdin Gibb (1874-1939) followed his more famous father as an accomplished player of the Welsh harp and he was the landlord at the Rose and Crown in the Quar and later the Brecon House, Brecon Road. Some ex-professional footballers looked to retire to life behind the bar. Shenkin Powell (of the thunderous shot) played for Merthyr Tydfil after World War II and he was the landlord of the Brunswick in Church Street. The father of Lynn Mittell MBE kept the Royal Oak pub in old Caedraw, sited near to St. Tydfil’s Church, it was demolished in the 1960’s as part of the redevelopment of Caedraw.

Royal Oak Inn. Courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The pub trade of the 21^stcentury bears no resemblance to that of the previous 200 years. Pubs are no longer the centres of public life, considerably fewer in number and now cater for the younger generation with less draught beer, more bottle and draught lager produced by a few national brewers. Supermarkets now sell a substantial volume of liquor for consumption in the home. Catering is a major part of the trade and gone are the days of pork scratchings, peanuts and pickled eggs. Those of us from the post 1945 generation remember the significant part that pubs played in the social and economic life of the youth, middle aged and older population,. All of that was played out beneath the sign of the man on a barrel sometimes identified as a jockey on a “Hobby Horse”.

Beer, Brewing and Public Houses in the Merthyr Tydfil Locality – part 1

by Brian Jones

People living in the Merthyr Tydfil locality shrugged off the trauma of World War II and looked to an ever brighter future. Gone were the hardships of hot physical work associated with the iron works and the burden faced by coal miners, was eased, with mechanisation of that recently nationalised industry. Employment now centred on the new ‘lighter’ industries adapted from wartime production. The new Hoover factory was at the centre of the increasing prosperity and this was reflected in the increase in footfall in the High streets as a consumer society began to emerge. The retail sector thrived and weekend shoppers flooded the centres of the town and nearby villages, although supermarkets and shopping malls were a long way in the future.

Aside from food, furniture and clothing shops the town centres, and villages, were littered with public houses and ‘drinking culture’ became more respectable. Unsanitary pubs were demolished and money invested to brighten their appeal as suitable, and sober, places for both men and women. Sales people strove to market the tied pubs owned by the breweries and their signs were prominently displayed. The dominant sign was that used by Rhymney Brewery, with that of the William Hancock Brewery a poor second.

Today this sign hangs outside the Royal Oak, Nelson, which is still trading, whilst a faded painted image can be seen on the gable end of a private house in Quakers Yard, previously named as the Victoria Inn.

Malting is the germination of grains such as barley, wheat or oats which are soaked in warm water to allow germination and that germinating grain is heated in a kiln in order to to increase the alcohol content. In areas where soil was less fertile barley was used and that drink was referred to as ale. The more water in the mixture the weaker the ale and the lighter the colour, the less water the stronger, darker and richer the ale. In rural areas farms and taverns made their own ale which was sold in malthouses. In Medieval times ale/beer was an important source of nutrition mainly served as small beer, table beer or mild beer. It contained just enough alcohol to act as a preservative without causing intoxication and could be drunk by children. In broad terms beer has an alcoholic strength between 0.5 % to 4% alcohol by volume (ABV) although some craft beers can exceed this.

Change came with the entry of business men who opened numerous iron works along the northern edge of the South Wales valleys. Labour flowed into the area and they acquired new skills in hot blast furnaces, puddling the pig iron and this proved to be thirsty work. The workers could not trust the quality of either drinking water, nor barley water, so they sought refreshment firstly in ale, but later more increasingly in beer which is malted from hops. Beer was readily available and its importance for hydration was recognised by the Ironmasters some of whom took to investing in a more economic way of providing a consistent and safe liquid refreshment. A number of breweries were opened in the locality and these provided extra employment and a number of these were:-

Rhymney Brewery, Rhymney
Taff Vale Brewery, Georgetown, Merthyr
Taff Vale Brewery, Dan Y Parc, Merthyr
Six Bells (Heolgerrig), Merthyr
Pontycapel Brewery, Cefn Coed
Merthyr Brewery, Brecon Road, Merthyr

From the mid 18^th century there was a race to build new iron works and four were established in Merthyr with others at Hirwaun, Tredegar, Rhymney and Blaenavon. Many of the men and women worked in the open air, mining ironstone, limestone, clay and coal in adits and comparatively small drift mines. In the summer this proved to be thirsty work. Those in the iron works faced hot conditions all year round and sought drink in the many pubs and publicans began to brew alcohol for their customers. The Brewers Arms and the Clarence Hotel in Dowlais were small scale brewers, however some iron companies saw the potential to make safe and consistent quality beers in substantial quantities. A classic example was the Rhymney Iron Company which morphed from the Union Iron Company in Rhymney Bridge, and the Bute Ironworks. In 1838 it was decided to build a brewery for its workers and a year later a Scotsman, Andrew Buchan, became the brewery manager. For some decades the beers were sold as Buchan’s beers brewed and bottled at the brewery in the centre of Rhymney.

Andrew Buchan died in 1870 however, the brewery continued to use his name until 1930 when they acquired the Western Valleys Company in Crumlin, owned by D.F. Pritchard Ltd. In that purchase they also acquired the Pritchard logo and they decided to use the Hobby Horse with “The Man on a Barrel”. This clearly distinguished Rhymney Beers and the Rhymney Company from its competitors. The brewery at Rhymney was to become the largest in South Wales. Their beers dominated the market in Merthyr and their tied pubs became a common sight from Treharris to Cefn Coed and Dowlais. The company was taken over by Whitbread in 1966 and production ceased in Rhymney in 1978. The company name “Rhymney Brewery” and logo were resurrected in 2005 in Dowlais before production moved to its current brewery in Blaenavon. One of its many beers is the historic “Rhymney Hobby Horse”.

Taff Vale Brewery at Dan-y-Parc. Courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The largest of the local Merthyr breweries was the Taff Vale first located adjacent to the canal near the Old Iron Bridge close to where Merthyr college is today. It opened in in the 1840s and in 1904 moved to a new building in Dan Y Parc, to the south of Thomastown Park. The company was acquired by the Rhymney Brewery in 1936 and brewing ceased at that site. The Rhymney Brewery grew in importance as the dominant brewer and owner of public houses in the locality and in this same year(1936) it bought out a large Pritchard brewery in Crumlin and the last of the Merthyr brewing companies ceased production. In parallel with these 1936 acquisitions the William Hancock brewery in Cardiff purchased the Merthyr Brewery located on the Brecon Road and brewing also ceased there.

At the end of World War II the empty building at Dan Y Parc accommodated O.P. Chocolates and chocolate production continued there until 1963 when the company moved to a brand new factory in Dowlais which still operates today.

Six Bells Brewery. Photo Courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Six Bells pub had served the people of Heolgerrig however many may be surprised to learn that a large brewery once stood alongside the original pub. The Heolgerrig Brewery was founded in the 1840s by Thomas Evans until it was destroyed by fire in 1888. He then erected a new building which continued to brew beer until 1916 when it was Purchased by D.F. Pritchard Ltd. of Crumlin. The acquisition of breweries by larger companies became a trend where the new owners closed down local brewing in order to concentrate production at their own brewery. Some years later D.F. Pritchard Ltd. was bought out by the Rhymney Brewery who acquired the “Hobby Horse” trademark as part of that purchase.

Pontycapel Brewery. Photo Courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Pontycapel Brewery was founded in the early 1800’s by Robert Millar and was later purchased by James Pearce when it became Pearce and Shapton in 1871.It was described as the most picturesque brewery in the country, sited in a wooded area it predated the construction of the Cefn Viaduct which was completed in 1866. Shortly thereafter the name changed to the Cefn Viaduct Brewery especially known for Star Bright XXXX Pale Ale and production continued until 1921 when there was a post World War I economic downturn.

Photo Courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Giles and Harrap’s Merthyr Brewery was located on the Brecon Road. An adjacent road was named Brewery Street in an area which was the centre of the Merthyr Irish community and St. Mary’s Catholic church was built a short distance away. In 1936 the brewery was taken over by the William Hancock Company based in Cardiff although the buildings continued to be used as a warehouse and distribution centre for beer and spirits until the Borough Council bought the site. The brewery was the oldest in the locality when it opened in 1830 and so predated the Taff Vale Brewery by about 30 years. Richard Harrap lived in Gwaunfarren House, which later became the Gwaunfarren Maternity Hospital. Both partners built up the business to rival the Rhymney Brewery although in time the Rhymney Brewing Company grew to be larger buying out other brewers. Both companies managed a large number of tied public houses in Merthyr and also sold beer in a large number of local freehold pubs. The Merthyr and Rhymney breweries were to dominate the beer market and their large number of pubs were to have a prominent visual impact in main and side streets spread throughout the locality.

To be continued…….

Merthyr’s Lost Landmarks: Lost Chapels of Merthyr

Following on from the recent pictorial look at Merthyr’s lost churches, (https://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=8922) I have had a number of requests to do a similar one for Merthyr’s lost chapels. As there are so many, I have divided them up into various areas. We start with the chapels in Merthyr itself.

Adulam Welsh Independent Chapel

Lower Thomas Street, Merthyr Tydfil

Built 1831. Rebuilt 1857. Demolished late 1990s

Ainon Welsh Baptist Chapel

Dynevor Street, Georgetown

Built 1860. Demolished 1971

Bethel English Baptist Chapel

Bethel Street, Georgetown

Built 1809. Rebuilt 1826, 1855. Demolished 1983

Bethel Apostolic Church

Brecon Road

Built 1951-2. Demolished ?

Bethesda Welsh Independent Chapel

Bethesda Street

Built 1811. Rebuilt 1829, 1880. Demolished 1995

Bethlehem Calvinistic Methodist Chapel

Waterloo Street, Caepantywyll

Built 1841. Demolished 1979

Church of Christ

Plymouth Street

Built 1904, Demolished 1995

Ebenezer Welsh Baptist Chapel

Plymouth Street

Built 1793. Rebuilt 1831. Demolished ?

Market Square Congregational Chapel

Graham Street

Built 1841. Demolished 1969

Morlais English Baptist Chapel

Glebeland Place

Built 1881. Demolished 1925

Salem Welsh Independent Chapel

Heolgerrig Road, Heolgerrig

Built 1855. Rebuilt 1872. Demolished 1990

Trinity Forward Movement Presbyterian Chapel

Baden Terrace, Penyard

Built 1907. Demolished ?

Twynyrodyn Unitarian Chapel

Court Street

Built 1821. Demolished 1969

Tydfil Hall Forward Movement Presbyterian Chapel

Pontmorlais Promenade

Built 1907. Partially demolished 2010s

Ynysgau Welsh Independent Chapel

Victoria Street

Built 1749. Rebuilt 1853. Demolished 1967

If anyone has photographs of any other chapels that are no longer with us, and there are a few I can’t find photos of, or if anyone can fill in any details, please get in touch.

Merthyr Y. M. C. A.

by Carolyn Jacob

The former Y.M.C.A. is a striking four-storey terracotta building occupying a commanding and elevated position at the northern end of the town centre at Pontmorlais, where it joins the Brecon Road. It is a Grade II listed property, which was re-listed on 13 January 1998.

Originally the Y.M.C.A. buildings at Pontmorlais cost £8,400 and, following a competition, they were constructed from the competitive designs of Ivor Jones and Sir Percy Thomas, architects from Cardiff.

The official opening was on 5 October 1911 by Mr Mervyn Wingfield.

The stated purpose of the building was to provide a place where youths and young men could congregate for healthy amusement, recreation and health giving exercise.

On the ground floor were offices 2 shops and a café, the first floor had a lecture hall which could seat 150 and also a billiard room with 2 tables, the second floor had a lounge, reading room, games room and a library, and on the upper floor there were

Other games rooms, a rifle range and gymnasium.

The Y.M.C.A. when it was the Labour Exchange.

In later years the building was occupied by the Board of Trade and the Labour Exchange and then became the District Education Offices. The Y.M.C.A. played a major role in the educational and sporting life of Merthyr Tydfil.

King Edward VIII visited the building when he stopped off in Merthyr Tydfil on his tour of South Wales in 1936. After seeing the Labour Exchange in the former Y.M.C.A. building, Edward journeyed to Dowlais, where he made the historic statement, “Something must be done”.

The British champion boxer and later manager, Eddie Thomas had a gym there and there was also a very active boxing club. The building was also used for further education courses before the present Merthyr College was built. This historic building ceased to be used as a District Education Office in 1989. During the 1990s there were concerns for its future and it was purchased by Nazir Mohamed in 2001. The building was sold by him in 2006 to property developers.

Merthyr’s Chapels: Tabernacle Chapel

Tabernacle Welsh Baptist Chapel, Brecon Road

In 1834 a disagreement occurred at Ebenezer Chapel, Plymouth Street and 54 members of the congregation left, some going to Zion, Twynyrodyn and some to Carmel Chapel in Aberdare.

Because of the distance they had to travel, the worshippers who had gone to Aberdare decided that they should start their own cause in Merthyr, and so began worshipping in a room near St Tydfil’s Church. In 1836 they bought an unfinished chapel in Bryant’s Field, Brecon Road for £25 and completed it at a cost of £350.

By 1842, it was obvious that the chapel was too small, so a new chapel was built on the site of the old building at a cost of £2,200. When it was completed the new chapel was the largest chapel in Wales.

An 1877 photo showing the old Tabernacle Chapel just to right of centre at the top of the photo

By the 1890’s a movement was set in motion by Mrs Davies, wife of Alderman David Davies to provide more comfortable chapel. When Mrs Davies died, Alderman Davies took up the movement and the building of the chapel was begun.

The new chapel was designed by George Morgan of Carmarthen and would eventually cost over £5000 to build – a £1000 of which was raised by the congregation. The new chapel was opened in 1897, and is still holding services today.

200 years of history at Gwaunfarren – part 2

by Brian Jones

The next family to take up residence in the large house was Richard Harrap and his wife Mary with 5 children and just 3 servants. Richard was born in Yorkshire and prior to taking up residence in Gwaunfarren he lived on the Brecon Road. He was a brewer, and in 1871 he went into partnership with another brewer to form the growing company “Giles and Harrap’s”. They owned the “Merthyr Brewery” and marketed “Merthyr Ales” from their brewery on the Brecon Road, and grew the company to own 62 public houses.

Eventually they were bought out by William Hancock and Co. in 1936 and brewing ceased on the Brecon Road. In 2010 the brewery was demolished however the company name lives on etched in the glass windows of “Y Olde Royal Oak” public house in Ystrad Mynach (built 1914.). Richard died in 1895 with his wife remaining at Gwaunfarren House and she decided to give the house a personal name “Glenthorne”. She passed away in 1916 whilst her son James Thresher Harrap, resided there until 1921 when he moved to the Grove.

There is a gap in the historical record after the Harrap family vacated the house sometime in the early 1920s so I was unable to ascertain the use of the property until 1937. It is likely that the downturn in the economy of Merthyr and the dearth of very large wealthy families made the occupancy of this large house uneconomic.

The house, although apparently empty, seemed to have continued in a reasonable state and not vandalised in the inter-war years. There are numerous references to the future of the house considered by various committees of the Merthyr Borough Council during the years between 1921 and 1937. The house remained in the ownership of the freeholder with the Council making enquiries about its purchase for a variety of uses. For example, in 1934 the Education Committee thought it could be used as a training centre for unemployed boys and girls. They sought the approval of the Ministry of Labour for funding to purchase the property for £6,100 but were unsuccessful.

There was a suggestion that the house be used to accommodate children with Learning Difficulties but again nothing came of these proposals until the freehold, house, garden and lodge were acquired in 1937 by The Merthyr Tydfil Community Trust. This began life as the Merthyr Tydfil Educational Settlement and was formally opened in July 1938 by Earl Baldwin and Countess Baldwin. At that time there were many such Settlements providing education and welfare services to people during the Depression of the 1930s. The Settlement continued for four years at Gwaunfarren until the building was requisitioned by the government for use by the Emergency Medical Services in 1941. There were two possible wartime uses, either for the care of injured World War II servicemen and women or for expectant mothers.

Dr. Joseph Gross wrote an essay in Volume Two of the Merthyr Historian in 1978 on “Hospitals in Merthyr Tydfil”. He stated that injured service personnel were treated at Merthyr General Hospital, St. Mary’s Catholic Hall and the Kirkhouse Hall. Instead, the house was to provide 25 beds for pre- and post-natal maternity services when the Welsh Board of Health took responsibility for the house then renamed as “Gwaunfarren Nursing Home”. Babies continued to be born there for the next 30 years.

The ownership of the building was transferred to the Ministry of Health when the NHS was formed in 1948 and it was agreed to use the proceeds of the sale for charitable purposes. However, it took until 1954 to agree a price for the building. In 1948 Gwaunfarren Nursing Home became Gwaunfarren Maternity Hospital managed by the Merthyr and Aberdare Hospital Management Committee (HMC) The beds were increased to 30 beds with similar units at Aberdare General and St. Tydfil’s Hospital. Many adults alive today were born at Gwaunfarren often staying with their mother for a considerable number of days unlike current maternity practice of short hospital stays. The unit continued for some years until there were further improvements to the maternity unit at St. Tydfil’s Hospital, including a small Special Care Baby Unit. Gradually the number of births at Gwaunfarren decreased and confinements ceased at the end of the 1960s. Some post-natal transfers were continued for a short period of time until the hospital closed in the early 1970s.

Gwaunfarren Hospital then remained empty for some years although it was put to occasional and varied use to include a location for television filming. The land, together with the house and lodge was sold, the house demolished, and plots allocated to accommodate the present makeup of Gwaunfarren Grove. Gwaunfarren Lodge still remains today at the entrance to the original position of the drive.

Today the vast majority of the general public look at the way land is used very much in the here and now without giving much thought to its history over the ages. A review of the use of the land at post code CF47 9BJ allows us to peel away the pages of history. Now passers- by at the entrance to Gwaunfarren Grove will not know that the access road once served as the driveway to a substantial Victorian family home, educational centre, maternity hospital and that prior to all of those uses it had been a farmstead known as “The Dairy”, part of a farm of considerable antiquity.

Close Encounters of the Merthyr Kind

From the Merthyr Express 70 years ago today……

Storming Iscoed House, Pontmorlais 1935

by Christine Trevett

It was a Monday afternoon – the afternoon of February 4^th 1935 to be exact, and it had been snowing heavily that day. The women arrived first at Iscoed House, Pontmorlais, which housed the area offices of the Unemployment Assistance Board. There, the plan went, an orderly deputation which would include the district secretary of the National Unemployed Workers Union (NUWM) would be speaking with officials. Perhaps as many as a thousand women were part of the protest outside. They had marched there with around double that number of men, coming from all directions to reach Pontmorlais in a United Front demonstration during the Means Test protests of that year. Such things were happening all over South Wales and elsewhere.

The Unemployment Assistance Board

That had been set up by the government in the previous year (1934). It administered means-tested assistance to those who had no contributions-based unemployment benefit. In the Depression of the 1930s the Merthyr region was very hard-hit economically and many people were affected by Means Test decisions, a Test which at this time was creating even further hardship. Opposition to it was widespread, with the criticism coming from not just the working classes and the unemployed, so that the government was getting jittery. From 1931-June 1935 it was a National Government (a coalition) under the leadership of Labour’s Ramsay MacDonald and with Conservatives, Liberals and others in it.

Protests in Merthyr Tydfil region

Not quite two weeks previously, in January 1935, there had been another United Front demonstration. That Front was a sign of temporary Labour Party/Communist collaboration where The Means Test was concerned and that January demonstration had brought perhaps ten thousand people to Penydarren Park. They had marched there in organised processions from all parts of the Borough. Many women were in the throng, and carrying infants.

The crowd had been addressed by Wal Hannington, one of two organisers of the National Unemployed Workers Union (NUWM). Not a local person, he had also been the Communist candidate in Merthyr’s bye-election in the previous year. The crowd was addressed also by John Dennithorne, Warden of Dowlais Educational Settlement (the seat of all kinds of social and educational work) and by ILP (Independent Labour Party) leaders.

A deputation was agreed (it included two local ministers of religion) to interview officials at Iscoed House. They would present grievances and protest the unemployment assistance legislation. On that day the deputation had been told that its concerns would be passed on. The Western Mail of 23^rd January 1935 (p. 10) had reported that the gathering ‘dispersed in good order’.That had been then. But come February 4^that Iscoed House, matters would change from being orderly.

On February 4^thtraffic was brought to a standstill on Brecon Road as the demonstration took its course and from all quarters marchers were heading for Pontmorlais. The protest was being overseen by a contingent of police not large enough to be effective if trouble broke out on a large scale, given the numbers in the demonstration, but then the organisers of this United Front demonstration did not seem to be expecting trouble.

The actual march and deputation had been organised by the NUWM and by invitation it was also being led by the London-born Warden of Dowlais Educational Settlement, the same John Dennithorne (mentioned earlier). Dennithorne, who had served in World War I, was a Quaker and a pacifist.

Accounts of what happened

There are some first-hand accounts of the events of Fabruary 4^th, including one from John Dennithorne and another from Griff Jones, a local NUWM member who had been with those ‘starting off from Pengarnddu with banners’(an interview with him is kept in the South Wales Miners’ Library collection in Swansea university). Also there is a fictionalised account by the Clydach Vale born novelist and NUWM member Lewis Jones in We Live – his novel about those times.

The deputation was doing its work inside the building and thousands were gathered outside. UAB clerks on an upper floor had been ‘making faces’ at the crowd (Griff Jones recalled). They soon stopped, as the slim cordon of police was clambered over by a determined group –‘a mob of men who were prepared for anything’ as John Dennithorne called them.

With no previous sign of their intention they had made ‘a sudden rush’, so The Western Mail recorded. Stones were hurled through the office windows, shattering glass over the clerks; the gate of Iscoed House gave way; Dennithorne expected to be arrested. Inside the building he clambered onto a windowsill to be heard but ‘a howling mob’, now inside, shouted down his appeals against violence. ‘Old bug whiskers’ (a jibe at the bearded Warden, who was 39 years old) was told to ‘get down!’ as furnishings and fittings were being broken up and records angrily plundered for burning. Blood was spattering through the air, John Dennithorne recalled. Only a couple of well known South Wales Communists were suffered to speak.

It was the police which persuaded the violently protesting minority to disperse and to leave the grounds of Iscoed House. Hundreds of thousands of protestors had been on the nation’s streets that day. Given the strength of feeling nationally against the government’s stance there was some rethinking of the legislation. The Western Mail was already recording on February 5^th that ‘To-day Mr. Oliver Stanley (Minister of Labour) will probably announce changes in the regulations to meet the special grievances raised. New instructions have already been sent to area officers’.

There is more about this and those times in:

Lewis Jones, We Live (Parthian Books 2015)
Daryl Leeworthy, Labour Country: political radicalism and social democracy in South Wales 1831-1985 (Parthian, 2018).
Christine Trevett Dowlais Educational Settlement and the Quaker John Dennithorne (Merthyr Tydfil Historical Society, 2022)
Stephanie Ward, Unemployment and the State in Britain: the Means Test and Protest in 1930s South Wales and north-east England (Manchester University Press, 2013)

Meta Scott

Today marks the 130th anniversary of the death of another of Merthyr’s great musical talents – Meta Scott.

Meta Scott was born Sarah Margaret Scott in 1860, the daughter of William Scott, a grocer at Brecon Road.

William Scott, an able musician, played the flute in a small band which met in the family home, so the young Meta was surrounded by instrumental music from an early age. It was inevitable therefore that she soon showed her own musical talents, and began taking music lessons at the age of seven, soon excelling in both the piano and violin. It is said that she would practice for up to fifteen hours a day.

The hard work paid off and she was accepted at the Royal Academy of Music to further her studies, winning medals for playing both the violin and piano, and out of 500 students, Meta was chosen as the official accompanist for the Academy at a prestigious concert at St James Hall.

Following her graduation, she moved to Cardiff, and began her career as a performer. She was in demand throughout Wales as both an accompanist and a soloist, and also began teaching. Also, almost uniquely at the time for a woman, she formed and conducted several small orchestras throughout Wales, taking them to various Eisteddfodau and competing with very best of local musicians.

The pinnacle of this achievement came at the National Eisteddfod in Brecon in 1889, held in the grounds of the Castle. At the Eisteddfod, she led an orchestra from Merthyr in one of the principal competitions, reaching the final, but narrowly losing out to the Cardiff Orchestral Society under the leadership of Dr Joseph Parry.

It was soon after the Brecon Eisteddfod that Meta Scott became ill. At first it was thought that Meta was suffering from the effects of over-work, but it was soon realised that she was in fact suffering from tuberculosis. She cancelled all of her engagements and returned Merthyr where she fought a losing battle against the disease for the next two years. She died at her family home on 15 January 1892 at the age of 31.

Her funeral was attended by all of the prominent musicians and citizens of Merthyr, and as the funeral cortège made its way from Brecon Road to Cefn Cemetery, hundreds of people lined the route to pay their respects to the beloved musician. The cortège was headed by the Cyfarthfa Band, and followed by the massed choirs of Merthyr who had joined together to pay tribute to Meta. The service was conducted by Rev J G James, the minister of Market Square Chapel, and members Meta’s own orchestra, who had narrowly missed out on first prize at the Brecon Eisteddfod, carried her coffin to her final resting place.

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.

Taliesin Williams by Joseph Edwards. ©Photo courtesy of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

The Rev J Carroll, the Catholic priest, resided on the Glebeland. He used to write a political letter to the Silurian weekly. Taliesin Williams’ residence was in Castle Street, but the schoolroom entrance for pupils was in Castle Field Lane. He had the most prominent school and the reputation for being somewhat too strict. My recollection of him, however, is quite clear, that he did not punish severely without great provocation. I can acknowledge that he gave me a slap once, and once only, but that it was also fully deserved must also be acknowledged.

As far as can now be recalled not one of his pupils can be named as alive now, except the writer. The late Mr Thomas Jenkins, of Pant, was supposed to be the last – but I am still left. The last of the family of that generation, Miss Elizabeth Williams, died about a year ago in the vicinity of London.

A Mr Shaw also had a school on the other side of the same lane. His son was an artist. John Thomas (Ieuan Ddu) can also be hazily recalled as keeping a school, but more vividly as a bass singer.

Mr John Millar, who, in conjunction with his brother Robert, carried on the brewery at Pontycapel, kept the Wheat Sheaf for many years, and afterwards moved to the Lamb. There was also a weaver, of the name of Wilkins, about the Glebeland, one of whose daughters married Mr W E Jones, the artist. The other daughter married and emigrated. The Merthyr Library and Reading Room started in the house at the corner of Castle Street and Glebeland.

Upon coming up to the Brecon Road from Caepantywyll, if we had gone on to Gwaelodygarth it would have led us past the entrance to the “Cottage” and Penydarren farm yard, past which the road leads to Penybryn and Pant, but keeping around by the Penydarren Park wall we came to the road to Dowlais close to the Penydarren turpike gate.

Mr Richard Forman, when manager of the Penydarren Works, resided at the “Cottage”. Mr William Davies, of the firm of Meyrick and Davies, lived there subsequently, and then Mr John Daniel Thomas, many years the high bailiff of the Merthyr County Court. Mr Grenfell, when the manager of Penydarren, resided at Gwaunfarren. Mr Benjamin Martin followed him (moving from the yard there) when becoming manager. Prior to this I always heard it called the Dairy. Occasionally one of the partners remained a short time at Penydarren House, but the gardener (named Price) used to sell the produce raised there.

Gwaelodygarth Fach a.k.a. “The Cottage”. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

It was at Penydarren Ironworks that the first iron rails were rolled. They were known as the “fish-bellied” pattern. Tredgold, the authority upon the strength of iron, had a piece of iron supplied him with “Penydarren” upon it, by a firm of merchants in London, to whom he applied for a specimen of Welsh iron for experimental purposes. This fact is recorded in his treatise on the strength of iron.

To be continued at a later date…..