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 18th 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”.
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.
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.
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.
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…….
