Month: September 2018

Merthyr’s Chapels: Penywern Chapel

The next chapel we are going to look at in our continuing series is Penywern Welsh Independent Chapel.

The cause at Penywern began in 1856 when Mr David Evans of Llanwrda and Rev Benjamin Williams of Gwernllwyn Chapel began holding meetings in Mr Evans’ house in Penywern. With the blessing of the congregation at Gwernllwyn, they also opened a Sunday School.

As there was no other room available, the Sunday School was held in the long room of The Ifor Arms, Penywern. The room was let by Mrs Nancy Rogers, the licensee, at a rental of 12 shillings a month. One rule was laid down by the officials of the Sunday School however, that “no intoxicants were to be consumed in the long room while the Sunday School was being held”.

As the congregation grew it was decided to build a chapel in Penywern. Land was leased from the Dowlais Iron Company for 5s per annum, and the chapel, designed by Rev Benjamin Owen, Zoar, opened on the first Sunday in March 1858, with Rev Benjamin Williams taking responsibility for the chapel in a joint ministry with Gwernllwyn Chapel until he left in 1861.

As the numbers grew the chapel was rebuilt in 1876-7 at a cost of £1000, and the new chapel opened on 19 August 1877. Rev Benjamin Williams was invited back to the chapel to take the opening services for the new chapel.

In 1910, a few of the young men at the chapel, encouraged by the minister Rev J H Hughes decided to start a small choir and elected Mr Evan Thomas to be their conductor. The choir quickly grew and evolved into the Penywern Male Voice Choir, which became famous throughout Wales. The choir, under the leadership of Evan Thomas, sang for King George V and Queen Mary when they visited Dowlais in 1912. They went on to win many auspicious prizes, culminating in 1927 when the choir won three Eisteddfodau, and Evan Thomas won the three Eisteddfod chairs which he donated to the chapel. Due to the depression in the 1930’s and the closing of the iron works, the choir membership dwindled and eventually disbanded.

Penywern Male Choir

In 1921 a large school room was added to the front of the chapel. As this was a difficult time financially at the chapel, the stone for the new school room was given by Messrs Guest, Keen and Nettlefold through the courtesy of the general manager Mr Howell R Jones. The school room was built by voluntary labour with horses and carts being used to transport the stone from the nearby quarry. The school room was completed and opened in 1922.

Volunteers beginning work on the new schoolroom

Like so many other chapels in Merthyr, the congregation dwindled over the years, and the chapel closed and was subsequently demolished.

Thank You

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Thanks to your generosity we can keep going for another year (at least), and lets hope the blog goes from strength to strength. It’s your continued interest and support that makes it all worthwhile.

A Merthyr Gentleman in New York – part 2

Continued from the previous post……

SUCCESSFUL CAREER OF A MERTHYR GENTLEMAN IN NEW YORK
Merthyr Telegraph – 20 September 1878

“The next week after landing in this city he began work in a job printing office in Beekman Street. In a very few weeks after that he heard that the American Grocer, a new publication at that time that was struggling for existence, wanted a foreman, and very fortunately for him and it, he obtained work on the paper. He remained in the position of foreman, receiving a moderate salary, upon which he lived carefully and economically, saving some money and laying it by every week doing his work thoroughly and well, and showing his ability in the best way it can be shown, viz., by practical demonstration. Changes subsequently took place in the office, and Mr Jones having some money invested in the stock, and having gained the confidence of other stockholders in his ability to conduct its affairs, in July, 1876, assumed control, and under his management our readers can testify to the marked ability with which the paper has been conducted.

Our mail list testifies to the enormous growth of its circulation, our advertising columns to the great increase in advertisements, whilst our advertisers can bear witness as to how great a hold it has on the minds of its subscribers by the large returns they receive from advertising in its columns. If the stockholders do not receive large dividends it is not the fault of Mr Jones, but of the policy of devoting all the revenues of the paper to improving it and extending its circulation.

Mr Jones is now a large owner in a paper that is acknowledged to be the representative journal of the grocery trade in the United States. This has been due to his own exertions, to his working faithfully and ably for his employers when on a salary, thus impressing them with the importance of raising him from step to step, until confiding the sole charge of the paper to his hands. By his economy in saving a portion of his wages every week, thereby having a fund to assist him in purchasing an interest in the paper, he gave confidence to his associates, inasmuch as a man who was a good manager of his own affairs, was careful, economical and saving when on a salary, must needs be the right man to have charge of the financial, editorial, and mechanical departments.

The result has proved that they did not make a mistake, and that the right man was put in the right place. The rigid economy that Mr Jones was obliged to learn in his youth is carried out in every department of the American Grocer. Every person on the editorial staff, and every man and boy in the composing room and job office know that he thoroughly understands what can and ought to be done, and also that he will insist upon its being done properly and at the time wanted. The result of such a course has been that every department of the American Grocer is filled with hard-working, steady men, and, as Mr Jones says with pride, he can turn out more work, in better style, from the composing and job office than is done with the same force in any other office in this city.

We hope by the 1st of September to see him back at his post, refreshed and invigorated by rest and recreation that his travels will widen his business experience, and that the prominent business men whom he will undoubtedly come in contact with, will give him broader views, so that he may be able to lie even more useful to the readers of this paper than ever. We do not doubt that this will be the case. An energetic, observing man, who has the opportunity, is always picking up and storing away in the storehouse of his memory facts and figures to be put into practical use at the proper time, and there can be no question that our readers will be the gainers by our chief’s trip to Europe”

A Merthyr Gentleman in New York – part 1

The following article appeared in the Merthyr Telegraph 140 years ago today.

SUCCESSFUL CAREER OF A MERTHYR GENTLEMAN IN NEW YORK
Merthyr Telegraph – 20 September 1878

We have much pleasure in publishing the following extract from the American Grocer in our paper. The subject of the biography is well known in Merthyr, and his genial character and good-natured qualities will be remembered by many who recollect him amongst us. His amiable wife also (a sister of Mr Chirm, formerly of the Brunswick Hotel), will be recollected by her many friends here with much gratification. We willingly bear our testimony to Mr Jones’ excellent ability as a member of the printing profession, for he was engaged as foreman at our office for a considerable period, and he is also a gentleman of considerable intellectual power. We heartily congratulate him on his great commercial success in the land of his adoption.

“Since our last issue the Editor of this paper left us on the White Star steamer Britannic for a trip of three months’ duration to Europe, to visit the home of his a childhood and also the Paris Exhibition. As the great success which Mr Jones has achieved in a very few years is one of the most striking examples of what can be done by hard work, energy and determination to succeed, the assistant Editor, now in charge, has determined to give to the readers of the American Grocer a little of his history, although certain that Mr. Jones would not allow it to appear were he in charge of the editorial department. The temptation to do this is altogether too strong to be resisted, for of all the examples we have given from the career of the business men around us, not one has been more striking than that which we could furnish in the case of Mr Jones.

Watkin T. Jones was born in the town of Merthyr, in Wales. His father was a journeyman printer, an exceptionally good workman and thoroughly acquainted with the business in all its departments. The son had as a boy that independent spirit that is so prominent a characteristic with him today. At a very early age he entered a printing office in his native town to learn the printer’s trade, and he did learn it thoroughly in every part and detail. In a few years he became as good a workman as was to be found in the office, and not satisfied with living in a small country place, like so many young men, he was bound to go to London.

Thither he went and obtained work as a journeyman printer on one of the metropolitan dailies. Not seeing his way clear, however, to an immediate success in London, he finally persuaded his wife (who by-the-bye is a “help-meet” in every sense of the word) to agree to try their fortunes in America, and so in 1870 Mr Jones sailed for New York, with but little money, but brimful of hope and courage.”

To be continued…..

Professor Julie Williams C.B.E.

by Irene Janes

Here is a name to remember – Professor Julie Williams C.B.E, world leading Figure in the research of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Julie Williams is still very much alive, kicking and still researching, and her research is making a huge difference worldwide but I am just so afraid like other famous women if her works are not recognised in Merthyr they will never be heard of let alone forgotten.

Professor Julie Williams

Well I am not sure about you, but when I was about seven I read The Famous Five and my weekly magazine, Princess. Perhaps this is why I have not and ever will receive a Royal honour.

At the age of seven, little Julie (then Baker), would be professor, from Cefn Coed, loved horse riding, ballet and playing football. However, between scoring goals and pirouetting around on horses Julie may have missed the fact Richard Burton had married (for the first time) Elizabeth Taylor or the Welsh Office was established. It was more likely her pin up poster would not be of Howard Winstone but that of the great British Physicist and Chemist Michael Faraday. This was because one day in W.H.Smiths Julie picked up a leaflet about Faraday which she admits she did not understand but piqued her interest. In addition to this, a B.B.C. programme, “The Ascent of Man” (1973), set her on a journey and where others now follow her.

Her schooling at Vaynor and Penderyn Grammar School served her well, and when The University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, in Cardiff beckoned, Julie welcomed the opportunity to make the most of the many horizons now open to her. The one horizon we celebrate here is her studying psychology to PHd level. Her fascination of how a human brain works is as strong now as it was as an undergraduate. The idea of ‘How molecule changes can produce some sort of thought processes’ became and still is her focus. After her research work with schizophrenia, Julie turned her attention to Alzheimer’s, which is more prevalent today than ever. We all know someone inflicted by it.

In Wales 2,500 people under the age of 60 have this disease and that figure is expected to rise.

Julie’s academic and research successes could fill pages and I salute them all, alas, there are too many to mention here. The details are on the internet for you to read at your leisure. Here are just some of the professors’ academic achievements:

  1. March 1991 – April 1992 – research Assistant.
  2. August 1999 – October 2001 – Reader in Neuropsychological Genetics at the Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine
  3. 2010 – 2011  – Member of the Welsh Government Advisory group on Dementia.
  4. October 2012 – September 2013  – Dean of research at Cardiff University School of Medicine.
  5. September 2013 – September 2017 –  as Professor of Neuropsychological Genetics. Chief Scientific Advisor for Wales Julie and her team were successful in winning the largest Marie-Sklodowska Curie Fellowship grant plus funding from the European Structural Funds, thus bringing to Wales over £60m for research so amounting to over £23m.

Now Julie and her team, with funding from the U.K. Dementia Research Institution, are concentrating on thirty genes that pose the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Such is the importance of eradicating or controlling this disease £250m made available by the U.K. Medical Council.

Today she acclaimed as a world leader in her field of research.

It is hardly surprising that in 2012 Professor Julie Williams, in recognition of her dedication and research was awarded the C.B.E.

Away from Royal recognition now, and back to Merthyr and Julie’s roots. Out of general interest, her father Eric Baker had a Ford dealership. For twenty years her mother Terry ran the W.R.V.S. shop and coffee shop, in Prince Charles Hospital.

Here is a link no matter how tenuous but one that makes my imagination bridge the years. Her grandfather Henry Edwards worked and lived as caretaker in Cyfarthfa Castle. I like to think Rose Mary Crawshay, (wife of Robert Thompson Crawshay) who fought for the education and advancement of women (see my previous article – http://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=1934) and founded Vaynor School, where Julie became a pupil, is smiling down with pride on Professor Williams.