David Davies was born in July 1857, the youngest of ten children.
His father died when David was just seven years of age, and at the age of ten, he began working at a candle factory at Caedraw. When the factory closed, David returned to school for a short time before gaining employment at another candle factory in Victoria Street. When he was 18 he began working at the Plymouth Works Rolling Mills, and after their closure, he found employment at the Ifor Works Rolling Mills.
In 1878 he became a conductor on the London and Northwest Railway omnibuses which connected the train passengers with the Brecon and Merthyr Railway at Dowlais Central Station. When the Morlais Tunnel opened in June 1879, the buses were no longer required, so he became a porter and later signalman. He married Mary in 1881 and moved to Pant, and the couple had six children – Annie, Albert, William, Arthur, Frank and Bryn, Albert losing his life in the First World War.
A man deeply involved in local politics, fighting for an improved living standard for others, he organised a large demonstration at Cyfarthfa Park, asking for 2,000 new houses to be built. He was also a J.P., served on the Board of Guardians for nine years, was one of the founders of the Dowlais Co-operative Society (later becoming its chairman), and he was also a founder member of the Dowlais Railwaymen’s Coal Club, which had its own wagons, and by cutting out the middle-man, saved the profits for its members.
In 1919, he was the official candidate (Dowlais Ward) for the Merthyr Trades Council and Labour Party. Points of his campaign were:-
Free medical and nursing care for infants.
Clean, plentiful, cheap milk; managed by the people for the people and thus eliminating private profit.
Free meals for hungry children.
Free medical treatment for the needy and sick.
He was elected mayor in 1925-26.
David died in 1940, his principal aim in life having been to leave the town of his birth a better place than he found it.
Christmas a hundred years ago would have been a more religions event than today.
Both chapels and churches would have special services and carol singing on Christmas Eve and the family would turn out for a service on Christmas Day itself. The timing of the Christmas dinner might depend on what was known about the preacher and how long his sermons usually took. Chapels would attract with wonderful singing and many other festive events. In 1922 the annual Bethania Eisteddfod took place on Christmas day with a splendid attendance and a keen competition. Penywern Chapel also held an Eisteddfod which was very popular. The Bryn Sion Eisteddfod was an enjoyable event on the afternoon and evening of Christmas Day and a good gramophone with excellent records were a modern addition. There was also an Eisteddfod in Bethesda Chapel on Boxing Day. The time-honoured practice of carol singing was an important tradition, especially in a town such as Merthyr Tydfil with its many choirs of all kinds. The carol singing was especially popular when it consisted of popular Welsh carols.
Following Christmas day Frank T. James delivered a talk in Cyfarthfa Castle on the Romans in Merthyr Tydfil.
Christmas is all about family gatherings. However, whereas today the celebrations are often centred around the presents and multimedia, in the 1922s Christmas was much more home-made entertainments and taking advantage of time not spent working. A hundred years ago there were an amazing number of social events for people to attend in the Merthyr Tydfil area on Christmas Day itself. Football games were played and for many it was a good opportunity to go to the cinema. All the many cinemas in Merthyr Tydfil put on a special Christmas programme. The Merthyr Electric Theatre changed its programme after Xmas to present a new programme on Boxing Day. The Palace had a continuous show on from 5.30 with a special matinee on Boxing Day at 2.30. The Penydarren Cosy opened Xmas Day at 2pm with ‘Moth and Rust’ starring Sybil Thorndike.
A fancy- dress masked carnival and fourth annual whist drive and carnival was held at the Drill Hall on the 30th of December in aid of the National Institute for the Blind
There were many differences between Christmas a hundred years ago and today. For instance, there was no Royal Speech as in 1922 the Royal Xmas Day Speech had not yet started. In fact, November 1922 was the date of the founding of the BBC. In Merthyr Tydfil weddings took place on Christmas morning. This might seem odd these days but a hundred years ago Christmas was seen as a good time to get married as it was a day when the family would be free from work and able to enjoy the celebrations.
D Jones Dickinson Factory in Dowlais. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive
Christmas, as always, was a time for children but in 1922 it was an occasion to make sure children were well fed and schools opened on Christmas day to assist with this. In 1922 500 children attended the 42nd annual Christmas breakfast at Abermorlais School. Children were given tea, bread and butter, currant and seed cake and so on. There was carol singing and a Father Christmas. On leaving each child was given 4 buns, 2 oranges, 2 apples and something to read. All this was paid for by businesses and individuals in the town. D. Jones Dickinson of Dowlais contributed 56 pounds of cake. On Christmas night, teachers, older pupils, and former scholars gathered together for tea and a long programme of singing and recitations. Winter sales, such as that of R.T. Jones, did not start until 5th January.
There were many friends of the poor in Merthyr Tydfil. Christmas would not be Christmas without remembering the Merthyr Workhouse and trying to give its inmates a good day to enjoy when their worries could all be forgotten. ‘Keeping Christmas’ was important, and the Merthyr Express editorial expressed the feeling that people in Merthyr will celebrate Christmas as in past years. However, ‘There will be, nevertheless, a number of people, many more than we like to contemplate, without the means at their command of keeping the anniversary as could be wished. There is ever a great warmth of generosity in our midst which never fails to respond at these times with the means for assisting the less fortunate fellow members of the innumerable human family to do honour to the day’.
Over the Christmas period in 1922 there were 278 men in the workhouse, 195 women and 59 children. It was regarded as important that these all be given a good day and everyone was expected to participate in the general festivities of the season. On the festive day breakfast was served in the Workhouse at 7.00. Mr Morgan attended as Father Christmas and played the organ in the dining hall before he also visited the wards for the old and infirm dressed as Santa Claus. The dinner provided by the Guardians was roast beef, pork, potatoes, vegetables, and plum pudding, served with sparkling water. Oranges and apples were handed out to all. John Morgan again ‘ kept the diners in roars of laughter with his jovial fun’. It was his 29th appearance at this annual treat. The Rev Pugh and many of the Guardians attended. The Salvation Army played selections of music in various parts of the Institution and the Infirmary Dining Hall, Infirm Wards and other areas were very nicely decorated by the staff.
A plan of the Merthyr Workhouse in the 1800s
In Dowlais the inmates of Pantyscallog House were all treated by Dr Stuart Cresswell to his usual gift of two geese for Christmas Dinner. Tea and special Xmas cake was served in the afternoon. Each male inmate received 1 oz of tobacco and a new pipe and females who used snuff were given some. A rocking horse and toys were donated for the children and so were cakes and pastry, chocolates, and sweets. Magazines for the inmates were also donated by the Guardians and local people in the town, such as Mr Howfield and Mr Rubenstein. On Boxing Day the two large trees donated by Mr Seymour Berry and heavily decorated with toys were stripped and children were given the various items. The wealthier citizens of the town were expected to ensure that poorer members of society enjoyed Christmas treats and in 1922 there was a real element of sharing and helping others.
In 1922 Merthyr Tydfil had just gone through the catastrophic First World War. There was an awareness of general poverty in Europe after war and Merthyr Tydfil had suffered considerably. The town had given a considerable amount of money in 1918 for the purchase of a tank, more than had Cardiff and other Welsh towns, and the town was now feeling the pinch. However, the ‘keeping of Christmas’ and celebrating the festive season was regarded as almost a sacred duty. The concept of giving and contributing to others less fortunate was still very much alive at Christmas time. The country had a recent struggle and now faced an exceptional amount of unemployment, but the Merthyr Express clearly stated, ‘We hope that that there will be few homes, hopefully none, which will not enjoy some Christmas cheer. We hope for the revival of commercial and industrial life which will bring happier conditions’.
Merthyr Express 23 December 1922
A hundred years ago the Christmas weather was described as inclement and seemed to have been more severe than nowadays. Snow was always expected in December and did not disappoint. There was a fall of snow on the Brecon Beacons a few days before Christmas which was visible for a few days on the mountain tops. The mantle of matchless whiteness made the outlook really ‘look like Christmas’ but the cold spell was followed by heavy rain. Despite the weather there was a great warmth of generosity and a desire to celebrate merrily as in years gone by. However, the fall of snow, followed by the heavy rain caused a Christmas disaster in Gellifaelog. The Morlais Brook flooded, houses collapsed in Mansfield Terrace and many families became homeless. This event was dramatic, with boulders carried in the roaring torrent. Thankfully there was no loss of life in the flooding, although the water level went way beyond the bedroom windows. Viewing the destruction became a post-Christmas ‘tourist attraction’, but many people were anxious to help-out and a relief fund was soon set up. The Dowlais Silver Band immediately cleared its band room to house a destitute family.
The Gellfaelog Flood in 1922. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive.
Although few would have heard of vegetarianism in 1922, the festive meal for an average household in Merthyr Tydfil would have been far less reliant on meat than today and the meal would have had more emphasis on vegetables, especially those that were home-grown. You might have dined on wild game such as rabbit or hare, but geese, hams and beef were also popular. Turkeys were rare as they were unusual and more expensive than goose. Hens were eaten but cheap chicken was unknown. Most people would save for months to afford the festive meat. There would be no pigs in blankets or cranberry sauce as these are an American import of the 1950s.
The windows of shops were carefully decorated in the run up to Christmas. In 1922 adverts in local newspapers and wonderful displays played a key role in attracting customers to shop locally. People living in Dowlais would have had no need to travel to Merthyr as they could find all their needs on their own doorstep. Everything possible was done to enhance the festive spirit. The commercial element of the festive season has been with us for a long time and the excitement of festive displays and bustling streets are all part of the Christmas magic, but Christmas goods would not have been in evidence until much nearer the actual date.
Merthyr Express – 23 December 1922
Whilst food preparations began with the making of the Christmas cake and Christmas puddings weeks before the day itself, Christmas did not begin for many until Christmas Eve when decorations were put up, shopping was finished, and food preparations made. With no fridge, people had to receive their fresh food as close to Christmas as possible. To ensure you had your meat and pies for Christmas you would have had to place an order with your local butcher, grocer, and baker in advance. Perishable goods would be collected or delivered on 23rd or 24th December to ensure freshness, meaning that the shops were full of bustle and Christmas cheer on Christmas Eve in 1922.
Merthyr Express – 23 December 1922
Many Christmas cards were delivered by hand, and it was not unusual for children to be sent out on Christmas Eve to deliver the cards. It is a good thing that many families in Merthyr Tydfil had friends and relations in nearby streets. Hanging up stockings a hundred years ago would not have involved a purpose made, festive embellished stocking but instead a large sock that would be filled with whatever gifts could be afforded; fruit, nuts, a sugar pig and perhaps a small toy.
Williams Memorial Congregationalist Chapel, Penydarren
At the beginning of the 20th Century it was decided to build an English Independent Chapel for the rapidly growing population in Penydarren.
A committee of representatives of local Independent chapels was set up in 1901 and they agreed that the first task was to establish a Sunday School. This opened in Penydarren Boys School on 9 March 1902. More than a year was to pass before the first church service was held there on 12 April 1903, and on 25 May, the church was officially formed with 32 members, and a special service was held in Horeb Chapel.
The future of the church was discussed at a meeting presided over by Alderman Thomas Williams, J.P. (right), who owned much land in Penydarren. He was a staunch follower of the Independent movement and a supporter of the new church, and promised to make a gift to help build it. However, Alderman Williams died just two months later, but he had already arranged for a plot of land to be leased to the chapel in Brynheulog Street for 999 years at a rent of just one shilling a year. It was thus decided to name the chapel in honour of him.
On 19 November 1903, a meeting took place to discuss building the new chapel, and Messrs Owen Morris Roberts & Son, Porthmadoc were chosen to design the chapel. The committee decided that the cost of the building was not to exceed £1,800
The original plan submitted included a gallery and a schoolroom, but the committee decided that this plan was too ambitious and costly for their chapel, and also the members of the other Independent Churches recommended that the cost should be no more than £1,000, as there had been a very disappointing response to the original appeal for financial aid towards the building of the chapel.
After several further revisions of the plans, a tender was accepted for the work from Mr Samuel Evans of Dowlais, the cost being £1,258, and the stone laying took place on 19 July 1906.
The official opening of the chapel took place on 25 October 1906, and it was first used as a place of worship two days later. Due to an oversight however, the church wasn’t officially certified by the Registrar General as a place of worship until 2 July 1917.
The Chapel closed in 1996 and was subsequently demolished.
David Davies was born in July 1857, the youngest of ten children.
The future of the church was discussed at a meeting presided over by Alderman Thomas Williams, J.P. (right), who owned much land in Penydarren. He was a staunch follower of the Independent movement and a supporter of the new church, and promised to make a gift to help build it. However, Alderman Williams died just two months later, but he had already arranged for a plot of land to be leased to the chapel in Brynheulog Street for 999 years at a rent of just one shilling a year. It was thus decided to name the chapel in honour of him.