Tag: The Cambrian

Thomas Stephens – part 2

by Dr Marion Löffler

During the 1850s Stephens became one of the two main instigators of a Welsh orthography reform, a subject debated since the misguided efforts of William Owen Pughe. Following a meeting at the 1858 Llangollen Eisteddfod Stephens and Robert John Pryse (Gweirydd ap Rhys) circulated questionnaires that led to the publication of Orgraph yr Iaith Gymraeg in 1859, a valuable forerunner of articles on the same subject published by Sir John Morris-Jones in Y Geninen in the 1890s. These efforts ultimately led to the standard work on Welsh orthographic principles published in 1929.

A marble bust of Thomas Stephens by eminent sculptor Joseph Edwards.

Competing at eisteddfodau was a major incentive and stage for the learning and creativity of many amateur scholars in Victorian Wales and Stephens was no exception. At most eisteddfodau in which he competed between 1840 and 1858 he won, sometimes up to three prizes. His first success was in the Liverpool Eisteddfod of 1840, where he won a prize for his essay on the ‘History of the life and times of Iestyn ab Gwrgant, the last native lord of Glamorgan’. He made his name with a winning essay on ‘The Literature of Wales during the twelfth and succeeding centuries’ at the Abergavenny Cymreigyddion Society Eisteddfod of 1848, which appeared a year later as The Literature of the Kymry. This first study of medieval Welsh literature conducted on the basis of modern scholarly principles was extremely well-received by international scholars, such as Matthew Arnold, Theodore Hersart de La Villemarqué, Henri Martin, Max Müller and Albert Schulz, and an acclaimed German translation appeared in 1864.

Nevertheless, and although he continued to produce scholarly essays for eisteddfodau, The Literature of the Kymry remained the only book-length study of his to be published during his life time. His five-hundred page essay on a ‘Summary of the History of Wales from the earliest period to the present time’ gained first prize at the Rhuddlan Eisteddfod, but remained unpublished due to a lack of patronage. His winning essay at the last Cymreigyddion y Fenni eisteddfod of 1853, on the ‘Remains of the Welsh Poets from the sixth century to the twelfth’, which was to be part one of ‘a complete history of Welsh literature’, remained unpublished for the same reason.

His ‘English prose translation of the “Gododdin” with explanatory notes’, also submitted in 1853, was published in 1888 as The Gododdin of Aneurin Gwawdrydd: An English Translation with Copious Explanatory Notes; A Life of Aneurin; and Several Lengthy Dissertations Illustrative of the ‘Gododdin’, and the Battle of Cattraeth, edited by Thomas Powel (1845-1922). Stephens’s last major work, ‘Madoc: an essay on the discovery of America by Madoc ap Owen Gwynedd in the twelfth century’, failed to win the competition at the 1858 Grand Eisteddfod of Llangollen, because it disproved the tale that Madoc and his followers had discovered America. The result made Stephens a martyr to truth, and the main judge and druid John Williams (ab Ithel) even more notorious than he had been. This essay was published in 1893, edited by Stephens’s neighbour and pupil Llywarch Reynolds.

Stephens turned to the periodical press as a medium of critically reviewing Welsh history in order to replace Welsh romanticism with a more scientific approach. Among his major series of critical essays are those on the romantic forger Edward Williams (Iolo Morganwg) in Yr Ymofynnydd (1852-1853), on the fictional ‘Dyfnwal Moelmud’ and early Welsh law in the Cambrian Journal and Archaeologia Cambrensis (from 1854), on ‘The Book of Aberpergwm’ in Archaeologia Cambrensis (1858), and on ‘The Bardic Alphabet called “Coelbren y Beirdd”’ in Archaeologia Cambrensis (1872). Numerous shorter contributions by him appeared in newspapers like The Cambrian , The Merthyr Guardian, The Monmouthshire Merlin , The Silurian and in periodicals, such as Seren Gomer , Yr Ymofynnydd , Y Traethodydd and Y Beirniad .

Weakened by a succession of strokes, Thomas Stephens died on 4 January 1875 and was buried in the Nonconformist part of Cefn-coed-y-cymer cemetery. The funeral sermon held in his honour at Twynyrodyn Unitarian Chapel, Merthyr Tydfil, was published by request of the members, along with a list of the over 180 books in a number of languages he had bequeathed to Merthyr Tydfil Library.

Twynyrodyn Chapel. Photo courtesy of the Alan George archive.

His archive was donated to the National Library of Wales by his widow’s family in 1916 and is to be found at NLW MSS 904-66 .

Transcripts of the main collection of his letters were made available to the public in 2017 and may be viewed at: https://archives.library.wales/index.php/letters-534 and https://archives.library.wales/index.php/letters-889 .

To view the original article, please follow:
https://biography.wales/article/s11-STEP-THO-1821

Thomas Stephens – part 1

by Dr Marion Löffler

Today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Stephens, the famous historian and social reformer who although not born here, spent the majority of his life in Merthyr. To mark the occasion, I have been given permission to use this article which appears in the Dictionary of National Biography.

Thomas Stephens was born on 21 April 1821 at Tan-y-gyrchen (also known as Tŷ-to-cam, i.e. the house with the crooked roof), in Pontneddfechan, Glamorganshire, the son of Evan Stephens, a well-known boot-maker, and his wife Rachel, the daughter of William Williams (Wil y Gweydd, 1778-1834), a weaver and the Unitarian minister of Blaen-gwrach chapel. Among those who influenced Stephens in his youth were Maria Jane Williams and the Quaker Thomas Redwood (author of The Vale of Glamorgan. Scenes and Tales among the Welsh). Having first attended an elementary school ‘located in a barn’ near Cefn Rhigos, Stephens spent about three years at the Unitarian school founded by David Davis (1745-1827), which during his time there was under the care of John Davies, the former minister of Capelygroes in Ceredigion.

In October 1835, Stephens was apprenticed to David Morgan, a Merthyr Tydfil pharmacist, on whose death in 1841 he took over the business at 113 High Street, which remained his main source of income throughout his life. In 1866, Stephens married Margaret Elizabeth Davies, a descendant of a well-known family of Unitarians from Penrheolgerrig (see Morgan Williams, 1808-1883) in Llangollen Parish Church. Her brother Richard conducted most of the business after Stephens suffered a first stroke in 1868.

Thomas Stephens’s main contributions to the shaping of modern Wales are his efforts as a member of Merthyr Tydfil’s middle class to transform it from an industrial village to an urban community endowed with modern civic institutions; his tireless work on modernizing all aspects of Welsh culture, particularly the eisteddfod, education and Welsh orthography; and his pioneering works of scholarship, especially in history.

As a Unitarian, Thomas Stephens believed in the ability of individuals and society to improve their condition through education and by pursuing rational pastimes. All his work is to be viewed against this religious background. He first put his beliefs into practice by co-founding a public library in Merthyr Tydfil in 1846, for which he acted as secretary until his health failed in 1870, organizing and delivering educational lectures. In this, as in other undertakings, he received the support of Lady Charlotte Guest and Sir John Josiah Guest.

Stephens was one of the campaigners for the desperately needed Board of Health in Merthyr Tydfil in the 1850s, took a leading role in the planning of its Temperance Hall, which would provide rational pastimes for the working classes, and campaigned tirelessly for the Incorporation of the town.

The Temperance Hall. Photo courtesy of the Alan George archive.

He acted as an intermediary between iron masters and workers on more than one occasion. In 1853 it was he who chaired a mass meeting of over 3,000 people, called to achieve an end to long strike action. For the widows and children of the men killed at an explosion at the Crawshay Gethin Pit No. 2 in 1862, he instigated a relief fund, and collected and distributed money until the day before he died. He was a close friend of and political campaigner for H. A. Bruce, Lord Aberdare, Liberal MP for Merthyr Tydfil between 1852 and 1868, and served as High Constable of Merthyr in 1858.

Thomas Stephens’s talent and style as a social critic and reformer with a penchant for acerbic prose first showed itself in a series of letters to The Cambrian in 1842-3, in which he harshly criticized the romantic nature of the eisteddfod. In 1847, and reacting to the publication of the Blue Books , he took a leading part in the controversy over voluntaryism versus the acceptance of governmental grants for educational purposes which was acted out in the Monmouthshire Merlin . He was one of the very few who gave voice to the unpopular view that ‘voluntary exertions would be insufficient to provide education for the very large number of children who now remain uneducated’. For this, he was denounced by representatives of Church and Chapel alike as ‘a maniac and a liar’.

To read the original article, please follow:
https://biography.wales/article/s11-STEP-THO-1821

To be continued……

Did you know?

Following on from the last post, did you know that, as well as being an ironmaster (and later M.P.), that Josiah John Guest was also a prize-winning turnip grower?

The excerpt from an article in The Cambrian dated 11 November 1820, detailing a meeting of the Glamorganshire General Agricultural Society gives the details:-

The Cambrian – 11 November 1820

The Execution of Dick Tamar

In our last but one post (http://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=3174), mention was made of the arrest of Dick Tamar for the murder of his mother. Below, courtesy of Carl Llewellyn, is a transcription of the report of his confession and execution, that appeared in The Cambrian on 30 July 1842.

In a Second Edition of our last number, we published a report of the Execution and Confession of Richard Edwards, alias Dick Tamar, who at the last Assizes for this County was found guilty of the Murder of his Mother, Tamar Edwards. We this week republish the same for the information of our distant readers: –

This atrocious Criminal was executed at Cardiff this morning (Saturday). The convict was visited on Friday night by the Rev. Mr. Stacey, who remained with him for several hours. He seemed to be perfectly resigned to his fate, and frequently offered up prayers to the throne of grace for mercy in the last hour. We understand that several of the Dissenting ministers of Cardiff applied for permission to visit the wretched man, but that he declined seeing any spiritual teacher except the Reverend Chaplain, whose incessant endeavors to bring the poor creature to a proper sense of his situation, are beyond all praise.

Tamar slept soundly after the Reverend Chaplain left him. At twelve o’clock be awoke and left his bed. He expressed himself as being perfectly easy, and appeared firm and collected. At an early hour this morning (Saturday) crowds assembled round the goal, which gradually increased to about eleven thousand persons. At the dawn of day, the worthy Chaplain visited Tamar. Shortly before six o’clock, he asked for tea and bread and butter, and smoked a pipe with apparent unconcern. He observed to the Governor about this time that he was in “very good spirits”.

The Sheriff arrived at the goal at half-past seven in the morning. Edwards was then engaged in prayer with the Chaplain. Shortly before eight o’clock the Sheriff, accompanied by the officers of justice, proceeded to the condemned cell, and formally demanded the body of its miserable inhabitant. Having taken leave of the Chaplain, Edwards was placed under the hands of the executioner, who pinioned him in the cell. Dick repeatedly protested his innocence he underwent the terrible operation with remarkable firmness. The mournful procession then moved down the pathway in front of the Governor’s House, the Chaplain reading portions of the Burial Service. The convict did not show any fear, he wept slightly. Assisted by two turnkeys, he mounted the scaffold, on which he stood with the utmost firmness. Just prior to the rope being placed round his neck he said, “Hear me, I have been guilty of every crime except murder and thieving.” The fatal knot was then tied, and the cap drawn over the criminal’s face, not a muscle quivered – the bolt was then withdrawn, and Dick Tamar after one or two struggles ceased to exist. He did not appear to suffer much.

The body of the criminal was suspended for an hour, and then cut down. Several medical gentlemen were present for the purpose of taking a cast from the head.

Thus, died the Merthyr murderer whose name and crimes will be long remembered.

At the convict’s urgent request, the Holy Communion was administered him. On being asked how he felt, he said, “I have confidence, and hold fast in God’s mercy to me.” He frequently repeated the following verses, which he had committed at some previous time, to memory:-

Mae’r dydd bron myned heibio,
Mae’r haul bron myned lawr,
Mae’n amser ninnau’n tynu
Tua thragywyddoldeb mawr.
Mi af o flaen yr Orsedd,
Er dued yw fy lliw,
Pwv wyr na cha’i drugaredd,
Un rhyfedd iawn yw Duw.
O Arglwydd cladd fy meiau
Cyn fy nghladdu i,
Mewn eigion mor o angof
Sydd yn dy gariad di.
Ni alla’i ddim gwynebu,
Dydd y farn sy’ ddod,
Os na fydd claddu beiau
Cyn hynny wedi bod.

The following is a translation of the above:- “The day is nearly gone, the sun is nearly setting, and our time is drawing towards Eternity. I shall go before the judgement seat, though my crimes are so black; and who knows but that I shall obtain mercy, for God is wonderingly gracious. Oh! Lord, bury my sins before I shall be buried in the depths of Thy love; for I cannot face the day of Judgment, which is to come, unless my sins are buried before that lakes place”.

CONFESSION OF RICHARD EDWARDS.

In the early part of the week, the Culprit made the following statement to the Chaplain:-

“I was not alone when my mother came by her death There were three presents beside me. My child (10 months old), was in bed in the room. My mother died on Thursday night. When dead, two women placed my mother in bed beside my little boy, where the corpse remained until the Monday night following. The two other persons present, beside me and my wife, when my mother died, were the nearest relations of Peggy (my wife). Peggy and the other person had been in the womb of the other. These three persons told my father-in-law and my mother-in-law’s sister, that they had passed that night in Cefn Coed Cymmer. I gave my mother a blow about the jaw, because Peggy cried out that my mother was beating her. My mother fell down under my blow.

Peggy, her mother, and brother then laid hold on my mother. My mother did not speak; she groaned for some time. I saw Peggy and the other two squeezing her throat until she ceased groaning. I was in liquor: the three others were not. This happened about 12 or 1 o’clock, I cannot tell exactly, for there was no clock or watch there. And now, if Peggy had been allowed to be examined by me in the Hall, I would have made all this known then. Peggy asked me to bury her. I said I would not, I would leave her there, for I was afraid to be seen. I told them they had killed my mother. They begged me to keep everything secret. We all remained in the house till the dawn of day. I then went up to Dowlais, and the others returned home (to my father-in-law’s, as they say) and told their story about being at night at Coed y Cymmer.

I met my wife again about six o’clock the evening of the following Monday, at her aunt’s house, at Cae Draw (Jane Phillips’s) and we went together, the child in her arms, to my mother’s house. My wife placed the child in the opposite side of the bed to where my mother’s body was lying. We then together dragged the corpse out, and placed it under the bed. We continued to live in the house dining the rest of the week sleeping five nights in the bed under which the corpse lay! I was full of anxiety all the week, and on Saturday I started off the day my mother’s body was discovered, leaving my wife in my mother’s house. I was absent from Saturday until the following Wednesday, when I was apprehended in the Cast-House at Dyffryn, and wandering about.

I tell the best truth – the truth I should tell in the presence of God, where I shall he next Saturday – to you now. My blow did not kill my mother, for she groaned afterwards. Her death was caused by their meddling and scuffling with her on the ground. I know not exactly ill what manner. I mean Peggy, and her mother, and brother was scuffling with her. Neither of these three charged me at this time with having killed my mother. This is all true as I shall answer to God. I know nothing of the death of any other human being, male or female. If I did, I should confess it now, having gone so far. But I am guilty of every other sin or crime, excepting theft or murder. And now I have no more to say, having told the whole truth, and my heart is already feeling light. I began to feel lighter yesterday, when I determined and promised you to confess everything”.

The mark X of RICHARD EDWARDS

The whole of the foregoing statement was read over in Welsh by Mr. Stacey, and explained to Richard Edwards, and signed with the mark by him in my presence, this 18th day of July 1842.

JNO. B. WOODS,
Governor of the County Gaol