Plymouth Ironworks – Page 4 – The Melting Pot – Merthyr Tydfil's History and Culture

Did you know?

Following on from the previous article, did you know that the area behind St Tydfil’s Church (roughly where the present day Caedraw and St Mary’s Schools and the flats and maisonettes are in Caedraw) used to be known as the Isle of Wight?

The following piece by Carl Llewellyn throws some light on the derivation of the name.

The 1851 census showed the area called ‘Isle of Wight’ having 22 houses, by 1871 however, the area was actually referred to as ‘Isle of White’. There was a channel which conveyed the mill stream, passing the Rectory down through Mill Street, was extended to reach the Plymouth Works, and was known as the feeder. The Welsh for channel or conduit is “Gwyth” or Wyth”. It is probable that the feeder was constructed from the flood gates through an aforetime “Ynys” (island or meadow), which was known as “Ynys Gwyth” or “Ynys Wyth”, that is meadow of channel or conduit.

Now the Welsh name for the real Isle of Wight is “Ynys Gwyth” or “Ynys Wyth”, both forms being found. This resemblance evidently prompted someone with a sense of humour to dub the area by the feeder as Isle of Wight.

Below is an extract from an 1836 map of Merthyr clearly showing the area marked as ‘Isle of Wight’.

St Tydfil’s Church Memorial Windows

The article transcribed below appeared in the Cardiff Times 120 years ago today (13 May 1899).

MERTHYR PARISH CHURCH

Memorial Windows

On Sunday afternoon the dedication of five stained glass memorial windows which have been placed in the restored parish church of Merthyr took place at a service conducted by the rector (Rev. Di. Lewis).

The west window in the tower was given by Sir W. T. Lewis, Bart., in memory of the local “captains of industry”; the south aisle window was presented by Mr and Mrs Frank James, in memory of the late Miss Florence James, their daughter, and the three chancel windows were the gifts of Miss Williams, Maesgruddiad, and Mrs Brewer, Danygraig, Mon.

In the chancel, which is of an apsidal form, and the roof of which is groined, the lancets are about nine feet high, in the three central lancets are, placed three stained glass memorial windows by the well-known artist, Mr Kempe, London. The subjects are the Crucifixion. The central window is divided into three panels above is a canopy of peals of bells ringing, whilst the central panel depicts Our Lord on the Cross, the lower of the panels showing a pelican which is represented according to the old myth as feeding its young with its own blood by picking its breast, this being meant as emblematical of the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. The right hand window has a canopy with bells ringing, the second panel is that of the Blessed Virgin at the Cross, and the third or lowest panel has an angel holding a shield on which are painted some of the instruments of the Passion.

The left hand window has also a similar canopy of bells, the central panel depicting St. John at the foot of the Cross. In the third panel there is an angel holding a shield, on which again are painted the other instruments of the Passion. In these three panels there are scrolls with suitable texts in Latin from Holy Scripture. The windows present a very pleasing appearance, and are regarded as a very becoming decoration of the sanctuary. They were given by Miss Williams and Mrs Brewer, in memory of some of the members of the Maesgruddiad family.

In the south aisle is a handsome window divided into three panels. In the central panel is depicted St. Cecilia playing on an instrument of music. This window has beautiful Romanesque decorations. It was presented by Mr and Mrs Frank James. The next window in the tower was given by Sir W. T. Lewis, Bart., and is considered to be a very interesting work of art. It was designed by Mr Newbury, London. It incorporates subjects characteristic of the industries of the district, and is in that respect a bold departure from the conventional treatment of subjects in memorial glass. It is mainly the conception of the rector, but it appears there are ancient examples of such treatment.

The stained glass window is divided into three panels formed by a light framing of Norman detail. The upper panel, which comprises the main portion of the window, illustrates Luke ii. 1-4, where Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, and has two angels above holding a scroll on which is written the first portion of the Lord’s Prayer, and on the panel below the picture continues, Give us this day our daily bread.”

The smaller panels, which form a base to the window, are filled with subjects relating to the industries of the district. The left panel indicates a pit’s mouth with machinery, on which is inscribed “The thing that is hid bringeth He forth to light”, and on the right blast furnaces are illustrated – “As for the earth, out of it cometh bread” – and underneath the wharfing and loading of coal and iron are depicted. These two panels are decoratively treated, and it has been the artist’s endeavour to combine the many interesting details as the space permits. At the sill of the window are the arms of the donor, Sir Wm. T. Lewis, Bart. Underneath is a handsome brass plate three feet square, on which are engraved the names of 37 of the “captains of industry”.

The inscription reads as follows:-

“Efe a gyffwrdd a’r mynyddoedd a hwy a fygant”

Psalm 104, v. 32.

The above Window is erected to the Glory of God and to perpetuate the memory of the following

“CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY”

with whom Sir William Thomas Lewis, Bart., has been associated in the development of the Minerals of the District, i.e.:-

William Adams, Ebbw Vale Works.
George Brown, Nixon’s Collieries.
Crawshay Bailey, Nantyglo and Aberaman.
William Southern Clark, Aberdare.
The Crawshays of Cyfarthfa and Hirwain Works.
Tom Cumow, Plymouth Works.
The Davises of Blaengwar.
William Davies, Lewis Merthyr Collieries.
Sir George Elliot, Bart., Aberaman.
The Evanses of Dowlais.
The Formans of Penydarren Works.
Anthony Hill, Plymouth Works.
Thomas Howells, Lletty Shenkin Collieries.
Christopher James, Llwyncelyn, Rhondda.
William Jenkins, Consett (formerly Dowlais).
R Johnson, Rhymney.
William Jones, Cyfarthfa Works.
The Josephs, Plymouth Works.
The Kirkhouses, Cyfarthfa Works.
Lewis Lewis, The Graig and Lletty Shenkin Colllieries.
Lewis Thomas Lewis, Plymouth Collieries.
Lewis Thomas Lewis, Cadoxton Lodge, Neath.
The Llewelyns of Hirwain and Pontypool.
The Martins of Dowlais and Penydarren Works.
William Menelaus, Dowlais.
John McConnochie, Cardiff.
Captain Ralph Pomeroy, Cardiff.
Robert T. Rees, the Graig and Lletty Shenkin Collieries.
Daniel Rees, the Graig and Lletty Shenkin Collieries.
The Thomases of Waunwyllt.
The Waynes, Gadlys Works.
David Williams, Ynyscynon.
Edward Williams, Middlesbrough (formerly Dowlais).
John Williams, Lletty Shenkin Collieries.
William Williams, Cyfarthfa Works.
W.H. Williams, Lewis Merthyr Collieries.
George Wilkinson, Cwmpennar Collieries.

Reddwch i’w Llwch.

Diolchus Anrheg Syr William Thomas Lewis.

Barwnig, Mardy, Aberdar, 1896.

At the service an address was delivered by the Rector, who described the windows and adverted briefly to the subject of memorials in churches historically regarded. He referred also to the list of persons whose names were in the list of “Captains of industry” as pioneers of the trade of the district. Many of them risked all they had in their enterprises, and some of them lost all they had. He mentioned various improvements yet to be made before the parish church would be comfortably equipped, and announced that the offertory would be in aid of a fund for providing seats.

Merthyr’s Ironmasters: The Hill Family

Richard Hill I (died 1806), who had had experience in Anthony Bacon’s iron-works (at Cyfarthfa and Hirwaun), became Bacon’s trusted manager of the Plymouth Ironworks. He was elected a burgess or freeman of Cardiff in 1784. He married Mary, the sister of Mrs. Bacon, and named his youngest son (born in 1784) Anthony, after Anthony Bacon. On the death of Anthony Bacon, as all the natural children were minors, the estate was placed in Chancery, and the receiver, William Bacon, granted a lease of the Plymouth furnace for fifteen and a half years from Christmas Day 1786, to Richard Hill I, during the minority of Thomas Bacon; this was approved by the Court of Chancery. Hill entered into an arrangement with Richard Crawshay of Cyfarthfa, to supply the latter with pig-iron, and seeing the possibility of increasing his output and of enlarging his works, he secured several leases in order to extend the mineral property attached to the works. About 1794, Richard Hill I had very serious trouble with the Glamorganshire Canal Navigation, then recently opened, for improperly taking the water from the Taff river which he required for his Plymouth works. Richard Hill II (died 1844), his son, then aged twenty, closed the sluices between the canal and the mill-race, and had a desperate encounter with the canal lock-keeper, as a result of which the lock-keeper was awarded substantial damages at the Glamorgan Great Sessions. At the next Great Sessions, Richard Hill I obtained a verdict in his favour and was awarded £300 damages for injury to his works by the Glamorganshire Canal.

In 1799, Thomas Bacon, who had been granted the Plymouth works under his father’s will, became of age, and agreed to surrender to Richard Hill I all his interest in the Plymouth works, and this he confirmed in 1803 when he was 24 years of age. Being now in full possession of the Plymouth works, he with his sons, Richard II and John Hill, entered into an agreement with the Dowlais and Penydarren iron companies for the construction of a tram road for their joint use, from their works to join the Glamorganshire canal at Navigation (now Abercynon). In the same year, 1803, Richard Hill I, who was a practical engineer, agreed to construct a tram road for the joint use of the same three companies to convey limestone from the Morlais Castle quarries. It will thus be seen that Richard Hill was on very good terms with the neighbouring ironmasters, which was far from being the case between the Penydarren and Dowlais companies.

Richard Hill and son were anxious to improve their business by adding a forge and mills, but were very short of capital for such extension. Partners were sought, and A. Struttle advanced £15,000 and John Nathaniel Miers (son-in-law of Richard Hill I), £5,000 to form the Plymouth Forge Company with a capital of £20,000. Work now proceeded briskly at the Plymouth iron-works where Richard Hill I was ably assisted by his sons, Richard II and Anthony Hill (1784 – 1862). But on 20 April 1806, Richard Hill I passed away leaving all his estate to his widow, Mary, his three sons, Richard II, John Hill (of London), and Anthony Hill, and his two daughters, Elizabeth, and Mary, the wife of J. N. Miers (of Cadoxton Lodge). By 1813, Messrs. Struttle and Miers seceded, and the three brothers became partners. On account of the withdrawal of capital, the brothers had to obtain a loan on mortgage of £54,000 from Messrs. Wilkins of the Brecon Old Bank. Richard Hill II for a time lived at Llandaff and looked after the sales side of the business, while Anthony ably managed the productive side, but the burden of the huge loan was a great impediment for many years to the successful working of the concern.

In 1806, the three furnaces at Plymouth produced 3,952 tons of pig-iron, while in 1815 the same three turned out 7,800 tons. A fourth furnace was erected at Plymouth and in 1819 the first furnace was erected at Dyffryn and c. 1824 two others were erected; like all the others these were worked by water-power in which Anthony had great faith — he was very slow in adopting steam-power as the other iron-masters were doing. With Anthony Hill as managing-partner the works were carried on with great vigour and ability, and their brand of bar-iron had a special value and was known for its excellence throughout the world. The produce of the blast furnaces continued to increase year by year. In 1820, it was 7,941 tons, in 1830, over 12,000 tons, by 1846, it was over 35,000 tons.

In 1826 John Hill sold out his interest to his brothers, Richard II and Anthony. Later, No. 8 furnace was built, which was said by Mushet, the great authority on iron manufacture, to be the largest in the world. Richard and Anthony continued as sole managers until the death of Richard in 1844, after which Anthony continued as sole managing director until his own death at the age of seventy-eight on 2 August 1862. Anthony Hill was regarded as the most scientific iron-master of his district. He carried out many experiments for the improvement of iron-making, and was the patentee of many new methods. Gradually he succeeded in paying off the loan burden and attained great wealth. His death was keenly felt in the district, as he had been ‘associated with good deeds, with broad and enlightened measures for his people’s comfort, for their religious welfare, and their education.’ He established a new church at Pentre-bach, and endowed it with £200 per annum; he also founded the Pentre-bach National School and left a sum of money for the ‘Anthony Hill scholarship’ for secondary schools which is still in existence. After his death the works were sold to Messrs. Fothergill, Hankey and Bateman for £250,000; they came to an end c. 1880.

The remains of the Plymouth Ironworks. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

Many thanks to the Dictionary of Welsh Biography for allowing me to reproduce this article. To view the original, please follow this link – https://biography.wales/article/s-HILL-PLY-1786

The Decline of Merthyr

In 1859, the Penydarren Ironworks closed. 160 years ago today (26 February 1859), the remarkable article transcribed below, written in anticipation of the closure appeared in the Merthyr Telegraph. It makes fascinating reading as the language used is so striking and almost poetic…a far cry from today’s brand of journalism.

Over the thresholds of a thousand houses stream the long and darkening shadows which forerun events of a stern and saddening character. In a few months that fierce light which so long has glared around Penydarren will be invisible, and the incessant clang of iron and harsh vibrations of monster machinery will no longer be heard. Penydarren works will belong to the past.

For several weeks the inhabitants of this town and neighbourhood heard of the rumoured sale of Penydarren works with incredulity. They could not believe that so great an establishment would be broken up, the works fall into decay, and the men scattered to the four winds of heaven. Yet, at last, the dread truth has forced itself upon our convictions, and we now doubt not that the end of Penydarren is at hand.

The Dowlais Iron Co., holding large works on the extreme edge of the mineral basin, have been for some time progressing with less than its usual vigour in consequence of a deficient supply of mine and coal. It is true new pits have been sunk at Cwmbargoed, but it will be two or three years before they will begin to yield, the enormous depth forbidding any earlier success, though the men are incessantly employed. Thus it became a serious consideration with the Trustees, where, and by what means, the requisite supply should be obtained from to meet the demand. The adjoining mine and coal field of the Penydarren Co. and the known desire of Mr. W. Forman to part with it, offered a solution of the difficulty, and hence, after a consultation and discussion by the principals of each place, one has been merged into the other, and Dowlais has become worthier even than before of being styled the largest iron-works in the world.

We may anticipate that on the opening of the new mill – a mill unequalled in the locality, a large number of additional workmen will be employed; the miners and colliers also may be expected to continue working as usual; but, we apprehend, there will still be many unemployed, and the change will tend to deteriorate the value of house property considerably in Penydarren, and the upper part of Merthyr, from Pontmorlais to Tydfil’s Well. There can be no doubt but that there will be much suffering in one way or another. Young men, full of vigour, may try their fortunes elsewhere broad shoulders and muscular arms will never fail to obtain their owners bread and cheese, but the old men, the semi-pensioners, the half used up veterans, cannot be expected to seek a subsistence in other districts, cannot be expected but to crawl, feeble worn-out beings, into the last resort of humble life – the Workhouse.

In addition to this, the first step towards a decline, we see evidences around us of a gloomy character. The lease of the Dowlais works is said to last only during the minority of the Marquis of Bute. When he comes of age a new lease, under new and perhaps impossible conditions, may be required.

It is also rumoured, on what authority we know not, that the Plymouth iron-works are for sale, and no one, acquainted with Mr. Hill, will hear this without fearing that the change of ownership, by whomsoever made, cannot be for the benefit of the workmen. No matter how good the next employer may be, new brooms have a tendency to sweep clean, and brush away old and good usages, pensions, perquisites and benefits to an alarming extent.

Again, at the Cyfarthfa works things wear an alarming aspect. The lease is yet unsettled. Mr. Crawshay has stated the sum he will give, and we all know that he will abide by his word, and blow out the whole of the furnaces rather than yield. And let us add that were Mr. Crawshay, unfortunately for us all, to be succeeded by another, we might find the system of iron-making on the hills introduced into Cyfarthfa, with its attendant Truck shops, which, God forbid for the sake of poor humanity! To this Truck the Crawshays have ever been firm opponents, much to their honour and the welfare of the town.

All these shadows warn us to be prepared for coming evils – to be on the alert towards lessening the trials of disastrous times – to prepare our several homes against the menacing storm.

Merthyr is a town called into existence by the discovery of the minerals underneath. With their exhaustion it fades as rapidly as it rose.

In these facts we trace the presages of decline. The tree which resists the skill of the gardener may exist for a time, unimproving, unprogressive, but when the storm comes the resistance is but weak, and beneath the tempest it falls!

The Taff Vale Railway

In 1835, the major industrialists in Merthyr began considering building a railway line from Merthyr to the Bute Docks in Cardiff. To this end, Anthony Hill, owner of the Plymouth Ironworks, contacted Isambard Kingdom Brunel, to estimate the cost of building such a railway – Brunel replied quoting an estimate of £190,649. The industrialists subsequently held a meeting, chaired by Josiah John Guest, at the Castle Inn in Merthyr, to discuss the issue, and decided to request Parliamentary permission to form a company to build the railway. Permission was granted an the company was incorporated the following year.

On 21 June 1836 Royal Assent was given to The Taff Vale Railway Company’s Act, allowing for the creation of the Taff Vale Railway Company. The founding capital of the Company was fixed at £300,000, in £100 share units. The directors were Josiah John Guest, Walter Coffin, Edward Lee, Thomas Guest, Thomas Guppy, Thomas Powell, Christopher James, Thomas Carlisle, Henry Rudhall, William Wait, William Watson, and Peter Maze. Company profits were capped at 7% originally, with a clause allowing for an increase to 9% subject to a reduction in the rates and tolls charged for use of the line.

The Act also capped the speed of the trains on the line to 12 mph (19 km/h), with stiff penalties for any speeding.

Construction of the railway was started in 1836, and the stretch from Cardiff to Navigation House (later named Abercynon) was opened in a formal ceremony on 9 October 1840, with public services starting the next day. The stretch from Abercynon to Merthyr was opened on 12 April 1841. The railway was single-line for its entire length, with passing only possible at or near the stations. It was not until 1857 that it became a double line. Brunel, the chief engineer, had chosen a narrower gauge (4 feet 8.5 inches or 1.435 m) than the 7 foot (2.134 m) gauge he would later choose for his Great Western Railway in order to fit the railway into the narrow space allowed to him by the River Taff valley.

Construction of the main line was relatively straightforward. The line mostly followed the course of the valley, and therefore needed few bridges and no tunnels. Brunel designed an impressive skew stone arch viaduct at Pontypridd, which spanned 110 feet (34 m) over the River Rhondda; the viaduct is still in use today, although it has been supplanted by a second, parallel viaduct. A similar viaduct was built at Quakers Yard.

The TVR’s original station in Merthyr was at Plymouth Street and was opened on 12 April 1841.

The Taff Vale Railway Station at Plymouth Street. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

This was joined in 1853 by the High Street station of the Vale of Neath Railway. A short joint line (TVR and GWR) was built to connect the TVR line to the new station in 1877. A year later, in August 1878, the Taff Vale transferred all of its passenger services to the High Street station, and used Plymouth Street as a goods depot instead. High Street station thus became the only passenger station in Merthyr, and was used by a total of six separate companies prior to the 1923 grouping. The TVR also opened stations at Merthyr Vale in 1883 and Pentrebach in 1886.

Merthyr Vale Station. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

The main line of the TVR was 24 miles (39 km) long. However, no fewer than 23 branch lines took the full length of track to 124 miles and 42 chains (200.40 km). Many of those branch lines were smaller lines taken over by the TVR – in 1841 a branch line was opened in the Rhondda going as far as Dinas, and a second was opened to Llancaiach Colliery. The Rhondda line would subsequently be extended, and by 1856 it had been extended into two lines – one to Maerdy and the other to Treherbert.

The TVR proved its worth immediately. At its peak, two trains a minute passed through the busiest station, Pontypridd. By 1850, the TVR was carrying 600,000 tons (600,000 metric tons) of coal per annum, and was paying a 6% dividend.

The line was conceived as a goods line, carrying iron and coal. However, it also ran passenger services from the beginning. There were two passenger trains each way daily, including Sundays. This was extended to three weekday services in 1844. Single fares from Cardiff to Merthyr were 5 shillings for first class, 4s. for second class, and 3s. for third, and were each reduced by a shilling in 1845.

The Taff Vale Railway continued to operate as a company in its own right until it was incorporated into the Great Western Railway in 1923.

The current railway line between Cardiff and Merthyr now follows the route of the original Taff Vale Railway.

A Map of the Taff Vale Railway System in 1913

Merthyr’s Ironmasters: Anthony Bacon

Following on from the last post, here is the latest article about Merthyr’s Ironmasters.

Anthony Bacon was born at St Bees near Whitehaven in Cumberland. His exact date of birth is not known, but records show that he was baptized at St Bees on 24 January 1717.

His father, William, and grandfather, Thomas, were ships’ captains in the coal trade between Whitehaven and Ireland, though his father also made several trading voyages to the Chesapeake. His mother died in 1725, when he was eight, and his father a few years later, and the boy was taken to Talbot county on the eastern shore of Maryland, where he was raised by his maternal uncles, Thomas and Anthony Richardson, who were merchants there. Young Anthony was trained by them as a merchant and as a mariner. He apparently made a good impression for, on coming of age, he was in 1738 made master of the York, a vessel in the Maryland tobacco trade owned by John Hanbury, the leading London tobacco importer.

After the death of his two uncles, Bacon moved to London, from where he operated as an itinerant merchant mariner during the period c.1742–1747 and as a resident merchant thereafter. In the 1740s he traded primarily with Maryland, but in the 1750s added Virginia and the Spanish wine trade. During the Seven Years’ War he entered government contracting in collaboration with John Biggin, a native of Whitehaven and a large London coal merchant (who had been a major navy victualling contractor in the 1740s). Bacon was recognized as a specialist in shipping, and he provided vessels and carrying services to the Royal Navy. He was a major transporter of victuals in the Quebec campaign of 1759. In the later stages of the war he also branched out into army contracts, undertaking to victual and pay the troops stationed on the African coast at Fort Louis, Senegal, and at Goree.

Between 1760 and 1766, Anthony Bacon was full or partial owner of five ships that completed a total of six Atlantic slave trade voyages. In 1764, Bacon withdrew from the tobacco trade, and concentrated on trade to, and contracting in, new British colonies in the West Indies and west Africa. At the same time to aid his business in government contracts, he was elected as Member of Parliament for the borough of Aylesbury, which he represented until 1784, by which time the participation of MPs in government contracting had been prohibited.

It was in 1765 that Bacon branched out and went into partnership with William Brownrigg of Whitehaven, taking out a lease on 4,000 acres of land in the Merthyr Valley. After obtaining the mineral-rich land very cheaply, they employed Charles Wood to build Cyfarthfa Forge using his patented potting and stamping process to make pig iron into bar iron. This was followed by a blast furnace at Cyfarthfa, 50 feet high and opened in 1767. In 1766, Bacon took over the Plymouth Ironworks to supply pig iron to his forge. Brownrigg partnership was dissolved in 1777.

Cyfarthfa Works and Cyfarthfa House (Anthony Bacon’s residence) in the 1790’s from a drawing by William Pamplin. Photo courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery

Bacon’s government contracts included supplying ordnance. In 1773, after the Carron Company’s guns had been withdrawn from service as dangerous, Bacon offered to provide three cannon for a trial, made respectively with charcoal, coke, and mixed fuel. He also delivered a fourth with then ‘cast solid and bored’. This gun was reported to be ‘infinitely better than those cast in the ordinary way, because it makes the ordnance more compact and consequently more durable’, despite the greater expense. This led to a contract in 1774. These guns were apparently cast by John Wilkinson until Bacon’s contract with him ended in 1776. The next year, Bacon asked for Richard Crawshay’s name to be included in his warrants, and from this time the cannon were cast at Cyfarthfa. This continued until Bacon as a member of parliament was disabled from undertaking government contracts in 1782, when the forge and some of the gun foundry business were leased to Francis Homfray.

Anthony Bacon had married Elizabeth Richardson who had borne him a son, Anthony who sadly died at the age of 12. While Elizabeth remained at Cyfarthfa House – the residence he had built in about 1770, Bacon, as a member of parliament, spent much time in the capital, where he kept a mistress, Mary Bushby, during the years c.1770 to 1786. At his death, in Cyfarthfa on 21 January 1786, Mary was left with their daughter, Elizabeth, and four sons, Anthony, Thomas, Robert, and William, of whom only the first two reached adulthood. Bacon was buried in London, at St Bartholomew by the Exchange. He made generous provision in his will for Mary Bushby and for the education of her children. He left his ironworks to his sons, but the two survivors, Anthony and Thomas, when they came of age, first leased and then sold their inherited undertakings to Richard Crawshay.

The Gethin Pit Explosion – 1862

One hundred and fifty six years ago today, on 19 February 1862, Merthyr was rocked by the news of a horrific explosion at the Gethin Colliery in Abercanaid.

Gethin Colliery comprised of two seperate pits – Lower Pit (Gethin Colliery No 1) and Upper Pit (Gethin Colliery No 2). The Gethin Pit was established in 1849, when it was sunk by William Crawshay II to provide coal for the Cyfarthfa Works.

An 1875 map of Abercanaid showing the location of the Gethin Colliery

As the coal had been worked the gas had drained away naturally. At the time of the explosion the mines were being sunk to a greater depth and giving off greater quantities of gas which demanded greater skill and attention in their management.

At the time of the disaster, the mine was being managed by John Moody and various others including his son (Thomas Moody). Thomas Thomas, the fireman who ran the safety checks of the mine reported: “All is right, but there is a little gas in John Jones’ heading…….No.20 about 10 yards back from the face there had been a bit of a fall above the timbers and gas was lodged there.”

Thomas Thomas was actually at work when the explosion occurred. He had just examined the Nos. 16 to 19 cross headings, found everything all right and was on his way for his dinner. He reached the No. 14 heading when he was knocked down from behind and burnt by the blast. It was about 2 p.m.

Mr G.H. Laverick, viewer at the Plymouth Works heard the explosion at 2 p.m. He went to the pit where he met Mr Bedlington Kirkhouse, mineral agent of the Cyfarthfa Colliery, and went down the pit. He examined the doors at the No. 13 and 14 headings and a great many bodies had been brought there. He reported:

“I then proceeded to the No.18 when I got up about 50 yards on the road I picked up a burnt handkerchief. At the bottom of the No.19 heading there was a horse blown across the level. Attached to the chain was a train of coal the train was off the road, about eight or nine feet from the north side level. On the west side of the heading saw a portion of what seemed to have been a door did not observe anything of the other doors there had been a fall of earth between the level and the windroad could not proceed any further because of the chokedamp. I believe that the door at the bottom of No.19 must have been kept open at the time, otherwise it would have been shattered to pieces. The haulier was jammed between the rib and the trams. They had to left the tram to remove his body. The horse was blown across with it’s head inclined to the west, indicating that the blast had come down the heading from the north. Further up we came across four men who appeared to have had their dinners, for the stoppers being out of their bottles. They appeared to be suffocated.”

In all, 47 men and boys were killed in the explosion.

The enquiry into the explosion, which took nine days, found that the presence of poor ventilation, fire-damp (an accumulation of gases, mostly methane, that occurs in coal mines) and the irresponsible use of naked flames for lighting were the root causes of the explosion.

John Moody, after testifying, was acquitted of two charges, however he was found guilty of manslaughter by the jury. Later, a grand jury heard the evidence and produced the verdict of “No true bill”.

Just three years later, on 20 December 1865, another explosion occurred at the Gethin Colliery, this time at No 2 Pit, killing 36 men and boys. The cause of the explosion was found to be exactly the same as the first, yet once again John Moody was acquitted of manslaughter at the subsequent trial.

Coal production ceased at the Gethin Colliery in the 1920’s and it was used as a pumping station until its closure in 1947.

Merthyr’s Girl-Collier

One hundred and sixteen years ago today, the following story broke in the Evening Express, and went on to grip the town for several weeks.

Six days previously, on Monday 30 September 1901, a fifteen-year-old girl had been found working as a boy in one of the Plymouth Ironworks’ collieries.

When interviewed, the girl, Edith Gertrude Phillips, said that she lived with her father, a pitman, her mother and five siblings at the Glynderis Engine House in Abercanaid, but was beaten and forced to do all the housework by her mother when her father was at work. On the previous Friday, her mother had ‘knocked her about the head, shoulders and back with her fists’ for not finishing the washing, so Edith decided to leave home. She dressed in some clothes belonging to her older brother, cut her hair, threw her own clothes into the Glamorganshire Canal, and walked to Dowlais Ironworks to look for a job.

Unable to secure employment in Dowlais, Edith then went to the South Pit of the Plymouth Colliery, and got a job with a collier named Matthew Thomas as his ‘boy’. She found lodgings at a house in Nightingale Street in Abercanaid, and it was there on Monday 30 September that she was discovered by P.C. Dove. The alarm had been raised about Edith’s disappearance by her father on the Friday evening, and following searches throughout the weekend, someone recognised the disguised Edith at her lodgings in Nightingale Street. Edith refused to go back to her parents, and in the ensuing arguments, collapsed from nervous exhaustion and was taken to Merthyr Infirmary.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children immediately started investigating the case, and Edith’s parents were questioned thoroughly. In the meantime, as news of the case leaked out, there was an outpouring of support for Edith, and dozens of people came forward with offers of support for her, some from as far afield as Surrey and Sussex. A committee was formed to start a fund to help Edith, and the met at the Richards Arms in Abercanaid, just a week after the news broke, and a public appeal was made for money to help her.

Despite the ongoing investigation by the N.S.P.C.C. and the countless offers from people to provide a good home to Edith, the Merthyr Board of Guardians, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the girl should be sent home to her parents upon her release from the Infirmary. Edith was indeed released and sent home to her parents on 31 October, but within hours, she was removed from the house by the N.S.P.C.C. and taken to the Salvation Army Home in Cardiff.

No more is mentioned in the newspapers about Edith until 8 February 1904, when the Evening Express reported that she had been living in Cardiff, but as the money raised to help her had run out, she had to leave her home. As she was in very poor health, she was unable to find work, so she had appealed to the Merthyr Board of Guardians to allow her to come back to Merthyr, and to enter the Workhouse. A doctor told the Board that Edith didn’t have long to live, so they agreed to allow her to return.

This is the last report about Edith in any of the newspapers, but thanks to the sterling work of Mike Donovan of the Merthyr Branch of the Glamorgan Family History Society, I have been able to discover that Edith didn’t actually die at the workhouse, she recovered and went on to work, in service, at a house in Penydarren, and died in 1963 at the age of 77.