Dowlais Ironworks – Page 6 – The Melting Pot – Merthyr Tydfil's History and Culture

Merthyr Memories: The Last Days of Old Dowlais

Some of my fondest childhood memories are the frequent trips I would go on to Dowlais with my aunty.

This would have been in the 1970s when Dowlais was undergoing what was officially called ‘redevelopment’, but which most people would call total devastation. At the time, of course, I was too young to understand the full implications of what was going on – I was just too fascinated by the ‘tractors’ as I called them……I had a fascination with ‘tractors’, and I had quite a few Tonka toys of diggers, cranes etc. Little did I know then the havoc these were causing and the vast amount of history that was being casually swept away.

The ‘Redevelopment’ of Dowlais. The derelict shell of Lloyd’s Bank in Union Street in the 1970s. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

My aunty, who had lived most of her life in Penydarren, had visited Dowlais just as much as she would have visited Merthyr when the former was in its hey-day. Dowlais, then, had everything – cinemas, banks, shops of every description – everything anyone would need for everyday life. By the 1970s however, most of these had gone, and only a few buildings and businesses held on for dear life as the bulldozers slowly worked their way up Union Street. Yet, my aunty would still do what she could in Dowlais.

I remember that we would catch the bus up to Dowlais – we’d go regularly as my aunty would go to ‘pay the coal’ in a business, if I remember correctly, in Church Row. We’d walk up past the Co-op, never the other side of the road…..I didn’t like walking past the steeple of St John’s Church – it frightened me!!! I remember the adverts in the window for various things, and also the posters advertising ‘Co-op stamps’.

Dowlais Co-op in the early 1900s. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

Sometimes, after ‘paying the coal’, we would go around the corner to see the then derelict Dowlais Stables and my aunty would tell me all about Josiah John Guest and the Ironworks and about Lady Charlotte opening a school there. Other times we would call into Dowlais Library for her to change her books, and she would chat with David Watkins the marvellous librarian there whilst I looked at the books in the ‘Children’s Library’.

We would also call into one or two of the few shops that were remaining. I particularly remembering going to the shop of Mr Segar’s – the watch and clock repairer in North Street, and be fascinated by all the different clocks around the place. Another shop we would always visit was Crynogwyn’s – the dressmaker in Union Street. This was simply because Crynogwyn or ‘Aunty Cryn’ was an ‘honorary Aunty’. My father, had worked with Cryn’s husband Jack on the railway for many years, and they were very close friends. Cryn was a tiny, gentle, very quietly spoken lady with jet-black hair, and she was one of the finest seamstresses in Dowlais.

Crynogwyn’s Shop in Union Street not long before it was demolished. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

After we had finished all we had to do in Dowlais, we would catch the bus home from outside Ferrari’s Café. If I had been very good (and of course I always was), we would go into Ferrari’s and I would have a cup of hot chocolate as a special treat.

Ferrari’s Cafe in Dowlais. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Collection

These were simple things, but they still remain fresh in my memory. St John’s Church, Dowlais Stables and the Library are all still there, but everything else has gone – swept away in the name of progress. Redevelopment or vandalism? You decide.

In Search of the Dowlais Railway

by Victoria Owens

When the Taff Vale Railway between Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff received its authorisation in 1836, the Act gave the Railway Company leave to construct a branch to the tramroad at Dowlais. For various reasons, the Railway Company procrastinated over the work, with the result that the Dowlais Iron Company eventually took responsibility for making the Branch themselves. The terms of the 1849 Dowlais Railway Act authorised them to build not only the line, but also a passenger station, situated close both to the Iron Works’ lower entrance gate and the Merthyr-Abergavenny road.

Although the 1849 Act allowed the Iron Company five years to complete the railway, it was in fact ready in three. Financed by Sir John Guest, MP for Merthyr Tydfil, promoter of the TVR and soon to be sole partner in the Dowlais Iron Works, at a mile and sixty-eight chains in length, the steep gradient of its route up Twynyrodyn Hill meant that its lower part operated as an inclined plane. The Newcastle firm of R & A Hawthorn designed a stationary engine capable of drawing trains of up to six carriages in length and 33 tons in weight over s distance of 70 chains and 30 links, up the 1 in 12 slope. It had two horizontal cylinders of 18 inch diameter and 24 inch stroke and worked at 50 strokes per minute. The steam pressure was 30 lbs psi.

Viewing its erection in March 1851, a local newspaper drily enquired whether in ten years’ time, a ‘chronicler of local events’ might have reason to report the completion of a notional line ‘from Dowlais to the extreme point of Anglesey.’

Modest it might be, but at the Dowlais Railway’s official opening in August 1851, Royalty graced the ceremony. Three days before the event, just as Sir John and his wife Charlotte were about the set off on a carriage drive, the horse-omnibus drew up outside their home, Dowlais House, bringing Charlotte’s cousin Henry Layard, known as ‘Layard of Nineveh’ on the strength of his recent archaeological discoveries in Assyria, and with him, his friend Nawab Ekbaled Dowleh, whom the newspapers called the ‘ex-King of Oude.’

With the help of Works Manager John Evans, Charlotte organised every stage in the celebration, from welcoming a party of Taff Vale Directors who had travelled down from Cardiff for the occasion, to pairing up her ten children to walk in the procession: ‘viz. Ivor and Maria; Merthyr bach and Katherine; Montague and Enid; Geraint [Augustus] and Constance; Arthur and little Blanche.’ Flanked, probably as much for show as for protection, by the local police, they made their way to the station, decked with greenery for the occasion, with the school-children and company agents following. The ‘trade of Merthyr and Dowlais’ joined them along the way, all to the accompaniment of music from the combined bands of Cyfarthfa and Dowlais.

An 1880 map of Merthyr and Dowlais showing the Dowlais Railway – shown in red from top right to bottom left

From Dowlais station, the passengers travelled to the top of the incline where their locomotive was uncoupled. Messrs. Hawthorn’s engine lowered the carriages down the slope, and the intrepid travellers made their way on to Merthyr. Some of them chose to continue by TVR to Abercynon, but the Guests and their visitors preferred to return to Dowlais.

Later in the day, a ‘small party comprising about five hundred ladies and gentlemen’ enjoyed a sumptuous meal at the Iron company’s Ivor Works, to be followed by speeches and dancing. Sir John, whose health was none too good, left the festivities early but Charlotte remained on hand to propose the healths the Directors of the Taff Vale railway and to open the dancing with Rhondda coal owner David William James as her partner. With Layard as his interpreter, the Nawab set the seal upon the day’s pleasures by expressing his delight at the hospitality that he had received in Dowlais and asserting that he had never enjoyed himself so much as he had during his ‘brief sojourn’ in Wales.

Although Sir John envisaged the Dowlais Branch primarily as a mineral line, he seems to have been perfectly happy with the requirement that it should also accommodate passenger traffic. Records indicate that over 1853,it came in for usage by 755 first class, 1884 second class and 7253 third class passengers but, sad to say, disaster struck at the end of the year. December 1853 witnessed an ugly accident when a passenger carriage over-ran the scotches to hurtle down the Incline unchecked and two passengers lost their lives, with five more suffering serious injuries. Officially speaking, passenger traffic on the railway ceased in 1854.

Unofficially, as Merthyr Tydfil writer Leo Davies would explain, it was usually possible – given a combination of unscrupulousness and agility- to obtain a lift. In an article of 1996, he described the whole unorthodox procedure in graphic detail. Access was obtained via the wingwall of a bridge and through some railings. The sound of the hawser gave advance warning of the approach of a train on the incline – ‘four ballast trucks, each half-filled with sand.’ Travelling typically at ‘a nice, sedate trotting pace’ there was evidently ample scope for the non-paying passenger to grasp the outside rim of the buffer, and ‘swing both legs up and around the buffer spring housing.’

An aerial view of the Twynyrodyn area. The Keir Hardie Estate is being built to the left and the route of the Dowlais Railway can clearly be seen running vertically in the photo. Twynyrodyn School is visible middle right. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Dowlais Railway closed finally in 1930 and the trackbed would be filled in sixteen or so year later, over 1946-7. In the 1990s, when Leo Davies reminisced about the ‘Inky’ as he fondly calls it, the ‘straight, green, grass grown strip of land’ ascending Twynyrodyn Hill remained visible. Perhaps, with the eye of knowledge or faith it remains so. Admittedly, former pupils of Twynyrodyn School remember the old line’s route, but without local knowledge it is not easy to trace. Only a few yards of broad green path survive to mark the site – perhaps – of the old trackbed and the name ‘Incline Top’ given to a hamlet at the edge of a plateau of rough ground extending towards Dowlais and its great Ironworks commemorate the location of Sir John Guest’s last great enterprise.

Sign for Incline Top, photographed May 2019

Merthyr’s Chapels: Wesley Chapel, Dowlais

The next chapel we are going to look at is Wesley Chapel in Dowlais. It has a very interesting history, and is one of the ‘survivors’ of the cull of chapels in the town.

Thomas Guest, the founder of the Dowlais Ironworks was prominent in the Wesleyan Church, and as such, he was a member of Wesley Chapel in Merthyr. In 1805, at Thomas Guest’s instigation, Rev Thomas Evans and Rev Edward Jones, ministers at the English and Welsh Wesleyan chapels in Merthyr came to Dowlais to preach in open-air meetings. When Thomas Guest died in 1807, both ministers carried on preaching and were instrumental in bringing Wesleyan Methodism to Dowlais.

Meetings were held in several places in Dowlais until the worshippers decided to build their own chapel. The site chosen for the chapel was where St John’s Church now stands, but owing to a dispute between the Wesleyan Conference and John Josiah Guest who owned the land, a different site had to be found.

The Welsh Wesleyans had already built their own chapel, called Shiloh at the bottom of Castle Street in Dowlais, and so a plot of land was leased from Mary Overton near to Shiloh Chapel and the congregation built a chapel in 1843.

An excerpt from an aerial photo of Dowlais from the 1920’s showing Hermon (1), Wesley (2) and Shiloh (3) Chapels.

The congregation soon grew and it became obvious that a larger chapel was needed, and the chapel was rebuilt in 1850. The chapel was subsequently renovated in 1875, 1892 and 1915. In 1871-73 a school room was also built adjoining the chapel on the site of the old Wesleyan burial ground.

The second Wesley Chapel decorated for a Harvest Festival in the 1920s

In November 1928, a severe storm caused major damage to the chapel, and the building had to be demolished. A new chapel was built in 1932 at a cost of £1976.18s.6d. The old chapel had faced Dowlais High Street and was approached by a long flight of steps from the street, however when the chapel was rebuilt, it was built facing the opposite way and the main entrance was placed on Castle Street.

Laying the foundation stone for the new chapel in the ruins of the old chapel in 1932.

The old Wesley Chapel was in the centre of the area of Dowlais being redeveloped in the 1960’s. A Compulsory Purchase Order was put on the Chapel by Merthyr Borough Council and the chapel and was demolished in 1967. The congregation were determined that they would not let their cause die and fought to have a new chapel built for them. After much negotiating, a new modern chapel, designed by the Percy Thomas Partnership was built in South Street in 1972 at a cost of £50,000.

The third chapel being demolished in 1967.

Wesley Chapel is now one of the few remaining chapels in Merthyr that is still open and holding regular services.

The Church of St. John the Baptist, Dowlais

by Carolyn Jacob

The Church of St. John the Baptist, Dowlais was built in 1827, and it is likely that the Dowlais Church was named after its founder and benefactor, Josiah John Guest, iron-master of Dowlais and known as Sir John Guest.

Although brought up a strict Wesleyan Methodist he decided that the religious welfare of the workmen called for a church in Dowlais and that the industrial success of Dowlais called for the establishment of Dowlais as a Parish in its own right. Guest paid £3,000 towards the cost of the building and it was consecrated and opened on 27 November 1827 by Dr Sumner, Bishop of Winchester and former Bishop of Llandaff.

The original St John’s Church. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Lady Charlotte Guest presented the Church with its Communion vessels and Sir John Guest contributed generously to the maintenance of the clergy at Dowlais; he also supported many chapels in the area. Sir John died in Dowlais on the November, 1852 and a plain Italian marble slab at the top of the Chancel steps still marks where he is buried in St John’s Church. A massive marble columned tablet is inscribed with his epitaph. St. John’s Church thrived and held two services each Sunday, two services in English and also two in Welsh and so it catered for both languages.

Josiah John Guest’s memorial. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The original Church was a plain, simple, square building with tall windows and a square tower. Gradually the Church has been extended, rebuilt and enlarged.

During the 1890s the main Nave was rebuilt with additions to the aisles to allow room for the growing congregation and enable 800 sittings.The Church was restored at a cost of £4,500 under the direction of the architect E.A. Johnson, who later designed the Merthyr Tydfil Town Hall. Most of the expense was paid by Lord Wimborne, eldest son of the founder Sir John Guest; although a great bazaar in Dowlais raised £1,000 which was a huge amount in those days. The new extended aisle was the gift of Edward Pritchard Martin, General Manager of the Dowlais Iron Company in memory of his father George Martin.

Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

This family also financed the splendid decorative ‘Miner’s Window’ in the Church which show two coal miners digging at a coal face with the caption underneath, ‘The Thing that is hid Bringeth he forth light’. Such an industrial motif in stained glass is quite unusual to be found in a Church. The bare headed miners, with their picks, candles, and their clothing and boots, present an accurate image of a coal miner (see right).

The interior of St John’s is imposing because of its sheer size. The tall fine oak roof of the Nave is a hammer beam type, supported by 6 larger and 5 smaller corbel tables on each Nave wall. The interior walls are double thick yellow brick. The five plain Early English styled columns with rounded bases can still be seen inset to the new west Nave wall.

The Martin family had charge of the Collieries for the Dowlais Works and the American singer, Donny Osmond, claims descent from this famous Dowlais family, whose Brass plaques and monuments are still in the Church. The enlarged and redesigned Church was opened officially in October 1894 with a special service.

The present Church is a fine structure of Llancaiach blue pennant stone, after the Gothic style of the 13^th and 14^th centuries. This wonderful Gothic church has long been a central land mark in Dowlais and has changed little since the late nineteenth century, although the former vestry has been demolished. St John’s Church is 112 feet in length, with a maximum width of 84 feet and about 60 feet high. The whole construction is of masoned Pennant stone, but the doors and windows are surrounded with lighter coloured ashlar blocks of Forest and Bathstone trimmed with dripstone and moulds. This magnificent church was always perhaps too large for its congregation in this most non-conformist of towns.

The ‘new’ St John’s Church. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Far less than 10% of the population here attended an Anglican Church. In our more secular times in proved to be too large for its Dowlais Congregation and it closed in 1997. The church is currently undergoing conversion to residential flats which will retain its original fine structure.

Remembering the Fallen

by Dr Meilyr Powel

Over the past few months I’ve been working on a small project to re-house a war memorial from the First World War. The plaque commemorates three members of Elizabeth Street Presbyterian Church, Dowlais, who were killed during the war: Able Seaman David Albert Stephens; Private Archie Vincent Evans; and Second Lieutenant Thomas Glyn Nicholas.

The plaque was discovered in a second hand ‘junk’ sale, and together with my supervisor at the time at Swansea University, Dr Gethin Matthews, we applied for a collaborative research grant from the First World War Network to re-house the memorial as an exhibition at Cyfarthfa Castle, Merthyr.

The project has now been completed, with the exhibition being unveiled to the public on Saturday 4 May during an afternoon of talks on Merthyr and the First World War. Two information panels accompany the display of the plaque, along with the production of a small booklet with additional information on the three men and war memorials in general.

The first name that appears on the war memorial plaque is that of David Albert Stephens. After doing some research, we know now that Able Seaman D. Albert Stephens was killed in the largest sea battle of the war, at Jutland on 31 May 1916. Albert, originally from Llandovery, married Dowlais born Catherine and had two young children, Katie and Thomas. They were all bilingual and Albert worked as a stoker in the local iron works when war broke out.

At Jutland, Albert was a gunner on board HMS Invincible, part of Rear Admiral Horace Hood’s 3^rd Battlecruiser Squadron, when it was hit in the turret amidships, which detonated the magazines below, caused a huge explosion, and split the ship in two before sinking. It took just 90 seconds for the Invincible to sink. Thousands of sailors perished at this fateful battle. Indeed, the Battle of Jutland involved around 100,000 men in 151 British and 99 German ships, and lasted 72 hours with over 8,000 shells fired. Only six out of 1,032 crew members of the Invincible survived, but Albert wasn’t one of them. His name also appears on Plymouth Naval Memorial.

Private Archie Vincent Evans is the second name on the memorial. Archie was born in 1892 in Treorchy to Thomas and Henrietta Evans. He had three younger brothers, Tom, Trevor, and Harold, and lived at Lower Union Street, having previously lived at Horse Street. Archie and his parents were bilingual, although his brothers were noted as English speaking only. His father, Thomas, was a restaurant owner and former rail inspector, while Archie himself worked as a grocer’s assistant with William Harris and Sons in Alma Street.

Archie served with the 9th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, which was part of 36 Infantry Brigade, 12th (Eastern) Division. It appears he was conscripted to the army in 1916, and in October that year his battalion launched an attack at Le Transloy, just west of the village of Gueudecourt on the Somme. The attack was a total failure, the battalion losing 15 officers and 250 other ranks that day. Archie, just twenty-four years old, was killed in the attack. His name also appears on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme.

Second Lieutenant Thomas Glyn Nicholas is the last name on the memorial. The son of Thomas Richard and Mary Jane Nicholas, and brother of Rees and Dilys, Thomas was articled to the solicitors D. W. Jones and Co. before volunteering for service in the army. His father had been a clerk at Lloyd’s Bank. Thomas was educated at Merthyr County School and Worcester Grammar School and seemed set for a long career in the legal profession before the war began.

Following the outbreak of war, duty called for Thomas, and on 15 July 1915 he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was assigned to the 18^th Battalion (2^nd Glamorgan) Welsh Regiment. This battalion was formed in Cardiff in January 1915 as a Bantam Battalion, a battalion which had lowered the minimum height requirement for recruits from five foot three to five feet. However, he was soon attached to the 14^th Battalion (Swansea Pals) Welsh Regiment.

Thomas was part of a working party with the 14th Battalion when he was killed in February 1917 at East Canal Bank on the Ypres Salient. Thomas was the only man in the battalion killed or wounded that day. He was just twenty years old. He is buried in Bard Cottage, Belgium, and his name also appears on Merthyr County School’s own memorial.

The Merthyr Express reported Thomas’ death and quoted Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. Hayes, writing to Thomas’ parents: ‘His death will be a great loss to the battalion. He was always cheerful under all conditions, however bad they were. I looked upon him as one of my most promising young officers.’

Elizabeth Street Church remembers

After the war, state and civil institutions began to commemorate the dead. Cenotaphs were erected in many towns and cities, with London’s Whitehall Cenotaph, unveiled on 11 November 1920, providing an official site of remembrance for the British, and later Commonwealth, dead. Many of the public monuments built in towns and villages throughout Wales were subsequently based on Edwin Lutyens’ design of the Whitehall Cenotaph.

Churches, schools, clubs, and societies also honoured their members who were killed during the war. Around 35,000 Welshmen were killed during the First World War and many of them are remembered on plaques such as this, from Elizabeth Street Presbyterian Church, Dowlais.

David Albert Stephens, Archie Vincent Evans, and Thomas Glyn Nicholas were not the only members of their church to have served during the war.

In addition to several other members, the minister himself, the Reverend Thomas James, joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and served on both the French and Italian fronts.

This memorial plaque is representative of hundreds of chapels and churches across Wales which saw their members enlist in the forces during the First World War. The fact that so many Welshmen did not return home is testimony to the devastating impact of the war on communities across the country. In one church in Dowlais, it was felt deeply.

A Secret Tunnel?

The article transcribed below appeared in the Western Mail 130 years ago today (23 May 1889).

ALLEGED ANTIQUARIAN DISCOVERY AT MERTHYR.

THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF A “SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.”

by Morien

In consequence of a rumour to the effect that an extraordinary subterranean passage had been discovered leading from Morlais Castle to no one knew where, I visited the place on Wednesday, accompanied by the Rev. J. Edmund Jenkins, rector of Vaynor, who is a local antiquarian. After a frugal repast at the hospitable Aber Glais Inn, we passed over the romantic river which during countless ages has scooped out remarkable dents in the living rock, and slowly ascended the green slope at the summit of which the castle stands.

In a quarry, about half a mile from the castle, and to the south-east, of it, we came upon some men at work. In answer to our inquiries as to the subterranean passage, they pointed to a heap of sleepers, and said “the hole” was underneath them. After some conversation of a persuasive nature they began to remove these impediments, and eventually the opening was revealed to what looked like a very ugly “hole”. A plank was next placed in it, and pushed forward until it rested upon something solid below. I, Morien, then got on to the plank and, after the fashion of other and youthful dogs, slid down into the unknown abyss. I found that the end of the plank rested on an immense heap of fallen rubbish, with a vault-like roof of uneven rocks overhead and water dropping everywhere.

Owing to the wet and, therefore, slippery nature of the descent, it seemed highly dangerous to attempt to explore below. But I determined to make the attempt, and, having lighted a torch of cotton wool, the darkness was made visible. One of workmen above now came down over the plank and joined me. Lighting his candle by the light of the Morienic torch, he led the way over the great heap of stones down into the great silent depths. I followed him, after the manner of a goat, careful of every footstep.

The roof as we proceeded came nearer to one’s back, and I was made rather uncomfortable by observing that there were spaces between the roof and the hanging stones overhead. Besides the danger of those stones giving way, there was also the peril which would result from an accidental slip of the feet, for had that happened one would have been precipitated over the surface of the immense heap of debris. But my companion still descended, and after he had gone about 40 yards further I – employing the patois of the country-side – called out “Stopwch!” to my companion. I had by this time become convinced that neither a De Bohun of Brecknock nor a De Clare of Glamorgan had ever been such a fool as to risk his neck in such a place, and that the so-called “subterranean passage” from Morlais Castle to some place unknown was a myth. We, therefore, retraced our steps, and eventually reached the surface, none the worse except for dirty coats and unmentionables.

Mr. Evan Lewis, Cefn, and Mr. Richard Hughes had descended a few days ago a little below the place at which I stopped, but neither went more than about 45 yards. They then came to the bottom of the heap. There they found the thigh bone, as was supposed, of a human being, and a large stone lying in a slanting position. Mr. Evan Lewis endeavoured to go beyond that stone, but he told me there was no open space beyond, and the roof there seemed extremely dangerous. Mr. Martin, manager of the Dowlais Works, had given orders to explore beyond if it was seen that the so-called passage was continuous; but, it seems that the stone referred to, closing up the place, does not lie more than five yards from the bottom of the heap of rubbish.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt this castle had its subterranean exits, and it is not impossible, after all that this was one of them, but that it has fallen in.

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 Lost Landmarks: Dowlais House

by Carolyn Jacob

Dowlais House in 1899. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

It is probable that John Josiah Guest had Dowlais House built around 1818, possibly as a home for his bride Maria Rankin. It was a large, solid, well-proportioned structure. Her early death left him a widower until his marriage to Charlotte, daughter of the Earl of Lindsey, in 1833. Better known as Lady Charlotte Guest, she described her first visit to Dowlais House in her diary.

‘ By the time we had reached the House it was quite dark and the prevailing gloom gave full effect to the light of the blazing furnaces, which was quite unlike all I had ever before seen or even imagined. The interior of the house was precisely what Merthyr’s sketch of it had taught me to expect. My first impulse was to establish myself in the library, by far the pleasantest room in the house. We walked out as far as the limits of the garden, round the house and stood without the gate – the furnace gate-upon the steps leading to the Works’.

It is here that she succeeded in translating the Welsh tales the Mabinogion into English and within the short space of thirteen years she also gave birth to ten children in Dowlais House. No doubt it was partly on their account that she encouraged her husband in 1846 to buy Canford Manor in Dorset. Cholera in Dowlais made it essential for the young family to move from Dowlais House. However, on his death bed, John Josiah Guest insisted on returning to Dowlais House in 1852, so that he could die where he was born – in his beloved Dowlais.

Dowlais House in the 1860s. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

Dowlais House then became the Dowlais residence of G. T. Clark, Esq. who took over as the manager of the Works. Dowlais House was converted to offices in 1894 after G.T. Clark retired from the business residence. The alterations which followed destroyed most of its older features as a private house, with the exception an attractive balustrade running up a stairs. Its proximity meant that the House featured in many photographs of the Dowlais Works. Prior to its demolition in the early 1970s, it was used as the employment exchange.

Dowlais House being demolished in 1973. Photo courtesy of the Alan George archive.

The Holm Oak in Bethesda Street

by Clive Thomas

It was different when it was planted I suppose, whenever that was. Now it stands near a modern, regulated cross roads dedicated to ensuring the smooth running of traffic from one side of the town to the other. You see only a few pedestrians here and vehicle owners drive past, or sometimes frustrated, are required to halt and give their attention to the traffic lights. It does have some other green company now though from more recently Council-planted shrubs and small trees, but for many years it would have stood somewhat incongruously alone, alongside a very busy roadway. Its age is difficult to guess but it must certainly have been witness to many changes in the surrounding area. It stands sentinel with a strangely oriented boxer’s statue and the small but colourful memorial to a demolished chapel which only hint at the area’s rich heritage.

Aerial photograph of Bethesda Street. The Holm Oak can be seen prominently in the centre of the photograph, with Bethesda Chapel to the right and Abermorlais School at the bottom right. Photo courtesy of the Alan George archive.

This thoroughfare was originally called Jackson’s Street, after the contractor who was commissioned in 1793 by the Dowlais Ironworks to build the stone arched bridge which still straddles the River Taff nearby. Although giving the rapidly increasing population of Georgetown and Heolgerrig, an alternative means of crossing the river from the more famous Iron Bridge, this bridge’s main purpose was to carry the tram road from the Dowlais Works to the canal warehouse and wharf on the Glamorganshire Canal. The tramroad would remain a vital link for the Dowlais Company for many years, and thousands of tons of iron would have been carried this way by teams of horse drawn wagons. As the town developed and more cottages built, junctions were created here, with Quarry Row leading into the riverside community of Caepantywyll and the Vulcan Road climbing the slope to Brewery Street and Sunnybank. Towards Pontmorlais, Bethesda Chapel had been built in 1811 and its name would eventually replace that of Mr. Jackson. Over a period of years, the area became overlooked by the tip of furnace waste from the Penydarren Ironworks, which continued to grow towards the river for most of the first half of the nineteenth century. It was between this British Tip, Jackson’s Bridge and the Taff that the notorious area of slum dwellings called ‘China’ would grow up.

Bethesda Street in 1967. The Holm Oak is clearly visible. Photo courtesy of the Alan George archive.

In the 1970’s however, great changes were taking place hereabouts. The re-configuration of the road system and the construction of a new Taff bridge required the demolition of many adjacent houses. Lawn Terrace, Garden Street, Paynters Terrace, along with The Old Tanyard Inn and Bethesda Chapel all disappeared. The removal of a substantial portion of the British Tip meant that whole area underwent considerable change. Surprisingly and against all odds, the tree survived and remained healthy. As a result of representations from the Merthyr and District Naturalists’ Society, whose members became concerned about its survival, it was made the subject of a Tree Preservation Order under the 1974 Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Bethesda Street from the British Tip in 1989. The Holm Oak stands proud at the centre of the photograph. Courtesy of Clive Thomas

Quercus ilex, the Holm Oak belongs in Mediterranean climes and unlike our more familiar Sessile (Qercuspetraea) and Pedunculate (Quercusrobur) species, it is evergreen. Holm is the ancient English name for holly bush and it is indeed so like a holly that it is often mistaken for one. Its sombre evergreen foliage casts a very dense shade that nothing can grow beneath it and reflects the climatic conditions found in its native lands. There, the winter is rainy but fairly warm, while summers are dry and hot so thick waxy foliage is required to check undue loss of moisture. The tree is also unusual amongst the oaks in that its acorns take two years to mature. The species was first introduced into Britain in the sixteenth century at Mamhead Park, Devon and a large population is to be found on the Isle of Wight. It has naturalised in a number of areas of southern Britain.

One can only speculate at how it might have arrived in Merthyr Tydfil. The fairly close proximity of Cyfarthfa Park might offer one explanation. Several exotic species were imported by the Crawshay Family to enhance the landscaped parkland which surrounded their newly built gothic home. There are numerous Turkey Oaks (Quercuscerrris) on the banks of the Taf-Fechan near Cefn Coed which might have had their origins within the confines of the park. It is possible that this tree might have arrived as part of a consignment of saplings or perhaps even grown from a single acorn. Ironically now however, the species is thought to damage aspects of biodiversity in this country and is listed as an alien invader. Despite our own specimen’s somewhat anomalous existence, I hope it remains in situ for many more years.

Merthyr’s Chapels: Hermon Chapel, Dowlais

We continue our feature on the chapels of Merthyr with a look at one of the oldest and largest chapels in Dowlais – Hermon Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Chapel.

In 1791, an elderly lady named Mary Taylor moved to Dowlais from Dinas Powis, but upon arrival in Dowlais she found that she was the only Methodist in the area. She was soon joined however by a Mr Thomas Davies, and they started worshipping together. Gradually, others joined them, and they began worshipping at Pontmorlais Chapel in Merthyr before they were given permission to meet in Dowlais on the premises of Mr Thomas Williams, a local shoemaker.

As the congregation grew, they decided, in 1806, to open a Sunday School, and in 1810 they formed themselves into an established cause. The worshippers continued to meet in private houses until they took out a lease on the small Bethel Chapel; the Baptist Cause that had started there having failed.

The congregation continued to grow and in 1827 they decided to build their own chapel on a plot of land acquired at the bottom end of Gwernllwyn Isaf Farm. This was the first chapel of any importance to be built in Dowlais.

In 1837, the freehold of the land on which the chapel was built was purchased from Mrs Mary Overton, and it soon became apparent that chapel was too small to accommodate the ever growing accommodation. A new chapel was designed by Rev Evan Harris, minister at Pontmorlais Chapel, and the very large new chapel was completed at a cost of £2,000 and opened in 1841.

It is interesting to note that Josiah John Guest, owner of the Dowlais Ironworks, and a staunch Anglican, contributed £50 to the rebuilding of the chapel. The reason he gave was that he was pleased to hear that none of the congregation had participated in the Chartist Riots.

Hermon Chapel was subsequently regarded as one of the most important Calvinistic Methodist Chapels in Wales and became the mother church of Libanus Chapel, Calfaria Chapel, Elizabeth Street Chapel and Radcliffe Hall, Penydarren, as well as being prominent in the founding of Nazareth, Fochriw; Ysgwydd Gwyn, Deri and Gosen, Bedlinog.

The magnificent Nicholson organ in Hermon Chapel

In 1901 a new school room was built adjoining the chapel at a cost of £1,000, and in 1904 major renovations were undertaken costing £3,000, including £600 for a magnificent pipe organ built by Messrs Nicholson and Lord of Walsall.

With the redevelopment of Dowlais, the chapel was forced to close and in 1962, became the first of Dowlais’ chapels to be demolished.