Tag: Anthony Hill

Memories of Old Merthyr

We continue our serialisation of the memories of Merthyr in the 1830’s by an un-named correspondent to the Merthyr Express, courtesy of Michael Donovan.

But stay! there was a round building that must not be forgotten. It is probable that many are unacquainted with its purpose, for they are not in vogue now. It was a structure for the rolls not in use, or being attended to for making or repairing. It was built round so that a crane fixed in the centre would sweep around, so as to deliver or take up all within its scope. I should add the rolls were stored on their ends, the floor plates having the necessary circular holes for taking in the neck or bearing, and so keep them in vertical position.

As regards the individuality of Penydarren, Mr Richard Forman was the one time manager, and resided at Gwaelodygarth Cottage. When Mr Grenfell was manager he resided at Gwaunfarren, and it was so occupied by Mr Benjamin Martin after he became manager, previous to which he resided on the “yard”, or rather the road leading to it and to Caemarydwn (sic).

Mr Martin had five brothers and one sister that can be remembered. Two of his brothers, Joseph and Thomas, were in the works; Edward who became the registrar at Penydarren; John was the doctor, living near the Bush, in the High Street of Merthyr, and George, who is always remembered in Dowlais. The sister married and went to America, whence she returned, and lived in a house between where the Pontmorlais turnpike gate stood and the bottom of Penydarren Works.

The first millwright that can be recalled was Mr Thomas Davies, who went thence to Nantyglo. He was succeeded by John Watt, from Dowlais, who afterwards removed to Govan. James Roe, a younger brother of John P Roe, was there also, and I think he died there. Bye-the-bye, he married either the daughter or other relative of the Waunwyllt family. Adrian Stephens (left), the inventor of the steam whistle, was also there.

It was in the Penydarren Forge one of Trevithick’s engines and boilers was seen, and another also of his make was used for winding coal at Winch Fawr. The upper end of the forge was built of limestone, and the purest specimen of Doric architecture ever seen in South Wales. The chimney or stack of the roll lathe, not many yards thence, was a copy of the Monument on Fish Street Hill, but one fifth the size.

Now to return to the crossing of the turnpike road on the limestone tramroad. I have an idea that Mr Morgan, who lived close by there, and already alluded to, married a sister of Mr Benj. Martin, but she has not been mentioned with that gentleman’s other brothers and sisters as I am not positive respecting it.

There were houses almost continually from her to Dowlais. On the opposite (the left) side of the road there was a shop kept by the name of Williams – it was a son of his, I believe, who erected a flour mill, and opened a grocery and and provision place on the right hand side of Victoria Street and named it the Hong Kong Shop.

I have omitted to say that one of those living in the houses near Penydarren Office was a Mr Gibson; he was the cashier, and married a Miss Farmer, whose father was a gunsmith etc. in Cardiff. His shop was, as near as I can remember, where or near there is one one present, between the Bute estate offices and the Angel Hotel. He built a row of cottages on the left, opposite to where the road now turns to Dowlais, and thus avoids Gellyfaelog, which is known to this day as Gibson’s Row.

Gibson’s Row in the 1940s. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

A family named Waters also lived in the clump. John, the eldest son, became the furnace manager at Duffryn under Mr A Hill, in which position some years after he was succeeded by Mr John Place. Mr Evan Roberts, another of Mr Hill’s furnace managers, had charge at Plymouth after Mr Thos. Davies left.

To be continued at a later date…….

Merthyr Tydfil in 1803 – part 2

From: The Scenery, Antiquities and Biography of South Wales, from material collected during two excursions in the year 1803. Volume 1, by Benjamin Heath Malkin (1807)

Pages 260 – 264

Merthyr Tydfil derives its name from Tydfil, the daughter of Brechan, Prince of Brecknockshire. She was the wife of Cyngen, son of Cadelh, Prince of the vale royal and part of Powys, about the close of the fifth century; and is reckoned among the ancient British saints. She, with some of her brothers, was on a visit to her father, then an old man, when they were set upon by a party of Pagan Saxons and Irish Picts, as they are termed in various old manuscripts. Tydfil, her father, Brechan, and her brother Rhun Dremrudd, were murdered. But Nefydd, the son of Rhun Dremrudd, a very young man, soon raised the country by his exertions, and put the infidels to flight. It should seem by this anecdote, as well as by others that may be found in the Cambrian biography, derived from ancient memorials of the British saints, that Brechan had his residence, or what the modern language of princes usually terms court, at this place. Tydfil having been murdered, or martyred in the manner described, a church was here dedicated to her in after times, and called the church of Merthyr Tydfil, which signifies the Martyr Tydfil, from the Greek word μάρτυρ, a witness, exclusively appropriated in ecclesiastical language to the designation of those who have borne testimony by their sufferings to the truth of their religion.

These are the few and scanty memorials which have hitherto been discovered respecting the history of this place in the earliest times. But it was in after ages, though inconsiderable in population and political importance, of no contemptible note as a sort of hot-bed, that contributed principally to engender and kept alive for more than a century, those religious dissensions, which still separate a larger proportion of the inhabitants in Wales, than in any part of England, from the established church. Indeed it cannot be, but the zealous and devout, whether capable or not of appreciating controverted creeds or metaphysical distinctions, will form themselves into distinct societies, where the scanty provision of the clergy and their neglected state of the churches, scarcely admit of that seemliness and grave impression, so necessary to the due effect of public worship. Almost all the exclusively Welsh sects among the lower orders of the people having truth degenerated into habits of the most picture lunacy in their devotion. The various sub divisions of Methodists, jumpers, and I know not what, who meet in fields and houses, prove how low fanaticism may degrade human reason: but for the intelligent and enlightened part of the dissenters among whom have appeared many luminaries of our learning are everywhere respectable and nowhere more respected, than the estimation of moderate and candid churchmen. At Blaencannaid, in this parish, the first dissenting congregation in Wales was formed about the year 1620 or very soon after; and it was while preaching to this society that Vavasor Powel, a man celebrated in the annals of nonconformity, was taken up and imprisoned in Cardiff gaol.

Vavasor Powel was born in Radnorshire and descended on his father’s side from the Powels of Knucklas in that County, an ancient and honourable stock; by his mother from the Vavasors, a family of high antiquity, which came out of Yorkshire into Wales and was related to the principal gentry. He was educated in Jesus College, Oxford. When he left University, he became an itinerant preacher in the principality; and the circumstance of his belonging to the unpopular sect of Baptists exposed him to much persecution. In 1640, he and his hearers were seized under the warrant of a magistrate, but very shortly were dismissed. In 1642, he was driven from Wales because he objected to Presbyterian ordination.

At that time there were but two dissenting congregations in Wales, of which this at Merthyr Tydfil was one.  In 1646 he returned to the exercise of his profession with ample testimonials; and such was his indefatigable activity, but before the restoration they were more than 20 Baptist societies chiefly formed under his superintending care. He was one of the commissioners for sequestrations. The usual fate of bold integrity awaited him; that of becoming obnoxious inturn to all parties. As an advocate of Republican principles, but not for their prostitution to the mockery of freedom, he preached against the protectorship, and wrote some spirited letters of remonstrance to Cromwell. For this he was imprisoned. He was known to be a fifth monarchy man: at the restoration therefore he underwent a series of persecutions at Shrewsbury, in Wales, and lastly in the Fleet prison which ended only with his death. He was permitted to return to Merthyr Tydfil after his imprisonment at Portsmouth, as well as at Shrewsbury: but as he persisted in exercising his functions, he was committed to Cardiff Castle and afterwards sent to London, where he expired in the Fleet, and was buried in Bunhill Fields.

Pages 264 – 267

But it was not to the bloody memory of its martyrs, whether ancient or modern that Merthyr Tydfil was to owe its rank in historic page; for it continued a very inconsiderable village until about the year 1755, when the late Mr. Bacon took more notice of the iron and coal mines, with which this tract of country abounds, than they had before excited. For the very low rent of two hundred pounds per annum, he obtained a lease of a district at least 8 miles long and 4 wide, for 99 years. It is to be understood, however, that his right extended only to the iron and coal mines found on the estate, and that he had a comparatively very small portion of the soil on the surface, on which he erected his works for smelting and forging the iron. He possessed in addition some fields for the keep of his horses, and other necessary conveniences. He at first constructed one furnace; and little besides this was done, probably for at least ten years. The next advance was the erection of a forge for working pig into bar iron.

About the beginning of the American war, Mr. Bacon contracted with government for casting cannon. Proper foundries were erected for this purpose; and a good Turnpike road was made down to the port of Cardiff, along an extent of 26 miles. At Cardiff likewise a proper wharf was formed, still called the cannon wharf, whence  the cannon were shipped off to Plymouth, Portsmouth, and wherever the service required. These were carried in waggons down to Cardiff, at a prodigious expense of carriages, horses, and roads. There are those who do not hesitate to assert, but I know not with what truth, that 16 horses were sometimes employed to draw the waggon that contained only one cannon. It is likewise said, that the roads were so torn by these heavy waggons and the weight of their loads, that it was a month’s work for one man to repair the Turnpike after every deportation of cannon. I had no opportunity of inquiring properly and minutely into the truth of these relations; but I cannot help suspecting them to be matter of fact in the main hyperbolically aggravated, though I derive the account from very respectable sources of information.

This contract is supposed to have been immensely lucrative to Mr. Bacon; but he was obliged to relinquish it about the close of the American war, or rather transfer it to the Caron company in Scotland, as I have been informed; where most, perhaps all, of the cannon are now cast. He made this disposal, that he might be enabled to hold a seat in parliament, to which he had been elected. Soon afterwards, about the year 1783, he granted leases of his remaining term, in the following parcels: Cyfarthfa Works, the largest portion, to Mr. Crawshay, and the reminder to Mr Hill. Mr. Bacon had never had any interest in Penydarren or Dowlais works; but his heirs have from the other two a clear annual income of ten thousand pounds.

Mr. Crawshay’s iron works of Cyfarthfa are now by far the largest in this Kingdom; probably indeed the largest in Europe; and in that case, as far as we know, the largest in the world. He employs constantly 1500 men, at an average of 30 shillings a week per man, which will make the weekly wages paid by him £2250, and the monthly expenditure, including other items, about £10000. From the canal accounts, it appears that Cyfarthfa works sent 9,906 tonnes of iron to Cardiff between the 1st of October 1805 and the 1st of October 1806 so that the average may be reckoned from 180 to 200 tonnes every week. Mr. Crawshay now works 6 furnaces, and 2 rolling mills.  For procuring blast for the furnaces and working the Mills, he has for steam engines, one of 50, one of 40, one of 12, and one of 7 horse power.

The quantity of iron sent from Penydarren works by the canal, from October 1805, to October 1806, was 6,963 tonnes; so that the men employed by Mr. Homfray must amount to about 1,000 and his monthly outgoings must be about £7000 and the weekly average of iron from 130 to 140 tonnes. Dowlais ironworks belonging to Messrs Lewis and Tate, are next in the scale to those of Penydarren. Their produce last year amounted to 5,432 tonnes. Plymouth works, belonging to Mr Hill, sent out within the same period, 3952 tonnes, or 26 tonnes per week. They employ about 500 men at a monthly expense of about £4000. The total of the iron sent to Cardiff down the canal from the 1st of October 1805 to the 1st of October 1806 was 26,253 tonnes, or about 500 tonnes weekly; whence it is shipped off to Bristol, London, Plymouth, Portsmouth, and other places, and a considerable quantity to America.

The number of smelting furnaces at Merthyr Tydfil is about 16.

To be continued…..

Death of Mr Fothergill

The article below is transcribed from the Evening Express 120 years ago today….

DEATH OF MR FOTHERGILL

Deceased a Former M.P. for Merthyr.

Mr. Richard Fothergill, formerly M.P. for Merthyr Tydfil, died at Sion House, Tenby, early this morning after an illness extending over a month.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

The redoubtable family of the Fothergills were early identified with Westmoreland and the “North Countrie.” They were products of the North—the bleak nursery of strong men. The philosopher of the buckle and lamp has endeavoured to trace analogies between the magnetic and the mental. That we pass over; but certainly from the North came many of the pioneers of we iron and coal world, though not, be it added, without a blending of native genius.

The Fothergills first appeared in this country at Lydbrook, in the Forest of Dean, at Tredegar, and next in the Aberdare district, where the family was represented by Rowland Fothergill, who followed in the track of the Scales, and is creditably supposed to have thriven in the same ratio as that family declines. One of the Scales, who had a tendency to be pungent with his pen in after years, described Rowland Fothergill as the squire of Hensol, who “looked as though he never could stoop with his scythe to mow.”

Mr. Rowland Fothergill was a personage of note in Aberdare in 1819. He was the uncle of Richard Fothergill, and when that worthy was in his erratic youth he came and grew up by the side of the stalwart old man, trained into the mysteries of iron-making, and, when in all the strength of his manhood he careered about the valley, well mounted, scorning high- ways and dashing about the mountains, few finer types of humanity could be a cavalier amongst the Puritans, one upon whom men looked with pleasure for his man hood and frankness, and upon whom the eyes of women fell with pleasing interest.

As time past changes crept in. Mr. Rowland Fothergill drifted away from forges and furnaces to the arcadian attractions of Hensol, and when he died in the fulness of years Richard, the nephew, reigned in his stead. He was now the owner of Abernant and Llwydcoed. Ironworks, collieries, and landed estates were his. Not only had he thousands of men at his command, but a splendid array of able men as managers, agents, etc., whose descendants we see to-day—all that is left of them—in honourable positions at the Docks or elsewhere; men who since won rank in the industrial world, and held it by unswerving integrity.

When Mr. Richard Fothergill had gained a position greater than that held by his uncle, there yet opened out a longer vista of distinction We find him aspiring to annex the ironworks of Mr. Anthony Hill, the last of the famous Plymouth Iron Company, who died in 1862. His death cleared the way to the ambitious ironmaster, suggesting greater and more successful rivalry to the Crawshays and Guests by his becoming as potent in the Merthyr Valley as in that of Aberdare. In connection with others, notably Mr. Hankey, a London banker, the Plymouth Ironworks and Collieries passed into his hands, and with remarkable industry he overlooked the workings of each ironworks and colliery.

In the zenith of his career as ironmaster he met with a sad family bereavement, and for a time he was overwhelmed, trying to find in religious consolation the anodyne. In time he rallied, and it was not very long before a vacancy in the representation of Merthyr Tydfil aroused in him the ambition to become to the iron and coal district what Sir John Guest had been. Keen student of man, it was not long before he gained his end, and, amid the cheers of hurraying men, the acclamations of “Fothergill age,” and the blaze of the magenta light won from the coal, he made his way to St. Stephen’s.

Friends and enemies gave him the credit of having been an active member of Parliament. He did not sit down, resting upon his laurels, but fought for all he was worth in advocacy of the virtues of the coal of Wales. Of course, many said that in doing so he also benefited himself. Be that as it may, he unquestionably did a good deal in the interest of steam coal, and was the means first of getting good Admiralty orders and, secondly, of making the beat steam coal of Wales more widely known.

While all intent upon coal, iron, Parliament, the commercial crash came which involved him in disaster, and the star which had arisen so brightly fell. It was a terrible calamnity to him and to the district. Many a man wished that Mr. G. Clark’s intention of carrying on Plymouth Works after the death of Mr. Anthony Hill had been accomplished, and deplored the acquisition by Mr. Fothergill. Fortunately, time and the merits of the famous Welsh coal brought about eventually some modification, though to this day old furnaces long disused at Plymouth and the wreck of Abernant and Llwydcoed are evidences of the greatest disaster to the iron industry Wales ever sustained. From that time and Mr. Fothergill’s retirement from Parliament his connection with his old district has been slight. Perhaps one of the best reminders of Mr. Richard Fothergill will be his successes at Abernant House. Here, with remarkable taste, he made the unsightly tips attractive, clothing eyesores with leaflage and foliage.

 – Evening Express – 24 June 1903

Memories of Old Merthyr

We continue our serialisation of the memories of Merthyr in the 1830’s by an un-named correspondent to the Merthyr Express, courtesy of Michael Donovan.

A family of the name of Steel were at Plymouth. Old Mr Steel was the chief and trusted agent. One of his sons died, the other was in America for many years. Alfred Meyler Hughes, who was at Dowlais, married a Miss Steel, but as far as known, the family have died out.

The Joseph family were there: the oldest that can be recalled was Mr Morgan Joseph. He had three sons and two daughters. The sons were Mr David Joseph, who became one of the trustees under Mr Hill’s will; Mr Thos. Joseph, one of the most enterprising of colliery proprietors (although he did not amass a fortune); Mr Morgan Joseph, who was an agent or resident part proprietor with the Ocean Colliery, and is yet alive, I believe, at Bath. One of the daughters married a Mr T Davies, who was furnace manager at Plymouth; the other married Mr Samuel Thomas, then of Pontstorehouse, but later of Ysguborwen, the father of Mr David Alfred Thomas, the senior member of the borough (right).

The Bevan family were the forge carpenters, or if the term is preferred, the engineers, as was also a Davis family, the daughter of whom, Angharad Gwent, is, I hear, yet with us. All there were prior to Mr W T Lewis’ time.

A Mr John Bevan, not the same family as previously mentioned, was in charge of the horses. This Mr Bevan’s brother was archdeacon of Carmarthen. Mr William Thomas – the grandfather of Mr W Thomas of Oakfield, and brother of the Mr E Thomas alluded to – was the chief book-keeper, left for a while but returned, and after some few years passed away.

Before leaving Plymouth, I should say Mr A Hill was extremely fond of Chemistry, Dr Wollaston was his beau ideal, but chemistry was not then advanced as now. What with some few experiments, and very careful observation in practice, Mr Hill did certainly produce first a bar iron, and afterwards a rail, which stood amongst the highest of their kind. He used certain materials not usually resorted to, but nothing would induce him to patent after the experience of the cinder one.

To be continued at a later date.

Memories of Old Merthyr

We continue our serialisation of the memories of Merthyr in the 1830’s by an un-named correspondent to the Merthyr Express, courtesy of Michael Donovan.

But I have wandered somewhat, so to return – having given Cyfarthfa its innings, and let us begin with the personnel of Plymouth, or rather, of Plymouth, Pentrebach and Dyffryn.

Part of the derelict Plymouth ironworks in the 1900s. Courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The upper part formed a portion of the taking of Mr Bacon, and the ‘Furnace Isaf’ was leased from him by the father of Messrs Hill. Upon his death the firm became Richard, John and Anthony Hill. Richard, the eldest son, was a fine specimen of the old English gentleman. John was not so robust, but keen, fond of horses, betting and of gaiety. Anthony, studious, precise and particular. He lived to become the sole proprietor after years of hard work and earnest attention.

As characteristic of Richard Hill, he, as well as his brothers, were Tories, and on the return of a member for Cardiff had a chairing. He was known as ‘Honest Dick from the Mountain’. Richard Hill  died at Court yr Alla, and rests in the churchyard near there (Michaelston-le-Pit, I believe). John in Bath, and Anthony lonesome at Pontyrhun. They had a sister who died a spinster at Clifton in 1847 or so. It is a matter of regret that the trustees of Mr A. Hill’s will did not see their way to let the works pass into the hands of one of the relatives, but that is forestalling events.

References to ‘Mushet on Iron’ will show that the blast furnaces at the Dyffryn and the blowing engine there were of note. The engine was a departure from the ordinary proportion which was between the steam and blast cylinders, and, as far as can be recalled, the blast cylinder was the largest (120 inches diameter) and the furnace boshes were also the largest, but the greatest achievement of Mr A. Hill was the utilisation of cinders. This he patented, and heavy litigation followed. He won the first action, and being defeated at a subsequent time, would not go on again, as he was strongly advised to do. This soured his feelings, and he always entertained a bitterness of feeling with respect to it, for he verily believed perjury had been used.

There was another matter in the making of iron he was virtually the pioneer of, viz, the use of oxides of iron in the blast furnace. The manager of the furnace was a Mr Edward Thomas, the great-uncle to Mr Wm. Thomas of Oakfield, Aberdare. When Mr Hill was quite clear that pig iron could be commercially made from hematite, he endeavoured to come to an arrangement with the Earl of Lonsdale for him to find the necessary coal and Mr Hill the ore, so as to make iron at Whitehaven. Should any of your readers be in that locality and find the original engine-house yet in existence, they will find a goat’s head with ample horns cut on the keystone of the arch in the walls. This was as a compliment to Mr Thomas.

Shortly after Mr Thomas went to America , and erected works there. He returned toward the end of the thirties, and after spending a few months at the Ivor Works, I think led a quiet life. Upon leaving Dowlais, Sir John Guest desired him to return after a while, although he promised to think over it ‘after the cuckoo had come’, he never returned there.

To be continued at a later date.

Memories of Old Merthyr

We continue our serialisation of the memories of Merthyr in the 1830’s by an un-named correspondent to the Merthyr Express, courtesy of Michael Donovan.

Some little little distance below the bridge of the Taff Vale branch to Dowlais is come by – the objection to obtaining the parliamentary powers to make which has already been alluded to, but one thing was done that has not been stated. The minerals under Scyhorfawr (sic.) land were in the hands of the Plymouth Company (or rather Mr A. Hill, for he had become sole proprietor), and to prove they had not been all worked a pit was sunk as near as could be to the centre line of the intended railway. Persons called it “spite pit”. However, it was done for a purpose, and it answered it.

Sir Josiah John Guest

The terms of the settlement have been mentioned, but the various fencings cannot be. I can recall one rather angry meeting in which Mr E. J. Hutchings tried to make things smooth, with some success. This was the last fight between Sir J. John Guest and Mr Anthony Hill. They had had many encounters before, and found each other sturdy opponents, and Anthony Hill, on being told of Sir John’s death, with tears in his eyes, said: “Ah what fights we have had”.

Sir John was a Whig, Mr Hill a Tory. They differed, therefore, in political matters, but it was in other matters they combated most; for instance, Sir John was chairman of the Taff Vale Railway Company, and wanted the line to be made in a straight line from the Troedyrhiw Station, keeping the old church tower as a guide. This would have materially affected Plymouth, and as anyone can now see, Mr Hill compelled its making with the minimum of injury either by way of severance or otherwise to his works.

Sir John is buried in Dowlais; Mr Hill in a lonely grave in Pontyrhun. Peace to their manes. I can bear testimony to the goodness of both. It may not be remembered very clearly, but Troedyrhiw Farm was then the freehold of the Dowlais Company, and upon the parting of Guest and Lewis it became solely Mr Lewis’s, and by the irony of fate the minerals are worked by pits sunk by Mr Hill, thus forming a part of what is yet known as Hill’s Plymouth Collieries, although the one who gives the name has passed away above 40 years.

Troedyrhiw Farm. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

By way of antithesis to differences, let me cite a case of another description. The ownership of some land was determined by by the course of the river, and the different properties were leased to ironmasters. Time rolled on, the surface was of little account, so that the river spread out and shifted the course of it’s ordinary current. When the working of the minerals was approaching, the line of the boundary necessarily arose. Instead of litigation or any unpleasantness, those that were interested arranged together in a friendly way, and showed a modern instance of what Pope said of the man Ross:

Is there a variance? Enter but his door.
Baulk’d are the courts, and contest is no more.

To be continued at a later date.

Adrian Stephens and the ‘Steam Whistle’

by Laura Bray

Following on from the recent article about J.O. Francis’ romantic reminiscences of the railway, you have to ask – what is a railway without a locomotive and what is locomotive without a whistle?

“The Western Mail” had an answer, printing, on Friday 4th January 1935, an article with the banner “Romance of the First Steam Whistle”.

Adrian Stephens. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Like so many inventions, the steam whistle was born in the Dowlais Iron Company.  Its inventor was Adrian Stephens, a Cornishman by birth, who had come to Merthyr in the early 19th century, and had initially worked as Chief Engineer at the Plymouth Iron Works before moving to a similar role in the Dowlais works in about 1827.  Here he had charge of the mill and the blowing engines.

Never a place blessed with health and safety standards, iron working was particularly dangerous, and in about 1835 there was an explosion where one of the old non-tubular boilers burst, with the loss of several lives.  An investigation into the incident suggested that there was negligence – smoke and grime had made the safety gauges unreadable, and the stoker had failed to ensure an adequate supply of water was pumped in.

John Josiah Guest tasked Adrian Stephens with the job of finding a way to prevent a reoccurrence, and after some experimentation with a long tube similar to a tin whistle, and then some organ pipes that Stephens asked Guest to source, he eventually came up with a local copper tube, made like a bosun’s pipe, but wider and with a larger vent.  The end of the tube was fixed to the top if the boiler, with the other held submerged in the water in the boiler.  As the water ran dry, the steam was pushed up the pipe and a shrill whistle sounded, thereby allowing action to be taken before the pressure caused an explosion.  Not surprisingly, the workers hated it, regarding it as a nuisance to be put out of action.   Stephens therefore enclosed it in a cage, and it was in this form that it was adopted by all the Merthyr ironworks – and then added to every boiler, railway locomotive and steam ship around the world.

Adrian Stephens’ Steam Whistle. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Stephens did not patent his invention.  Writing to his niece in 1872 he said “Neither in want, nor caring for money at the time, I did not think of taking a patent”.  He was even unsure about which year he had introduced it, guessing 1835, as it was before Guest was created a baronet (1838).

But his steam whistle was not the only railway connected achievement – Stephens was also credited with planning the “Lady Charlotte”, the first locomotive to be used at the Dowlais Works.

After Guest’s death, Stephens moved to the Penydarren Ironworks, where he invented, according to his son, the “Hot Blast”, which made the furnaces hotter and more efficient, before ending his career as a Civil Engineer for Anthony Hill in the Plymouth Works.

Stephens died in 1876 by which stage his invention had revolutionised steam safety.  He is buried in Cefn Cemetery, within hearing distance of the Merthyr-Brecon/LNWR trains whistling up and down the track.

So the next time you hear the “whoo whoo” from the heritage railway or the magnificent Flying Scotsman, think of Adrian Stephens and Merthyr’s role in that Age of Romance.

Adrian Stephens’ grave at Cefn Cemetery. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Merthyr’s Bridges: The Brandy Bridge – part 2

Within a matter of years of opening, people started remarking on the instability of the new ‘Brandy Bridge’. It was not uncommon for the bridge to ‘bounce’ if a horse and cart drove over it. In 1925 the driver of a road-roller reported serious movement in the bridge as he passed over it. When tested, it was noticed that each cross-girder twisted seriously as the roller drove across the bridge over a certain speed, but would then correct themselves after the roller had passed. After structural tests were performed, it was concluded that the cross-girders were too lightly constructed for the traffic using the bridge, and a two-ton maximum weight limit was imposed.

The Borough Council became increasingly worried about the situation. Of major concern was the fact that if a serious fire broke out in Abercanaid, the fire brigade would be unable to attend as the fire-engine weighed well in excess of two tons. The Borough Engineer examined the possibility of using one of the other bridges nearby – the ‘First Brandy Bridge’ or the old Llwyn-yr-Eos Bridge further down the river. Neither of these proved a viable solution due the cost and length of time it would take to make either bridge structurally sound enough to carry road traffic.

Again, bureaucracy between several parties intervened, and it wasn’t until 26 July 1929 that a start was finally made on a solution – constructing a ferro-concrete arch over the Taff, using the existing abutments, with reinforced concrete girders spanning the Great Western (formerly Taff Valley) Railway line, and the Plymouth Railway line being lowered to permit the line of the roadway to be maintained. The contract for the work was given to Lewis Harpur, grandson of Samuel Harpur who oversaw the construction of the original bridge. The repairs cost £4,430 and the bridge re-opened to traffic on 28 February 1934.

The ‘Second Brandy Bridge’ in 1934 following repairs. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive.

In December 1965, after exceptionally heavy rainfall, the River Taff turned into a torrent. The Plymouth Weir roughly 450 yards downstream, which had been disintegrating for some time, finally collapsed, releasing all the debris and silt which had been accumulating behind it. With the removal of this ‘barrier’ the flow of the river increased rapidly, undermining the foundations of the abutment on the west side of the bridge. The bottom of the abutment was ripped from its base, taking with it the bottom end of the arch, and consequently twisting the whole arch structure and breaking the roadway from the abutment. Below are some photos showing the damage.

Photos courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The bridge was rendered unusable. Within five days a temporary Bailey Bridge was installed by the army, which remained in operation until a new bridge was built.

The new bridge, the ‘Third Brandy Bridge’ was built down river from the old bridge. A reinforced concrete structure, it opened in December 1967, and is still in used today carrying traffic over the river and railway into Abercanaid.

The ‘Third Brandy Bridge’. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Of the two previous bridges there is no trace. The first bridge was dismantled during the 1960’s, and the second shortly after the new bridge opened.

That is the story of the ‘Brandy Bridge’…but not quite. One question remains – why is it called the ‘Brandy Bridge’?

The original bridge was informally called the cinder bridge, built to carry waste from Anthony Hill’s works to Abercanaid,and the story goes that the trams that were used to transport the waste over the bridge were horse-drawn. Apparently the horse in question was called ‘Brandy’, and it is said that the bridge was renamed in his honour. How true this story is remains unclear, but it would be nice to think that there was some truth in it, and that a simple, hard-working horse was remembered in this way.

Merthyr’s Bridges: The Brandy Bridge – part 1

The ‘Brandy Bridge’ as it is commonly known, is actually, historically three separate bridges.

The ‘First Brandy Bridge’, commissioned by Anthony Hill, was built immediately below Brandy Bridge Junction in 1861, to carry the Plymouth Ironworks Tramway over the River Taff, Taff Vale Railway and Plymouth Railway. It was a square span in three sections; the main section was over the river and was about 80ft long, made up of two wrought iron plate-girders mounted on a masonry pier on the east side and a masonry abutment on the west.

The ‘First Brandy Bridge’ in the 1960s

After the closure of the Plymouth Ironworks in 1880, the bridge began to fall into disrepair, but was still used by pedestrians going to and from Abercanaid whilst a new bridge was being built 100 yards upstream.

Plans for the ‘Second Brandy Bridge’ had been discussed as early as 1857. In August of that year, a committee, consisting of among others Robert Thompson Crawshay, Anthony Hill & G T Clark was set up by the Local Board of Health to consider building a bridge across the Taff to Abercanaid, as up until then, the only pedestrian access to the village was via a ford called the Plymouth Crossing.

A section of the 1851 Ordnance Survey Map showing the Plymouth Crossing

By 1870 however, a bridge still hadn’t been built, much to the understandable exasperation of the population of Abercanaid. On 22 January 1870, the villagers held a public meeting where a proposition was made that “the first and surest way to obtain a bridge and a road to Abercanaid is by memorialising the Local Board of Health, and that this meeting has great confidence in the present Board that they will take prompt and active measures to obtain for us – a bridge”.

By 6 August the committee had investigated several sites but were all vetoed due to expense, until a site, at the old Plymouth Crossing was agreed upon. The total price for the new bridge was estimated to be between £400 and £500, and the committee approached the Taff Valley Railway Company for a contribution. The committee had not, however, prepared for the ensuing pettiness and inflexibility of the various landowners affected by the building of a new bridge and road.

It would be 10 years before the petty wrangling had been ironed out, and on 7 August 1880, the Local Board of Health, following an interview with the Taff Vale Railway Company, who were planning to expand their network, estimated that a new bridge would cost £1,600, with the railway company offering £600 towards the project. Further disagreements followed with the committee for the building of the bridge insisting that the Taff Valley Railway Company should pay a higher percentage of the cost.

The negotiations continued for two years until an agreement was finally reached, and it wasn’t until 1883 that work finally began on the bridge.

Samuel Harpur, Engineer and Surveyor of the Local Board of Health, was put in charge of the construction of the new bridge, and a contract was given to J Jones to deal with the excavation and stonework. The construction of the bridge itself was entrusted to The Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company of Darlington who designed, built and erected the bridge which was 12 foot wide and made of steel lattice-work girders and steel cross-members. The bridge was opened late in 1883.

The ‘Second Brandy Bridge’. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

To be continued…..