80 years ago today….
Tag: Bethania Chapel (Dowlais)
The Cymanfa Ganu
From the Merthyr Express 90 years ago today…
The Dowlais Communist, J.S. Williams
by his son Iori Williams
I was born on October 12th 1926, the second son of John Samuel and Jane. Later there were 4 other brothers and of this number 5 survived childhood. Our first home was a one up and one down terrace house in Dowlais. The one bedroom was divided into two by a draped blanket and the part where my brothers and I slept had a tiny window through which we used to watch the sky light up when the furnaces in the local steel works were working. The mother of this very happy brotherhood came from a family steeped in music. One of my uncles was the organist at Bethania Chapel. Another uncle, two aunts and Mam herself were members of the famous Dowlais United Choir.
The father of the family was from Bethesda in North Wales but due to a shortage of employment there the family moved south to the coalfield. Dad left school at the age of 12 to work underground. He was an avid scholar and throughout his life he read and read. He had thought of becoming a minister at some chapel but the more he studied the less enchanting that seemed. He was deeply concerned about society and the way it was structured with the few amassing capital at the expense of the hard-working exploited masses. He became a very active trade unionist and a founder member of the Communist Party. All this was looked on with disfavour by the mine owner and so he was sacked in 1923. We his children would never remember him working for cash. But work he did.
He continued to read and built up an impressive personal library the bulk of which David and I donated to the South Wales Miners Library at Swansea University College when we were adults. Another illustration of his love of learning was that he became the local organiser of the Left-Wing Book Club. He loved children and organised two camps for the children of the unemployed in 1934 and 1935. These were my first holidays shared by hundreds of other children. One of my clear memories of Dad was his taking me to the dentist but on the way, we called in several establishments and I was the mute witness to Dad’s scrounging equipment, food and cash to sustain those camps.
Dad was the founder and organiser of the local branch of the N.U.W.M. (National Unemployed Workers Movement) and was the main organiser of the Hunger Marches from South Wales to London. Dad was a very good public speaker on the soap box or in a more formal setting. In 1935 Dad gave evidence to a Royal Commission on the status of the County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil and the Commission Chair Sir Arthur Lowry CB complimented Dad at the end saying that he ‘admired very much his ‘fluency and eloquence’. Afterwards he ‘disappeared’ from our lives to follow his convictions. The men who went to fight in Spain left in the dead of night and were careful not to involve their families. They never spoke afterwards about who had helped them get to Spain, not even fifty years after their return home. Dad was different, because before he left, he sat the family around a table and explained his reasons. He had encouraged young men to fight fascism in Spain and so he felt a moral obligation to go himself. He returned barely alive, suffering from malnutrition and various conditions and he did not live for long after his return to Merthyr Tydfil.
Mum was widowed when I was twelve years old and so she had to do all for us. Tom was seven, John five and Owen a babe of three. David aged fifteen left grammar school to become the bread winner. The family income then was a widow’s pension of ten shillings a week plus parish relief of two shillings and sixpence for each child. Mam herself supplemented this by cleaning for others, by taking in laundry and lodgers. The paying guests were key workers who came from N.E. England and Scotland to man the new shadow factories being built nearby. By this time of course we had moved into a new council house which had three bedrooms and a bathroom. The days of baths in a portable wooden tub were gone. The move into this house was the result of Dad’s pressure on the local council.
I was brought up in a family that loved music and that encouraged reading and scholarship and above all a sense of identity with the local community and its problems and challenges. I followed my older brother by winning a scholarship to a local grammar school that was located in Cyfarthfa Castle, a mock Norman castle built in the 19th century by a local ironmaster and set in a large park. Not all the castle became a school, a part of it became the local museum. There was a side door connecting school and museum and I quickly developed the tendency of sneaking into the museum and that has become a habit of a lifetime.
Merthyr’s Chapels: Bethania Chapel, Dowlais
Bethania Welsh Independent Chapel, Dowlais
In the early part of the 19th Century, members of the Independent chapels in Merthyr who were living in Dowlais began holding meetings at various houses around the town.
When Josiah John Guest arrived in Dowlais and expanded the Dowlais Works, the population increased to an extent that the need arose for the Independent worshippers in Dowlais to have their own chapel. The old Bethel Chapel became vacant in 1822 so services could be held there on Sunday evenings. Rev Methusalem Jones of Bethesda Chapel in Merthyr was instrumental in starting the cause in Dowlais and he had oversight of the congregation for a time until he had a difference of opinion with some of the congregation and left them. Rev Samuel Evans of Zoar Chapel then took over the care of the congregation.
Within a year however, it was realised that the small Bethel Chapel was not adequate for the congregation, so land was found and a chapel was built in 1823 for the cost of £444 and called Bethania.
In 1826 Rev Thomas Jones, a student from Newtown, was invited to Bethania and was ordained as minister of the chapel on 23 March 1826. The congregation increased rapidly and the chapel was rebuilt in 1827. However, within a short time a serious disagreement occurred at the chapel which resulted in Rev Jones and several of the congregation leaving and starting their own cause; this eventually became Bryn Sion Chapel. Rev Samuel Evans once again took charge of the chapel and stayed here until his death.
Following Rev Samuel Evans’ death, Rev John Hughes was inducted as Bethania’s minister in December 1833. Under his leadership the congregation grew rapidly and in 1838 it was decided to build a new larger chapel and the chapel was rebuilt at a cost of £1000 by Mr Thomas Sandbrook, a member of the chapel.
In 1849, a serious cholera epidemic broke out in Merthyr with 1,682 deaths in Merthyr and Dowlais alone. In the aftermath of this epidemic, a religious revival occurred and despite its huge size, Bethania Chapel could not accommodate the huge increase in the congregation. It was decided that it would be impractical to build an even larger chapel, so a new chapel was built nearby called Gwernllwyn.
In 1855 a schoolroom was built at Pwll-yr-hwyaid, and this was followed by schoolrooms at Gellifaelog and Caeharris.
In 1883 the interior of the chapel was renovated with a new pulpit and seating costing £1350; and a new organ installed costing £350. In 1886, the vestry was constructed behind the chapel. Major renovations were again carried out on the chapel in 1896 when the main entrance of the chapel was altered and a large porch built, and the chapel was we see it today took shape. These renovations cost £500.
The chapel closed in 1999, but in 2012 the building was renovated by the Victory Church who now hold their services there.
Christmas in Merthyr Tydfil A Hundred Years Ago – part 2
Christmas a hundred years ago would have been a more religions event than today.
Both chapels and churches would have special services and carol singing on Christmas Eve and the family would turn out for a service on Christmas Day itself. The timing of the Christmas dinner might depend on what was known about the preacher and how long his sermons usually took. Chapels would attract with wonderful singing and many other festive events. In 1922 the annual Bethania Eisteddfod took place on Christmas day with a splendid attendance and a keen competition. Penywern Chapel also held an Eisteddfod which was very popular. The Bryn Sion Eisteddfod was an enjoyable event on the afternoon and evening of Christmas Day and a good gramophone with excellent records were a modern addition. There was also an Eisteddfod in Bethesda Chapel on Boxing Day. The time-honoured practice of carol singing was an important tradition, especially in a town such as Merthyr Tydfil with its many choirs of all kinds. The carol singing was especially popular when it consisted of popular Welsh carols.
Following Christmas day Frank T. James delivered a talk in Cyfarthfa Castle on the Romans in Merthyr Tydfil.
Christmas is all about family gatherings. However, whereas today the celebrations are often centred around the presents and multimedia, in the 1922s Christmas was much more home-made entertainments and taking advantage of time not spent working. A hundred years ago there were an amazing number of social events for people to attend in the Merthyr Tydfil area on Christmas Day itself. Football games were played and for many it was a good opportunity to go to the cinema. All the many cinemas in Merthyr Tydfil put on a special Christmas programme. The Merthyr Electric Theatre changed its programme after Xmas to present a new programme on Boxing Day. The Palace had a continuous show on from 5.30 with a special matinee on Boxing Day at 2.30. The Penydarren Cosy opened Xmas Day at 2pm with ‘Moth and Rust’ starring Sybil Thorndike.
A fancy- dress masked carnival and fourth annual whist drive and carnival was held at the Drill Hall on the 30th of December in aid of the National Institute for the Blind
There were many differences between Christmas a hundred years ago and today. For instance, there was no Royal Speech as in 1922 the Royal Xmas Day Speech had not yet started. In fact, November 1922 was the date of the founding of the BBC. In Merthyr Tydfil weddings took place on Christmas morning. This might seem odd these days but a hundred years ago Christmas was seen as a good time to get married as it was a day when the family would be free from work and able to enjoy the celebrations.
Christmas, as always, was a time for children but in 1922 it was an occasion to make sure children were well fed and schools opened on Christmas day to assist with this. In 1922 500 children attended the 42nd annual Christmas breakfast at Abermorlais School. Children were given tea, bread and butter, currant and seed cake and so on. There was carol singing and a Father Christmas. On leaving each child was given 4 buns, 2 oranges, 2 apples and something to read. All this was paid for by businesses and individuals in the town. D. Jones Dickinson of Dowlais contributed 56 pounds of cake. On Christmas night, teachers, older pupils, and former scholars gathered together for tea and a long programme of singing and recitations. Winter sales, such as that of R.T. Jones, did not start until 5th January.
There were many friends of the poor in Merthyr Tydfil. Christmas would not be Christmas without remembering the Merthyr Workhouse and trying to give its inmates a good day to enjoy when their worries could all be forgotten. ‘Keeping Christmas’ was important, and the Merthyr Express editorial expressed the feeling that people in Merthyr will celebrate Christmas as in past years. However, ‘There will be, nevertheless, a number of people, many more than we like to contemplate, without the means at their command of keeping the anniversary as could be wished. There is ever a great warmth of generosity in our midst which never fails to respond at these times with the means for assisting the less fortunate fellow members of the innumerable human family to do honour to the day’.
Over the Christmas period in 1922 there were 278 men in the workhouse, 195 women and 59 children. It was regarded as important that these all be given a good day and everyone was expected to participate in the general festivities of the season. On the festive day breakfast was served in the Workhouse at 7.00. Mr Morgan attended as Father Christmas and played the organ in the dining hall before he also visited the wards for the old and infirm dressed as Santa Claus. The dinner provided by the Guardians was roast beef, pork, potatoes, vegetables, and plum pudding, served with sparkling water. Oranges and apples were handed out to all. John Morgan again ‘ kept the diners in roars of laughter with his jovial fun’. It was his 29th appearance at this annual treat. The Rev Pugh and many of the Guardians attended. The Salvation Army played selections of music in various parts of the Institution and the Infirmary Dining Hall, Infirm Wards and other areas were very nicely decorated by the staff.
In Dowlais the inmates of Pantyscallog House were all treated by Dr Stuart Cresswell to his usual gift of two geese for Christmas Dinner. Tea and special Xmas cake was served in the afternoon. Each male inmate received 1 oz of tobacco and a new pipe and females who used snuff were given some. A rocking horse and toys were donated for the children and so were cakes and pastry, chocolates, and sweets. Magazines for the inmates were also donated by the Guardians and local people in the town, such as Mr Howfield and Mr Rubenstein. On Boxing Day the two large trees donated by Mr Seymour Berry and heavily decorated with toys were stripped and children were given the various items. The wealthier citizens of the town were expected to ensure that poorer members of society enjoyed Christmas treats and in 1922 there was a real element of sharing and helping others.
Merthyr’s Chapels: Gwernllwyn Chapel
Gwernllwyn Welsh Independent Chapel, Dowlais
By the end of the 1840’s, the congregation at Bethania Chapel was growing so rapidly due to the revival that occurred following the devastating cholera outbreak in 1849, that the chapel could no longer accommodate them. Indeed, 250 new members were accepted into the chapel on one Sunday alone. The elders of the chapel met on 16 May 1850, and decided that rather than try to enlarge the already huge chapel, it would make more sense to build a new chapel nearby that would act as a sister church to Bethania.
A number of the congregation voluntarily left Bethania to form a new church and so Gwernllwyn Chapel was built in 1850 to seat 800 people. The new chapel was designed by Rev Benjamin Owen, minister of Zoar Chapel, Merthyr, and built by the Gabe Brothers at a cost of £900. On Sunday 2 February 1851, a prayer meeting was held at Bethania Chapel at 9 o’clock in the morning, and at 11 o’clock, 250 people ceremonially left Bethania to officially open the new chapel.
Mr John Hughes, the minister at Bethania took the services at Gwernllwyn for the first two years of its existence until Mr Benjamin Williams (left) became Gwernllwyn’s full time minister in July 1852.
Under Benjamin Williams’ ministry, the congregation flourished, and during his nine years at Gwernllwyn he was instrumental in the setting up of Penywern Chapel and the English Cause at Ivor Chapel.
The congregation at Gwernllwyn continued to increase and it was necessary to build a new larger chapel. The new chapel with seating for almost 1000 people was completed in 1874 at a cost of £2,210. As well as the new chapel it was also decided to build two schoolrooms – one at Gellifaelog in 1876 and one at Cwmrhydybedd in 1877; the cost being £500.
In 1889 a magnificent pipe organ was installed by Vowles and Sons at a cost of £334, and was opened by Mr J Haydn Parry, son of Dr Joseph Parry.
During the 1940’s a beautiful memorial window was placed in the vestibule of the chapel by the family of Messrs Enoch Williams & Sons in memory of their father who had been a deacon in the chapel for many years.
Gwernllwyn still had a flourishing congregation when the chapel was forced to close, and was demolished in the late 1960’s due to the redevelopment of Dowlais.
Christmas Eisteddfod
110 years ago today…..
Rev Peter Price, Dowlais – part 2
by David Pike
Peter Price, who provoked such controversy while he was the minister of Bethania in Dowlais during the Welsh Revival, was born in Merionethshire in 1864. His family were members of Tabor Independent Chapel not far from Dolgellau – a chapel that for many years had served as a Quaker meeting house. His grandfather, who was a leading deacon there, had secured use of the building for the Independents as the Quaker group finally died out, having been compassionately involved in the care of the remaining elderly widows there. Later, Peter Price was himself greatly influenced by Quakerism, which partly shaped his own ministry.
After attending grammar school in Dolgellau, he studied philosophy at Aberystwyth University College and theology at Bala before being ordained in 1887 to Trefriw Chapel in the Conwy Valley. He served here for seven years, and in 1894 was invited to become minister of Great Mersey Street chapel, close to the docks in Liverpool. He had been invited to preach here on a number of occasions while at Trefriw, winning the hearts of the people. Here he gained a reputation as an excellent preacher and a sympathetic pastor who went out of his way to help alleviate hardship. He also gained a city-wide reputation for being a clear and uncompromising preacher of the Gospel. While he was in Liverpool the church released him in 1897 to study philosophy at Queen’s College, Cambridge, and he graduated in 1901. It is a measure of the respect and affection with which he was regarded at Great Mersey Street that they continued to support him in that period.
In was in July 1904 that he came to Bethania in Dowlais. By this time he had married Letitia Williams of Llanrwst, and she worked closely with him. They were both particularly engaged in working to alleviate hardship in the slums. Peter Price’s involvement in the Revival while he was here I have dealt with in an earlier piece.
In 1910 Peter Price became the minister at Bethlehem, Rhosllanerchrugog, where the organist was the great Welsh composer Caradog Roberts. One newspaper report of his induction spoke of Peter Price as ‘one of the ablest preachers of the Welsh pulpit’.
R.H. Davies wrote of this period:
‘I am almost tempted to add that this was the most sympathetic and passionate circle of those in which he laboured. He was now in full swing as a preacher and lecturer. The people of Rhos had a ministry soaked and immersed in his own personal experience. It is said that the late Harry Evans, Dowlais, would whisper in his ear when he joined on Sunday evening cheerfully with the choir, ‘Keep it up’; but in later years in Rhos Caradog Roberts had to say more than once, ‘Keep it down, Doctor.’
In 1913 Peter Price was invited to the USA on a preaching tour, and while there, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity at Washington University, which he must have found gratifying.
During the Great War years, Peter Price was a strong advocate of pacifism, which probably reflects the influence of Quakerism on him.
In November 1920 Peter Price became the minister at Capel Seion, Baker Street, Aberystwyth. It was not long before the chapel was reinvigorated, and many of the university’s students attended the services and prayer meetings there. Of this period, the chapel records report:
‘“Contributions have increased, members have been fired up, and new interest has been generated in the Cause. A strong wave of spiritual life has flowed into the heart of the Church …’”
Many students found their lives profoundly impacted by Price’s ministry, and they came to revere him. One of them was Iorwerth Peate who went on to establish the Museum of Welsh Life at St. Fagans. He wrote of the prayer meetings:
‘ … scores of us, if not hundreds, were loyal to him, and the parents of all denominations … The influence of that meeting remains today not only in Aber but throughout Wales … I know of no other Welshman, except Peter Price, who could do such a miracle, which is to draw together such an intractable collection of us, for prayer. He put faith in our hearts and hope in our spirits at a time when the minister needed only a little laziness to throw us over the edge of doubt …’
Peter Price retired from the ministry in 1928 and lived for a time in Swansea. For several years he continued to travel all over Wales to preach, in spite of increasing ill-health. Eventually, he was forced to pull back from itinerating, and he and his wife moved to Llanfairfechan in North Wales, and then to Prestatyn, where he died on 1st July 1940. His widow Letitia died in 1949. The two of them were buried together in the public cemetery in Prestatyn.
One of Peter Price’s biographers, D.J. Roberts, wrote of him:
‘Peter Price was a strong man with powerful opinions and passionate feelings, who was revered by his admirers but who also made enemies easily; a powerful preacher and an influential minister; a pacifist and an original character.’
Another, R. H. Davies, wrote:
‘Many a service I remember when I was completely humbled by his passion for the truth he spoke, and by his desire for the divine presence of the Saviour. …I miss the thunderous rapture of his voice, and the lightning that flashed from his eyes, but I remember with gratitude how much he did from 1904 to 1940 to heal my country’s religious atmosphere.’
If you would like to read more about the 1904 revival, please have a look at David Pike’s excellent blog……
Rev Peter Price, Dowlais – part 1
by David Pike
In July 1904, Peter Price took up an appointment as the minister of Bethania Welsh Independent Chapel in Dowlais. This was just four months before the outbreak of full-blown revival in Glamorgan under the ministry of Evan Roberts at the start of November. Remarks Price made later suggest that Bethania, while large and seemingly successful, had become somewhat complacent prior to his arrival. It was certainly galvanised in the weeks that followed as Price’s preaching, described by historian R. Tudur Jones as ‘majestic intense preaching’, took effect. It was not long before young miners and steel workers in the congregation were turned into evangelists, and the wider community began to feel the effect of the new minister’s work. An article in ‘Y Dydd’ early in December 1904 mentioned that 40 had been added to the church even before the Revival came, and that 150 had been added since; while a piece about Peter Price which appeared in ‘Tarian y Gweithwr’ in April 1905 included the following:
‘From the time of his arrival in Dowlais in July 1904, by the zeal and tireless labours of Peter Price, especially among the young, the church has greatly increased the number of its members – and its membership now stands at one thousand. On one Sabbath night alone, he received one hundred and four new members and has received about three hundred since his arrival at the place.’
Undoubtedly, long before Evan Roberts himself came to Dowlais in January 1905, Bethania had been experiencing revival, as had several other chapels in the Merthyr district. Roberts led a meeting at Bethania on Monday evening 23rd January, which was only scantily reported in the press the following day. All that appeared in the ‘Western Mail was the following brief comment, part of the longer article about the meetings held in various chapels in the town:
‘ … the prayers and testimonies were numerous, but there was no outstanding feature in them. Still, there could have been no possible exception taken to the devotional character of the Dowlais meetings, unless the curiosity which naturally prevailed may he said to have, now and then, acted as a barrier to the “swing” of enthusiasm which is characteristic of Dowlais people as it is of those of anywhere in Wales.’
But it seems that Evan Roberts had been somewhat critical of a certain coldness of heart that he had detected in some of those who were occupying the Big Seat in the meeting, among whom no doubt would have been some of the chapel deacons, and probably Peter Price himself.
Peter Price subsequently wrote a letter to the Editor of the ‘Western Mail’ which was published on the last day of January 1905. It was highly critical of what he called ‘the Evan Roberts revival’ which he saw as a false, worked-up and man-made phenomenon which was distinct from the true Holy Spirit revival which had been occurring in his own church and elsewhere. In the letter, Evan Roberts was portrayed by Price as an ill-educated and inexperienced newcomer who was not even trained as a minister, and who was causing untold damage to the churches out of a desire for personal prominence. More specifically, Price challenged Evan Roberts’ use of what might be called today ‘words of knowledge’ to identify in the meeting where people were coming to faith, questioning the spirit behind it; and also the apparent expressions of anger and rebuke when he sensed a coldness or unresponsiveness in the meeting. The letter was rather pointedly signed
“Rev. Peter Price, B.A. Hons., Mental and Moral Science Tripos, Cambridge (late of Queen’s College, Cambridge), minister of Bethania Congregational Church, Dowlais, South Wales.”
The letter created a furore in response, which found expression in a torrent of letters to the Editor of the ‘Western Mail’ which went on for several weeks.
Four fifths of the letters were strongly supportive of Evan Roberts (right), the young former coal-miner who in a few short months had emerged as a leading revivalist of the time; but the rest strongly took the side of the letter-writer himself. Evan Roberts did not respond and privately denied that the letter attacking him had any impact on him personally. However, within a week of its appearance, he became unwell, and had to cancel engagements for a period. Among them was a long-awaited visit to Cardiff, which subsequently never happened.
The Revival gradually petered out thereafter; and the letter has ever since been regarded by many as a primary cause for its coming to an end. However, while the letter he wrote may have been unnecessarily vehement in its criticism of Evan Roberts, it is also unfortunate that it has tended to overshadow the very positive outcomes of his ministry both in Dowlais and elsewhere. In spite of the backlash, Peter Price remained unrepentant, a reflection on how sure he was of his point of view. In fact, in September 1905, he spoke publicly again of his views on the Revival when speaking in Liverpool, and once more there was widespread public consternation.
In some circles in Wales after the Revival Peter Price continued to be regarded with a significant degree of disfavour. Even today there are those who only know him as the man who opposed the Welsh Revival. But his ministry was undoubtedly fruitful in Liverpool and Bethania; and after the Revival, his powerful and direct preaching won him considerable favour both in Wales and further afield. His ministry as a whole will be explored separately.
To be continued……..
Robert Rees – ‘Eos Morlais’
Robert Rees was born on Easter Sunday, 5 April 1841, in Dowlais, the son of Hugh and Margaret Rees. Both his parents hailed from Machynlleth, but they moved to Dowlais soon after they married where Hugh began working as a collier. His father died when young Robert was eight years old and his mother died soon afterwards.
Put in the charge of his uncle, William Ellis, at the age of nine he began working in the coal-mine.His uncle soon noticed that the boy had prodigious talent for singing and recitation, so William began to give him lessons in music. Robert supplemented these lessons by studying text books.
As an adult Robert joined the Libanus Chapel Temperance Choir under the leadership of David Rosser, and later, on Rosser’s retirement he became the choir’s conductor. He took the pseudonym Eos Morlais (Morlais Nightingale), in reference to the River Morlais, which ran near his home during his childhood. He won several prizes at local eisteddfodau as a vocalist and in 1867, at the age of 26, he won the tenor competition at the National Eisteddfod at Carmarthen.
In 1870, Rees moved to Swansea and became precentor at Soar Congregational Chapel. He took a course of instruction at the Swansea Training College and was successful enough to give up work to devoted his whole time to music. Rees served for three years as precentor of Walter Road Congregational Church in Swansea and he conducted in singing festivals and served as adjudicator.
Having heard him sing, the famous soprano Adelina Patti, as well as many other highly regarded musicians tried to persuade him to move to London to take formal musical training, and to pursue an operatic career. Robert refused, preferring to stay in Wales.
In 1874, at the National Eisteddfod, held in Bangor, Rees performed the song Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and according to the Baner ac Amserau Cymru journal “had taken the Eisteddfod by storm”. Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau was subsequently adopted as the Eisteddfod song in 1880 and sung at every Gorsedd ceremony since. In 1887 Rees was invited to sing at the National Eisteddfod in London in front of the Prince of Wales, Albert Edward. Rees led the singing of God Bless the Prince of Wales and at the end of the meeting he also sang Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, to which the prince and his family rose, the first time royalty had stood to the Anthem of Wales.
Rees sang throughout Wales and England and in 1879 he performed a tour of North America, and he was considered to be Wales’ finest tenor at the time, despite his lack of formal training.
Robert had married in 1865, and the early death of his wife, Margaret, on 11 April 1889 at the age of 45, affected Robert deeply. By the early 1890’s he also began to suffer from ill-health, and he was diagnosed with diabetes. At the time, diabetes had only been ‘discovered’ as an ailment a few years before, so treatment was rudimentary to say the least, and Robert’s condition gradually worsened. Despite his failing health, he continued to perform, and on 18 April 1892, he sang at the Independent Cymanfa Ganu at Bethania Chapel in Dowlais.
This would prove to be his last public appearance. His condition worsened, and he went to Langland Bay in an effort to help improve his health. Unfortunately, he contracted tuberculosis, and he died at his home in Swansea on 5 June 1892.
His death was mourned throughout Wales, and the route of his funeral procession from Swansea to Aberdulais was lined by hundreds of mourners. He was buried at Aberdulais Methodist Chapel. During the funeral, one of the speakers commented that it was apt that his last performance was in Dowlais – the town of his birth.