Tag: ‘China’
Inter-racial tension
From the Cardiff Times 140 years ago today…..
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.
What may be called Ynysfach rows were close by, but we cross the bridge over the canal, and on the right was the coalyard of Waunwyllt. Just fancy! The coal was sold out in ‘drafts’ by one of Mrs Thomas’ sons. Coal or colliery proprietors would think it infra dig to let their sons do so now, and yet it was done, and done properly then with results that satisfied them.
The small cottage and workshop in the garden adjoining was the residence of the father of Penry Williams, one of, if not the greatest painters Wales has produced. John (*see below) Williams, whom I knew, was a clever artist, but was unfortunately deaf and dumb. The father and son carried on the glazing business here while Penry was in the zenith of his fame in Rome. There was also a sister, Miss Sophia Williams, who carried on a school for many years.
In the house just around the corner Mr Abraham Jones, the nailer, resided and a timber yard followed. Upon the other side, the corner house, opposite the coalyard, was a grocery establishment, opened by a Mr Rees. He was connected with the Waunwyllt family, and if I mistake not, an ancestor of the family of that name of Lletty Shenkin.
Several small cottages followed, and the last house bordering the river was the Heathcock Inn, at one time kept by Mrs Williams after her husband had, with John Frost and William Jones, been banished to Australia for their connection with the Chartist rising.
We re now at the Iron Bridge – I mean the old one, going straight across to Ynysgau-not the modern one erected by the old Local Board, and going to Victoria Street. I have crossed it on many occasions, have felt its vibrations when a heavy load passed over a rough place, and yet always thought it was a well-developed structure, reflecting credit on some whose names I have never learnt. Remembering the time and state of knowledge when it was put up, it was a wonderful example of daring skill.
Crossing this, the locality to the left was analagous to China. The road direct in front, leaving the chapel to the right, would bring us to an archway or a narrow opening over which the upstairs room of one of the houses extended, and to the end of Castle Street; but we turn at the foot of the bridge, and keeping the chapel on our left instead go down Bridge Street.
*Penry Williams’ father was named William – as can be seen from the portrait. The original writer either made an error with his name or he was actually known as John as well. We will probably never know!!!
Right – A portrait by Penry Williams of his father William. Photo courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery
To be continued at a later date…….
**Many thanks to Dr John Taylor for the following….
Isn’t the “John”, referred to above, the deaf and dumb brother of Penry Williams? Accordingly, this would not conflict with the father’s name, William. The deaf and dumb brother is made reference to in the blog post for 17 July 2020 ‘Death of Penry Williams’.
I think that clears up a lot – the original author could easily have been mistaken.
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.
Behind this part, and alongside the river, was the quarter whose savour was anything but respectable; it was known as China. It only went down the riverside a short way, from which to the Morlais Brook the cinder tip abutted on to the river.
An extract from the 1851 Ordnance Survey map of Merthyr showing the location of China.
The locality was also called Pontstorehouse, the origin of this name, according to my idea, being from the storehouse for general housing of the shop goods being a little way beyond Jackson’s Bridge on the right hand. It was, of course, on the canal bank, and the wharfinger, or storehouse keeper, was a Mr Lewis Williams of Cardiff. There was also another storehouse a little lower on the other side of the canal, kept by Mr Mathew Pride of Cardiff, but it had not the traffic of the upper one.
Between these there were one or two private stores, one of which belonged to Mr Christopher James, already alluded to. The wharves of the Dowlais and Penydarren Companies were between the canal and the river. First came the Dowlais one, with a house so that oats or other material damageable by rain could be discharged; then the Penydarren Wharf, walled round with an entrance gate (the Dowlais one described above also had its entrance doors) and adjoining was the other Dowlais Wharf, used solely for the discharge of hematite ore, or other kindred material. The tramroad ran to the end of this wharf and no further. There was a building below, which afterwards altered and converted into a brewery. It was afterwards owned by Mr David Williams.
Having reached the terminus of the canal branch of the Old Tramroad, we could go straight on and join the road between the canal and Iron Bridges; but by so doing some parts would be omitted.
To return to the road passing over Jackson’s Bridge. Crossing the Canal Bridge between the Dowlais Wharf, partly covered, and Upper Storehouse, the first house on the left having entrance from the towing-path was occupied by Mr William Harrison, the clerk of the canal, whose office was at the Parliament Lock, a short distance down the canal, and nearly opposite the Ynysfach Works, on the other side of the canal.
There being some descendants of that name yet residing, I may perhaps interest them by saying Mr Harrison himself was rather short, inclined to be stout, and fond of his garden, which was kept in very good order. It is not for me to pry into anyone’s private history; but as it is clear that he was at one time engaged in the Forest of Dean, probably in connection with the timber of encroachments, he then took a wife, and a real good, kind woman she was. One of their sons was named Maynard Colchester (who became cashier at the Dowlais Ironworks), which indicates her to have been one of the family whose home was called the Wilderness, not very far from Mitchel Dean or Dean Magna.
Mr Harrison was a great hand at trigonometry. Keith being the author of his ideal books on those subjects. There were five sons and two daughters. Mr Harrison resided at one time at Pencaebach House, and was engaged at Plymouth Works. It is said he wrote to Pitt suggesting the putting of tax on the manufacture of iron, and suggesting that his own knowledge of the trade rendered his services of great value in the collection of such tax, if imposed. If I mistake not, this may be read by his grandchildren, and to them and every other whose name may be mentioned, I beg to tender as assurance that nothing is said but with due respect.
The road around to the Iron Bridge passed on one side of Mr Harrison’s garden, and the towing path of the canal on the other; but before turning down that road, let us glance around. One road is to the right, and led to the Nantygwenith turnpike gate; the road in front led up the hill to to Penyrheolgerrig, and on to Aberdare over the hill. A tramroad from Cyfarthfa to the Ynysfach Works crossed somewhat diagonally, and passed behind the Dynevor Arms, the first house on the left having only the road between it and the Canal House.
To be continued at a later date…..
As an addition to this piece, I would like to send my best wishes to Mike Donovan who provided these marvellous articles. Mike has been unwell lately, and I, (personally and on behalf of everyone who knows him) would like to wish him a speedy recovery.
‘China’
by Carolyn Jacob
There was district in Merthyr Tydfil south of the Brecon Road and bounded by the canal and the Abermorlais / British Tip (not far from Bethesda Chapel), which was known as ‘China’. There was not one Chinaman in nineteenth century ‘China’, although the district ‘China’ in Merthyr Tydfil did have its own Emperor. ‘China’ was not a Chinatown in the same way places of this name exist today. ‘China’ may not have been unique, as every large city had its rough ‘no go’ area, but at one time it was the most notorious district in the whole of Wales.
The terms ‘China’ and ‘Chinese’ are used frequently in the police reports, but always with inverted commas to indicate that this was merely a nickname. The census returns, which were taken every ten years from 1841, prove that the residents of ‘China’ were from all over the country. These ‘Chinese’ residents were mainly English, Irish and Welsh, but at times there were also some Germans and Eastern Europeans. A Jewish businessman was ridiculed in the newspaper for spending too much time with the ‘ladies of China’ until he found himself robbed by them.
There were a number of Merthyr Tydfil newspapers published from 1832 onwards and the Merthyr Telegraph had long accounts of ‘China’, mainly under the ‘Police Court’ column. When young men strayed into China and escaped with little more than the clothes on their backs, generally the judge had very little sympathy for them for being foolish enough to enter this dangerous area.
There are two interesting articles written on the subject, one by the historian David Jones, who was the expert on crime in Wales and the other by Dr Keith Strange, whose doctorate is about Merthyr Tydfil in the 1840s.
Keith’s fascinating article, ‘The Celestial City’ describes ‘China’ as a den of drunkards, thieves, rogues and prostitutes, whose general behaviour was completely foreign to the normal hard working respectable Welsh Chapel way of life. He once said that he thought the term ‘China’ might have arisen because Britain had a long ‘Opium War’ with China and the early nineteenth century newspapers are full of stories of China as the dreadful land of our enemies, and foreigners; equally ‘China’ in Merthyr Tydfil was the land of undesirables and foreigners (possibly also the place where opium could be smoked).
China was in the news and it was known that here was the ‘Forbidden City’ which no one could enter and return from alive. Few strangers were able to return safely from ‘China’ in Merthyr Tydfil with all their possessions. The attitude of police was that you entered China at your peril; certainly the police themselves did not dare go into China.
Entering China was not easy as the district was bounded by water, a dangerous smoking tip and a row of large dwellings, the entrance to ‘China’ was under an arch and there were door-keepers to send messages warning the residents.
However, by the 1880s there were reports in the Merthyr Express that ‘Old China is not the same’. Gradually ‘China’ declined; the professional criminals moved to Cardiff for richer pickings and in the twentieth century ‘Riverside’, which also had an entrance under an arch, became the most notorious part of the town. Although it must be said that many people today remember old Riverside as a place with very decent people.
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.
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.
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.
The Gruesome Ghosts of Ynysfach – a special Halloween Tale
by Carolyn Jacob
Many tragically lost their lives while working in the Ynysfach Blast Furnaces, but a greater number died sheltering in the old Ironworks here.
In February 1866 the Merthyr Express had the following story entitled:- Two More Men Suffocated At Cyfarthfa – describing the blackened and shrivelled corpses of two men found in the Ynysfach Works. The men were probably drunk when they crept into a warm place near the boilers. They suffocated by inhaling the carbonic acid gas and then when steam was got up they were literally roasted.
Again on 23 July 1870 the headline was:- Shocking Death of Two Miners. On Monday morning when the engineer at the Ynysfach Works was going his rounds to examine the boilers, he saw two men lying in one of the gas-holes. They were perfectly roasted, and probably did not survive long after entering the place of their doom. They came from Aberdare on Saturday night, no doubt for the purpose of a spree, ‘as they were seen in China’ late on Sunday night, and having spent all their money, were glad to get a lay down anywhere. The mystery is how they got into the works, as they are surrounded by a wall several feet high. In June 1874 there was a shocking accident which resulted in the immediate death of two men and the burning of two others so severely that they were not expected to live.
At the beginning of the Twentieth century the homeless, destitute and generally disreputable elements of the town of Merthyr Tydfil made their home in the Ynysfach Coke Ovens. This was their refuge but many died here too. After the Ynysfach Works closed in 1879 this area became infamous as a ‘den of debauchery’ where the ‘wild-ones’ of Merthyr Tydfil slept rough. The police steered well clear of the place and the first Chief Constable in 1908 suggested that dynamiting this whole area would help in the ‘cleaning up’ of the town. In 1900 it was reported that as many as 50 persons were to be found living around the Coke Ovens, and fatalities were common.
Ynysfach was also the main stomping ground of Redmond Coleman, the Merthyr Tydfil legend, who would fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. It was here that Redmond had his legendary fight with Tommy Lyons one Saturday night. The ‘battle’ was reputed to have lasted over three hours. If there was a grudge to be settled then the Ynysfach Coke Ovens were the place to fight it out. There are many stories, such as the time he and Danny Hegarty punched themselves into a state of exhaustion until they lay side by side on the Coke Ovens gasping curses at each other. Redmond Coleman is reputed to have said that he would never leave Merthyr but always haunt the Coke Ovens.
However, the White Lady of Ynysfach is the best known of all the various ghosts of Ynysfach. The Merthyr Historian Volume Eight contains the story of the Ynysfach Murder by Eira Smith, and establishes the notoriety of the area around the Iron Bridge and Ynysfach. The police regarded the area as being a den of thieves, robbers and prostitutes. Such an ‘unfortunate’ was Mary Ann Rees, who was murdered by her younger lover. In 1908 after plying her trade in the town, Mary then returned to her friends by the Coke Ovens with food and drink. However, after eating his fill, her younger boyfriend, William Foy, decided to go into town by himself and, suspecting that he was chasing after a younger woman, Mary ran after him. She was later found down a disused furnace with her neck broken.
Did her boyfriend deliberately push her down the disused furnace or did she just accidently fall with or without a quick push? The local police claimed that when they came across Foy he was in a distressed state and told them that he had committed a murder and killed Mary Ann.
In May 1909 William Foy was hung in Swansea gaol for her murder. He wrote a moving letter from prison begging for forgiveness. It is still said today that Mary Ann Rees is the White Lady of Ynysfach who haunts the area around Merthyr College. There have been a number of sightings of the White Lady and there are some who strongly believe in her existence. She is imagined as a sad lady in a long white dress, but there are no stories of her causing any harm to any human being.
In the late 1980s the caretaker of Merthyr College looked back at the building from the car park after locking up and saw a distressed lady looking out of the window. He rushed back thinking she must be very anxious after being locked in an empty building and re-entered the building. However, although he searched and searched this white faced, worried looking lady was never found and did not seem to have existed. The volunteers of the Engine House have come across a number of strange incidents, especially in the basement area, where a vague female figure has been seen or someone pushing past them has been sensed or felt. Paranormal investigator Colin Hyde claims to have questioned her and discovered that she thinks that her death had accidental causes. Mary Ann Rees is therefore a sad figure, who has no thought of exacting any form of revenge.
Many thanks to Carolyn Jacob for the above article.