Glebeland Street – The Melting Pot

Keeping up with the Joneses: A Family of Merthyr Artists – part 1

by Christopher Parry

William Edward Jones made himself unique among the portrait painters that have settled in Merthyr Tydfil, because not only was he exceptionally talented, but he also was father to six children, several of which were named after famous renaissance artists, who became artists themselves.

William Edward Jones was born in Newmarket, Flintshire, in 1825. He was the son of James Jones, an Ironmonger, but it is unclear the path William took to become an artist instead of an Ironmonger. What is clear is he was ‘a “born” painter, gifted with an intuitive apprehension of the principles of his art, as well as great capacity for applying them…’ Though it is unknown if he had any formal training as an artist, by the age of 24, he had moved to Wrexham and was working as a portrait artist. He then went to Liverpool and eventually to London. While in London he displayed artwork at the Royal Academy and became a well-regarded portrait painter, but competition there was fierce. A chance meeting with two men that were bound for Merthyr Tydfil made William realise that maybe he could go to this iron metropolis and make a name for himself.

In 1853, he arrived in Merthyr Tydfil and it was not long before he established a portrait painting business on Glebeland Street, Merthyr Tydfil. 18, Glebeland Street would be his residence and studio for the rest of his life.

One of his first notable commissions seems to be of Lord Aberdare, Henry Austin Bruce, in 1853, and from there steady commissions would continue.

Henry Austin Bruce, c 1853, William Jones, Peoples Collection Wales, LLGC

By 1856, William had accepted what would be his most impressive portrait yet, a portrait of John Evans, the Dowlais Works Manager. Evans was retiring and those who admired him at Dowlais decided to commission a portrait. The portrait was unveiled at a Temperance Choir concert in the Dowlais Schools in May 1856. The portrait of Evans is one of only two known portraits painted by William that are still in Merthyr Tydfil. It hangs on the walls of Cyfarthfa Castle and is a huge canvas with astounding details, such as a painting of Dowlais Works on the wall in the background, along with engineering documents strewn across the table in front of John Evans. The portrait is one of two created by William in 1856, the other is a portrait of John Evans brother, Thomas Evans.

John Evans, c 1856, William Jones, Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery

The portrait of Thomas, who was an agent and manager at Dowlais also, was commissioned by those in Dowlais who were saddened by his passing in 1846. This was a problematic commission for William, as he had never seen Thomas and no reference to what he looked like existed. Those who knew Thomas gave William descriptions and the rest was down to the artist’s skill to create a perfect likeness. When the painting was complete ‘no one having formerly known Mr. Evans, can mistake who the painting is intended to represent’. The painting was unveiled in August 1856, and was transferred to the possession of the local council by the early 1900s. The portrait of John fell into the ownership of the council too, eventually being one of two paintings that hung in the council chambers until 1910, the other being a portrait of Henry Richard by William Gillies Gair. The portrait of Thomas Evans is heavily damaged but remains in Merthyr Tydfil.

William would go on to create a painting titled ‘The Last Bard’, which won him awards at the National Eisteddfod in 1859. In 1863, he was commissioned to paint the Mayor of Neath, Evan Evans, which was praised for its ‘fineness of execution and accurate delineation of feature…’ William would even produce pencil drawings, most notably he would capture the chaos of the moment disaster struck in 1874, when runaway carriages collided with a train and destroyed part of Merthyr’s Central Station.

Scene of the terrible accident at the Vale of Neath Station – c 1874, William Jones, Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery.

William was a Freemason and was commissioned frequently to paint other members, which meant he was solidly painting throughout the late 1850s, right until the late 1870s. There is currently no overall known number of how many portraits William created when he was living in Merthyr Tydfil. Many portraits had been commissioned for people outside of the town, for widowers of Freemasons, industrialists that moved on from the town and so on. In the aftermath of William’s death in 1877, there was an auction of work from his studio and one advertisement stated that there were over one hundred pieces for sale.

The paintings have undoubtedly gone everywhere across Britain and further afield, so they are now incredibly difficult to trace. Dr Fred Holly, in an article appearing in Merthyr Historian: Volume 6 has made the best attempt to collect information on the artwork that survives, but even that list is miniscule compared to the actual art William created in his heyday.

On July 2, 1858, William married Elizabeth Wilkins, daughter of William Wilkins, who lived on Morlais Street, in the Glebeland. William Wilkins was a Hotel Keeper, who managed the Temperance Hotel, which was also in the Glebeland at Merthyr Tydfil. William and Elizabeth would have six children in all. The eldest, William Angelo, named after the famous renaissance artist. Then James Raphael, named after another Italian artist. Francis Lawrence followed, named after Thomas Lawrence, the English portrait painter. The only daughter then followed, Rosa, named after the French artist Rosa Bonheur. Then Leonardo Devinci (spelt with an E not A) Jones; another nod to beloved Italian artists. Finally, Ernest probably named after the French artist Ernest Meissonier.

The 1870s, when many of them were coming of age, must have been a devastating time for the children as Elizabeth died in 1870. Her father William Wilkins moved into 18, Glebeland Street to help William, but he then passed away in 1873. William then, while putting the finishing touches on a portrait, died in 1877.

To be continued……

The Mystery of Dr Gabe – part 1

by Lynette Rees

Doctor Gabe, who is reputed to be one of the first doctors on the scene of the final Jack the Ripper murder of Mary Jane Kelly, is one of the persons mentioned, apart from Mary herself, who I find most intriguing of all in the case. Not just because he was born and bred in my home town of Merthyr Tydfil, but because of his movements during that period of time.

Gabe, was reported as living in Merthyr Tydfil, where his father was reputed to be the landlord, Rees Gabe. Now this is where the confusion and mystery begins…there appears to be a Doctor John Bernard Gabe listed as being Rees Gabe’s son of Merthyr. John Bernard Gabe did exist as I’ve found a newspaper clipping of his death, complete with a photograph, [see above].

In the article in the newspaper called ‘The Cambrian -10th July 1908‘, it says that John Bernard’s father was Rees Gabe, but it appears to say John Bernard previously resided in Cefn [there is a Lord Raglan pub which is still operational in Cefn Coed, Merthyr Tydfil.. I have found mention of 3 such pubs, one in Glebeland Street, Cefn Coed and Dowlais] But which one was it really? I’ve also found an article in a Welsh newspaper where Rees Gabe from the Lord Raglan Glebeland Street, had bales of hay stolen and had taken someone on in court for the offence.

Not only is the pub an enigma, so is Doctor Gabe as there is a Doctor John Bernard Gabe mentioned and more often Doctor John Rees Gabe in connection with the case of Jack the Ripper. Now, John Rees makes complete sense as being the son of Rees Gabe as names were often handed down to sons. Yet, on the Census there is only a boy called John and a boy called Joseph that could be brothers who were doctors. There are three other brothers, William age 13, Benjamin 7, and 1-year-old Henry.

Joseph’s age fits best the year John Rees Gabe was born which was said to be around 1852 [he might have been almost 9 when the census was taken so could have been born in 1852.] So was that name changed at some point from Joseph to John?

Also curious is the fact that John Bernard isn’t on that census, though the newspaper report says Rees Gabe was his father. If he was 55 years of age in 1908 when he died, then he was born circa 1853. So was he Joseph? Was there only one year between John Bernard and John Rees? It doesn’t make sense. Of course the one called John on the census there was 6 at the time, which would have made his birth year around 1855, that doesn’t tie in with any dates either.

1861 Census return for the “Lord Raglan”, Merthyr Tydfil

Rees Gabe (Head), 38, born Llangathen, Carmarthenshire. Innkeeper
Anne (Wife), 35, born Llangathen, Carmarthenshire. Innkeeper
Mary Anne (Daur), 11, born Merthyr. Scholar
William (Son), 13, born Merthyr. Scholar
Joseph (Son), 8, born Merthyr. Scholar
Benjamin (Son), 7, born Merthyr. Scholar
John (Son), 6, born Merthyr. Scholar
Elizabeth (Daur), 6, born Merthyr. Scholar
Henry (Son), 1, born Merthyr
Anne Williams (Servant), born Carmarthen Town. House Servant
Mary A Williams (Servant), 15, born Pontypool, Monmouthshire. House Servant

I’ve also discovered a Doctor J. Gabe who worked as a medical officer at St, Tydfil’s infirmary/workhouse in Merthyr Tydfil. A newspaper article mentions him one night working with ‘his brother’. So did Rees Gabe the publican have two sons who were doctors? One called John Bernard and one called Joseph Rees [who later changed his name to John Rees when he arrived in London?]

The Doctor J. Gabe who worked as a Medical Officer at the workhouse/ infirmary seemed to be a colourful character who got involved in certain inquiries held by the hospital board where he came under suspicion of various misdeeds. One was about giving a ward sister a lot of grief, who seemed to dislike him intensely! He was often spoken of as having an extremely bad temper by staff at the infirmary.

To add to his mystery, several Ripperologists have mentioned that Mary Jane Kelly, was at one time living in Merthyr Tydfil herself. Mary was said to have married young to a man with the surname ‘Davies’, but sadly her husband got killed in a pit disaster. [This information is derived from an account by Joseph Barnett, her London lover, who told police this information after her death]. There is a 16-year-old ‘Mary Jane Davies’ listed as residing at the Brunswick Hotel in Thomas Street, not that far away from St. Tydfil’s Infirmary.

Mary, although described as ‘Irish’ is known to have spoken the Welsh language. Her father was said to have worked at the ironworks [again this information came from Joseph Barnett].

To be continued…..

Many thanks to Lynette for allowing me to use this. To read the original article please see

The Mystery of Doctor Gabe from Merthyr

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.

Mr William Davies was the forge and mill manager at Cyfarthfa, and Mr John Jones, the furnace manager at Ynysfach. Mr Wiltshire was the vet or farrier (for the Veterinary College had not so many members then), but others also occur to me in other spheres of labour.

John Pritchard was the weigher on the top of the yard (approaching Gellideg). He was the father of the Dr Pritchard many of your readers may recall, living in High Street, opposite Glebeland Street. There was also a weigher at Ynysfach yard some few years later whose name I wish to mention; it was John Morgan, and his contributions to the mathematical part of the Gentleman’s Magazine of that time is ample evidence of his knowledge.

Possibly some of the descendents of those mentioned yet exist, and may read this – some can be recalled. Mr Davies, the mill manager had two daughters, one became Mrs John James (draper). Mr James married a Miss Kirkhouse, Llwyncelyn, an elder sister (half sister really) of the Rev Howell Kirkhouse. I do not think they had a family; nor can I recall either of Mr Jones’ brothers – William, who went to North Wales; or Charles, who went to London – having any; perhaps he (Charles) made up for it by becoming the secretary of the Welsh Girls’ School at Ashford.

William Crawshay II by an unknown artist. Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery

At the present time, when ‘combines’ for trade purposes are rife, and ever and anon a paragraph appears respecting what Mr Robert Thompson Crawshay said he would have done of the workmen had fallen in with his views, perhaps it may be appropriately state what Mr Wm. Crawshay did do in order to meet the varying conditions of demand for produce.

No matter what the marketable produce may have to be – whether bars, rails, sheets or slit rods – all were made from puddled bars rolled to 3 and 3½ inches wide and one-half to five-eighths thick; these were all cut when hot to suit the length of the ‘pile’, as a rule these may be about 18 inches only. After being cut to the length they were taken to an open place – there was one in front of what was afterwards erected and called the Pandy Mill – where they were packed up in the form of a shed, with the roof on, say 16 feet or 18 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 10 feet to the commencement of the slope forming the roof. The weight of one of these ‘houses’ would be about 500 tons. In very bad times, many of these would be built; I think as many as twenty have been seen at one time at the spot indicated, besides others elsewhere, so that there was a stack of 20,000 tons ready for working off when the demand required.

The value of a ton of puddled bars varied from £3 up, so that if 20s were added to the value, there was a virtual profit of about 30 percent on the full amount. Tin-plate manufacturers work for stock occasionally, and the pig-iron manufacturers can deposit their produce and obtain an advance thereon, but rail makers, or bar-iron makers cannot do so to a great extent. In the one case, because of the section, on on the other, the difficulty of avoiding the oxidation. Is it any wonder that the Crawshays are wealthy?

“Cyfarthfa Ironworks at Night” (1825) by Penry Williams. Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery

To be continued at a later date.

The Story of the Merthyr Express

From the Merthyr Express 80 years ago today….

J. D. Williams – jeweller

by Carl Llewellyn

One of the most iconic buildings in Merthyr Tydfil’s High Street is Milbourne Chambers. Situated on the corner of High Street and Glebeland Street, presently the shop premises is empty but was formerly an established hairdresser’s named “Ladybirds”. For a majority of the towns-people though, they still refer to the premises by the name of the previous establishment, “H. Samuel” – jeweller, watchmaker and goldsmith, but what of the shop history and its association with the jewellery trade?

In this particular case the “H. Samuel” premises were formally rented by J.D. Williams’s jewellery business. The formation of J.D. Williams’s business began in 1856, when James David Williams returned to Merthyr Tydfil; he was the son of the Rev Benjamin Williams who was minister of Tabernacle Baptist Chapel, Merthyr.

After leaving school he was apprenticed to Job James, ironmonger, of Merthyr. When his apprenticeship was completed he moved to Soham, Cambridgeshire, to take up the management of an ironmongery establishment there, before moving to the city of Cork, where he obtained an introduction to the watch and jewellery business. It was not long before he secured an advancement from the position of an assistant to that of the buyer.

In 1856 he returned to Merthyr, where his family was well known and remembered, and commenced a business in November 1856 as a watchmaker and jeweller at premises in Market Square, which adjoined the old Merthyr Telegraph, and General Advertiser For the Iron Districts of South Wales.

Due to his admirable aptitude, both as a buyer and seller, he quickly extended the business which he commenced in a smaller shop. He searched for more commodious premises, and finally, by April 1858 he purchased new business accommodation at No 129 High Street, which he continued to occupy to the end of his days when he died on 24 February 1890 aged 62 years old. After his death the business was taken over by his only son Frederick Carlyle Williams, who continued the business under his father’s name.

J. D. Williams shop at 129 High Street. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

In 1903 the Post office officials decided to build and relocate the Merthyr Post Office. Merthyr’s first postmaster was William Milbourne Davies, whose descendants were the owners of Post Office building and its land.

Due to the dilapidated state of the Post Office and the adjoining buildings, one of Davies’ descendants, Miss Mary Davies, decided to build a new block of buildings on the site, with the upper part of the building being used for living accommodation and offices. The building was to be named Milbourne Chambers in memory of William Milbourne Davies. Part of the building design included a shop premises, so as it was the intention of Frederick Williams to expand and relocate his business, the opportunity manifested itself him to negotiate with the owners of Milbourne Chambers and he began a shop underneath the building and adjoining workshops.

The Merthyr Express dated 16 July 1904 recorded the pending opening opening of J.D. Williams & Co:-

There was a heavy copper name plate above the shop which gave a grand spectacle. There were handsomely appointed offices at the rear, and still further back, on Post Office lane, were elaborately equipped workshops, used for manufacturing, repairing and reconstructing items in the jewellery and watch making trade.

A word must be said about the clock. It was manufactured in the work shop, and it is a full sized one so far as the hands and dial are concerned, but no trace of the works can be seen. The clock is situated on top of the building, which faces Lower High Street, and proved over the years to be an impressive acquisition. The dial is five feet in diameter, and illuminated all through the night. The name of J.D Williams stood boldly on a handsome scroll with wrought iron sides – this was also illumined all through the night.

J. D. Williams new shop on the corner of the High Street and Glebeland Street.

On the day J.D Williams & Son, Jewellers opened at the new premises, Mr Walter West joined Mr F.C. Williams as a partner in the business.

By 1907 J.D Williams & Son, Jewellers had been sold to the H. Samuel chain of jewellery shops. The Samuel’s jewellery business was owned by Walter Samuel (1829-63). He married Harriet Wolfe in 1852, and after Walter’s death Harriet took over the family clock and watch business in Liverpool started by her father-in-law Moses Samuel. The first of the H. Samuel Stores (“H” for Harriet) were opened in Preston in 1890, before long there were branches throughout Wales and England.

In 1907 the Merthyr Express dated 6 July 1907, advertised the new Samuel’s store:

The H. Samuel sign above the shop consisted of three panels, with lettering on each board, GOLDSMITH, H.SAMUEL & JEWELLER, but by the 1960’s the signs were replaced by florescent lettering highlighting the name H. Samuel. For approximately 90 years H. Samuel served the town as one of the foremost jewellers, but in 1999 the business was finally transferred to 6 Graham Way in the St Tydfil’s Shopping Centre. Since H. Samuel moved, the premises in the High Street became a second hand furniture store, before becoming “Ladybirds”.

Fire at Merthyr

110 years ago today a serious fire occurred in Merthyr Town Centre. The report, transcribed below, appeared in the Merthyr Express on 24 December 1910.

FIRE AT MERTHYR

SERIOUS CONFLAGRATION NARROWLY AVERTED

On Friday evening last a fire broke out in one of the offices comprising part of the premises of Messrs. H. W. Southey & Sons and the offices of the Merthyr Express in Glebeland-street, Merthyr, which, but for its timely discovery, might have resulted in one of the most disastrous conflagrations in the history of the town.

It occurred in the front room of a suite occupied by Mr. H. Cowie, the local representative of the General Accident Assurance Co., and was first noticed almost simultaneously by P.S. Jones and a youth named Harris, who were passing in the street at 7.45 p.m. P.S. Jones rushed into the Western Mail office, which is almost opposite, and requested Mr. Williams to phone to the police station, which he did. Harris ran into the book shop and alarmed the assistant, and then dashed off to the police station, where, fortunately he met P.S. Hunter at the door, and assisted to bring up the hose and reel. So prompt was the action of the police that within one minute they were on the scene with hose and reel. Meanwhile P.S. Jones had warned them in the stationery shop. A singular thing had happened not a minute before. The gas-lights in the shop went out, and the assistants were investigating the cause when the sergeant came in.

Mr. Harry Southey was in his office at the time and he rushed upstairs to ascertain where the seat of the fire was.

By this time Mr. Cowie’s room was a glowing furnace. The fire was raging under the desk which ran along the front, and the flames were licking everything. He burst open the door ind with some of the office staff threw “Kylfire” compound into the room, which deadened the fire, and then contrived to smash two or three panes in the window which gave vent for the smoke and flames into the open air. The police had got ready for plying water through the windows, but Mr. Southey explained that they could not reach the seat of combustion from the Street. Another length of hose was then brought up, and the pipe taken through the passage and up the staircase on to the landing. The heat there was now so intense that three of the constables had to be taken out of it. Happily the nozzle was got to the door of the room, and once the powerful douche from the high pressure to the mains was brought to play upon the fire it was under control in a few minutes, and in less than a quarter of an hour was completely extinguished. The condition of the room then revealed what a providential escape the whole premises had had.

The front of the room was occupied by a long desk, and beneath this was a great mass of papers of one kind and another, loose and on files. It was thought at first that the fire was due to a short circuit in the electric wires, under the floor, but this was shown to have been impossible. The condition of the burnt wood and furniture indicated that this mass of papers was the seat of the origin of the fire. How the ignition took place no one can tell. The last person to leave was a young woman typist, at five o’clock, and she states that there was no sign of fire then. Yet there can be little or no doubt that the fire started amongst those papers, and for a couple of hours or more it must have smouldered slowly, steadily progressing in strength sufficient to char deeply all the adjacent wood furniture, until it burnt through the floor at a spot exactly over the gas pipe which supplies these rooms. This pipe was melted and then occurred the outrush of gas which extinguished the lights below and concurrently caused an outburst of flame in the room which simply filled it with fire and the bright blaze attracted attention in the street.

The discovery was made at a very critical moment. Had the fire been left unchecked much, longer it would have reached the pitch-pine ceiling of the shop and the consequences must have been disastrous indeed. As it was the damage by fire was considerable, but that by water to the new Christmas stock with which the windows were crowded, was far heavier. The shop had to be closed for business on Saturday. We cannot speak too highly of the admirable promptitude and conduct of the police, under Inspector Phillips and P.S. Hunter, in coping with the fire which they subdued so swiftly.

The premises and stock were covered by Insurance in the Legal Insurance Company, Ltd.. of which Messrs. J. M. Berry and Sons and Mr. W. J. Pritchard are the local agents. The district manager, Mr. H. O’Leary, Cardiff, was very prompt in attending to the notice of the occurrence sent him. The assessor was sent to Merthyr on Saturday morning, and, after carefully investigating the circumstances and the nature and extent of the damage sustained, he settled the amount of the claim before he left, and to our satisfaction. We had previously found the Company very prompt in meeting their obligations in a case of injury, to a workman, under the Employers’ Liability Act, and it gives us much pleasure to make this acknowledgment of their fair treatment of insurers who are unfortunate enough to have to present their claims.

I remember that…..

by Laura Bray

1. The ‘top swings’ in Cyfarthfa Park.

2. Catching the bus to the ‘Ring Lamp’ stop.

The ‘Ring Lamp’ at the junction of Gwaelodygarth and the Avenue. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

3. Buying sweets from Weekes’ shop in Pontmorlais.

4. Depositing 2p pieces into the phone box outside Merthyr Railway Station, ringing for a lift home.

5. The old ironmongers in Glebeland Street where you could buy just two nails if that’s all you wanted.

Glyn & Kate Jones of Glyn Jones’ Ironmongers in Glebeland Street. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

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.

Let us now return to the post office, at the corner of Glebeland Street, and keep on that side for a while. The post office was situated in the same place, but it was also a shop, and had four or five steps to lead up to its level, but there was a small window in Glebeland Street beyond the curved one of the shop that was also used for postal purposes.

The Post Office on the corner of Glebeland Street. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

Upon entering the shop there was apparently a desk for five feet or so on the counter. There were some pigeon holes, and a small recess to the window mentioned above. This constituted the Merthyr postal business place. There was one postman, I believe, but his delivery was circumscribed, and once a day only. If a letter was expected, it could be inquired about at the window; inquiries were no welcomed over the counter. Mr Rhys Davis was the postmaster, Mrs Davis was one of the Willamses.

Unfortunately, the rest of that page is undecipherable due to damage.

A door or two on was at one time a watch and clock maker named David Jones Junior, his father keeping an establishment near the Lamb in Castle Street, being David Jones Senior, and he had a good reputation as an horologist. It is very probable that there are eight day clocks yet working having “David Jones, maker, Merthyr Tydfil” upon their faces.

In the window of David Jones Jun., a clock, or rather a small timepiece, was exhibited, having a ball running zig-zag on and inclined plate. The plate was moved upon two pivots, and the ball upon arriving at one end of the zig-zag struck a rod which disengaged it from the plate, and immediately after that, part or side of the plate was tilted up so as to cause the ball to run back to the other end, when, by the same arrangement, that which was of course the lowest side, to induce the ball to run that way, became the upper, and that which was the upper became the lower. My reason for mentioning this is to show that there was mental mechanical skill there exemplified.

It was within a few doors of this watch and clock-maker’s shop I can recall the office of Mr Wm Perkins, who, with Mr Wm Meyrick, were then the only two solicitors practising in Merthyr. The eldest son of the Mr Kayes, of the boot and shoe establishment in Three Salmon’s Court, was also a solicitor, but as far as can be recalled he was not in very good health, and I think he soon went over to the majority.

Mr Perkins was the solicitor of the Dowlais Company, and considered to be on the Liberal side in politics, while Mr Meyrick was considered the Tory lawyer. Mr Charles H James in his recollections gives some things about Mr Perkins. I desire to bear grateful testimony to him. True, he might have been a good sportsman or not, but as long as memory lasts he must be thought of and known as a gentleman. He lived in Professional Row, the middle house of the three. The one on the lower side was occupied by Mr Russell (the doctor of the works), and as far as can be recalled that on the upper side of the road to Thomastown was occupied by Mrs Davies (a widow), of Pantscallog.

There were several shops between Mr Perkins’ office and Castle Street, one was kept by a Mr Marsden, called the Manchester House at that time; then on the corner a William Jones, who also kept a shop in Tredegar, some time after kept a watch, clock and jewellery business. Here the late Mr W Meredith commenced his business. Mr Thomas J Pearce, who had married one of the Misses Davies of the Bush, afterwards carried on a grocery business here, but Mr Meredith, who took on Jones’ business, was there for a while prior to moving lower down. This Mr W Jones went to Port Elizabeth in South Africa, and reading the obituary notice of Mr Meredith lately, it occurred to me that Mr Meredith was introduced to his African trade by Mr Jones.

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.

Memories crush upon me so rapidly with respect to the High Street, that one, at least, of those there in 1834 have slipped. It is the Printing, Bookselling and Stationery Establishment of Mr H W White. It was situated opposite to the the residence of Mr W James, just above the Globe Inn, on the same side. After his removal across the road to the corner, since occupied by Messrs Farrant and Frost, the business in those premises was in drapery. When first remembered by me it was the only one in town of note.

An advertisement from 1840 for H W White

Mr White’s brother, Isaac, was the assistant in the shop, but there was a staff of persons in the printing and book-binding branches, two of whom are well recollected, one, Mr Rees Lewis, who afterwards opened on his own account in the shop adjoining the Bush Hotel, which business is now being carried on by his son; the other Benjamin Davies, who went to Australia and became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria.

The shop was not large, but fully fitted. Noticing a bar of wrought iron about 2 ¼ diameter recently fixed, and asking the reason, I received a reply there was so much stock in the room above he was fearful of the joists giving way and causing very considerable damage. Thinking of Mr H W White recalls that he married one of the Misses Williams, of Mill Street, and as the others all married from there lest it may slip, I may state that one married Mr Thomas Joseph, another the Rev T Davies (minister of High Street Chapel then, but subsequently principal of Haverfordwest College), and the other Rev Enoch Williams (father of the present recorder of Cardiff).

We now return to John Street, and keeping on the first shop on the corner was kept by a David Davies – it was a draper shop on one side and grocery on the other. Its scrupulous cleanliness is yet impressed upon me. A son of Mr & Mrs Davies was a doctor at Mountain Ash for many years, and the first medical officer of health of the local board of that town. It cannot be stated positively whether Mr Edward Morgan’s residence came next or a few more doors above, but a watch and clock business was carried on by William Williams exactly opposite the entrance to Glebeland Street. He had a small square turret, say four feet square or so, projecting above the roof, an observatory from which the necessary observations were taken, to keep all his works in order it was said.

There was another house then used as a residence, and then the premises of the Brecon Old Bank, of which Mr David Evans was managing partner. These premises have been altered and enlarged.

A photograph of the High Street taken in the 1800’s. The original Brecon Bank can be seen to the right of St David’s Church. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

Immediately abutting on these bank premises is the road leading to Thomastown. It was then nothing like as wide as it is now, and being, perhaps, the only one now living who can evidence what brought about the change, I will tell the tale.

The road was then only used as a thoroughfare to Professional Row and the Tramroad. After the building of St David’s Church and Schools it became expedient to enclose them. I was asked to make necessary drawings and superintend the carrying of it out. Subscriptions for this were not enough to carry the railings all around, so it was determined to build a wall on the southern side, but even a wall required money, and Dr Thomas, of the Court, after whom the district is named, was approached, and upon the promise of the wall being set back far enough to make a good opening contributed £90 towards its building, but it must not be understood that this took the road up as far as the Tramroad, for it covered only as far as the church property near.

Then came a garden appertaining to the end house of the row, and for this small additional distance I then heard £200 had been paid. There is no deed of conveyance with respect to the land given up by the church. It was all well-known to the committee, and that most excellent man – Rev James Colquhoun Campbell, then rector. Time has now given an irreproachable title for it was done over half a century ago.

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.

From the work room of Mr Wm James, not only was there no storage or openings on that side of the High Street, but with the exception of three small shops adjoining the one on the corner of Glebeland Street, there was not a building of any kind.

The nearest i.e., the one first come to on the way up was the shop of a hairdresser named Davies. If I remember rightly, Bears Grease was considered the best one used on the human hair, and this Davies, upon one opening, had a bear hung up outside his shop, after the manner of butchers hanging calves brains was afterwards to be had, but whether the result of his enterprise was advantageous I know not.

Either in the next, or following shop above, a Mr McGregor sold garden seeds, and the corner shop belonged to Mr Edward Morgan, grocer, who had a wholesale trade too. Mr Morgan resided on the other side of the High Street. He was connected by marriage, I think, with the Jones’s and Evans’s of the Bank.

The Post Office was on the corner of Glebeland Street and High Street, on the same site as at present, but before describing it, or going further up we will return to Gillar Street and come up on the right hand side of High Street.

First there was a grocer’s shop, and then the Crown Inn – a Mrs Richards was the landlady. Above this was the druggist’s shop kept by Mrs Jenkins, the mother of the late Dr T J Dyke. She also had two sons of the name of Jenkins. John, a clergy-man, who went to Natal, was Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, a canon of the Church, and became vicar of Aberdare. He was the most charitable of men, but the most absent-minded as a boy. Upon asking what he intended being, his reply, in all earnestness, was “the Bishop of Merthyr”. His brother James became a Roman Catholic priest, but did not live many years.

An advert from 1835 mentioning Mrs Jenkins’ Druggist shop

Next above was a draper’s shop. Mr John James kept it, and made money enough to go into the wholesale trade in Manchester, but returned in a few years to Merthyr, and built a large premises opposite which is Victoria Street and called the Cloth Hall.

The Cloth Hall. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

There was a yard with wooden doors, and on the other side a grocer’s shop was kept by Mr Christopher James. Upon Mr James’s removal this business went into the hands of Mr John Jones, who had been with Mr James for some time. Mr James himself the for a while carried on a wine and spirit business near the Bush Hotel, but only for a short time, as he removed to Swansea, and went into the coal trade.

This Mr Christopher James was a brother of the Mr William James already alluded to, and another brother was Mr Job James, a doctor living in Pontmorlais, one of whose sons, Mr Frank James, was for so many years clerk to the Merthyr Union. Mr Christopher James has several sons. Vice-Chancellor William Milbourne James was, I think, the oldest (see http://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=3084). Another was Mr David James, a tanner living on the side of the tramroad in Bethesda Street or Pontstorehouse.

Another son, Christopher, was in the shop with his father, and upon giving up a building on the canal bank which had been used as a storehouse for flour etc., 60 guineas were found hidden there, reputed to have belonged to him. Another son was the harbour master of Swansea 40 years ago, and his son succeeded him in that capacity for a short time. One of this Mr James’s daughters married a Mr Brock, the minister of the Unitarian Chapel in Swansea, and another Mr Joseph Henry Rowland, of the bank in Neath.

To be continued at a later date……