Gwyn Alf Williams – The Melting Pot

Merthyr Historian Sale

The Merthyr Tydfil & District Historical Society is pleased to announce a very special offer price for back issues of Merthyr Historians.

All books are as new and are offered at £2.00 each or 3 for £5.00.

Postage is £3.50 per book, or books can be picked up from depositaries in Merthyr (on arrangement).

If you would like to buy any of these volumes, please contact merthyr.history@gmail.com

The volumes on offer are:-

VOLUME 15 (2003) ISBN 0 9544201 1 X Ed. T.F. Holley
1. Dr. Joseph Gross by Glanmor Williams
2. Attraction and Dispersal by John Wilkins
3. Mrs. Mary Ann Edmunds by Mary Patricia Jones
4. Bacon v Homfray by Eric Alexander
5. Cheshunt College, Hertfordshire by Barrie Jones
6. Striking Features: Robert Thompson Crawshay’s Large-Scale Portraits by Jane Fletcher
7. Margaret Stewart Taylor. A Notable Woman of Merthyr Tydfil by Carolyn Jacob
8. Iron Working in the Cynon Valley by Douglas Williams
9. Owain Glyn Dwr – After Six Hundred Years by Glanmor Williams
10. Merthyr Amateur Theatricals, 1860’s by H. W. Southey
11. Shon Llywelyn of Cwm Capel by Lyndon Harris
12. Hoover Transport, 1948-98 by Gwyn Harris M.M.
13. David Jones (1760-1842), Merthyr Clockmaker, Revisited by W. Linnard, D. Roy Sears & Chris Roberts
14. The English Bible by J. W. Bowen
15. He Came, He Saw, He Conquered Merthyr Commerce – Thomas Nibloe’s Story by T. F. Holley
16. Colour Supplement – Merthyr Buildings

VOLUME 17 (2004) ISBN 0 9544201 3 6 Ed. T.F. Holley
1. & Pastimes in the 18th & 19th Century, Merthyr Tydfil by Geoffrey Evans
2. Celtic Connections: Early Quoiting in Merthyr Tydfil by Innes MacLeod
3. The Will of the Revd. William Price Lewis, 1839 by T. F. Holley
4. The Dic Penderyn Society and the Popular Memory of Richard Lewis by Viv Pugh
5. The Welsh Religious Revival, 1904-5 by Robert Pope
6. Reporting Revival by Neville Granville
7. A French View of Merthyr Tydfil and the Evan Roberts Revival by William Linnard
8. Songs of Praises: Hymns and Tunes of the Welsh Revival, 1904-5 by Noel Gibbard
9. Revival, Cwm Rhondda, 1905 by William Linnard
10. Diwygiad 1904-5. A Select Reading List by Brynley Roberts
11. Rosina Davies, 1863-1949. A Welsh Evangelist by Eira M Smith
12. Evan Roberts, the Welsh Revivalist by J. Ann Lewis
13. Evan Roberts at Heolgerrig, Merthyr, January 1905 – Transcribed
14. Sir Thomas Marchant Williams & the Revival – Transcribed
15. Potpourri, a Medley by The Editor
16. What Wales Needs – Religiously, 1907 by Evan Roberts
17. Joseph Williams, Printer. TYST A’R DYDD. 1903 by T. F. Holley
18. Dr. Thomas Rees (1825-1908), of Cefncoedycymer by John Mallon
19. Everest & Charles Bruce (1866-1939): The Welsh Connection by Huw Rees
20. The Lusitania Catastrophe and the Welsh Male Voice Choir by Carl Llewellyn
21. Merthyr Amateur Theatricals, 1860’s. Part Two by H. W. Southey
22. Books, Old and New. Short Reviews by The Editor
23. Night Mrs. Evans by Ken J. Mumford
24. Some Early History of Park Baptist Church, The Walk, Merthyr – Transcribed
25. Letter re: Wool Factory, Merthyr Tydfil

VOLUME 22 (2011) ISBN 0 9544201 8 7 Ed. T.F. Holley
1. A Visit to Merthyr Tydfil in 1697 by Brynley F. Roberts
2. A Pedestrian Tour Through Scotland in 1801: New Lanark before Robert Owen by Innes Macleod
3. Note for Merthyr Historian by K. H. Edwards
4. Charles Richardson White, Merthyr Vale by T. F. Holley
5. Isaac John Williams, Curator by Scott Reid
6. The Merthyr Historian. Some Statistics by J. D. Holley
7. Thomas Evan Nicholas, 1879-1971 by Ivor Thomas Rees
8. Eira Margaret Smith: A Personal Tribute by Huw Williams
9. Saint Tydfil’s Hospital 1957. A House Physicians Recollections by Brian Loosmore
10. John Devonald, 1863-1936. Aberfan Musician and Remembrancer of Musicians by T. F. Holley
11. The Remarkable Berry Brothers by Joe England
12. Albert de Ritzen: Merthyr Tydfil’s Stipendiary Magistrate 1872-1876 by Huw Williams
13. A Scrap of Autobiography by Charles Wilkins, Annotated by His Great Grandson by John V. Wilkins, OBE
14. Industrial History of Colliers Row Site and Environs by Royston Holder (the late)
15. The Life of Maria Carini by Lisa Marie Powell
16. Lecture by J. C. Fowler, Esq., Stipendiary Magistrate, 1872 ‘Civilisation in South Wales – Transcribed
17. Gwyn Griffiths -‘The Author of our Anthem. Poems by Evan James’ – Book Review by Brian Davies
18. Enid Guest – ‘Daughter of an Ironmaster’ by Mary Owen – Book Review by Ceinwen Statter
19. Caepanttywyll – A Lost Community by Christopher Parry
20. James Colquhoun Campbell (in four parts) – T. F. Holley
(A) The Social Condition of Merthyr Tydfil, 1849
(B) The Venerable Archdeacon Campbell, 1859, Biography
(C) St. David’s Church, Merthyr Tydfil, Visited, 1860
(D) J. C. Campbell and the Census Record, Research by Mrs. C. Jacob
21. Interesting Book Plate

VOLUME 23 (2012) ISBN 0 9544201 9 5 Ed. T.F. Holley
1. Vince Harris, 1904-1987 by Margaret Lloyd
2. All Change for Plymouth: A Year in the Life of a Mining Engineer by Clive Thomas
3. Who Was The Real Lydia Fell? by Christine Trevett
4. Sewage Pollution of the Taff and the Merthyr Tydfil Local Board (1868-1871) by Leslie Rosenthal
5. Redmond Coleman, the Iron Man from Iron Lane by Carolyn Jacob
6. The Assimilation and Acculturation of the Descendants of Early 20^th Century Spanish Industrial Immigrants to Merthyr by Stephen Murray
7. David Williams, High Constable, Merthyr Tydfil 1878-1880 by T. F. Holley
8. John Collins, V.C. by Malcolm Kenneth Payne
9. Marvellous Merthyr Boy – Transcribed
10. A Remarkable and Most Respected Enterprise, J. Howfield & Son, Merthyr Tydfil, 1872-2001 by Mary Owen
11. The Uncrowned Iron King (The First William Crawshay) by J. D. Evans
12. Watkin George 1759-1822, The Mechanical Genius of Cyfarthfa, The Pride of Pontypool by Wilf Owen
13. Opencast History (Illustrated) by Royston Holder
14. The Laundry Trade by T. F. Holley
15. Grand Concert at the Oddfellows Hall, Dowlais – Transcribed
16. Guidelines for Contributors – By courtesy of the Glamorgan History Society

VOLUME 24 (2012) Ed. T.F. Holley
1. Elphin, Literary Magistrate: Magisterial Commentator by Brynley Roberts
2. Picturing ‘The Member For Humanity’. J. M. Staniforth’s Cartoons of Keir Hardie, 1894-1914 by Chris Williams
3. William Morris, Yr Athraw and the ‘Blue Books’ by Huw Williams
4. Hugh Watkins by Carl Llewellyn and J. Ann Lewis
5. Gomer Thomas J.P. 1863-1935 by Wilf and Mary Owen
6. Oddfellows and Chartists by Lyndon Harris
7. John Roberts, Ieuan Gwyllt, Composer of Hymns by G. Parry Williams
8. Georgetown? How Was It? By Clive Thomas
9. Book Review: Bargoed and Gilfach – A Local History
10. A History of Ynysgau Chapel by Steven Brewer
11. ‘Mr Merthyr’ S.O. Davies 1886-1972 by Rev. Ivor Thomas Rees
12. Historical Farms of Merthyr Tydfil by John Griffiths Reviewed by Keith Lewis-Jones
13. National Service, Doctor With The Gurkhas by Brian Loosmoore
14. A Year of Anniversaries: Reflections on Local History 1972-2012 by Huw Williams
15. The Family of Dr. Thomas Rees, Revisited by John Mallon
16. Merthyr District Coffee Tavern Movement, 1880 by T. F. Holley
17. Henry Richard (1812-1888) – Apostle of Peace and Patriot by Gwyn Griffiths
18. Owen Morgan – Miners’ Reporter by Brian Davies
19. The Tredegar Riots of 1911 – Anti Liberalism ‘The Turbulent Years of 1910-1914’ by Lisa Marie Powell
20. Adulum Chapel by Carl Llewellyn
21. Cyfarthfa’s Curnow Vosper Archive by Gwyn Griffiths
22. Whithorn Gas, 1870 by Innes Macleod
23. A Journey from Merthyr to Sydney, A Talented Portrait Painter by Graham John Wilcox
24. The Merthyr Bus Rallies by Glyn Bowen

VOLUME 25 (2013) Ed. T.F. Holley
1. The Merthyr Tydfil 1835 Election Revisited, Lady Charlotte Guest’s Account by E (Ted) Rowlands
2. John Josiah Guest at Auction by Huw Williams
3. Conway and Sons Dairies Ltd. – Some Notes by G. Conway
4. John Petherick; Merthyr’s Man of Africa by John Fletcher
5. Travels in the Valleys. Book Review by Glyn Bowen
6. Plaques by John D. Holley
7. William Thomas Lewis 1837-1914 by A Family Member
8. Boom Towns by Brian Loosmore
9. The Taff Valley Tornado 1913 by Stephen Brewer
10. Plaques by John D. Holley
11. From Mule Train to Diesel Lorries. The Dowlais Iron Company Connects the Coast by Wilf Owen
12. Review CD. Some of the History of Merthyr Tudful and District via Its Place Names by John & Gwilym Griffiths by Keith Lewis-Jones
13. Caedraw Primary School, 1875-1912 by Clive Thomas
14. Charles Butt Stanton, 1873-1946 by Revd. Ivor Thomas Rees
15. The Merthyr and Dowlais Steam Laundry Limited, 1891 by T. F. Holley
16. Dynamism, Diligence, Energy and Wealth. Trade and Commerce in Merthyr Tydfil 1800-1914 by Mary Owen
17. YMCA. Merthyr Tydfil Lecture 1861 by J. C. Fowler – Transcribed
18. John Nixon and the Welsh Coal Trade to France by Brian Davies
19. Tydfil School, Merthyr Tydfil, 1859-1873 by Evan Williams – Transcribed
20. Gossiping in Merthyr Tydfil by Carolyn Jacob
21. Penywern to Pontsarn. The Story of the Morlais Tunnel. The Writer’s Early Impressions by A. V. Phillips
22. Short History of the Thomas-Merthyr Colliery Company. Merthyr Tydfil, 1906-1946 by Ronald Llewellyn Thomas – Transcribed
23. Morien and Echos of Iolo Morgannwg by T. F. Holley
24. Merthyr Tydfil’s Stipendiary Magistracy and Walter Meyrick North (1886-1900): A Case Study by Huw Williams

VOLUME 26 (2014) ISBN 978 0 9929810 0 6 Ed. T.F. Holley
1. Three Generations of a Dowlais Medical Family 1860-1964 by Stuart Cresswell
2. Viscount Tredegar, Balaclava Veteran, 1913 by T. F. Holley
3. What Makes a Country Great? Lecture by Stipendiary Magistrate – J. C. Fowler – 1858
4. Billy ‘The Doll’ Williams by Malcolm K. Payne
5. Evan James, Dr. William Price and Iolo Morganwg’s Utopia by Brian Davies
6. John A. Owen (1936-1998), Dowlais Historian: An Appreciation by Huw Williams
7. Welsh Women and Liberation from Home: Feminist or Activist? By Lisa Marie Powell
8. Gwilym Harry (1792-1844), Unitarian – Farmer – Poet by Lyndon Harris
9. ‘Aunt’ Emma’s Ronnie by Clive Thomas
10. Morgan Williams: Merthyr’s Forgotten Leader by Joe England
11. Matthew Wayne (1780-1853) by Wilf Owen
12. The Contribution of Hunting to the 1914-18 War, 1914 by T. F. Holley
13. The Difficulties of M.T.C.B.C.’s Financial Management and Administration, 1926-1937: Maladministration, Political Ideology or Economic Reality? By Barrie Jones
14. The Rail Accident at Merthyr Station, 1874 by Stephen Brewer
15. Courtland House, 1851 by Mary Owen
16. Formation of the South Wales and Monmouthshire Brass Bands Association, 1891 by T. F. Holley
17. Moses Jones (1819-1901) by Annette Barr
18. Dr Richard Samuel Ryce, M.D. M.Ch.: An Irish Doctor by T. F. Holley
19. Cwmtaf – A Drowning of the Valley and its Consequences by Gwyneth Evans
20. A Professor Gwyn A. Williams Symposium
a. Recollections of Professor Gwyn Williams, University of York, 1967-70 by Frances Finnegan
b. Memories of Gwyn at York by Brian Davies
c. Professor Gwyn Alf Williams. A Personal Remembrance by Viv Pugh
21. Merthyr Tydfil at War, 1914 by Stephen Brewer
22. Photo Feature – Archaeology by T. F. Holley

Merthyr Central Library

by Carolyn Jacob

A ‘flourishing’ library existed in the Merthyr Tydfil Parish from 1846, although it consisted of only two dozen volumes collected by Thomas Stephens and Charles Wilkins. The books were originally for their ‘conversational club’ and believed to have been in the Temperance Room behind the Merthyr Market. Gradually a number of libraries developed in Merthyr Tydfil, Abercanaid, Aberfan, Dowlais, Penydarren, Thomastown, Treharris, Troedyrhiw and, outside the Parish, Cefn Coed. The ‘central’ library was located in the Town Hall from 1901 but transferred to two vacant shops in the Arcade by 1907. By 1918 The Arcade Library had a reference section and a sizeable number of books. In 1930 the Corporation had to find new premises for the Library and moved to 136 Lower High Street at an annual rental of £100. The Library was known as the Town Reading Room and both this library and the Thomastown Library closed in 1935 when the new Central Library opened.

Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Central Library, in a fine renaissance rectangular style, is a protected grade II historic building, it was purpose built and has always been a library. It was placed on vacant ground, given by the Council, which was once the site of the former St David’s School. The foundation stones were laid in 1935 and the building completed using money from the American Steel millionaire, Andrew Carnegie. The Carnegie Trust donated £4500 on condition there was an adequate book fund and that a properly trained and competent Librarian be appointed.

The Library was designed by Councillor T. Edmund Rees (of Messrs Johnson, Richards & Rees, architects of Merthyr) and built by Messrs Enoch Williams and Sons, contractors of Dowlais at a cost of £8,500. The exterior is in an Arts and Crafts Modern style with Portland stone, hipped Cumbrian slate roof swept to wide eaves. An attractive feature is the large central doorway and Tudor arch in moulded surround to entrance. The interior has a panelled wooden entrance-hall, although sadly the original oak wood, which is a wonderful feature of this building, was painted during refurbishment in 2011. The stained glass as you enter the building commemorates the Urdd National Eisteddfod which was held in Merthyr Tydfil in 1987. The building was opened in 1936 by the Mayor, Lewis Jones who became the first borrower of a book from Merthyr’s new Library.

The first librarian, Mr E. R. Luke received a salary of £330 a year and not only spoke Welsh fluently but he also had a working knowledge of French, German and Latin. Merthyr Libraries have always provided a free library service for residents and visitors. The new library was a great success and the number of registered borrowers rose from 1400 in March 1936 to 10,765 by February 1940. As a child the historian Gwyn Alf Williams made ‘daring raids into alien territory in Merthyr Library’.

In 1946 Merthyr Tydfil became the first Authority in Wales to appoint a woman as Borough Librarian and an English woman at that – Margaret Stewart Taylor. She also became curator of the Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and was a remarkable local historian. Miss Taylor wrote 23 books on a wide variety of topics, a classic work on library cataloguing and classification, biography, local history such as ‘The Crawshays of Cyfarthfa’, travel writings based on her own experiences and romantic fiction set in a fictional town which was a thinly disguised Merthyr Tydfil. She compiled and edited ‘Fifty Years a Borough, 1905-1955’ to commemorate the incorporation of the Borough of Merthyr Tydfil. She set up a school library service and established local history as important in both the Library and the Museum. Margaret Stewart Taylor demanded high standards from her staff and would personally inspect the library shelves to make sure the books were all in strict order. A book incorrectly shelved would be left in the middle of the floor.

The Plaque on the exterior of Merthyr Tydfil Library by the doorway is dedicated to Richard Lewis, (Dic Penderyn). At the time of the 1831 Merthyr Rising he was a miner in Merthyr Tydfil. He was charged with feloniously wounding Donald Black of the 93^rd (Highland) Regiment. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. Despite a petition of 11,000 names for his reprieve, he was hanged at Cardiff on 13 August 1831. His last words on the scaffold were reported to be ‘O Arglwydd, dyma gamwedd’ – ‘O Lord, what injustice’. He is buried in Aberavon. Later in the century another man confessed to the crime for which Lewis had been hanged.

There is also a plaque on the front of the Central Library dedicated to Ursula Masson, who was born Ursula O’Connor in Dowlais, and became a leading Welsh academic and writer who worked closely with Jane Aaron and Honno Press/Gwasg Honno, the Welsh Women’s Press, on the imprint Welsh Women’s Classics – to bring back into print the works of forgotten Welsh women writers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Outside the Library, the Statue and Plinth to Henry Seymour Berry are Grade II Listed monuments. The statue stands at the centre of a semicircular forecourt in front of the Library, and it was designed by W. Goscombe John RA and erected in 1931. It consists of a bronze figure in full robes with a cocked hat in the crook of his left arm and a parchment grasped in left hand. The inscription:

Henry Seymour Berry, Baron Buckland of Bwlch, Hon. Freeman of the Co. Borough of Merthyr Tydfil.
Born 1877 – Died 1928.
Erected by public subscription.

There are recent plaques attached to the statue to mark the achievements of his two younger brothers. James Gomer Berry, Viscount Kemsley and William Ewert Berry, Viscount Camrose.

Merthyr’s Heritage Plaques: Gwyn Alf Williams

by Keith Lewis-Jones

Gwyn Alf Williams

Plaque sited at Lower Row, Penywern, CF48 3ND

A native of Dowlais, Gwyn Alfred Williams (1925-1995), was a lecturer at Aberystwyth University followed by professorships at York and
Cardiff.

His books on Welsh subjects include – ‘The Welsh in their History’ 1982, ‘The Merthyr Rising’ 1978, ‘When Was Wales?’ 1985 and ‘Madoc: The Making of a Myth’ published in 1979.

He was a Marxist who later joined Plaid Cymru.

He took part in many television progammes of which his series with Wynford Vaughan Thomas, ‘The Dragon Has Two Tongues’
aroused much interest.

The plaque has a mistake in that Gwyn Alf Williams died, not in Cardiff, but in Dre-fach Felindre, Carmarthenshire.

Penywern

by Carolyn Jacob

Penywern was a typical industrial village built for the workers of the Ivor Works in 1839. Here was the permanent barracks for the Volunteers. After the Merthyr Rising of 1831 soldiers were permanently barracked at Penywern to keep an eye on the growing town of Merthyr Tydfil. On the tithe schedule of 1850 the owner of the land here was the Dowlais Iron Company.

A section of the 1850 Tithe Map showing the barracks in Penywern

At first all there was in Penywern were the Barracks, as is shown on the 1850 Tithe Map, however by the 1875 Ordnance Survey map Penywern had developed and Lower Row and Upper Row are shown. The reservoirs and ponds which once fed water into the Dowlais Works are situated in this area. These are now of great historical significance, especially as so little now remains of the great Dowlais Works. There are 2 large and 2 small ponds east of Penywern and also a reservoir to the south.

A section of the 1875 Ordnance Survey Map. Two of the reservoirs can be clearly seen.

This was a self-sufficient community and there were a number of shops here. Late nineteenth century directories show that Morgan Evans was a baker, grocer, tea dealer at number 4 Penywern. The working men of the area were mainly employed in coal mining. The community built their community church vestry during the General Strike of 1926, when so many skilled men were force to be idle due to the national economic climate.

The famous historian Gwyn Alf Williams was born in Lower Row in a cottage belonging to his grandmother, Mrs Morgan. In 2005 the Dic Penderyn Society and the Merthyr Tydfil Heritage Trust erected a plaque on the walls of this property in commemoration of the birth of Gwyn Alf.

There was quite a large Spanish community here before the First World War. The Spaniards who settled here from 1900 onwards built Alphonso Street and King Carlos Street.

Alphonso Street. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

The exposed height of this area means that it is very vulnerable when there are any falls of snow. During the severe winter of 1947 a train at Penywern became snowbound for several days.

This village has undergone many changes in recent years; the Tre-Ivor Arms public house, now closed was once called the Ivor Arms. Penywern Chapel, was an Independent Chapel, but it was demolished in the late 1990s, and today modern houses are on its former site.

The Meaning of ‘Gurnos’

Gurnos
by Carl Llewellyn

Some time ago I read an article in an old edition of the Merthyr Express. It was written by a J.R. Evans of Aberdare who complained that many local Welsh place names were incorrectly spelt; he then gave his interpretation why places in our locality were so named. Many Welsh place names were bestowed centuries ago and were often descriptive of their pictorial detail. Perhaps because these place names were seldom written, and again because of the inability of the English to pronounce Welsh words, in some cases these words become so changed in form they become unrecognisable and unintelligible, with the original signification being entirely lost.

Examples of the mutilation of Welsh place names can be found in “Lechwedd” (meaning a slope) has become “Leckwith” near Cardiff, and “Rhaiadr” (water fall) becoming “Radyr”. When referring to the name “Gurnos”, it immediately brings to mind one of the UK’s largest Housing estates situated near Prince Charles Hospital to a majority of people but most of them are not aware of its origin and translation. We often find the name of parts of the body are used in place names. For instance we speak of head or top of a hill, for instance Penydarren, (pen, head or top; y, of the; darren, a rocky hill) also Troedyrhiw (troed, foot; y, of the; rhiw slope). So the word “Cern” meaning “side of the head”, is applied similarity to the side of the hill, which perhaps has an even surface resembling earth moulds protruding on the side of the hill. There is a diminutive plural suffix “os”, when appended to “Cern” gives us “Cernos”, The placing of the letter “y” before the word modifies it into “Y Gernos”, meaning the lower side of the hill. In the opinion of J.R. Evans “Y Gernos” has been incorrectly spelt by some as the “Gurnos”. I tend to agree with J.R. Evans over the centuries it’s possible the word has been corrupted either by incorrect spelling or pronunciation. On the site of Gurnos Housing Estate once stood the “Gurnos” farm whose name aptly describing its location.

Gurnos Farm by Penry Williams. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

Charles Wilkins in his History of Merthyr Tydfil calls the farm “Gyrnos” and gives it derivation as “Carn-nos” (carn, a heap of stones; nos, night), signifying “Night Watch Beacon” stating that it may have reference to the warfare day of the district. You the reader must make up your own mind on the explanations for the Welsh word “Gurnos”. I concur that Charles Wilkins reference is a romanticised version while J.R.Evans interpretation has more of a down to earth explanation.

These differing points of view reminded me of a television series, “The Dragon Has Two Tongues”, where Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, and Professor Gwyn Alf Williams gave their own passionate satire about Wales.