Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council

200 years of history at Gwaunfarren – part 2

by Brian Jones

The next family to take up residence in the large house was Richard Harrap and his wife Mary with 5 children and just 3 servants. Richard was born in Yorkshire and prior to taking up residence in Gwaunfarren he lived on the Brecon Road. He was a brewer, and in 1871 he went into partnership with another brewer to form the growing company “Giles and Harrap’s”. They owned the “Merthyr Brewery” and marketed “Merthyr Ales” from their brewery on the Brecon Road, and grew the company to own 62 public houses.

Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Eventually they were bought out by William Hancock and Co. in 1936 and brewing ceased on the Brecon Road. In 2010 the brewery was demolished however the company name lives on etched in the glass windows of “Y Olde Royal Oak” public house in Ystrad Mynach (built 1914.). Richard died in 1895 with his wife remaining at Gwaunfarren House and she decided to give the house a personal name “Glenthorne”. She passed away in 1916 whilst her son James Thresher Harrap, resided there until 1921 when he moved to the Grove.

There is a gap in the historical record after the Harrap family vacated the house sometime in the early 1920s so I was unable to ascertain the use of the property until 1937. It is likely that the downturn in the economy of Merthyr and the dearth of very large wealthy families made the occupancy of this large house uneconomic.

The house, although apparently empty, seemed to have continued in a reasonable state and not vandalised in the inter-war years. There are numerous references to the future of the house considered by various committees of the Merthyr Borough Council during the years between 1921 and 1937. The house remained in the ownership of the freeholder with the Council making enquiries about its purchase for a variety of uses. For example, in 1934 the Education Committee thought it could be used as a training centre for unemployed boys and girls. They sought the approval of the Ministry of Labour for funding to purchase the property for £6,100 but were unsuccessful.

There was a suggestion that the house be used to accommodate children with Learning Difficulties but again nothing came of these proposals until the freehold, house, garden and lodge were acquired in 1937 by The Merthyr Tydfil Community Trust. This began life as the Merthyr Tydfil Educational Settlement and was formally opened in July 1938 by Earl Baldwin and Countess Baldwin. At that time there were many such Settlements providing education and welfare services to people during the Depression of the 1930s. The Settlement continued for four years at Gwaunfarren until the building was requisitioned by the government for use by the Emergency Medical Services in 1941. There were two possible wartime uses, either for the care of injured World War II servicemen and women or for expectant mothers.

Dr. Joseph Gross wrote an essay in Volume Two of the Merthyr Historian in 1978 on “Hospitals in Merthyr Tydfil”. He stated that injured service personnel were treated at Merthyr General Hospital, St. Mary’s Catholic Hall and the Kirkhouse Hall. Instead, the house was to provide 25 beds for pre- and post-natal maternity services when the Welsh Board of Health took responsibility for the house then renamed as “Gwaunfarren Nursing Home”. Babies continued to be born there for the next 30 years.

The ownership of the building was transferred to the Ministry of Health when the NHS was formed in 1948 and it was agreed to use the proceeds of the sale for charitable purposes. However, it took until 1954 to agree a price for the building. In 1948 Gwaunfarren Nursing Home became Gwaunfarren Maternity Hospital managed by the Merthyr and Aberdare Hospital Management Committee (HMC) The beds were increased to 30 beds with similar units at Aberdare General and St. Tydfil’s Hospital. Many adults alive today were born at Gwaunfarren often staying with their mother for a considerable number of days unlike current maternity practice of short hospital stays. The unit continued for some years until there were further improvements to the maternity unit at St. Tydfil’s Hospital, including a small Special Care Baby Unit. Gradually the number of births at Gwaunfarren decreased and confinements ceased at the end of the 1960s. Some post-natal transfers were continued for a short period of time until the hospital closed in the early 1970s.

Gwaunfarren Hospital then remained empty for some years although it was put to occasional and varied use to include a location for television filming. The land, together with the house and lodge was sold, the house demolished, and plots allocated to accommodate the present makeup of Gwaunfarren Grove. Gwaunfarren Lodge still remains today at the entrance to the original position of the drive.

Today the vast majority of the general public look at the way land is used very much in the here and now without giving much thought to its history over the ages. A review of the use of the land at post code CF47 9BJ allows us to peel away the pages of history. Now passers- by at the entrance to Gwaunfarren Grove will not know that the access road once served as the driveway to a substantial Victorian family home, educational centre, maternity hospital and that prior to all of those uses it had been a farmstead known as “The Dairy”, part of a farm of considerable antiquity.

Merthyr Memories: The Lamb Inn

by Alun Morgan

Fifty years ago today one of Merthyr’s most famous and iconic pubs, The Lamb Inn, closed its doors for the last time. To mark the anniversary Alun Morgan has shared some of his memories.

The Lamb Inn was located at the corner of Castle Street. Its distinctive black and white façade shared with the premises next door, the very popular B Harris Jones Children and Ladies clothes shop. Both fell, alongside other attractive and historic buildings, to the large-scale town centre redevelopment being undertaken by Merthyr Borough Council in the late 60s and early 70s. Another example of this was the Bee Hive, the cosy little pub opposite the Lamb, run by Mr and Mrs Mittel, Owen Money’s parents.

The Lamb was one of Merthyr’s best known and popular pubs; it appealed to a very wide age and occupational range, as well as supporters of politics across the spectrum. There was no television nor juke box in the bar so conversation was almost compulsory. Despite the very varying opinions of customers this only very rarely became heated and personal. The Bar was ‘men only’ while women were able to use the cosy Snug and the side room, where there was a rather ancient television. By the early 1970s the once handsome bar had been somewhat spoiled by removal of a semi-partition and paint that did not blend with the furniture.

‘John the Lamb’. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

However, it still generated a vibrant atmosphere and thirsty customers well-served by the owner John Lewis (John the Lamb) , his son, Peter, Jimmy Ryan, Bert (can’t recall his surname) and Jenkin Powell. Jenkin is widely recognised as one of the greatest footballers to have played for Merthyr FC, he also ran the Brunswick pub. I think John had taken over the Lamb in the early sixties, from Mr Walsh, a very widely respected landlord.

The pub’s reputation extended far beyond Merthyr and a photograph of it formed the cover of an album, The Green Desert by the Hennessey’s; the album featured songs, poems and ballads by Harri Webb, one of Wales’ best known poets and one of the Lamb’s many regular customers. The pub also ran a very good Sunday rugby team, under the experienced guidance of ‘Captain’ Syd Hill. One of its final fixtures was, ironically on a Saturday, in the Gwendreath Valley, Carmarthenshire, accompanied by vociferous travelling support.

The Lamb Rugby Team. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

The Lamb closed its doors for the last time on April 1, 1973; it was demolished shortly after. With its men-only bar perhaps it was already out of sync with the way society was developing. Nonetheless it was greatly missed by many. I vaguely recall the editorial in the Merthyr Express of the week after. I think it stated something along the lines of ‘Merthyr is not the same without The Lamb’. Few at the time would disagree.

Does anyone else have any memories that they would like to share? Any Merthyr-related memories will be most welcome. If so please get in touch at merthyr.history@gmail.com

Merthyr’s Bridges: St Tydfil’s Bridge

Not exactly history, but St Tydfil’s Bridge is an iconic structure that will be part of Merthyr’s History in future generations. We all know it, you either love or hate it, but what do you know about it?

Here’s a transcription of an article that tells us all about its construction:

An iconic steel composite bridge forms the centrepiece of a multi-million pound regeneration scheme in the South Wales town of Merthyr Tydfil.

Spanning the River Taff and connecting a recently redeveloped college with the town centre, the River Taff Central Link Bridge forms an important element of Merthyr Tydfil’s £24M regeneration programme.

The new bridge will offer better transportation links across the River Taff

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Welsh Government, the regeneration masterplan encompasses a number of town centre enhancements with the new road bridge helping to make the riverside area an attractive destination for future investment.

The council’s Regeneration Manager Gavin Lewis wanted something that would be a feature and not simply a typical highway bridge structure. A number of design options went out to consultation with the local planning and highways authorities, together with other stakeholders, and the favoured design was for a bridge with an iconic arch.

Once a bridge design was selected locally based civil engineering company Alun Griffiths was chosen as the principal contractor for the project, while Mabey Bridge was awarded the bridge construction subcontract package.

Designed by Capita, the bridge’s stand out feature is 136t skewed arch. Measuring 40.9m across its base and reaching a maximum height of 18.5m, it was fabricated from 60mm thick plate. Connecting the arch to the bridge deck are a total of 14 × 80mm diameter hangers ranging in length from 4.7m to 22.5m.

One of the project’s main technical challenges revolved around the hangers and the associated cable tensioning. “During the non-linear analysis of the installation and stressing procedure for the hangers, we found that some hangers would go into compression if the full pre-stress design was induced in an adjacent hanger,” says Christopher Prosser, Capita Project Engineer. “We therefore had to design an incremental tensioning sequence to prevent this occurring. The designed sequence was later streamlined by Mabey Bridge during the construction phase in order to speed up the process.”

The appearance of the bridge was critical to the overall design and so it was decided that each hanger fin plate would be designed with the same geometry, but with varying orientation to suit the alignment of the hangers. This required Capita to extensively model each element to ensure there were no clashes and determine the practicalities of completing the internal welds, while ensuring the alignment of the hangers between the top and bottom plates was correct both aesthetically and structurally.

When designing the structure it was also necessary to take into account the BS EN 1993-1-11 requirement for the loss of a hanger without any restriction to live load capacity. “This required us to model what effect the loss of a hanger had on the remaining structural elements for the critical loading case. This analysis resulted in the increasing of the diameter of the hangers and associated fixings,” says Mr. Prosser.

For the site erection programme, the 29m long x 19.8m wide deck was the first steelwork to be installed earlier this year by Mabey Bridge. It is formed with a ladder configuration with two main 900mm deep × 600m wide outer girders, each 29m-long, connected by a series of nine crossbeams.

“We erected the deck steelwork using MEWPs positioned on each riverbank in conjunction with one 250t capacity crane,” says Andy Hosking, Mabey Bridge Project Manager. “Once the beams were erected we then bolted on the cantilevers which support the parapets as well as having the deck connection for the hangers.”

Mabey Bridge’s contract required it to have input in a number of aspects relating to the project, not just the steelwork detailing, but also construction methodology, and cable installation and stressing. However, the company’s main recommendation was to fully assemble the arch and then lift the complete structure into position.

The arch was lifted into place as one large piecewidth

This eliminated working at height as well as having environmental benefits as no trestles were installed into the fast flowing river. Working in this way also reduced the construction programme as steelwork fabrication was carried out off site by Mabey Bridge while Alun Griffiths was constructing the substructure on site.

The arch was transported to site in four equal sections from Mabey Bridge’s Newhouse manufacturing facility which is 88km away from Merthyr Tydfil. Once on site, the sections were placed on temporary trestles and welded together to produce the continuous and completed arch.

Using a single 550t capacity mobile crane positioned on one of the riverbanks, the entire arch was lifted into a vertical position, slewed over the river to its final position where it was fixed to the abutments. “The entire lifting procedure took eight hours and a large crowd, including school children and council representatives, gathered to watch,” says Mr Hosking.

Commenting on the bridge, which is scheduled to open in November, Daniel Francis, Project Manager for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, says: “It is an iconic structure that also opens up areas of the town for future development. It is also a key structure in our redevelopment programme that will, along with a new road system, cater for our anticipated increase in visitors to the town.”

This article is transcribed with the kind permission of The British Constructional Steelwork Association Limited. To view the original article, please click:

https://www.steelconstruction.info/River_Taff_Central_Link_Bridge,_Merthyr_Tydfil

Dowlais Central School: Women Teachers during the First World War – part 2

by Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

In the post war period it is thought that many, and possibly as many as half, of the women employed during the war across all sectors of the economy left or lost their jobs. In particular, the Restoration of Pre-war Practices Act 1919 underlined the expectation that women employed during the war would give up their jobs to returning service personnel. In January 1919 the Merthyr Borough Council served warning to all married female teachers that their contracts were to be terminated.

The Director of Education reported that having regard to the probable early release from Military Service of a number of men teachers he had given notice to all married women (temporary) teachers now serving under the Authority to determine their engagement at the end of January, and that any further employment after that date would be subject to a week’s notice on either side. Merthyr Tydfil Borough, Education Committee, minute book no. 29, BMT1/29 p.183.

Once again Claudia George and Margaret Davies were casualties of the Authority’s decision. At subsequent meetings the Authority agreed to re-employ 28 male teaches on release from the Armed Forces in February and further 10 in April 1919 (Merthyr Tydfil Borough, Education Committee, minute book no. 29, BMT1/29 p.246 and p.474)

This might have been seen as surprising in the light of the provisions in the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919 that removed restrictions on the appointment of women. In practice employers saw the Act as providing the opportunity to appoint women to previously all-male professions. However, it was not seen as establishing a right for women to be considered for employment on the same terms as men. This was graphically illustrated in the teaching profession in south Wales in 1923 when 58 married women teachers dismissed by the Rhondda Education Authority brought a case against the Council. In Price v Rhondda Urban District Council it was ruled that the Council had not violated the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act by dismissing the teachers. During this period the imposition by many local authorities of a formal marriage bar in the teaching profession was based on the belief that employers could, where they wished, continue to restrict employment to one sex.

The First World War led to new opportunities for many women in the teaching profession. Many schools could not have continued without the influx of married women and for the first time, in most areas of Wales, women were employed in boys’ schools. Set against this, in the post war period, in the limited circumstances where married women were able to secure employment in schools, their contracts were likely to be terminated with a month’s notice. The records for Dowlais Central confirm that, on 4 March 1919, there were 21 teachers employed at the school – 12 men and 9 unmarried women (Dowlais Central School, log book, EMT 9/6 p.91. The creation at the end of the First World War of the National Union of Women Teachers was, therefore, a potent symbol of the further battles that lay ahead to improve equality of opportunity.

Dowlais Central Schools. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

This article is reproduced here with the kind permission of Glamorgan Archives. To view the original article, please follow the link below.

Women Teachers during the First World War

Dowlais Central School: Women Teachers during the First World War – part 1

by Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

The First World War provided an unprecedented opportunity for women to move into roles and occupations previously reserved for men. The creation of the Women’s Land Army and the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps were very visible examples of women moving into new areas. It is estimated that approximately 1.5 million women joined the workforce during the First World War and just about every sector of the economy saw an influx of women to meet both the increased demand for labour and to fill the gaps left by men away in the armed forces.

In many respects the experience of 1914-18 led to momentous changes. The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 enshrined the principle that individuals should not be disqualified from jobs on the grounds of gender. In addition, the Representation of the People Act 1918 enfranchised approximately 8.5 million women. However, while wartime pressures opened new doors many women still encountered discrimination at the workplace both during the war and in the immediate post war era. The school log books and local authority minutes at the Glamorgan Archives chronicle both the advances made by women in the teaching profession in this period and also the setbacks frequently encountered.

Schools were particularly hard hit by the loss of male teachers to the armed forces from August 1914 onwards. In response, local authorities were forced to relax the convention that, on marriage, women resigned from teaching posts in schools. However, as in the pre-war era, they were only employed where there were staff shortages and it was accepted that appointments were liable to be terminated at a month’s notice if suitable alternative candidates could be found.

An entry by the Head teacher of Dowlais Central, Richard Price, in the school log book for December 1915 provides just one of many examples of the precarious nature of work in school for married women in this period.

Mrs Margaret Davies, TCT, commenced duties on Monday December 6/15. Mrs Davies is a married lady and left her last appointment at Abermorlais Girls’ School in July 1907. Dowlais Central School, log book, EMT 9/6 p.37.

Mrs E Claudia George, TCT, commenced duties on Wed afternoon, 8 December. Mrs George is a married lady and left her last appointment as TCT at Tyllwyn School, Ebbw Vale at Xmas 1908. Dowlais Central School, log book, EMT 9/6 p.38.

Yet only 7 months later Richard Price confirmed that Claudia George and Margaret Davies, along with a Mrs Cummings, had ‘finished their duties at this school’ (Dowlais Central School, log book, EMT 9/6 p.50).

This was just the beginning of an ongoing round of employment and dismissal for Claudia and Margaret throughout the war. By October 1916 both had been re-employed (Dowlais Central School, log book, EMT 9/6, p.52). However, two months after the end of hostilities, on 31 January 1919, both women had ‘left the service of the Education Authority at this school on the afternoon of this day’ (Dowlais Central School, log book, EMT 9/6, p.86).

During the war the records of Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council confirm that there were frequently up to 40 married women teachers employed in schools in the borough. This included appointments to boys’ schools that would have been unheard of prior to 1914. However, the advice provided to the Borough Council Education Committee in July 1916 by Rhys Elias, Director of Education, underlined that, while the authority felt that it had little option but to employ married women in schools, there was a determination to end the appointments as soon as possible.

The committee agreed that notice be given to all married women teachers and to terminate their engagements at the end of the month of July 1916. Claudia George and Margaret Davies were, therefore, just 2 of 40 women that lost their jobs as a result of this decision. Their places were filled by students completing their College Course or Pupil and Student Teachers finishing their period of apprenticeship. (Merthyr Tydfil Borough, Education Committee minutes, BMT1/26 pp.602-3). This approach was followed throughout the war with married women employed to meet shortages on short term contracts that were terminated as soon as alternative candidates could be found.

To be continued…..

This article is reproduced here with the kind permission of Glamorgan Archives. To view the original article, please follow the link below.

Women Teachers during the First World War

Merthyr’s Bridges: The Brandy Bridge – part 2

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

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

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

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

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

Photos courtesy of the Alan George Archive

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Rhyd-y-car Flood

by Clive Thomas

40 years ago today Merthyr was shocked by the news that a culvert had burst in a mountain stream and the deluge had inundated Rhyd-y-car Cottages, killing two people and leaving countless others homeless.

December 1979 had been very wet and in the week after Christmas there was serious flooding in many parts of the Borough of Merthyr Tydfil. By Thursday 27^thmost of the usual areas had been affected, with some properties suffering severe damage. Initially, it was the southern end of the valley which seemed to bear the brunt of the flooding but to the north and near to the town at Rhyd-y-car however, a story of flooding was unfolding which was not only responsible for irreparable damage to property but would also cause the deaths of two people and bring an end to a small but long established community. Here, a breached culvert caused water to cascade from the hillside into a confined area of land occupied by two rows of cottages. The torrent, loaded with silt, stones and other debris surged into cottages, outhouses and along the gwlis and yards between, devastating the properties in its path. To compound the misfortune suffered here and despite heroic efforts by family and friends, recently widowed Mrs. Gladys Jones and lodger Mr. Danny Jones were to lose their lives in the tragedy. Other inhabitants who had been in imminent danger were fortunate to escape serious injury or worse.

Firemen entering an upstairs window at Rhyd-y-car Cottages following the flood. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

The cottages at Rhyd-y-car had been built on the banks of Nant Cwm Glo in the first years of the nineteenth century to house ironstone miners and their families who were needed to work at one of the newly opened mines belonging to the Cyfarthfa Ironworks. Twenty-nine cottages were built in two rows, with each unit consisting of a living room/kitchen and a single bedroom. At the back, on the ground floor in an outshot covered by a catslide roof was an extra bedroom and larder. Water would have been carried from the stream and there was no sanitation. Despite these obvious limitations and representing what we would view as a very basic form of habitation they would generally have been superior to the living conditions experienced by those arriving in Merthyr Tydfil from the Welsh countryside.

A section of the 1851 Ordnance Survey Map showing Rhyd-y-car Cottages

Although we have only scant information on the people who lived in the cottages in the first four decades of their existence, there is some evidence that they came mainly from the counties of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. The majority would have been Welsh speaking and brought few material possessions to furnish their new homes. By 1841 Rhyd-y-car was already a well established community with 90 per cent of the working population engaged in producing ironstone and coal from the nearby pit. Ten years later the cottages reached their peak in terms of population with a total of 169 inhabitants, averaging almost 6 per cottage. For almost a further one hundred and thirty years of Merthyr Tydfil’s fluctuating industrial fortunes the cottages housed families who formed part of a close knit and caring community.

By the 1970’s, notwithstanding the many changes that had taken place in the immediate locality, most of the inhabitants remained loyal to Rhyd-y-car , treasured and tried to improve their homes and this in itself is a tribute to the strong and steadfast community that existed there. Following the events of December 27^th1979 however, and despite the fact that some residents continued to express the wish to remain, it became inevitable that the cottages would have to be abandoned.

Movements for the preservation of significant aspects of Merthyr’s heritage were very much in their infancy at this time but there had been some notable successes. Dowlais Stables, parts of which had been in a state of collapse, the spectacular engine house at Ynysfach and the birthplace of Joseph Parry at Chapel Row had all been saved. Many people locally however, continued to emphasise lost opportunities and mourn the demolition of significant areas of industrial housing.

The decision to demolish and remove some of the Rhyd-y-car cottages, all be it in a piecemeal fashion,was seen as of little consolation and another loss to Merthyr Tydfil. Their survival at the museum in St. Fagan’s, with the potential for a part of Merthyr’s heritage to be seen by hundreds on a daily basis was hardly recognised and not given proper significance.

Nevertheless, negotiations were undertaken between the National Museum and the Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council and necessary plans laid to undertake the removal of six of the twenty-nine cottages to St. Fagan’s. Before demolition of course, the cottages were measured and recorded in great detail but because of the nature of the cottages’ construction individual stones or timbers were not numbered and repositioned on rebuilding. Within a relatively short period of time, Rhyd-y-car Cottages were erected on a carefully selected site and began their new and very different existence.

On Monday, 27 July 1987 The South Wales Echo announced that on the previous Saturday a special event had been held at the Welsh Folk Museum, St. Fagan’s to celebrate the official opening of Rhyd-y-car Cottages. Curator Dr. Geraint Jenkins who introduced the proceedings said, “Up until this time the museum’s efforts had been aimed at saving buildings from rural Wales but today we have been breaking new ground with the opening of a row of terraced cottages from an industrial town”and added,” the project was unique in Europe, if not the world by reconstructing the interiors and fabric of the buildings in different periods”.

One of Merthyr Tydfil’s famous boxing sons was present at the event and contributed by releasing a number of racing pigeons. Although not born at Rhyd-y-car, Mr. Eddie Thomas’ grandfather had lived at No. 26 with many aunts and cousins living in other cottages. Dr. Jenkins concluded by saying that, “The day belonged to Merthyr in celebration of the town’s contribution to Welsh Heritage”.