In the late 1860s, a mineral lease of over 3,000 acres of land, owned by three farms, Twyn-y-Garreg, Pantanas and Cefn Forest was exploited by a group of businessmen, headed by Frederick. W. Harris. There was no settlement here in those days just a beautiful green valley which was dissected by the small Taff Bargoed river.
Sinking commenced in 1873, and the colliery was to be named Harris’s Navigation Colliery (later Deep Navigation Colliery), the village which built up around it was subsequently names Harris’ town or Treharris.
In 1869, a row of small houses was built for the families and men who were to be employed to sink the pit. This small street was named the Twyn-y-Garreg Cottages, but have always been known locally as ‘The Huts’. There were 32 houses, and they mostly consisted of a kitchen and two bedrooms, although No.1 the Huts had four bedrooms, which the Minnett family of two adults and ten children occupied. These houses were made of wood and had hessian ceilings which were whitewashed, stone or brick chimney stacks and slate roofs. The rent was 7s. 8d.
‘The Huts’. Courtesy of the Alan George Archive
There was a commercial bakery at the Huts, and the first school lessons and religious services in the area were held there too.
Remarkably these huts survived until the 1950’s when they were finally demolished. A new street is built on the site now, and is called Navigation Close.
‘The Huts’ in 1936. Courtesy of the Alan George Archive
During the Second World War an initiative was introduced in the form of Gliding Schools. The schools came out of the Air Training Corps, itself a successor to the Air Defence Cadet Corps, which had been founded in 1938 with the aim of training boys aged between 14 and 18 in “all matters connected with aviation”.
The ADCC was a huge success – it organised itself into squadrons of 100 boys subdivided into 4 “flights” and within 5 months of its foundation, 41 squadrons had been formed. During 1939 more than 16,000 boys and 700 officers were members of the ADCC.
Indeed, by 1940, ADCC was making such a contribution to the recruitment for the RAF that it was decided by the War Cabinet to establish an organisation to provide pre-entry training for candidates for aircrew and technical duties for both the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm. Thus the Air Training Corps was born. It became one of the most important pre-service training organisations, providing the RAF with recruits who were “air-minded” when they enlisted.
Merthyr, it will not surprise you to learn, had an ATC, founded in the summer of 1941, and on 5th August 1944, a gliding school was opened, by Air Marshall Sir Robert Brook-Popham. The Gliding School was situated at the top of the Swansea Rd, and the opening was attended by the usual civic dignitaries. Before the presentation ceremony, the officers of the various squadrons in the area, the cadets and members of the Women’s Junior Air Corps were inspected by the Air Marshall. It was noted that Merthyr had sent several hundred boys into the RAF from the ATC and that they had benefited hugely from the training they had received there, training which would now include gliding. Indeed, so committed were the ATC to this that the boys had worked all winter to build a hanger for their glider, without any help from the Air Ministry or Council and squadrons from Aberdare, Treharris and the surrounding area would be using the base as part of their training.
It is clear from the Merthyr Express report of 5 August 1944 which covered the opening, that the ATC sent boys into the army as well as the RAF, as Air Marshall Brook-Popham was keen to stress that the skills learnt in the glider school were just as valuable to that branch of the armed services.
The Gliding School was disbanded in 1945 and is now largely forgotten – unless perhaps you were there…..
The Merthyr Tydfil and District Historical Society is pleased to announce the publication of Volume 33 of the Merthyr Historian.
Contents:
A Local History Appreciated (‘The Story of Merthyr Tydfil …’ 1932) by Huw Williams
Merthyr Tydfil & District Historical Society: helping the historians of the future (The Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative Awards) by Clive Thomas
The history of Garthnewydd House by Lucy Richardson
Creating Merthyr Tydfil Educational Settlement (1930-1949): a view from behind the scenes by Christine Trevett
“Eisteddfod Merthyr Tydfil a’r Cylch”1958-1962 by John Fletcher
Japanese naval commander at Merthyr 1902 (transcription) by T. Fred Holley & John D. Holley
Mary Emmeline Horsfall, the lady of Gwernllwyn House: art, philanthropy and the workless in Dowlais by Christine Trevett
A Merthyr man’s wartime service in His Majesty’s Royal Navy by Brian, Peter & Barrie Jones
The dark side of convict life: an account of the career of Harry Williams (b. 1876), a Merthyr man by Barrie Jones
The White Horse, Twynyrodyn in the 19thcentury by Richard Clements
The first Aeronaut (balloonist) in Merthyr, 1847 (transcription)
Evacuees in the Borough’s Wards: ‘Merthyr welcomes evacuees…’ (transcription, 1940) by Stephen Brewer
Putting Merthyr Tydfil on the map by Clive Thomas
‘Honouring a Dowlais Musician. Complimentary Concert …’ John Evans (Eos Myrddin) 1841-1905. A transcribed report from the Merthyr Times 1893 of ‘A Grand Performance’ by T. Fred Holley & John D. Holley
Gurnos Farm and the Cyfarthfa Estate by Alison Thomas Davies
Treharris pit-head baths and The Lancet 1908 (transcription)
The Lavernock tragedy 1888 and its Aberfan memorial by Stephen Brewer
The ‘earthly Eden’ which was dry and rustic Trelewis (newspaper items and editor’s commentary)
Chess in Merthyr by Martyn Griffiths
Lewys Glyn Cynon, Merthyr Vale poet by T. Fred Holley & John D. Holley
Calling local historians: banking and boxers by Stephen Brewer & Christine Trevett
This 324 page book is available to buy from the Merthyr Tydfil & District Historical Society for £13.
If you would like a copy, contact me at merthyr.history@gmail.com and all orders will be forwarded to the Society.
It was 90 years ago (1st November 1933) that the new pithead baths at the Ocean Colliery (Deep Navigation) in Treharris were opened, at a cost of £20,000 paid for by the Miners’ Welfare Committee. The baths replaced those first opened in 1916 – the first pithead baths in the country.
The original pithead baths. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive
It is hard at this remove to appreciate what a radical effect the pithead baths had on miners and their families. Imagine coming off a long shift underground, caked in coal-dust, mine-water and sweat and then getting yourself as clean as you can in a tin bath, which you wife had hauled in front of the fire and filled. See her steeping over and around children underfoot, carrying hot water in big, heavy jugs, water sloshing over the rim. Indeed, one South Wales coroner claimed that he conducted more inquests into the deaths of children who were scalded than he did into miners who were killed underground.
And then emptying the tin bath outside, carrying it through the house. Imagine the coal dust that wasn’t shaken off, settling around the house, like sand, getting into every nook and cranny. Imagine having to wash those clothes, by hand, and hanging them to dry over the fire. And this is your life day, after day. Miners themselves were prone to rheumatism, pneumonia and other respiratory conditions; the women, to back-breaking and heavy work, often leading to miscarriages or premature births.
Now move your mind forward to 1916: you, a miner in Treharris, are able to use the first pithead bath in Britain. Now you have proper changing and washing facilities; you go home clean. Your wife now longer has to cope with the dirt from the pit, no longer has to fill the bath. You are both heathier, your children less at risk of injury. Can you imagine the difference that made?
It took 30 years of campaigning to get pithead baths into every colliery but in 1926 the Mining Industry Act allowed for a “Royalties Welfare Levy” of 1 shilling in the pound, paid to the Miners’ Welfare Fund, which was instructed by the fact to make provision for the baths. From 1921 to 1952, over 400 baths were built across Britain. The Miners’ Welfare Committee’s own architects’ department established the most cost-effective way of constructing, equipping and operating baths buildings and by the 1930s, a ‘house style’ had developed, based on the ‘International Modern Movement’ of architectural design, which used flat roofs, clean lines and the plentiful glass, to give a natural light and airy feel.
The new pithead baths opening in Treharris in November 1933, are described as being 145 x 96 feet, built of red brick and able to accommodate 1824 men. Each man had 2 separate lockers, one for clean clothes and one for dirty, and a jet of hot air was passed through lockers to dry the clothes, wet towels etc. The baths boasted 112 cubicles, in white glazed brick, with adjustable-temperature showers, mirrors and electricity. The building also housed a first aid room, boot cleaning machine, drinking fountains and “lavatory accommodation”.
The new pithead baths. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive.
The opening was a prestigious event, attended by the great and good of the Borough, including the manager of the Deep Navigation Mine, the Director of the Ocean Coal Company, the Mayor, Aldermen and a crowd of 100s, of which about half were women. It is noted that they were the 18th baths to be built in South Wales, and the 121st nationwide, with another 35 in construction. The speeches acknowledged the difference the baths made to the community and particularly to the ladies, as the baths “stood for cleaner homes and a higher standard of life”. It is interesting that the speeches were directed at the women, who should use their influence to get their men to patronise the baths; and that the men, if they had any regard for their wives, would do so. As if to reinforce the message, the baths were opened to public viewing before they were put into use. So clearly, there was reluctance in some quarters still, to use them, despite baths having been available for 20 years.
The Miners’ Welfare Committee retained responsibility or the pithead baths until the nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947, when its remit passed to the National Coal Board.
The baths in Treharris are long gone now, but if you want to see a example of the pithead baths today, the one in Big Pit in Blaenavon is open, and is worth a visit, standing as a testimony to a revolution in colliers’ lives.
What’s in the newly-launched 50th Anniversary volume of Merthyr Historian?
The answer is more than 450 pages about the history and communities and notable people linked with the lower end of our Borough.
It’s called Troedyrhiw Southward and Taff Bargoed. Glimpses of Histories and Communities.
This is what is in it …
FOREWORD: Lord Ted Rowlands
REGIONAL MAP
WELCOME TO OUR 50th ANNIVERSARY VOLUME
I. THE ROAD THAT RUNS THROUGH IT …
Clive Thomas, ‘History, geography and the construction of the new A470 from Abercynon to Abercanaid’. A photographic account with commentary
II. PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
Christine Trevett, ‘The Idiot of Cefn Fforest farm: learning disability, lunacy and the law in 17th century Merthyr parish’
Transcription, ‘Visit to the Merthyr Sewage Farm’ (1872,South Wales Daily News)
Huw Williams, ‘A North South divide and the Troedyrhiw Sewerage Farm: a case study in local history’
Bleddyn Hancock, ‘Fighting for breath, fighting for justice: how a small Welsh Trade Union took on the British government on behalf of tens of thousands of coal miners suffering and dying from chest disease’
III. WAR, COMMEMORATION AND PEACEMAKING
Eirlys Emeryet al., ‘Treharris remembers – Treharris yn cofio: a recent community project to record the past’
Gethin Matthews, ‘Honour to whom honour is due’: reports of First World War unveilings in the Merthyr Express, with special reference to those in the south of the Borough’
Craig Owen, ‘Born of Bedlinog – the man who united nations. The Rev. Gwilym Davies, world peacemaker’
IV. COMMUNITIES AND PROJECTS
Mansell Richards, ‘The Gateway to Merthyr Tydfil Heritage Plinths project’
David Collier, ‘The Saron graveyard project, Troedyrhiw’
V. LOCAL POLITICS AND WORKERS’ EDUCATION
Martin Wright, ‘Aspects of Socialism south of Merthyr and in Taff Bargoed in the 1890s: a window on Labour’s pre-history’
Daryl Leeworthy, ‘Workers’ Education in the lower County Borough: a brief history of an enduring idea’
VI. BALLADMONGERS AND MUSIC MAKERS
Stephen Brewer, ‘Idloes Owen, founder of Welsh National Opera’
Alun Francis, ‘Getting your timing right at Glantaff Stores – and what happened next’
Wyn James, ‘The Ballads of Troed -y-Rhiw’
VII. SPORT AND OUR COMMUNITIES
Alun Morgan, ‘1950s football rivalry between Merthyr Town and the Troedyrhiw-Treharris clubs’
Ivor Jones, ‘A community and its sport, a short history of Bedlinog Rugby Football Club’
VIII. THIS BOOK WOULD NOT BE COMPLETE WITHOUT …
John Holley and T.Fred Holley, ‘Troedyrhiw Horticulture 1876 –’
IX. OUR HISTORICAL SOCIETY: SOME HISTORY
Clive Thomas, ‘Before heritage began to matter. Only the beginnings’
The Society’s Archivist: an interview
CONTENTS OF Merthyr Historian vols. 1-31 (1974-2021)
BIOGRAPHIES OF CONTRIBUTORS
Volume 32 of the Merthyr Historian is priced at £15. If anyone would like to purchase a copy, please get in touch with me at merthyr.history@gmail.com and I will pass on all orders.
