A varied collection of  pieces relating to the history of the general area we know as 'the Rhondda', various contributors.

There are many similar items on Not everyone knows this.. 

Ystradyfodwg

I have noted some details which describe the parish of Ystradyfodwg and one of the farmsteads that I am interested in. Printed histories often contain a wealth of material and for those interested in the Rhondda here are some descriptions. I have broken them up into parts.

Descriptions of Llwynypia Farm, Ystradyfodwg, and the parish itself.

(Llwynypia means Llwyn = Grove or Bush and Pia = Magpie hence 'Magpie Grove' referring to the magnificent grove)

When John Leland made his Itinerary through Wales in 1536-39, he noted that,

"The vale of Glin Rodeney by south is meatly good for barle and otes but little whete. There is plenty of wood. It hath but one hole paroch caullid Ystrate and a peace of Lantrissent paroshe, and a pece of Llan Wonni paroche."

A description of Berw Rhondda by J.T. Barber F.S.A will be found in A Tour throughout South Wales and Monmouthshire, published in  1803 . Leaving the old town of Llantrisant, he makes his way to Pontypridd or New Bridge as it was then, his next destination.
This is how he describes his impressions:

"As I proceeded from Llantrissent, cultivation diminished; and from that fertile and populous district, borderung the Severn, I found myself entering upon the unfrequented wilds of the interior country. It soon became so dark, that I could but distinguish the broken road that was traveling which, although a Welsh turnpike, a modern farmer in England would be ashamed to own for his cart way. Not a human face or habitation presented itself, nor any relief from silence except the uncheering note of the screech owl. At length, however, the distant murmur of a waterfall saluted me, which growing louder as I advanced, presently accumulated to a hoarse roar; and by the direction of the sound, it appeared that I was travelling on a precipice above the torrent......"

Jill Muir 1.4.2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Ystradyfodwg Part 2

In 1803, the Revd B.H.Malkin of Cowbridge wrote: The Scenery, Antiquities, and Biography of South Wales .

The following extract describes the Rhondda,

"The next object of interest, for such it is, in a proportion equal to that of a palace in a better inhabited country, is a substantial farmhouse, placed in a most pleasing solitude, as beautifully situated as anything in the Parish. Its name, for it is dignified with a name, is Llwyn-y-pia, signifying a Magpie's Bush. It is occupied by Jane Davies *, a widow, but its situation seems little calculated for the feebler exertions of female industry. The women at least divide the severest labour, and seem by their hardy, robust constitution to triumph over the bleakness of their winters and the ruggedness of their toils. On the farm of Llwyn-y-pia there is the tallest and largest oak that ever I have happened to meet with."

(this is also repeated in 1808 Extracts from The Cambrian Travellers' Guide and Pocket Companion) also in Glamorgan Reminiscences by D.T.Alexander 1915,

"Lower down towards Pont Rhondda was the one farmhouse occupied by Mr. Richard Evans, and from there I rode on to Pandy Inn, situated in what is now known as Llwynypia, and the old farmhouse of Llwynypia, occupied by the Bevan family [see also Trealaw item ]. There was on the other side of the river the old residence of Ty'n-y-Cymmer, occupied by the Morgan family."

*[ the  above mentioned, Jane Davies aka Jennet DAVID was a widow at that time and had been the wife of Morgan DAVID of Llwynypia Farm. He was related to the holder William DAVID of Cwmsaerbren farm. Jane had been a PRITCHARD before her marriage.]

Jill Muir 2.4.2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Here is another description of the Rhondda by  Dr Malkin in his visit .

"The parish of Ystradyfodwg exhibits such scenes of untouched beauty, as the imagination would find it difficult to surpass....... Those who know the banks of the two Rhonthas and the wilds of Ystradyfodwg have seen such woods and groves as are rarely seen..... The sides of many of the rocks and hills are clothed with an apparently inexhaustible opulence of timber."

Jill Muir 6.4.2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Ystradyfodwg continued

Published in 1802 The Historic and Picturesque Guide from Clifton, through the Counties of Monmouth, Glamorgan and Brecknock by George Wm Mamby who toured the area, whilst staying at Pontypridd and he notes of the stream:

"Observing a stream apparently of no inconsiderable consequence, and tributary to the Taff. I was induced to approach it, when I perceived a plain neat structure across the river Rhondda, by two arches, the banks thickly shaded with wood and the distant country enriched with high cultivation; the river appeared to be emerging from a thick wood, and bathing a fisherman's cottage, stationed in the most for it's master's implements, and as it approached the bridge, softened into rippling streams from the ridges of pebbels, perusing a rural road embowered with trees, through occasional openings of which the river would present itself, dashing and roaring over misshapen rocks, fringed with masses of the deepest hue."

Jill Muir 3.4.2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

The Baptists in Pontypridd

The Baptists were the first to hold regular religious services in the place. [i.e. Pontypridd] About 1808 a young man names ADAM ROWLAND---settled in Pontypridd. At same time 2 other families moved into neighbourhood from Merthyr - those of WILLIAM GRIFFITHS and WM JAMES. Meetings were first held in open air and afterwards rented a room over the brew house of the old 'White Horse' now know as the Old Malsters at the east end of the Old Bridge. Services cont'd there until 'Little Carmel' was built and on Sunday Dec 23rd 1810 they left the old meeting room and held their first service in Carmel. Carmel was the first place erected in Pontypridd. The chapel was built in 1833. The Welsh Baptists cont'd to worship here until 1861 when they left the old temple that must have been dear to many of them, for the Tabernacle, the fine and substantial edifice by the Old Bridge, where they still continue to worship. Other chapels in district belonging to the denomination are: Welsh: Libanus, Treforest, Rhydfelin, Capel Rhondda, Hopkinstown; Bethesda, Hafod, Cifynydd: English - Carmel Calvary [Wood rd] Temple [Llantrisant Rd] Coedpenmaen and Bethany [Pwllgwaun].

Abstracted from Pontypridd Historial Handbook - John Charles 1919, Pontypridd, printed at Glamorgan Times Office. 1920

Jill Muir 17.4.2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

An industrial landscape

'The River Rhondda is a dark, turgid, and contaminated gutter, into which is poured the refuse of the host of collieries which skirt the thirteen miles of its course. The hills - have been stripped of their woodland beauty, and there they stand, rugged and bare, with immense rubbish heaps covering their surface......The whole length of the valley has become transformed....the din of steam engines, the whirr of machinery, the grating sound of coal screens, and the hammering of the smithies proceed increasingly night and day, year in and year out. An unheard of wealth of industry and a great population have simultaneously sprung up together during the past sixty years........The industrial townships of this valley appear to be inseparably connected in one continuous series of streets of workmens cottages to Pontypridd'.

Arthur Morris. Glamorgan. 1908

Steve Keates 4.5.2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list]

MEMORIES OF TREALAW, RHONDDA

By JILL MUIR, NEE KNIGHT

During the 1930s to 1940s, and many years prior to that, the Post Office, at 50 Miskin Road, was owned and run by my mother's uncle ARTHUR THOMAS. He had married MARY, my Grandpa's sister, and later their only child CYRIL and his family ran the Post Office. Cyril played for the local football team, known locally as the Mushrooms or 'The Mush'. He was a good player and at one time played for Southampton.

In those days being a Postmaster was of higher social significance than perhaps it is today. Uncle Arthur was a man with a very keen mind, and came from a cultured family. Amongst other talents he composed hymns and was Precentor at Ainon Chapel, Trealaw. His two brothers were schoolteachers and his sister sang for the Royal Opera Company.

My mother, FRISWITH JONES had worked for Uncle Arthur behind the Post Office counter for many years, although her mother CASSIE had not wanted her to, preferring an apprenticeship or like, as she had felt she was wasting her grammar school education and had greater things in mind for her daughter. My mother though, soon became very adept at this job, as she was quick and good at figures, and Uncle Arthur was very proud of her, particularly as she could be relied upon to run the Post Office alone and work hard. She was not only very happy with the job she did but with the life she had with her relations at the Post Office, and would, in her later life, often refer to these times, the fun she had enjoyed and some pranks she and my elder cousins used to enjoy.

My mother was paid £1.5s 0d a week, working from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 in the evening. She had an hour off for lunch, which she had with the family. If she closed again for the family tea, which she wasn't really supposed to do, she would have to go and open up, if anyone knocked the post office door.

My great grand-parents, WILLIAM & FRISWITH JONES and many other relatives had also lived in Miskin Road. The house where my great grandparents had raised their family 112 Miskin Road, [opposite the Post Office], until their move to 110b, where both parents had unfortunately died at young ages, was still occupied by a member of the family, an Auntie GERTY THOMAS, when I was about twelve years old.

A brisk walk from the house where I was born, brings you to that part of Miskin Road where it runs into Brithweunydd Road and here on a bank, stood three houses of substance. These houses were named, 'Maes-Yr-Haf'; 'Clydach Court' [the home of JOHN DAVID WILLIAMS, who was the successor of the Williams family of Ffynondwym] and 'Fairfield' [once the home of EVAN AND GWENLLIAN WILLIAMS, but later of DAVID WATKIN WILLIAMS. It is believed, but not proved, that the Williams family are related to my family of Davies. There certainly was high family involvement.]

In the vicinity of these three houses, at the top of Garth Road, stood 'The Garth' [the home of SIR WALTER NICHOLAS and his wife, LADY FLORENCE NICHOLAS (nee Edwards, formerly of Risca) who also was related to the Davies' family Maesyrhaf, with their daughter Miss NORA NICHOLAS]. 'Clydach Court' has been re-developed, and with 'Fairfield', is now an old people's home, and the house, 'Maesyrhaf' has unfortunately been demolished. 'The Garth' later housed the Department of Health and Social Security, before being demolished for re-development into retirement flats. 'Maesyrhaf', meaning 'Summer Meadow', had been the home of my great-great-grandparents, THOMAS AND ELIZABETH DAVIES, who also owned the 'Dunraven Arms', Tonypandy.

'Maesyrhaf' was a large stone-built Victorian house set in two acres of land standing well back from the main road, with a sloping garden in front and fields climbing the steep hillside behind. There were three living rooms, six bedrooms, and a bathroom, a large kitchen with outhouses and stables.

Further along Brithweunydd Road stood a row of substantial terraced villas. Amongst these was one called 'Bryn Dinas'. Here lived Uncle WILLIAM JONES and his wife JINNIE, known in the family as 'Uncle Willie, Bryn Dinas'. Like a lot of Welsh families, the family was inter-related, and this couple were no exception.

Uncle Willie was William COLLIN JONES. He was the son of THOMAS JONES who had married ELVIRA BEVAN, of Llwynypia Farm[see also item Ystradyfodwg part 2]. THOMAS JONES, had been a Stone Mason, and been an official of the Rhondda District Council.

Uncle Willie's wife Jinnie (Elizabeth Jane) was a sister of Arthur Thomas (Postmaster of 50 Miskin Road). Other relations lived in the area, such as WILLIAM DAVIES, who was the owner of the De Winton Hotel and had married MARGARET BEVAN[see also item Ystradyfodwg part 2], sister of JENNET my g.g.g.grandmother. At one time WILLIAM DAVIES of Coed y Meibon Farm, was employed as a Coker and Mason, but many years later had risen from this position and was described as a Gentleman and had become a Justice of the Peace.

Jill Muir 5/6.5.2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

A follow on;

From D.T. Alexander's Glamorgan Remincences published in 1915, where he talks about life in Tonypandy in the 1860's.

"The Scotch or Glamorgan Company commenced their pits in the Rhondda at this time, and I was present at the cuttings of the first sod at the invitation of my old friend, the late Mr Archibald Hood. The villages constituting what was then known as Dinas and which comprised the Store-house, Ffrwd Amos, and Pandy were still comparatively small.

At Penygraig a considerable number of houses had been erected, but I dare say it will be interesting to some of your readers to know, having regard to the prominence that has been given to this district, especially from Penygraig to Llwynypia, namely Tonypandy, that at this time nearly the whole of that district was covered with oak plantations of considerable dimensions.

There were certainly some, probably 40, houses at the upper part of Pandy, consisting of the old village, and there was a new house built at the junction of the roads in the middle of these plantations. This was a public-house known as the Dunraven Arms. There was also near this a row of about 10 or 12 old cottages on the Dunraven estate."

The Dunraven Arms, later the Dunraven Hotel, was owned by Jill Muir's  ancestor Thomas Davies.

Jill Muir to the Glamorgan mailing list

Tonyrefail's lack of drainage

'............There is no system of drainage or scavenging at Tonyrefail. The only drain runs along the main road from Redgate and empties itself by an open mouth into a stagnant pool, which occasionally overflows to the Ely River at Tonyrefail bridge[?]. This pool is in front of some cottages. The Village is badly supplied with water. The chief supplying [sic] is from a small spring called Caermans Well, which from its proximity to pit closets is liable to become dangerously polluted.

Gilfach Village is also dangerously defective. There being no water supply and no drainage. The closets are in a most dilapidated state. At Mount Pleasant the sewage from the closets percolates through the walls at the back of Llewellyn Terrace [&?] Gellyawell Row at the bottom of Gilfach. The bucket system is used and removed occasionally by the occupiers. The Row is already the starting point of Enteric Fever. There is no water supply. Mixed forms of Enteric fever and Diarrhoea also are prevalent here.'

'Edmunds Town in the Cymmer [?] District is in a most deplorable insanitary state.'

From --- H.M.Davies.[ 12650 MH12/16424 at the PRO].

Jill Muir 17.5.2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Scavenging sheep

Letter to Rhondda Urban Council 23 March 1909 from a resident of Maerdy.

(scavenger was the term for refuse collector)

' Dear Sir

I beg to bring to your notice the serious state of affairs now existing in James St. Maerdy, Rhondda as you are doubtless aware the refuse from the houses is put out in boxes in the street in the early morning to be taken away by the scavenger. The utensils containing such are no sooner put out than they are overturned by sheep and the contents scattered over the street, part of which is blown about to the inconvenience of pedestrians and residents and as part of this is decayed matter I feel sure it must be detrimental to the health of the residents. Trusting you will utilise the power you have to abate this nuisance.

I am,

Yours respectfully..........

PS I do not insinuate that the scavenger does not do his duty for I feel sure he does under existing condition.'

Local Government Board Comment on 20 May 1909 to RUC was dismissive as;

' .....It is difficult to believe that sheep make a practice of over turning the refuse utensils and the nuisance is in my thought imagined.....'

From the PRO file Rhondda Medical Officer of Health Reports MH/97/105

Steve Keates 20.6.2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Pontypridd, aspects of

'About 1810 there were only a few houses in the part of the village of Pontypridd situated in the Parish of Llanwonno. They were Ynysgyfilon, Tifca, the Butcher's Arms, the New Inn (where Gwilym Morganwg, the poet lived), Tommy Morris's shop, and the old mill. In the part of the village situated in the parish of Eglwysilan were the old Ynysygharad Row, the Old White Horse, (afterwards called the Queen's Hotel), Coedpenmaen Farmhouse, and a few other dwellings. The Old Bridge was originally named Pont-y-ty-pridd, from a clod cottage that stood near it. The name was ultimately abbreviated to Pontypridd by a local postmaster. The population was small and scattered, both in the village and the district.'

'Then, there was not sufficient coal - fifteen tons a week - raised in the whole of the Rhondda valley to supply the little ynysangharad Works at Pontypridd. An additional quantity was brought from Maesmawr, Craig-yr-Allt, and Merthyr. Some coal was brought from the mountain, about halfway to Gelliwion, and was carried on asses' backs.'

'Pontypridd was still a little village about 1843; Tommy Morris kept the general stores and supplied all the villagers. There was a wagon to Cardiff daily. A coach ran from Cardiff to Merthyr. There was no post office in Pontypridd, the postal centre being at Treforest, where the Pontypridd letters had to be posted before eight o'clock in the morning. The market was then a Llantrisant, and it was there that the people of Pontypridd and district made their principal purchases in the pre-colliery days.'

Extracts from Early History of the Rhondda Valley - Pontypridd Baptist Centenary 1810-1910 by Rev. B.D. Johns

David Pike  30.6.2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

House and gardens

In his Report the Rhondda Medical Officer of Health made these interesting comments regarding House Accommodation in the area.

He makes the comments that the houses are 'generally speaking substantially built of the Pennant Sandstone' and because of the 'recent developments' very few old houses existed in the urban area........'There is no great congestion of buildings on space,.......the individual houses are generally furnished with a sufficiency of open space, a small garden usually forming a component part of the premises.'

However he finds that 'improper use' is made of the gardens............'a great partiality for nondescript erections of wood or corrugated iron for sheltering pigeons, fowls, dogs, and other animals being noticeable.....'

I think in this bit he is being unjust possibly blaming a few cases on the many, '...........in too many instances also the "garden" is made to serve the purposes of a dumping ground for house-refuse, rags, empty meat-tins and other indications of the slovenly and thriftless household.'

He does however condemn the collieries and their tips for their ...'dusty, disordered, and decidedly inartistic appearance..........as......offering no incentive to the individual householder to beautify his own home from a spirit of emulation.'

He does feel that a "health conscience" should be encouraged and ........'Now that the Eight Hours Act is in force' .......permitting.....'the colliers to enjoy the many hours of daylight and sunshine at home it is to be hoped that their gardens and the general surroundings of their houses will receive the amount of attention that is due.......'

From M.O.H. Report Rhondda Urban District Council 1909 [PRO MH/97/105]

Steve Keates 9 July 2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Cymmer pits/the Insoles

The Upper and both New and Old Cymmer Pits were owned by the Insoles and it is known that the Insoles used a form of employment contract in which the Collier in their employ signed to work for twelve months from the date of signing the contract.

This is part of the contract from 1849;

' Parr 6: And we, the undersigned colliers and workmen agree with Messrs George Insole and James Harvey Insole to cut and work the said coal in Cymmer Levels, and doing the usual work of colliers for carrying on the works safely for the above prices, terms and conditions for ONE YEAR from the date thereof, unless there be a general alteration in prices for cutting and working the coal in the same veins in the Cwm Rhonda Valley; and we bind ourselves to abide by any advance or reduction that takes place in the same veins. The coal to the workmen to be supplied to them as hereafter. '

The last line refers to the 'free' coal suppplied to all colliery workers.

The Insoles built some of the houses in Porth and Cymmer .

Steve Keates 24 July 2000 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Drinking water problems  in Pontygwaith-1908

Letter to the Medical Officerof Health, Rhondda UDC from David J. Evans Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Pontygwaith. This is in fact quite a mild problem compared to many but illustrates not only unpleasant water but structural problems concerning housing.

"5 Tanybryn Terr. Pontygwaith, Rhondda Valley, South Wales

Nov 25 1908

Dear Sir

I do not know whether I am in order (if not pardon me) calling attention to the state of the drinking water supplied to some of the houses of Pontygwaith. At all times owing to foreign matter such as earth, grit and the like it is unfit for drinking purposes. At times it is discoloured. Such water I believe is injurious to the health of the inhabitants and as a proof of this statement may I point out the fact that infant mortality is high here and also that I know of cases where little children who have been ill have recovered after their parents have stopped giving them the water as it comes from the taps.

Further I do not know whether building site comes under your jurisdiction but I should like to point out that the house in which I live is one of a row of houses erected on the slope of a hill. There is a constant stream of water trickling under the house, and dripping out by the bottom step in front of the house.

Can anything be done to compel building contractors to drain the land before they build on it?

Trusting that this letter will receive your consideration.

I beg to remain, yours respectfully

David J. Evans, Pastor,  Eng. Presbyterian Church"

There is no copy of a reply to David Evans in the archive only an attached letter stating that the Pontypridd Water Act had received the Royal Assent on 1 August .

Further to this is a Report in the Glamorgan Free Press,  Dec 5 1912 , on the poor quality of the water in Pontypridd, and hope for an improvement in the plumbescent filtration of the water.

Steve Keates 29 Jan 2001 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Follow on ;

At a meeting of the Pontypridd Urban District Council on Tuesday 3 Dec 1912 Dr Howard Davies the Medical Officer of Health reported that the water supply of the district has of late not been satisfactory not only on account of its turbidity but also owing to the presence of large quantities of dissolved lead in the water.

Investigating various reports of lead poisoning he states

"samples are of acid reaction and contain dissolved lead in large amount, lead from his various samples was between one-fourth of a grain and one-eighth of a grain. A sample from Lanwern Road contained the greater quantity of lead and was described as of a yellowish green colour and was turbid in appearance".

He makes the point that one of the samples contained the highest amounts of lead yet found in water from the Pontypridd Water Works. He also condemns the water from the works at Mardy since it  

"does not receive the treatment that your authority (Pontypridd UDC) have a right to expect."

"The inhabitants of the district were led to believe that they could expect a pure supply of water when it got under the control of the public bodies of the district. In this they have been sadly disappointed".

The Water Board were informed and Mr E. W. Terrey, Water Board Engineer, stated that "he was closely investigating the matter".

Adapted from an account in the Glamorgan Free Press Thursday December 12 1912

In further annual MOH reports the quality of the water from the Pontypridd Water Co was a regular problem.

Steve 2 Feb 2001 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Ystradyfodwg and Treherbert, some descriptive snippets.

The  following information is extracted from Bennett's Directory for South Wales - 1916;

The parish of Ystradyfodwg was split into the following three districts:

District One: comprising the wards of Ferndale & Tylorstown [towns in the area included Maerdy, Ferndale, Blaenllechau, Tylorstown, Penrhys, Stanleytown & Pontygwaith].

District Two: comprising the wards of Ynyshir, Porth, part of Penygraig and Trealaw [towns in the area included Wattstown, Ynyshir, Porth, part of Trehafod, Cymmer, Trebanog, Rhiwgarn, part of Dinas, part of Penygraig, Tonypandy & Trealaw].

District Three: comprising the wards of Llwynypia, Ystrad, Pentre, Treorchy and Treherbert [towns in the area included Clydach Vale, Blaenclydach, Llwynypia, Gelli, Ystrad, Ton-Pentre, Pentre, Cwmparc, Treorchy, Ynyswen, Pen-yr-Englyn, Treherbert, Tynewydd, Blaenrhondda and Blaenycwm.

Extract from Kelly's Directory - 1895:

'Ystradyfodwg, an extensive parish comprising several hamlets, is one of the largest coal-producing parishes in Glamorgan ... it forms the Rhondda Valley division of the county and is in the hundred of Miskin, petty sessional division of Lower Miskin, Pontypridd union and county court district, rural deanery of Upper Llandaff [Northern Division], and archdeanery and diocese of Llandaff. The parish, with parts of Llantrisant and Llanwonno, was governed by a local Board until an Urban District Council was established by the Local Government Act, 1894. ... The area of the parish is 19,440 acres of land and 108 of water; ... the population in 1861 was 3,857; in 1871, 17,777; in 1881, 44,046 and in 1891, 68,721, comprising several thickly inhabited places of towns in which there are chapels of various denominations. ... The territory attached to the church at Ystradyfodwg can be defined as ... starting at Pont-y-Cymer on the Rhondda Fawr, a little above the confluence of the Rhondda streams at Porth; the boundary followed the course of the Rhondda Fach northwards to the borders of Brecon being virtually the boundary also of Glynrhondda in that locality. From Pont-y-Cymer westwards, the boundary followed the course of the Rhondda Fawr to present day Penygraig where a stream, Ffrwd Amos, joins the river. It then took the course of Ffrwd Amos into the hills following it to its spring, at a point not far distant from that which the boundary of Glynrhondda proceeded over Craig-y-Llyn to the River Neath. This line served as the boundary of Penychen, Glynrhondda and Ystradyfodwg. Ystradyfodwg, therefore, stood for a unit of territory much nearer in extent to our idea of the Rhondda, than did Glynrhondda, although it should be borne in mind that Ystradyfodwg did include Rhigos, the area being roughly inbetween Craig-y-Llyn and the Brecon border ... ...

... The first vicar of Ystradyfodwg was Canon William Lewis, he himself having been styled Perpetual Curate when he first came to the parish in 1869. More grants followed the original one of 1735, so that gradually, the incumbent of Ystradyfodwg, although still appointed by the Vicar of Llantrisant, became self-sufficient from the standpoint of his stipend ...

Llwyd visited the parish of Ystradyfodwg where 'In a steep rock called Craig-y-Parc and others', he recorded, 'we observed divers veins of coal exposed to sight as naked as the rock ...'. When Llwyd made this observation in 1697, the population of the parish was only about 550, but with the exploitation of the 'veins of coal' in a later century, the population increased phenominally and ... in 1921, it had reached a total of 162,717.'

Below are two extracts re: Treherbert. the first is from Kelly's Directory of Monmouthshire & South Wales, 1901 & 1885. The second is taken from 'Glamorgan - Its History & Topography' by C.J.O. Evans 1945.

' Treherbert is a town amongst mountains ... at the foot of Penpych which rises 1,700 ft. above the level of the sea. It is eleven miles north-west from Pontypridd and is the terminus of the Rhondda branch of the Taff Vale Railway, and also of the Rhondda and Swansea Vale Railway, opened July 14th. 1890. The church of St. Mary, a chapel of ease to St. John's, Ystradyfodwg, erected by the Marquess of Bute, in 1867, at a cost of £4,000, is a building of Welsh sandstone with Bath stone dressings and consists of chancel, nave, south aisle, porch and a bell cot containing one bell: there are 400 sittings. The Public Hall, erected in 1872, at a cost of £2,500 will seat 1,000 people; it is used for dramatic and other entertainments, concerts and public meetings. There are several collieries ands also engineering works.'

'Treherbert, eleven miles north of Pontypridd, is a colliery town almost at the haad of the Rhondda Valley. Despite its obvious industrialisation, the beauty of the surrounding hills gves it a picturesque environment. Behind the hospital, an inter-valley road winds up the steep slopes of Mynydd Tynewydd [1,692 ft.], finally reaching, after passing some magnificant mountain scenery, the heights above Hirwaun Common. The descent leads past the ridge to the west of Craig-y-Llyn [1,969 ft.], and winds down towards Llyn Fawr [now a resevoir], a lake sheltering in a corner below the precipitous walls of Glamorgan's highest elevation.'

Finally, for civil registration purposes, part of Dinas Rhondda comes under the parish of Ystradyfodwg.

The address of the Register Office covering Ystradyfodwg is : Pontypridd Register Office, Courthouse Steet, Pontypridd, CF37 1LJ.

Sue Williams  22 Sept 2001 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Famous son of Rhondda.

George Thomas; Viscount Tonypandy, Speaker of the House of Commons in his time, a man I admired from afar for his simple honesty in political life. Reading his autobiography it occurred to me how typically Glamorgan his ancestral background was in many ways, both from the point of view of originating from far and wide, and the reasons for coming to the Rhondda in the first place.

This summary makes a nice story;

George's maternal grandfather was a John Tilbury who came to the Rhondda in 1872 aged 34. John's family had lived for generations in Clanfield, Hampshire where they founded the Clanfield Methodist Chapel. The local establishment in Clanfield was so opposed to non-conformity that John had to run a small business buying and selling fruit to maintain his independence. While in Bristol selling fruit he met George's grandmother, Elizabeth Loyns. She was the grand daughter of a Frenchman who had fled to Somerset during the Revolution's Reign of Terror, and she grew up on a farm near Wellington in Somerset. When John and Elizabeth married they had a drapery store in Petersfield, Hampshire but were soon on the move when they heard stories of the rapid industrial development in South Wales 'where new pits were being sunk every month'.

John began his new life in Wales as a greengrocer but switched to being a building contractor, and indeed he became very successful building long rows of houses for immigrant labour.

John Tilbury, and another English immigrant-John Hearn- established the English Methodist Chapel in Tonypandy. On John's first Sunday in Tonypandy he dressed to go to the local church as he would have in Petersfield. When he returned home, he announced to Elizabeth; " I'll not wear my frock coat and top hat to go to church again, Elizabeth, people were turning to stare at me as we passed"

George's paternal grandfather's family came to the Rhondda from Carmarthen, leaving farmwork for the attraction of a miner's wages. They were thoroughly Welsh, worshipping at the Welsh Conregational Church in Penygraig, and speaking only in Welsh to each other.

Gareth  Hicks  24 Nov 2001 to the Glamorgan mailing list

Rhondda,Historical snippets [Last Updated : 30 Sept 2002 Gareth Hicks]

Extracted by Bernard Mainwaring from an article by The Rev. Dan Bryant M.A. D.C.L. printed in Historical Sketches of Glamorgan. Published by The Glamorgan Society in 1912 and submitted to the Glamorgan mailing list

In 1093 A.D. a Lord Fitz-hamon, became the first Norman Lord of Glamorgan.

His full titles were:-

Sir Robert Fitz-hamon, Earl of Corbeil, Baron Thorigny and Granville, Lord of Gloucester, Bristol, Tewkesbury and Cardiff. Conquerer of Wales, near kinsman of the King, and General of his Highness' army in France.

He was accompanied by twelve knights:-

William de Londres

Richard de Granville (his brother)

Paganus de Turberville

Robert St. Quentin

Richard de Syward

Gilbert de Humfreville

Roger de Berkrolls

Reginald de Sully

Peter Le Soor

John Le Fleminge

Oliver de St. John

William de Esteringe ( Later known as Stradlinge)

Fitz-hamon took as his personal share the towns of Cardiff, Cowbridge and Kenfig, the castles of Cardiff and Kenfig and as demesne lands, Miscin, Glyn-Rhondda, Tir-y-Iarll and Boverton or Llantwit.

De Londres had the Lordship of Ogmore with the sub-manor of Dunraven.

De Granville settled in Neath and founded Neath Abbey in 1129

De Turberville had Coyty. He married the daughter of Morgan, the Welsh Lord of Coyty.

St. Quentin settled at Llanbethian. The family had died out by 1249 A.D.

De Syward had the Lordship of Talavan, with the sub-manor of Merthyr-Mawr.

Humfraville settled in Penmark and built Penmark Castle.

St. John may have held Fonmon Manor under De Humfraville.

Note:   At this time there were still Welsh Lords holding land in Glamorgan.

Bernard Mainwaring, May.2000 

[Last Updated : 27 Sept 2002 - Gareth Hicks]

Moelwyn I Williams, National Library of Wales journal, Winter 1955 , Vol IX/2 pp188-215

This complete article was provided by Stephen Keates.

Extracted onto the pages of GENUKI with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales

• See also Part II
• See also the Tables page which forms part of this article
• See also A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan

§1

'Hitherto, no one seems to have attempted a systematic study of the various stages in the evolution of the commerce of the Principality of Wales.' These words were written over thirty years ago by E. A. Lewis, whose pioneer work in transcribing from the extant Welsh Port Books for the period 1556-1603, and his 'tentative effort . . . to supply a brief survey of Welsh trade as it appears in the returns of the extant Welsh Port Books for the year I688', 1  still remain the only attempts, as far as I am aware, at a systematic study of Welsh Commerce. It would seem, therefore, that a serious gap remains to be filled in the economic and commercial history of our country. Consequently, every small contribution that may supply fresh information on the Welsh maritime trade of former centuries will help to complete a story which is full of interest and romance.

The following notes are a modest attempt to throw some new light on the nature and extent of the seventeenth and eighteenth century coasting trade of the 'Vale of Glamorgan', or 'Bro Morgannwg', a small region which has figured prominently in the social and economic development of that county. 2  The major part of this work consists of the writer's own transcriptions from the Exchequer King's Remembrancer Port Books, Series P.R.O. E.190, and from certain manuscripts which were included in the collection of documents recently presented to the National Library of Wales by Mr. Job A. Williams. 3   The National Library of Wales manuscripts 4  are a valuable source of information for the local historian. They are probably the notes, records or memoranda that were kept by the local customs officer at Aberthaw, and contain particulars of the shipments of goods--- 'exported and imported Coquetts' as they were called--- out of and into the 'port' during various periods between the years 1693-1735. They give the names of the ships and their masters and also of the merchants who took part in the activities of the port. These manuscripts probably constitute the only extant record of the trade at Aberthaw during the years mentioned, for the official extant Port Books of that period do not--- as far as the writer has been able to establish--- account for the volume of trade recorded in them. Consequently, in view of the latter fact and also on account of the badly torn and fragile character of these papers, an immediate...............

• 1  Lewis E. A.: 'Maritime Trade of Wales in Stuart Times. . .' in Times Trade and Engineering Supplement,6 December 1924, p. 28-29.
• 2  For the many delimitations that have been assigned to the Vale of Glamorgan see the writer's unpublished M.A. thesis (Univ. of Wales) entitled 'A sociological and statistical study of the population of the Vale of Glamorgan. ..'  p. 1-7, and his article in the Glamorgan County Magazine, New Series, No. S, 1950, p. 18-19.
• 3  N.L.W. Annual Report 1953-54, p. 34-5.
• 4  I am indebted to Miss Rhiannon Francis Roberts, M.A., for drawing my attention to this and other relevant material contained in the Iolo A. Williams Collection.

..............transcription of their contents seemed desirable. These papers at one time probably formed part of a small crown octavo note book, seven and a quarter by five and a half inches, and unlined. But, as we shall see, it was not the official book in which the trade returns were to be recorded and sent to the Exchequer. 1

Before we proceed to analyse the data which are contained in the manuscripts and which have been tabulated for convenience at the end of these introductory remarks, it will be necessary to discuss very briefly the general background of the trading connections of the Vale of Glamorgan with the opposite English coast of Somerset and Devon. For this trade, which gradually declined as the 'works' in the Blaenau developed during the nineteenth century, influenced in no small measure the social and cultural life of the populous Vale, and contributed much to the economic prosperity of the county in pre-industrial days. Such a discussion will, it is hoped, serve to show that the trading activities of Aberthaw and its neighbouring creeks were not confined to the period covered by the tabulated data given below.

§2

The natural division between 'The Hills' (Blaenau) and 'The Vale' (Bro) is the most striking physical feature of Glamorgan, and one which has been of permanent significance in the history of its people. 2   The Vale of Glamorgan was always a region of comparative peace and prosperity. It was well known for the fertility of its soil and for the abundance of its fruit, corn and vegetable crops. It was a region which possessed the advantages of numerous small 'ports' which dotted its coastal fringe, and it was through these that the Vale was once able to supply 'the City of Bristol with butter in very great quantities, salted and barrell'd up, just as Suffolk (supplied) the City of London'. 3  The general fecundity of the whole district earned for it the appellation 'The Garden of Wales' and led one observer to conclude that 'perhaps there is nothing richer to be met with in the kingdom, certainly nothing in the Principality that can at all be compared with it'. 4     A glance at the map will show how narrow is the strip of water which separates the Vale from the opposite coast of Somersetshire.

It is not possible to determine when the old coastal communications between the Vale and the opposite Bristol Channel ports were first established but it is fairly certain that they go back to an early date. 5  The natural havens of Penarth, Barry and Sully, Aberthaw, Col-hugh or Coytlou, 6  Ogmore and Newton, had been used in all probability before the Norman conquest of Glamorgan in 1099. In this connection, a letter addressed by Sir Edward Stradling (1529-1609) of..............

• 1 lnfra, p.196.
• 2 Freeman, T. W.: 'The Early Settlement of Glamorgan,' in Scottish Geographical Mag., January 1936, p.19
• 3 Defoe, Daniel: A Tour through England and Wales, Vol. II, p.35
• 4 Bell, James: A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales (1835), pt. IV, p. 277.
• 5 Cf. Freeman, T.W., loc. cit.
• 6 Corbett, J.S.: Glamorgan (1925), p. 90n.

...........St. Donat's to Lord St. John of Bletisoe regarding the ownership of the 'port' of Aberthaw is very significant:

'I and my ancestors, ever since the conquest of the com of Glamorgan lords of the manor of East Orchard, have bine the only lordes and possessioners of the whole haven of Aberthaw; and duringe the same tyme had the government and appointing of all passinge boates usinge the same haven, the grauntinge of all cockettes, and all other money for kyllage, shippe mony, and all customes, comodityes, and royaltyes whatsoever, rysinge, growinge, or happeninge in all places wthin the p'sincte of the same haven, as proper and only belonginge to mee and my sayd ancestors, lords of the same manor, wthout clayme or contradiction of any p'son or p'sones'. 1

From this it may be inferred, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the port of Aberthaw, which had probably been visited regularly by small trading vessels before the Conquest, had subsequently been considered a valuable source of income which accrued from the imposition of customs duties and other port charges; otherwise, apart from military reasons the continuous control of the haven by the Stradlngs would be difficult to explain.

It is fairly certain that there was once a small 'port' at the mouth of the river Col-hugh which forms a confluence with the river Od Nant below Llantwit Major at the head of Cwm Col-hugh. This 'port' probably provided an outlet for small shipments of surplus agricultural goods to be carried coastwise from the Manor of Llantwit Major, once the richest and most flourishing manor in Glamorgan. 2   In or around the year 1542 Leland in describing Col-hugh records that 'hither cummith sumtyme Bootes and Shippletes for socour' but does not refer to any trading activities there. It may have been that the 'port' was already deteriorating, for later in the century, about 1590, an undated letter which had been sent to Sir Edward Stradling on behalf of a number of individuals of that neighbourhood refers to the 'greate griefe' that was daily experienced 'by reason of the decaye and uter ruine of our pere and harbour'. 3  This reference may have been to the port of Colhugh. Indeed, the port must have occupied the attention of Sir E. Stradling at this time for in a letter to Camden in I594 4   he mentions the port at Col-hugh and the many old and trustworthy men he knew who remembered ships loaded with wheat being anchored there. Nearly two centuries later, however, there still...............

• 1 Stradling Correspondence (Ed. J. M. Traherne), London, 1840, p. 122-3.
• 2 Corbett, J.S.: op. cit., p. 90. Cf. Randall, H. J.: On the Study of Welsh Antiquities. No. 1. Glamorgan, in Arch. Camb, Vol. 15, 3rd Series, 1869, p. 192.
• 3 It has been suggested too that the 'piers' at Colhugh may have been constructed by the Stradlings of St. Donat's for the convenience of their embarking and disembarking when they crossed the channel to their estates in Comb Hawey in Somersetshire, but that local farmers were allowed to use them for exporting their corn and other surplus agricultural produce. It may be noted in passing that Joan de Hawey of Comb-Hawey and St. Donat's married Sir Peter Stradling, the first of the name appearing in Glamorgan records. (Clark, G. T.; Genealogies of Glamorgan, p. 434).
• 4 Stradling Correspondence, p. 319.

...........could be seen at the mouth of the Colhugh vestiges of an ancient port chiefly consisting of some piles of oak on the beach called the 'Black men', an outwork of a pier. 1

Further east, at Penarth, 2   was another point on the coast of the Vale that facilitated trading relations with Minehead. Sully, too, was, as Leland described it, 'a praty Havenet or Socour for Shippes'. 3  This 'Havenet' was again referred to at the beginning of the eighteenth century as 'a very good Harbour for trade especially from Swanbury (Swanbridge) to Uphill, Bristol and elsewhere with Cattle, sheep and Hoggs'. 4   Further west (perhaps a little beyond the geographical delimitation of the Vale) at Newton (Nottage) about the year 1542 there was a 'Station or Haven for Shippes', 5   and three hundred years later there was still a port 'whence ships of small burthen carry on a coasting trade with Bristol and other parts of England'. 6   It was only after the developments which later led to Porthcawl becoming a harbour for exporting coal from the Llynfi Valley that Newton declined in importance as a centre of coastal trading.

The most important 'port' along the whole coastline between Neath and Cardiff in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was Aberthaw (Aberddawen or Aberddaw) which has long since passed into desuetude. Here indeed was an ancient anchorage with a long maritime history, most of which is as yet unwritten. In 1650 there was at this port 'a concourse of shipping' and it is on record that 'the trading and re-trading of goods' which was carried on here brought 'great yearly benefit' to the National Customs.

The boats which traded from Aberthaw at this time were generally small, of from twenty to thirty tons burthen, and (what should be emphasised) carried passengers 7   as well as goods to Bristol and Minehead. One vessel, the Great Thomas, of Aberthaw, was over one hundred tons burthen, and with others used 'to traffique into Ireland, France and Spain'. The water in the port, however, was too shallow for these large vessels to anchor and therefore upon their return from foreign tradings, had to 'touch at the port of Mynehead and there unloade parte of their burdens and with the rest arrive at Aberthaw where there was great occasion and use for barques and other vessels to fetch home such goods as are often left at Mynehead'. 8    It is recorded, too, that during the time of Charles I (1625-1649).....................

• 1 N.L.W. MS. 13114B, p. 38; Cliffe, C. F.: The Book of South Wales (1854), p. 116. Cf. Leland, op. cit., Vol. IV, p. 545.
• 2 It is said that after the defeat of Rhys ap Tewdwr on Penrhys, the mercenaries who assisted Iestyn ap Gwrgan after 'the Sallary was paid were attended to the Waterside viz, to Penarth . . .' (Merrick, Rice: Morganiae Archaeographia, p. 12).
• 3 Leland, John: The Itinerary, 3rd ed. (1768), Vol. IV, p. 43.
• 4 Lhuyd, Edward: 'Parochialia' in Arch. Camb. (1909-11), pt. III, p. 45.
• 5 Leland, op. cit., Vol. IV, p. 49.
• 6 Rees, Thomas: Beauties of England and Wales, Vol. XVIII, p. 698. See also Swansea Cambrian, 29 May 1824.
• 7 It is interesting to recall that John Wesley occasionally made use of this route when visiting his friend Robert Jones of Fonmon Castle, situated about two miles from Aberthaw. (Vide The Journal of John Wesley, vol. iii, p. 533,195).
• 8 Cardiff Library MS. 2,111 (4/11).

.....................there were two large vessels employed by two merchants of Aberthaw--- 'Spencer of March house, and Merchant Nichols, one of the Nichols of Ham'--- on the West India trade. At that time cargoes were brought up from these 'by lighters to the Booth Cellars or Warehouses and to March House' and it was a very common thing to take £100 of a morning for sugar and other West Indian produce'. 1

In former times many of the inhabitants of the port and neighbourhood of Aberthaw combined seafaring with an agricultural life, and over the years had earned for themselves the reputation of being good seamen 'fit for H.M. service'. In the early seventeenth century over twenty families are said to have 'procured the greatest part of their sustenance and maintenance by means of the open and free trade of the harbour of Aberthaw'. 2

Some degree of shipbuilding, too, was carried on near Aberthaw---at the Booth and March House--- where timber was cheap and plentiful. The building of the ships was mainly in the hands of the local merchants, the most notable of whom were the Hollands, Cottons, Powels and Walters of West Aberthaw, and the Batsleys and the Spencers, 3   one of whom, Thomas Spencer, was reputed to have been a tobacco planter at St. Kitts. 4

Aberthaw may truly be called the 'port of the Vale' and its former activities, when studied in relation to the better known port of Cardiff, certainly justify that appellation. It has been shown elsewhere how the natural features of the Vale of Glamorgan, which favoured early cultural associations, were in Roman and Norman times exploited for political and economic domination. 5   Of these natural features, the proximity of the coastal regions of the Vale to the coast of Somerset was by no means the least important. The fact which Leland observed that 'from Minehead to Aber Thawen in Glamorgan, the nearest Traject there into Wales, a 18 miles' 6   is not without significance, for the trading link between Aberthaw and Minehead had been strongly forged over many years.

One of the earliest references to the existence of a 'port' at Minehead that has yet been found is in 4  Richard II (1380-81), at which time weirage duties were regularly collected from the maintenance of the port and harbour. 7   It is difficult to establish when trading relations between it and Aberthaw first started, but in a petition which was sent to Elizabeth I on her accession to the throne by the inhabitants of Minehead, it was urged that unless financial aid was forthcoming for the repair of the 'Pier', which had fallen into disrepair, serious losses would follow, including 'the decay of an ancient and daily passage from the partys of Glamorgan in Wales to your saide Piere, by mene of which the fairs and markets of your Countie aforesaid have ever been furnished with no small number of cattle, shepe, woole,...................

• 1 N.L.W. MS. 13147A p.439.
• 2 Cardiff Library MS. 2.111 (4/11)
• 3 N.L.W. MS. 13147A p.457
• 4 Cardiff Library MS. 2.111 (4/11)
• 5 Freeman, T.W.: 'Early Settlement of Glamorgan' in Scottish Geog. Mag., January 1936, p. 31; Prothero, R. M.: 'The Bristol Channel Coastlands: early cultural contacts', Scottish Geog. Mag., April 1949 p. 44-53.
• 6 Leland, op. cit., Vol. II, p.102.
• 7 Hancock F.: Minehead: A History of the Parish, Manor and Port (Taunton), 1903, p.231

..............yarne, clothe, butter, stone, coal, oysteres, salmon and other sundrie kindes of fish and flesh to the losses of Your Majesty's Customs there...' 1    In view of its proximity to Minehead it is reasonable to argue that a considerable portion of the Glamorgan trade at this period would pass through Aberthaw from its rich and extensive agricultural hinterland. In this connection it is a noteworthy fact that a table of duties or weirage, 'Beinge alle written oute of a certaine table which did hange in the Common Hall at Mynehead to be seen of all that list' 2 --- contained only one item which related to duties on boats from Wales, namely:

'Keelis of every bote of Aberthar (Aberthaw) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2d

Again, in an account of the 'way dutyes' received in the port of Minehead from 25 December 1646 to 25 March 1647 the following entries appear for Welsh ships:

1647

• Jan. 11th. Ye Gifte of Swanzey, John Progmore ... 1d
• Jan. 14th. Old Thomas of Aberthaw for one Kilderkin of butter and 2 bags of wooll ... ... 5d
• Feb. 5th. Ye Old Thomas of Aberthaw, 4 horses ... ... ... ... ---d

In assessing the importance of Aberthaw as a former maritime centre it is of interest to note the following extract from a list of 'English ships in the reign of James I (1603-I625)'. 3   The ports, to which the ships referred to in this list belonged, numbered about two hundred, and the number of ships' names is about one thousand. The number of ships given as belonging to Glamorgan ports in the period examined is given as:

• Aberthawe 5 Ships
• Barry 2 Ships
• Carleon 1 Ships
• Cardiff 3 Ships
• Neath 1 Ships
• Newport 5 Ships
• Penarth 1 Ships

Although this information may not be altogether reliable, it does at least point to the fact that the port of Aberthaw enjoyed a recognised status.

§3

What was the legal or official status of the 'port' of Aberthaw? A Commission which was set up in 1685 to define 'the Extents, Bounds and Limits of the Port of Cardiff ' did  'declare and Appoint Chepstow, Penarth, Newport, Barry, Sully......................

• 1 Hancock, F. op. cit., p.242
• 2 Hancock, F. op. cit., p.252-3
• 3 Marsden, R. G.: 'English ships in the reign of James I (1603-I 625)' in Trans. Royal Hist. Soc., New Series, Vol. 19, p. 336.

...................and Aberthaw to be within the sd head port of Cardiff '. 1   Aberthaw thus became one of the sub-ports, or member ports, of Cardiff; but the meaning of these terms is somewhat ambiguous, more especially when the terms 'creek' and 'sub-ports' were sometimes used almost synonymously.

It should be borne in mind that from about 1275 onwards the word 'port' became more and more removed from its early meaning of haven, and in time came to signify a defined length of coastline which came under the supervision of a particular port, usually the most important at the time within the delimited region. By the time of Charles II (1660-1685), the distinction between ports, members and creeks was a sharp one with a system of graded dependence from the chief port down through the members to the creeks. 2   But the division into 'head-ports', 'member-ports' and 'creeks' was, in the last analysis, a purely administrative measure, and had reference to the status of the principal officers --- Customer (or Collector), Controller and Searcher. One authority on the subject has put it thus:

'The Member is distinguished by a subordination to and dependence upon the Head-Port, in respect to the Three patent Officers.., but except in this subjection it is wholly independent of and in no way different from the 'Head Port'. 3   That is to say, although Aberthaw was a sub-port (or creek) and came officially under the administrative supervision of the principal Customs Officers at the Head port of Cardiff, in all other respects it was absolutely independent of it; indeed at times its trade may have been greater than that of Cardiff.

An indication of the once limited resources of Cardiff as a Head Port is to be found in the following extract from a report submitted by the Glamorgan justices when, in 1626, the Council of State had ordered them to provide a vessel of thirty tons burthen:

'Some of us went to the Chief Porte of Cardiff. Others of us sent special persons of truste to the severall Harbours and creeks w'thin this Countie, And we doe assure yo'r Lo'pps upon o'r credits... that there is not at this time ... w'thin the saide Port of Cardiff, nor w'thin any of the creeks thereto belonging... any Barke or Vessell of the burthen of xxx tuns or upwards, fit for his Ma't's said service, but only fewe passing boats of xx or xxiiij tuns for carriage of Catell and sheep and for trading into England, not fit for the seas..' 4

It has been indicated that the distinction between the head port of Cardiff and its 'creek', Aberthaw, was not always clear, especially as the latter during one period of its history carried on some degree of foreign trade, a distinction which was later reserved for the head-port and member-port.

• 1 Cardiff Records, Vol II, p. 376; Chappell, Edgar L.: History of the Port of Cardiff (1939), p. 27.
• 2 Gras, N. S. B.: Early English Customs System (1918), p.105.
• 3 Hoon, E. E.: The Organisation of the English Customs System 1696-1786 (1938), p. 167; Jarvis, Rupert C.:'The Head Port of Chester: and Liverpool its Creek and Member' in Trans. Hist. Soc. Lancs. & Cheshire, Vol 102, 1951, p. 77, quoting the Commission Appointed to Examine State and Take the Public Accounts of the United Kingdom (1787); Fifteenth Report, p. 176.
• 4 Quoted by Jones, W. H.: History of the Port of Swansea (1922) p. 272.

However, the administrative authority which the Customs Officer at Cardiff once exercised over the creek of Aberthaw is mirrored in a letter dated the 26th April, 1793, sent by Mr. P. Price of Cardiff to Mr. George Morgan, 'Officer of the Customs' at Aberthaw, reminding him that:

'I sent to you last week for the Corn Acct. for the week ended the 13 of this month---but I find you have not regarded it.
I therefore once more desire you wd send it me as soon as possible and also for (the) week ended the 20 inst. and to be punctual in sending them in weekly. You'll also send in the culm entries as soon as possible'. 1

The nature of the customs administration at Aberthaw is not clear. If for official purposes it was designated a creek, then by the time of Charles II the old Crown officers of customer, controller and searcher 'were obliged to make provision for the transaction of their business either, by themselves or their deputies when ever any member, creek, or place should be appointed by virtue of Exchequer commission' 2   but normally, as the creeks were confined to coastal business, only deputies of the customer and controller were stationed there.

Towards the end of the sixteenth century there appears to have been an officer stationed at Aberthaw who styled himself a customer. 3   He was probably only a deputy customer. In 1693 a certain David Lucas, described as a deputy customer, was sworn to be true, etc., 'att Aberthaw. A Creeke of the Port of Cardiffe'.' The officer whose signature or initials appear most frequently in the Aberthaw trade records which the writer has recently examined is William Roberts of St. Athan, but he was neither a deputy customer nor a deputy controller. One set of manuscripts found in the Iolo  A. Williams collection is bound in a piece of parchment which, although its edges have been cut, can still be identified as the official document certifying the appointment of the said William Roberts to be Meter, Weigher and Measurer in the port of Aberthaw.

There was also another customs officer at Aberthaw whose designation was that of a tide-waiter, an office which, in 1781, carried with it an annual income of about £30. The illustrious Iolo Morganwg was at one time interested in one of these posts, as the following extract from a letter written in Iolo's own hand shows. The letter, dated 28 February 1781, is addressed to the Reverend Gervase Powell and reads:

'Dear Sir,

I have presumed to trouble you with this address and humbly hope you will pardon me for it. Mr. Bassett, the Custom-house Officer or tide waiter at the Port of Aberthaw lies ill of a putrid fever and deem'd by his physicians past all hopes of recovery. This place is worth about thirty pounds per annum;............

• 1 N.L.W. MS. in Iolo A. Williams Collection.
• 2 Hoon E. E.: op. cit., p.12
• 3 lnfra, p. 197.
• 4 Cardiff Records, Vol II, p. 372.

...................could I hope to obtain it, neither my few wants, or humble wishes would require or aspire to more---- May I beg the favour of your interfering for me for this place, with Mr. Edwin or any other...' 1     (a similar letter was sent to Sir H. Mackworth.)

Fate, however, had decreed otherwise. Iolo was not destined to fill this 'place' for apparently 'Mr. Bassett' did not succumb to the 'putrid-fever' to which he fell victim, and it was not until six years later that 'It was thought absolutely necessary on the Death of Charles Bassett to put a Person at Aberthaw immediately; for if that place had been left open it would have been fill'd with Smugglers'. 2

§4

A word must now be said about the official customs records as embodied in the so-called Port Books in order to bring into clearer relief the significance of the National Library of Wales records which form the main subject of these notes.

In 1565 the English customs administration was drastically overhauled, and one immediate result was that the Exchequer issued annually to all ports blank parchment-books which were uniform in their size and appearance and which became known later as the Port Books. 3  The reorganisation of the English customs administration probably gave rise to the Welsh Port Books which were delivered to the Head ports of Wales as in England. For example, the head port of Cardiff received three separate series of books namely, for Chepstow, Cardiff, Swansea and Neath. 4   It should be remembered that it was only in these books that the customs officials were allowed to make their entries for the purposes of the Exchequer. There was, apparently, no official customs book for the 'creeks' of Aberthaw, Sully, Barry and Newton. It is on that account that the trade returns for those 'creeks' are to be found either in the Cardiff Port Books series or the Swansea and Neath Port Book series. When examining the Welsh Port Books at the Public Record Office the writer found that up to about the year 1660, the trade returns for Aberthaw are to be found in the Cardiff Port Books, and thereafter they appear generally in the Swansea and Neath Port Book series.

The question that arises here is how were the returns for the Welsh creeks kept, and by what means were they entered in the appropriate Port Books?

It appears from the terms of the instructions issued to the officers concerned that it was expected they should make their entries in the parchment-books direct from the 'cockets' and similar documents. The term 'cocket' or 'coquet' comes from the phrase quo quietus est, which meant 'by which he is quit' or 'by which it is cleared', or 'by which he is discharged'. This was the verbal formula adopted by the medieval customs to 'write off ' or discharge any particular items. In time.................

• 1 N.L.W. Ms. Iolo A. Williams Collection.
• 2 Cardiff Records, Vol. II, p. 388.
• 3 Friis, Astrid: Alderman Cockyne's Project and the Cloth Trade. (Copenhagen, 1927), p. 440.
• 4 Lewis, E. A.: Welsh Port Books, p. ix.

................. quo quietus est was contracted to quo qu 'et and became further corrupted to 'coquet', a word which came to denote the instrument upon which the certificate of clearance was given. 1  So that in practice the 'cocket' (or 'coquet') was the small parchment receipt for the payment of export duties 'so called because it was sealed with the cocket seal'. 2   The parchment receipts were affixed to the certificates stating that the goods had been landed at the designated port, which upon presentation released the bonds. The official expectation was that the merchant's declaration as to the goods he intended to send coastwise would be made on a form of 'entry' and that this would be independently checked by the officer who would issue the cocket or clearance. The 'port books' would then be made up from these primary documents. But in practice there were probably many deviations from the official instructions or expectation, and it may be concluded, therefore, that the documents which have come to light relating to the outbound shipments from Aberthaw are the notes or daily ledgers which were kept by local customs officials and which were intended finally for inclusion in the Port Books 3   of either Cardiff or Swansea and Neath.

The meaning given to the term 'cockett' at the turn of the sixteenth century may be deduced from the following extract from a letter written to Sir Edward Stradling by the 'customer' at Aberthaw, one Na. Morgan, who, upon hearing of an irregular arrival of 'a bote' of salt at Abertbaw, questioned the master and merchant concerned and reported: '. . . I found by their owne confession that ther bote was neyther entered before anye custom[er], ... neyther before anye officer of Yo worshipp... neyther had they any certificatt from anye customer that the custome ther upon due hathe bene paid, neither any cockett from anye officer for the transporting therof '. 4   Most of the goods exported from Aberthaw went by 'coquett', for although such goods were only shipped from port to port it was necessary to prevent such cargoes from being surreptitiously sent to foreign ports. The 'coquett' therefore was essential to the ship's master as proof that his cargo had been 'duly customed'.

There was, however, another class of cargo which required the issue of transires or 'let passes' signifying a kind of safe passage or direction to any customs officer not to stop the carriage 5   or a protection for the coasting trader from being compelled to pay a customs duty by the official at the port of unloading. The commodities affected in this class were those brought from abroad on which a duty had been paid and which were allowed to go from port to port without payment of further duties. 8   The information contained in Appendix A shows that such outgoing cargoes as those of wool went by Cocket ('Coqts') and incoming shipments of salt and corn by 'let pass'.

• 1 The writer wishes to acknowledge here the information given to him on this subject by Mr. R. C. Jarvis, F.S.A., F.R.Hist.S., of the Customs House Library, London.
• 2 Gras, N. S. B., op. cit., p. 144
• 3 First Report of the Royal Commission on Public Records (1912), Vol. I, pt. I, P. 47.
• 4 Stradling Correspondence, p. 324-5.
• 5 Hoon, E. E., op. cit., P. 267.
• 6 Gras, N. S. B., op. cit., p. 145, 707; Willan, T. S., op. cit., P. 2.

§5

What then do we gather from the evidence which has been tabulated below?

First of all it is evident that behind the regular sailings of ships out of and into Aberthaw were different classes of men who together formed an integral part of an organisation which served a rich agricultural and pastoral hinterland. For example, there were the men who built the boats 1    and the men who owned them; there were the masters with their small crews--- often not more than two or three--- who sailed in them. There were also the merchants who bought and collected wool and other goods which they sold for profit in the Bristol markets and elsewhere. Many of the masters at Aberthaw were also merchants and vice-versa. For example, when the Blessing of Aberthaw left for 'Minehead' on 10 January 1694 with nineteen bags of wool, Arthur Spencer was the master and William David the merchant. On 17 January 1694 when the Elizabeth of Aberthaw sailed for Minehead with 'two thousand, wait of tallow etc.' Arthur Spencer was both master and merchant. But when the Elizabeth of Aberthaw sailed for Minehead on 28 February with '19 bags and 1 pocket of wool', Joseph Spencer was the master and Arthur Spencer the merchant. There were numerous instances of a master carrying a cargo for himself on one voyage and for someone else on the next. This is borne out by an analysis of the list [Appendix C] giving the names of the several masters and merchants who participated in the out-bound shipments of goods from Aberthaw between 1693 and 1721. Of the forty-five individuals who participated, twenty-two were masters and merchants, eighteen (including one woman) were merchants only, and five were masters only. This ratio of masters to merchants shows that there was but little concentration of the trade in the hands of individuals. And in passing we must not forget the ordinary people of the Vale whose demands in food, drink and clothing are well reflected in the variety of commodities included in the incoming shipments from Bristol (see Appendix D).

Secondly, the evidence we now have shows that the commercial activities of the eastern part of Glamorgan between 1666 and 1721 were very similar to what they had been in Elizabethan times. This was in sharp contrast to the state of commerce in the rest of Wales at this time. It has been estimated that 'of the total outward sailings from Welsh ports in the year 1688, both on the coasting and foreign sides on a general average about 90 per cent were coalshipments'. 2    If then the 'pre-eminence of Welsh coal' was the 'chief raison d'etre' of Welsh maritime activity in 1688, this was certainly not true of that part of Glamorgan which came under the administration of the head port of Cardiff. The general picture we draw is that of Bristol and other centres in Somerset and Devon continuing to import a large quota of agricultural products from Aberthaw and its neighbouring creeks and in return exporting home manufactured goods and some foreign goods [see Appendices D and E]. Further, the large numbers of bullocks which were shipped.....................

• 1 See Appendix B for a list of ships trading from Aberthaw between 1666 and 1735. It is not suggested, however, that all these ships were built in or near Aberthaw.
• 2 Lewis, E. A.: 'Maritime Trade of Wales in Stuart Times. ..' in Times Trade and Engineering Supplement, 6 December 1924.

....................from Aberthaw to Minehead show clearly that the cattle trade from Wales to England was not carried on entirely by land. Reference has been made by Miss Skeel 1   to the conveyance of cattle from Tenby across to Bridgwater, Watchet and Minehead. It was also noted in the same source that 'in 1670 a considerable number of bullocks (over 206) were shipped during January---June from Aberthawe to Minehead'. In fact over four hundred and fifty bullocks were shipped from Aberthaw to Minehead during the period Michaelmas 1669 to Michaelmas 1670. 2 Moreover, these circumstances show clearly that Aberthaw was not the centre of an independent area but that it formed the nucleus of a district which was linked up with Bristol and the West of England, which areas in turn were linked up with other districts, domestic and foreign. 3   It has been stated that during the early years of the eighteenth century 'for most of the people of S. Wales, the economic life of the area moved around two pivots, the local fairs and markets.., and the great September fair at Bristol'. And although it is true that 'by these fairs and markets South Wales was bound to the economic life of the remainder of the country, 4   the coastal traffic with Bristol, 'the metropolis of the West', 5  was no less effective in bringing South Wales into gear with contemporary national economic developments, and it probably exerted an important influence in determining the pattern of local economy especially in an agricultural and pastoral region like the Vale of Glamorgan. It can be shown that at a later period the development of the 'works' exerted a similar moulding influence on the economic life of the Vale. But while it continued, the ramifications of the coastal trade of Glamorgan went far beyond the small ports or creeks and its influences on native culture have yet to be examined.

It may be suggested that in this record of maritime relations with Somersetshire and Bristol can be seen an explanation for the early decline of the native language of the Vale. For it must be remembered that the ships which plied between Aberthaw and Somersetshire carried passengers as well as agricultural produce. In other words, the long-established trading relations between the coastal area of the Vale and Somersetshire were human as well as economic. For instance in describing the state of the Welsh language in 1700 in the parish of Llangrallo; (near Bridgend), situated about six miles from the nearest 'port' of Ogmore and Newton and about eleven miles from Aberthaw, Edward Lhuyd's informant stated 'ye language is p'tly English, p'tly Welsh, our trading being for ye moste parte with Summer and Devonshires wch spoiles our Welsh'. 6   Again in 1798 Richard Warner observed that 'the appearance and language' of the inhabitants around Llantwit...............

• 1 Skeel, Caroline: 'The Cattle trade between Wales and England from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries', Trans. Royal Hist. Soc., Vol. IX, 1926, p. 149.
• 2 Bullocks exported from Aberthaw during the two previous years 1667 and 1669 numbered over 700 and 850 respectively.
• 3 Cf. Willan, T. S.: The English Coasting Trade 1600-1750 (1938), p.192.
• 4 John A. H.: The Industrial Development of South Wales, 1750-1850. (1950), p.10.
• 5 Minchinton, W. E.: 'Bristol-Metropolis of the West in the Eighteenth Century', in Trans. Royal Hist. Soc., Vol. 4, 1954, p. 69-89.
• 6 Lhuyd, Edward, op. cit., p. 14-5.

........................Major did not resemble the Welsh in either point and 'there (was) not a trace of the Celtic tongue amongst them: their dialect approaching nearer to a broad Somersetshire than to any other'. 1

Neither must we lose sight of the unrecorded weekly visits of farmers and others from the Vale to the Bristol markets and the Dunster markets near Minehead; nor the seasonal visits of workers from Somerset and Devon to help with the hay and corn harvests. At one time, for instance, 'hardy miners and fishermen of Cornwall were in the habit of crossing in open boats to reap the grain which ripened earlier on the southern coasts of Glamorgan than in the glens and on the moorsides of their own land, returning in time for their own harvests, carrying back with them a welcome addition to their usual toil'. 2

Finally, the fact that the entries for the shipments of goods from and into Aberthaw for the years 1693-1721 cannot be traced in the appropriate Port Books perhaps serves as a further warning that the 'official' records must be used with extreme caution as they do not always reflect a true picture. A contemporary authority has stated that 'In the absence of strong arguments to the contrary it must be held that, in the late eighteenth century, the Port Books formed very imperfect records; nor have we at present any idea from what distance in the past this state of things existed'. 3   Further research into the trade of East Anglian ports in the late sixteenth century has led another writer to question the worth of his transcripts from Port Books and to suggest that 'if a series of regional surveys of trade in this period was undertaken... perhaps something of the overriding dominance of London will disappear'.' And similarly it may be argued that a further systematic investigation into the commercial records of South Wales ports would possibly reveal new facts that would modify our present views on the relative importance of local fairs and markets, and would help us to view the coastal trade with the West of England ports before 1750 in its true perspective.

MOELWYN I. WILLIAMS.

• 1 Warner, Richard: A Second Walk through Wales, 4th ed., 1801, p. 66-7.
• 2 Journ. Bath and West of England Agric. Soc., Vol. VIII, 1860, p. 47.
• 3 Clark, G. N.: Guide to English Commercial Statistics 1696-1782, (1938), p. 54.
• 4 Williams, N.J.: 'Francis Shaxton and the Elizabethan Port Books' in English Hist. Rev., Vol. 66,1951, p. 389.

Moelwyn I Williams, National Library of Wales journal, Summer, 1956, Vol IX/3 pp334-353

This is Part II of this article, extracted by Gareth Hicks onto the pages of GENUKI with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales.

There follows sections dealing with unusual terms in the Tables; some extracts from Tables; and Appendixes.

• See also Part I
• See also A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan

The first part of this article 1 dealt with the general history of the coasting trade of the Vale of Glamorgan and in it special reference was made to the trade that was formerly carried on between the old port of Aberthaw and the English ports of Minehead and Bristol. The tabulated data given previously accounted for the period extending from 1667 to 1683. This second instalment covers the years from 1693 to 1735, and although there are many serious gaps in the record of trade for that period, it is thought that the information contained in the additional tables is sufficient to indicate the general character of the cross-channel trade between Aberthaw and the opposite English coast during the first half of the eighteenth century.

The various cargoes carried into and out of Aberthaw throughout the period 1667 to 1735 included certain commodities which convey little or no meaning to us today. Similarly certain units of weight and measure are referred to which have long since passed out of common usage. It has been thought desirable, therefore, to give here a few brief explanatory notes on the more unusual and significant terms and items used in the tables appended below and in those given in the first part of this article.

Coop. A tumbril or cart enclosed with boards to carry dung, sand, grains, etc. ( A General Dictionary of Husbandry, Planting and Gardening, Vol. 1). The term also signifies a pen or enclosed space where lambs and poultry, etc., are shut up in order to be fed.

Durois. This is probably the plural form of Duroy (Duroys Durois) which was a coarse woollen fabric formerly manufactured in the West of England ( N.E.D.) which disappeared after the disappearance of the woollen trade (Wright: English Dialect Dict.). It is a noteworthy fact that during his tours in the Fen district, Defoe saw in one of the fairs '... several Booths ...fill'd as full with Serges, Du-roys, Shalloons, ...from ...Bristol and other Parts West ...' (Defoe: A Tour through the Island of Great Britain, 1738, Vol. I, p95).

Fardle. A bundle or little pack ( N.E.D.)--- see Pack.

Helmen-boards. These were probably elm-boards. There was a plentiful supply of timber of all kinds in the Vale of Glamorgan in the seventeenth century and some shipbuilding was carried on along the sea coast between Gileston and Aberthaw. . It is worth remembering, however, that the terms helm was used in the early eighteenth century to denote the 'wheat or rye-straw unbruised by thrashing or otherwise which is usually bound in bundles for thatching'. The thatch was then held together by wooden laths. ( Dictionarium Rusticum, 1726.) Whether the helmen-boards were used in Bristol in connection with shipbuilding or agriculture is not possible to establish.

Kelp or Kilp. Usually these terms are applied to the calcined ashes of seaweed which was a material used in the manufacture of coarse-glass bottles. Normally it required about twenty tons of seaweed to produce one ton of kelp. Large quantities of kelp were exported from the Vale to Bristol from the late seventeenth century. Sully, a few miles east of Aberthaw, once afforded 'sea oare [or seaweed] which is converted into kelp transported to Bristoll for ye use of Glass houses'. (Lhuyd's Parochialia.) It is of interest to note that in the early part of the nineteenth century kelp sent to Bristol from Minehead realised from £7 10s. 0d. to £10 0s. 0d. per ton, and there is no reason to believe that Welsh kelp fetched less.

Kipp. The hide of a young calf, lamb or cattle of small breed, used in the manufacture of leather, chiefly the uppers of shoes. Quantitatively the term meant 'a set or bundle of such hides containing a definite number, sometimes 50'. ( N.E.D.)

1. The National Library of Wales Journal, Vol IX, p188-215.

Lead. The shipment of small quantities of lead-ore from Aberthaw during the seventeenth and early eighteenth century gives weight to the relatively scanty evidence we have of the numerous small lead mining ventures that were undertaken from time to time along the northern outskirts of the Vale of Glamorgan. Until recent years it was possible to see the ruins of several lead works which once flourished in the district between Bridgend and Llantrisant. For instance a valuable lead mine was once worked at Tewgoed situated in the parish of Llangan about fifteen miles north of Aberthaw, and it was said that the lead work on the porch of Llanmaes House was a product of that mine.
Again, in 1664 there had been other small lead mining ventures around Llantrisant in the areas once known as Cae'r Mwyn, Park (which formed part of the present Higher or New Park and which stands about half a mile south of Llantrisant), and Green Close. The Cae'r Mwyn project is said to have employed about eighteen to twenty miners and labourers.

Mane. This term usually refers to the hair hanging down a horse's neck. This hair was used to pad the interior of coaches, etc., which were being built in large numbers in Bristol and elsewhere in the eighteenth century. The term, moreover, is sometimes applied to a person's long hair and in this connection it is interesting to note that, in 1733, 'fourteen pounds of smuggled human hair was seized at Aberthaw'. ( Cardiff Records, Vol. II, p. 381.) Was there then some degree of trading in human hair at this time in the Welsh countryside? In some of the central districts of France there were regular hair-harvests when Paris firms sent agents into those districts in the spring to purchase the beautiful tresses the country maidens had been cultivating for that purpose (Dodd's Curiosities of Industry). In England, Richard Arkwright (1732-1792) is said to have 'attended markets and visited farms in order to buy the hair of country girls. He then treated it with dye of his own and resold it to the wig-makers'. (Mantoux, P.: Industrial History of England, p. 226.) It is not without significance that in the eighteenth century when ladies' head-dresses were very artificial, elaborate and ponderous structures, 'the ladies of the Vale and other parts of Glamorgan often called in the aid of hairdressers from either Bristol or Bath whenever they wished to appear in dignity befitting their station in gatherings such as County Balls'. ( Cardiff Times, 30 June, 1894, p. 1.) However, in the absence of more positive evidence regarding the meaning of the term one mane, what has been suggested above must be treated with caution.

Pack. A 'pack of wool' weighed 17 stone and 2 pounds, or 240 pounds weight. ( Dictionarium Rusticum, 1726.)

Pewter. Is described as a grey alloy of tin and lead or (sometimes) other metals ( N.E.D.), harder than tin, used in the manufacture of mugs and pots ( Chambers' Encyc.). It is not without significance that in the white limestone of Sully, not far from Aberthaw, 'lead ore, calamine, manganese and copper were once discovered in small quantities.' (Bell, James: A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1835, Pt. iv, p. 2777.) It is not clear, however, what a mane of Pewter signified.

Pil-corn. A kind of oat, in which the glumes or husks do not adhere to the grain, but leave it bare; also called pilled oats ( N.E.D.). Corn of an inferior sort grown on a small patch of ground. ( Cardiff Records, Vol. 5, p. 584.)

Pinions. Probably used in this context as meaning 'short refuse wool' (see N.E.D.).

Pocket. A pocket of wool was equivalent to half a sack. A sack of sheep's wool normally weighed 26 stone or 364 pounds. ( Dictionarium Rusticum, 1726.) The form pocked also appears in the original document, but for consistency this has been written below as pocket.

Raw-cloth. Cloth that is unfulled ( N.E.D.).

Rozen. This substance was used extensively in the eighteenth century for cuts in sheep during shearing time. Having regard to the large quantities of wool exported from the Vale, it is reasonable to assume that rozen was used by the farmers there during shearing time. It was also used in the preparation of shoe-makers' wax, and when it is borne in mind that there was once an extensive business in shoe-making in the parishes of Flemingston, Gileston, and St. Athan, the importation of rozen must also be considered in relation to the demands of local craftsmen.

Scothman. The item 'scoth-mans goods' makes sense only if read as Scotch-mans goods. The Scotchman here must have been one of the band of itinerant Scotsmen or pedlar-merchants who were familiar figures in the land until the nineteenth century. These pedlars carried in their packs a wide range of goods which included gloves, pins, combs, hooks, beads, etc. The above isolated entry possibly reveals what might have been a more frequent occurrence of Scotchmen journeying from the Vale to Bristol and back again bringing with them on their return journey a variety of Bristol wares which found their way to the homes of the cottagers of the Glamorgan hills and Vale, and other districts in South Wales.

Cf. 'Yn y man dyma ugain o ddiawliaid fel Scotsmyn a phaciau traws ar eu hyscwyddau, yn eu descyn o flaen yr Orsedd ddiobaith .....' ( Y Bardd Cwsg: Gweledigaeth Uffern, t. 123.)

Screed or Screet. A fragment cut, torn or broken from a main piece . . . of textile material ( N.E.D.).

Sope-ashes (Soap-ashes). In the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth century a common source of alkali for both the soap-making and glass-making industries of Bristol was obtained from plant ashes including kelp. The production of soap required the use of a caustic alkali which the soap makers prepared by boiling the plant-ash or wood-ash with lime. The ash used in this preliminary boiling process was the soap-ash and should not be confused with soapers-ash. The soap-ash reacted with the lime and left a precipitate of calcium carbonate. It was this spent residue that became known as soapers-ash, and was considered an excellent manure for corn and grass. (Powell, Arthur Cecil: 'Glass making in Bristol', in Trans. Bristol and Gloucester Arch. Soc., 1925, p. 211-257.)
It is reasonable to assume that the soap-ash exported from Aberthaw to Bristol was derived as a subsidiary product from the coal or wood-burning involved in the satisfaction of small local requirements. The burning of seaweed for the production of kelp was obviously designed for direct use in the Bristol factories or for manuring the land. However, the fact that ash was shipped from Aberthaw to Bristol is a further indication of how sensitive were the inhabitants of Glamorgan to the economic opportunities afforded them by the numerous manufactories at Bristol at a time when Glamorgan was still preponderantly agricultural.

Strike. A denomination of dry measure (not now officially recognised) usually equivalent to a bushel, but in some districts equal to half a bushel and in others to two or four bushels ( N.E.D.). A measure containing four bushels two of which make a quarter ( Dictionarium Rusticum).

Tallow. Animal fat which was extensively used in the soap making industries of Bristol.

Trenell [Treenail, trenail]. A cylindrical pin of hard wood used in fastening timbers together especially in ship building and other work where the materials are exposed to the action of water. ( N.E.D.)

Weed. Normally one would think of 'weed' in the present text as referring to seaweed. (See under Kelp.) But as the item is entered as a 'parcell of weed', it is more likely that the term signifies some garment or wearing apparel.

This next section of the article is similar to the Table extracted in Part I, and covers p337-351 and the years from 1693 to 1735. Only the entries for the years 1693,1694, & 1721 are extracted here to give a representative view of trading.

THE DETAILS WHICH FOLLOW HAVE BEEN TRANSCRIBED FROM MSS. IN THE IOLA A. WILLIAMS COLLECTION AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES, AND COVER THE YEARS FROM I693 TO 1735

The destinations aremainly Mynehead, the cargoes for Bristoll are those dated;

• 1693-October 29th
• 1694-Jan 23, Mar 23,July 5
• 1721-?, Jan 11, Jan 24, Feb 27, ?, Jul 16/20.

DATE-NAME OF SHIP-MASTER-MERCHANT-CARGO

1693

• June 1-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-Thos. Andrews-William David-9 bags # of wool containing 3461 pds.
• June 17-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-Thos. Andrews-William Hopkins-14 packs # and fardles # of stockins, one fardle of gloves, six caskes of butter
• June 30-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-Wm. David-Arthur Spensar-17 packs one pocket # [of] wo[oll] containing 49[..] pounds
• July 10-Blessing of Aberthaw-Arthur Spensar-[ ? ]-24 packs and pockets of Wooll containing 5976 lbs. ##
• July 27-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-Thos. Andrews-William David-29 bags of wooll containing 8740 lbs.
• Sept. 21-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-Arthur Spensar-William David-23 bags [and] 1pocket of wooll containing 6386 lbs.
• Oct. 12-Blessing of Aberthaw-Arthur Sweet-Arthur Sweet-42 caskes of [butter] [ ? ] packs and fardles of stockins
• Oct. 26-Blessing of Aberthaw-Arthur Sweet-Arthur Sweet-3 packs, 7 fardles of stockins; 1roll flannen; 3 stones of chees[e]; 19 caskes of butter
• Oct. 29-William & Margrett of Aberthaw-Christopher Walter-John Spencer-400 strikes of sope-ashes; # 4 tuns of Kilp; # 17 caskes of butter; 20 pots &tubs of butter; 8 casks of chees[e], 30 strikes of oats; 5 bags of pilcorn
• Nov. 8-Blessing of Aberthaw-George Nurcomb-Wm. David-20 bags of wooll containing 6474 pd
• Nov. 28-Blessing of Aberthaw-Arthur ...- George Nurcomb-[...] 52 pd of wool in 20 bags [...]

1694

• Jan. 10-Blessing of Aberthaw-Arthur Spensar-Wm. David-19 bags of wooll containing 5363 pd.
• Jan. 17-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-Arthur Spensar-Arthur Spensar-2000 wait of tallow; # eleven packs and fardles of stockins; ten firkins of butter; six baggs of oatmeal; two bags of chees[e] ; ten strikes of pilcorn #

#Refer to explanatory notes above,

## The word 'pounds' in the original sometimes appears as 'lbs.' in these pages.

• Jan. 23-William and Margret of Aberthaw-Christopher Walter-John Spensar-300 strikes of wheat; 70 strikes of oats; 50 strikes of pease; 10 caskes of butter, 20 pots and tubs of butter; 1fardle & 2 hampers of Rabett skins; 1,000 of trenells # and barell staves; one Mane of pewter #
• Feb. 28-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-Joseph Spenser-Arthur [Spensar]-19 baggs and one pocket of wooll containing 5704 p[ounds] wait
• Mar. 23-William and Margaret of Aberthaw-John Spenser-Christopher Walter-300 strikes of wheat, 100 strikes of oats and barley; 14 hundred wait of Lead ore; # 3 ton of household stuffe; 3 hundred wait of Iron and Lead waiter; 7 bags of oatmeal; 4 firkins 6 pots and tubs of butter; 1flech of bacon; 1barell of oatmeal
• Apr. 7-True-love of Aberthaw-Edward Rice-Wm. Spenser-550 strikes of wheat; 200 strikes of oats; 3 boxes of household goods
• July 5-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-Arthur Spensar-Michael Wms.-28 bags and one pocket of wooll containing 8723 lbs.
• July 5-Endeavour of Cardiffe-Arthur Mayo-Arthur Mayo-600 strikes of wheat. (Ship't at Aberthaw & Barry)
• July 26-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Christopher Spensar-Evan William-3 packs, seven fardles of stockins; 12 caskes of butter; 2 bags of oatmeal; 113 sheep and lambs
• Sept. 6-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-George Jay-Arthur Spensar-57 bags and pockets of wooll containing 15,229 lbs; 22 sheep
• Sept. 20-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Christopher Spensar-Thomas [Spensar]-150 sheep
• Oct. 3-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Christopher Spensar-Thomas [Spensar]-10 fardles, one pack of stockins; 26 casks of butter; 4 bags of oatmeal; 1parcell of weed #
• Oct. 22-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Christopher Spensar-Lewis Morgan-40 bags of wooll containing 11,482 pd
• Nov. 14-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Thomas Spensar-ChristopherSpensar-11 fardles one pack of stockins; 10casks butter; 2 hundred wait of tallow; 180 sheep; 1bag of chees[e]
• Dec. 5-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Tho. Spensar-ChristopherSpensar-25 bags 2 pockets of wooll containing 8,013 pd., 50sheep
• Dec. 13-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Christopher Spensar-John Lyson-46 sheep

1721

• (?]-Ffonmon of Aberthaw-Arthr.Thomas-A. Lucas-150 Wchr. Bushells oats; 70 bushels barley; 3 dozen raw hides; 10 [calf] skins; [7] potts & Stands butter; 1box [wearing] app'rll
• Jan. 11- Blessing of Aberthaw-John Holland-[ ?]-11 packs stockins; 10 stone cheese; 1 small piece raw cloath, 1 wallet gloves containing ten doz.
• Jan. 24-Fonmon of Aberthaw-[Arthur] Thomas-Arthur Sweet-40 tan'd hides; 40 tan'd calves skins; 30 stands & potts butter; 200 Winchester bushels oats; 1old feather bed; 1chest of drawers
• Jan. 26-Willing Minde of Aberthaw-Robert Holland-Robert Holland-25 firkins butter
• Feb. 15-Blessing of Aberthaw-Robert Holland-Robert Holland-7 packs 3 fardles stockins; 12 firkins butter; 800 hoops; 200 pail staves more; 4 raw hides
• Feb. 27-Beginning of Aberthaw-Richd Rook?-Richd Rook-2 barrells ale; 5 barrells eggs; 1baskett [bottled] ale; 3 old brass & Iron potts; 8 winchester bushells Grubt; 6 empty caskes; 4 bundle & p'clls. returned goods; one cask oysters; 1 raw hide
• Apr. 5-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-John Holland-David Williams-10 packs 3 fardles stokins 10 firkins butter --- woollen cloathe & Durois #
• Apr. 20-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-John Holland-Margret Mathew-3 packs [5 ] ., firkins butter
• Apr. 25-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-John Holland-William David-12 doz. calves skins, 20 raw hides, 2 fardles stokins
• Apr. 26-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-John Holland-Ed Bowen-6 baggs wooll qt. 1,928 lbs.
• May 4-Betty of Aberthaw-John Holland-Margrett Mathew-7 packs 3 fardles stokins
• May 11-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-John Holland-John Holland-3 packs 2 fardles stokins
• May 25-Blessing of Aberthaw-John Holland-John Holland-1 pack stokins; 4 doz. Calves skins, 5 hides 2 kipps
• ?-Fonmon of Aberthaw-Arthur Thomas-Arthur Sweet-600 Win, bushels of oats, 600 bushels ? 24 casks, stands potts butter, 9 bends [ ? ] half bends leather returned, one bag wearing apple one old brass pan
• June 8-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-John Holland-John Holland-3 packs and 1fardle stockins (?)Wallet gloves containing 6 doz.
• July 7-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-John Holland-John Holland-3 packs & fardles stockins, 8 pottsand stands butter
• July 16-Fonmon of Aberthaw-[Arthur] Thomas-Wm. David-20 baggs wooll 6,080 lbs.
• July 20- Fonmon of Aberthaw-Arthur Thomas-Arthur Thomas-16 firkins and stands butter, one pack [?] bends leather one box wearing apprll.
• July 28-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-John Holland-John Ellis-9 baggs wooll qt. 3,095 lb.

Shipments of goods INTOAberthaw.

1721

• [?]-Two Sisters of [Ilf]racombe-Thos Brown-Thos Brown-620 bushells White Salt( Aberthaw from Ilfracombe)
• Jan. 7-[?] of Haverford West-Langdon[---]-900 Winchester bushells Malt ( Aberthaw from Haverfordwest)
• Feb. 27-Sarah & Elizabeth ofHaverfordwest-Henry Gwyn-Henry Gwyn-800 Win[chester] Bushells Malt; 50 dito Wheat; 20 dito pease; 4 barrells Ale; 7 casks herrings; 1bag Rabbitt skins; 4 cowhides; 4 p'clls. returned goods ( Aberthaw from Haverfordwest)
• May 29-Blessing of Ilfracombe-Lawrell-Lawrell-1000 Winchester Bushells Malt, 3 Chaldrons Stone Coal ( Duty pd. Entry made at Cardiff) ( Aberthaw from Ilfracombe)
• June 13-Endeavour of Haverfordwest-John Stokes-John Stokes-800 Winch Bushells Malt; 40o bushells Wh[eat] ; 1barrell Ale ( Aberthaw from Haverfordwest)

APPENDIXES

APPENDIX A; is only partiallyextracted;

An account of all ships inwards and outwards (at Aberthaw)for ye Quarter ending at Lady Day 1735

Date of Exportation-Ships name and place-Matrs name-Tuns(burthen)-No. of men-From whence and whither

• June 26-Gileston of Aberthaw-Arthur Thomas-20-3-Bristoll
• July 4-Mary of Aberthaw-George Robins-10-2-Bristoll
• July 20-Mary of Aberthaw-George Robins-10-2-Minehead
• July 23-Gileston of Aberthaw-Edward Thomas-20-3-Bristoll

APPENDIX B

Names of Ships Trading between Aberthaw and Minehead and Bristol, 1666-1735

APPENDIX C

Masters

Merchants

Masters and Merchants

APPENDIX D

Commodities imported at Aberthaw from Bristol and Minehead, 1666-1735

APPENDIX E

Commodities exported from Aberthaw to Minehead and Bristol, 1666-1735

MOELWYN I. WILLIAMS.

Moelwyn I Williams, National Library of Wales journal, Summer, 1961, Vol XII/1. pp58-81

Extracted onto the pages of GENUKI by Gareth Hicks with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales

This is the second part of this 'Further Contribution' follow up series

• See also Part I of the original article
• See also Part II of the original article
• See also Part I of A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan  
• See also Part III of A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan
• See also Part IV of A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan

The information contained in the following tables represents the official record of the coastal trade between Minehead and the Glamorgan 'ports' of Aberthaw and Newton as shown in the Bridgewater   1  series of port books for various years between 1615 and 1701. 2   It should be noted that the tables are used here merely as a convenient form of presenting the details contained in the port books: they do not represent the pattern of the entries as they appear therein.

It is evident that the port books were made up at different intervals by different customs officers or their clerks. Consequently the transcriber is frequently confronted with a change of hand which is usually accompanied by changes in spelling and other details. Therefore, in transcribing these documents I have not hesitated to reproduce the original entries with their inconsistent spelling and capitalisation. Occasionally, I have made use of additional punctuation marks to make the entries more readable. Moreover, for purposes of simplification, I have represented all numbers by using the equivalent arabic numeral. For example, an entry in the port books similar to 'two thousand weight of Wooll' will appear in the tables as '2,000 weight of wooll', and similarly 'three score sheep' would be written as '60 sheep'.

Some of the entries throw welcome light on the significance of certain contemporary units of weight and measure. The 'stone', for example, is sometimes referred to as containing 16 pounds, 3  and at other times 18 pounds. Other entries merely make 'confusion worse confounded'. For example, it will be observed that the terms 'fardle' and 'pocket' were used quite indiscriminately. Small quantities of wool were usually made up into 'fardles' and 'pockets' but such units often contained the same weight of wool, that is, from 50 lbs to 60 lbs. The larger consignments however, were made up into 'bags' which sometimes contained as much as 800 lbs of wool. The terms 'fardle', 'pocket,' and 'bag' did not represent any standard weight.

It will be noted that shipments of coal from Newton were invariably measured in terms of caldrons (or chalders) of London measure---26 cwt per caldron.

Finally, it should be noted that for some years the port books contain entries relating to shipment of goods into and out of Aberthaw and Newton. Accordingly, the terms Intra and Extra have been inserted at the beginning of the appropriate tables.

MOELWYN I. WILLIAMS.

Aberystwyth. 

Notes;

• 1. See National Library of Wales journal, Vol. XI, No. 4, pp. 332-333.
• 2. There is one exception in the table for the year 1661, which has been compiled from the entries recorded in the Swansea and Neath Port Book, P.R.O, E190/1277/3.
• 3. P.R.O. E190/1088/10. (Entry for 17 Sept. 1635.)
• 4. P.R.O. E190/1090/1 (Entry for 18 April 1662) Note. The definitive clause '18 pounds to the stone' has in most cases been represented by the symbol (...). Cf. entry for 26 June 1662 et seq.

TABLES

Pages 59-81 of the article are all Bridgewater Port Books schedules, too onerous to copy here apart for that for 1615 which is shown for illustration purposes. I have instead compiled single indexes of the names of ships, masters and merchants detailed therein. These indexes also include all the names from the continuation articles from the Bridgewater Port Books series in the NLW journal Summer/Winter, 1962, Vol XII/3-4, as in Parts III & IV linked above.

Details of Shipments of Goods into and out of Aberthaw and Newton, for Various Years from 1615 -1701. Transcribed from the King's Remembrancer Port Books.

Extracts from the Bridgewater Port Books (Customer and Controller) P.R.O. E190/1085/11 et al

1615

Destinations for the table below are all Mynehead.

DATE-NAME OF SHIP-MASTER- MERCHANT-CARGO

• 5 Feb.-Speedwell of Newton (18 tonns)-Edward Bowen from Newton-William Thomas-30 kynderkins of butter and 40  stones of Welsh woolles
• 17 Maye-Harte of Aberthawe-Arthur Spencer from Aberthawe-James Gibbons-30 stones Welshe wooll
• 17 Maye-Harte of Aberthawe-Arthur Spencer from  Aberthawe-Hamlett Borane-30 stones Welshe wooll
• 17 Maye-Speedwell of Newton-Edward Bowen from Newton-Charles Morgan-40 stones Welshe wooles
• 23 Maye-Harte of Aberthawe-Arthur Spenser from Aberthaw-Richard Adams-80 stones Welshe woolles
• 29 Maie-Flower of Porlock (17 tonns)-Thomas Dunny from Newton-Thomas Ryce-20 stones Welshe woolles
• 27 Maye-Elizabeth of Aberthawe-Ryce Hopkyn from Cardiff-Walter Atkins-120 stones of Welsh woolles
• 31 Maye-Speedwell of Newton-Edward Bowen from Newton-Thomas Lewis-100 stones of Welshe woolles
• 12 June-Edward of Aberthawe (18 tons)-Thomas Spencer from Aberthawe-Thomas Tyrrell-60 stones of Welshe wooll, 2 kinderkins of butter
• 13 June-John of Mynehead (12 tons)-Richard Joyner(?)  from Newton-John Petty-60 stones of Welshe woolles
• 22 June-John of Porlock-George [?] from Newton-Thomas Ryce-60 stones of Welshe woolles
• 13 July-Speedwell of Newton-Edward Bowen from Newton-Hopkyn Davy-150 stones of Welshe Wooll
• 28 Aug.-Harte of Aberthawe-Arthur Spencer from Aberthawe- Samuell Williams-100 stones of Welshe Woolles
• 20 Sept.-Speedwell of Newton-Edward Bowen from Newton-Thomas Apievan-40 stones of Welshe woolles
• 27 Sept.-Elizabeth of Aberthawe-Hugh Jones from Aberthawe-[?]-140 stones of Welshe Wooles, 30 kynderkins of butter
• 27 Sept.-John of Porlock-Robert Ffrancis from Newton-Thomas Byre-40 stones of Welshe woolles
• 28 Sept.-Edward of Aberthawe (18 tonns)-Thomas Spencer from Aberthawe-Lewis Mathewe-40 kynderkins of butter
• 28 Sept.-Edward of Aberthawe -Thomas Spencer from Aberthawe-Richard Adames-80 stones of Welshe woolles
• 19 Oct.-Speedwell of Newton- Edward Bowen from Newton-Llewellyn Apievan-120 stones of Welshe woolles and 10 kynderkins of butter
• 16 Nov.-Blessing of Myneheade-Thomas Dunny from Ogmore-Sylvister Bick-100 kinderkins of butter

Ships (Names in schedules)

Masters (Names in schedules)

Merchants (Names in schedules)

The schedules are variously signed by the following people;

• Blake, Geo - Depty Comptroller
• Culliforde, Lawrence - Compt.
• Hillier, James - Deputy Comptroller
• James, Richard - Customer
• Litham, Mich? - D. Compt
• Pulham, Mich.  - D. Comptroller
• Wolstonhome, Thos. - Customs Collector
• Worth, Ande - Custr.

Moelwyn I Williams, National Library of Wales journal, Summer, 1962, Vol XII/3. pp265-287

Extracted onto the pages of GENUKI by Gareth Hicks with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales

This is the third part of this 'Further Contribution' follow up series.

• See also Part I of the original article
• See also Part II of the original article
• See also Part I of   A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan  
• See also Part II of A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan
• See also Part IV of A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan

The tables included in this instalment contain the details of the coastal trade between Minehead and the old Glamorgan 'ports' of Aberthaw and Newton as recorded in the official port books of Bridgewater for various years between 1678 and 1694.

The records of this coastal trade for the years previous to 1678, together with a short explanatory note on the work of transcribing from the original documents have already been published.   A general introduction to this 'Further Contribution ... ' will also be found in a previous issue of this Journal.

MOELWYN I. WILLIAMS.

Aberystwyth.

TABLES

Pages 266-287 of this article are all Bridgewater Port Book schedules, too onerous to copy here apart from a section of that for 1678 which illustrates cargos with Aberthaw as the destination. The personal names are all included in the main indexes, see below.

A list of C17 ships (Aberthaw, Newton, Sully)  can be seen in Appendix B  on Part I of   A FURTHER CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF GLAMORGAN  

There is a separate list of ships taken from the Bridgewater Port Book entries on   Part II of A FURTHER CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF GLAMORGAN together with the main index of names of masters and merchants.

Details of Shipments of Goods into and out of Aberthaw and Newton, for Various Years from 1615 -1701. Transcribed from the King's Remembrancer Port Books.

Extracts from the Bridgewater Port Books (Customer and Controller) P.R.O. E190/1085/11 et al

DATE-NAME OF SHIP-MASTER-MERCHANT-CARGO

Destination port- Aberthaw

1678 (part of)

• May 20-Endeavour of Aberthaw-John Spencer-William Awbrey-20 peeces of Serge, 3 Kerseys, 2 Cottons, 3 peeces of Bayes, two peeces of Lockrams and 500 Ells of Canvas
• June 12-Elizabeth of Aberthaw-Thomas Andrews-John Crockford-6 peeces of Serge 20 peeces of [Cwens ?]3 peeces of Lockrams, 5 peeces of Bayes, 1 peece of Tycking 200 Ells of Vittry Canvas
• June 22-Endeavour of Aberthaw-John Spencer-John Spencer-8 trusses cont. Wollen, Lynen and haberdashery, and 2 peeces of serge
• Sept. 28-Blessing of Aberthaw-Arthur Sweet-William Awbrey-40 peeces of Serges, 12 Broad Clothes, 6 Kerseyes, 6 Cottons

Moelwyn I Williams, National Library of Wales journal, Winter 1962, Vol XII/4. pp353-369

Extracted onto the pages of GENUKI by Gareth Hicks with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales

This is the fourth part of this 'Further Contribution' follow up series.

• See also Part I of the original article
• See also Part II of the original article
• See also Part I of A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan  
• See also Part II of A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan
• See also Part III of A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan

The following tables conclude the present series concerning the coastal trade between Bristol and Minehead, and Aberthaw and Newton, in Glamorgan, during the 17th century. Throughout the same period Cardiff, Neath, and Swansea were also important centres of trade, the records of which will form the subject of another article. Meanwhile, the record of the coastal trade of Cardiff for the year 1666 is provided by way of an Appendix to this instalment.

In the seventeenth century, as in more recent times, the economic prosperity of Cardiff and its neighbourhood depended to a very great extent on the commercial activities of its port. The post-Restoration period saw a marked expansion in the cross-channel trade between Cardiff and the West of England. The official port book P.R.O. E190/1277/7 (see Appendix) reveals the general pattern of that trade.

The preponderance of agricultural commodities in the list of exports serves to emphasise the character of the principal economic activities on which the people of Cardiff and its hinterland were still dependent in the second half of the seventeenth century. In Cardiff itself, however, it is fairly certain that by about 1666 a new pattern of social life was taking shape which, by the end of the century, and more particularly by the beginning of the eighteenth century, was mirrored in the sophisticated habits and customs of many of its inhabitants. That these influences came in the wake of commercial relations with Bristol cannot be denied. Many of the Cardiff mercers' shops were at this period regularly stocked with wares that had been brought home from the 'Bristol faires'. Some Bristol shops were, in turn, partly stocked with felt-hats, stockings, gloves, etc., made by feltmakers, hoziers and glovers from Cardiff and other Welsh centres.

The late Dr. E. A. Lewis 1  has rendered accessible the facts of Cardiff 's maritime activity from 1550 to 1603. More recently Dr. William Rees 2  has transcribed the entries from the Cardiff port-books for the years 1606-1610.

The entries in the Appendix have been transcribed as they appeared in the port book. All numbers, however, are represented by their corresponding arabic numerals. Additional punctuation marks have been inserted in order to simplify the reading of the original entries.

MOELWYN I. WILLIAMS.

Aberystwyth.

Notes;

1.  E. A. Lewis: The Welsh port books (1550-1603). London, 1927. (Being No. XII of the Cymmrodorion Record Society).

2.  William Rees: 'Port-books of the port of Cardiff and its members for the years 1606-10 with introduction...'   S. Wales and Mon. Record Society Publication No. 3, 1954, pp. 69-91.

TABLES

Pages 354-366 of this article are all Bridgewater Port Book schedules, too onerous to copy here, only the one for 1695 is detailed as it illustrates the ships' cargo with Aberthaw as the destination. The personal names in all these tables are included in the main indexes, see links below.

Appendix, p367-9, contains details relating to shipments out of Cardiff for 1666 and is extracted in full below. [names not included in main indexes]

A list of C17 ships (Aberthaw, Newton, Sully)  can be seen in Appendix B  on Part I of   A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan  

There is a separate list of ships taken from the Bridgewater Port Book entries on   Part II of A Further Contribution to the Commercial History of Glamorgan together with the main index of names of masters and merchants.

Extracts from the Bridgewater Port Books (Customer and Controller) P.R.O E190/1095/15

1695

Aberthaw is the destination port in all cases below.

• Feb. 23-Blessing of Aberthaw-Arthur Spencer-Arthur Spencer- 2 dickers tanned leather, 12 hundred and fifty sheep pelts (paid duty inwards out of the Falcon, Nicholas Smith,Mr. from Cork. 20th Xbr. 1694) and 16 bushels of wheat.
• Mar. 8-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Xpher Spencer-Thomas Mathews-5 ps #. woollen cloath
• April 6-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Xpher Spencer -Robt. Blake-6 ps. woollen Cloath, 1 bushell pease and a small fardle [of] sheeps pelts.
• Aprill 19-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Xpher Spencer-Robt. Blake-4 ps- of Kersies.
• May 11- Blessing of Aberthaw-Arthur Sweet-Thomas Mathews-6 ps. woollen cloath
• May 25-Blessing of Aberthaw-Arthur Sweet-Arthur Sweet-5 ps. woollen cloath and 2 dozen raw pelts
• May 31-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-John Spencer-Michaell Williams-2 bundles sheeps pelts and 10 bushells
• May 31-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Xpher Spencer-Xpher Spencer-6 ps. woollen cloath and a dozen pelts
• June 13-John and Catherine of Newton-John Spencer-Michaell Williams-2 bundles sheeps pelts and 10 bushells wheat
• Aug. 26-Prosperous of Minehead-Jo. Williams-Jenkin Morgan-2 fardles Cloath qt. I whole peice and 6 half peices; 2 bundles pelts
• Sept. 7-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Xpher Spencer-Evan Hugh-6 half peices woollen cloath
• Sept. 21-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Xpher Spencer-Richd. Jenkins-6 peices cloath and 25 bushells wheate
• [ ?]-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Xpher Spencer-[---]30 bushells of wheate and three peices Dunsters
• Nov. 11-Four Sisters of Aberthaw-Xpher Spencer-[---]-5 peices Cloath [&] half a peice freez, 1 barrell herrings, 5 doz. pelts.

#pieces

APPENDIX

DETAILS OF THE SHIPMENTS OF GOODS OUT OF THE PORT OF CARDIFF FOR THE YEAR 1666. TRANSCRIBED FROM THE EXCHEQUER KING'S REMEMBRANCER PORT-BOOK-P.R.O. E190/1277/7

1666.

January 2. The Lyon of Cardiff (burd. 20 tts.) Nicholas Kidnor (Mt. & Mct.)# 200 bushells of barley, 200 bushells of oats, 100 bushells of wheat, 50 bushells of beans, five kkins, & five firkins of Butter,-for Bristol.

January 6. The Speedwell of Cardiffe (burd. 24 tts.) John Brewer (Mt. & Mct.) 30 sheep, three baggs of stockins, 240 bushels of oats, 40 bushells of wheat, 10 bushells of beans, 20 bushells of oatmeale, 3 firkins & 2 potts of butter,-for Bristoll.

January 22. The Speedwell of Cardiffe, (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct. 20 kkins & 10 firkins of butter & 20 bushells of wheat-for Bristoll.

January 23. The Speedwell of Cardiffe (...) John Brown Mt. & Mct. 40 kkins of butter, 80 raw hides, 10 dicker of tann'd leather, 60 bushells of oats, 50 bushells of wheat, 10 bushells of oatmeale, one casket two boxes of hatts & haberdashirie, 800 pounds in money, and 10 baggs of stockins-for Bristoll.

January 23. The Lyon of Cardiffe (...) Nichl. Kidnor, Mt. & Mct. 100 kkins & 20 firkins of butter, 120 tann'd hides, seavcn dozen of tannd Calve skins, 30 raw hides, 200 kidskins in the haire, 3 fardles of woollen cloth, 100 bushells of wheat, 2 truncks of apparell, 2 fardles of stockins and one hundred wyt of wooll-for Bristoll.

February 15. Speedwell of Cardiffe, (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct. l00 bushells of oats, 30 bushells of wheat, 20 bushells of oatmeale, six-tonn of lead, 2 baggs of stockins, 35 Casks of butter, one basket of hatts, one hundred wyt of brass-for Bristoll.

February 15. Lyon of Cardiff, Nicholos Kidnor Mt. & Mct. 600 bushells of oats, 100 bushells of Wheat, 2 kkins & 1 firkin of butter and 1 fardle of stockins-for Bristoll.

March 3. The Lyon of Cardiff (...) Nicholas Kidnor, Mt. & Mct. 2 baggs of wooll Cont. 3 hundredwyt, 6 dozen of calveskins in the haire, 1 1/2 ton of lead, 200 bushells of Wheat, 300 bushells of oates, 1 pack of Lynen, woollen & mercery, 2 kkins of butter, 5 sackes of beancs & 10 sheepe-for Bristoll.

March 3. The Speedwell of Cardiff (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct., 200 bushells of wheat, 300 bushells of oats, 10 bushells of oatemeale, 3 firkins of butter, two casketts of hatts, 4 ffletches of Bacon, 2 baggs of stockins, one truncke, 2 boxes of wearinge aparrell-for Bristoll.

March 5. The Mayflower of Cardiff, (burd. 10 tts.) Thomas [Jones] Mt. & Mct. 2 dicker of tann'd leather, 9 packs one fardle of stockins & Incle, one packe of wollen cloth & 9 dozen of hatts-for Bridgwater.

March 26 The Lyon of Cardiffe, (. ..) Nickolas Kidnor Mt. & Mct. 200 bushells of Wheat, 2 tonn of lead, 400 bushells of oates, 2 baggs of wooll Cont. 4 hundredwyt, 2 kkins of butter -for Bristoll.

March 27. The Speedwell of Cardiffe (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct.-l00 bushells of beanes, 200 bushells of oats, 150 bushells of Wheat, 6 tonn of lead, two baskets & 2 boxes of hatts, 3 baggs of stockins, 6 dozen calve-skins in the haire, 2 firkins of butter, I kkin of tallow & three tann'd hides,-for Bristoll.

Aprill 11. The Speedwell of Cardiffe (...) Jn. Brewer Mt. & Mct. 500 bushells of Wheat, 300 bushells of oats & 8 kkins of butter-for Bristol].

# Mt.=Master. Mct,=Merchant,

Aprill 21. The Lyon of Cardiffe (...) Nicholas Kidnor. Mt. & Mct. 300 bushells of oats, 1 1/2 tonn of lead, 4 hundredwyt of Wooll, 2 fardles of raw Calveskins, 200 bushells of Wheat, & two tonns of houshold goods-for Bristoll.

May 8. The Speedwell of Cardiff (...) Jn. Brewer, Mt. & Mct 6 tonns of lead, 200 wyt of Wooll, 20 dozen of Calveskins in the haire, two baggs of Stockins, 300 bushells of oats, 60 bushells of beans, 20 bushells of oatemeale, 2 firkins of butter, one box one basket of hatts, & 1 fardle of Gloves & tannd leather-for Bristoll.

May 20. The Lyon of Cardiff (...) Nickolas Brewer Mt., Nickolas Kidnor Mct., 200 bushells of oats, 5 bushells of Wheat, one thousandwyt of wooll, 18 of calveskins in the haire, one trusse of woollen cloth, halfe a tonn household [goods] 1 fardle of Gloves, 3 hundredwyt of hopps, eight firkins of butter-for Bristoll.

May 26. The Speedwell of Cardiff( ...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct 3 tonn of lead, 80 bushells of Wheat, 60 bushells of oats, 30 bushells of beans, 10 kkins & 8 firkins of butter, one box of hatts, one fardle of Stockins, 2 packs of Calveskins in the haire qt 30 dozen, two hundredwyt of Wooll-for Bristoll.

May 31. The Lyon of Cardiff (...) Nickolas Kidnor Mt., Nickolas Brewer Mct, 4000 pounds in money, 10 kkins & 20 firkins of butter, 6 dozen of calveskins in the haire, 5 hundredwyt of wooll, 20 bushells of beans, 2 boxes and 1 trunke of apparell-for Bristoll.

June 19. Speedwell of Cardiff (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct, 60 kkins & 20 firkins of butter, 3 tonn of lead, 6 packs two pocketts of wooll qt 12 hundredwyt, 40 dozen Calveskins in the haire, 200 pelts, 100 bushells of wheat, 60 bushells of oats, 40 bushells of beans, 2 baggs of stockins, and 10 dozen of hatts-for Bristoll.

June 26. The Lyon of Cardiff (...) Nickolas Kidnor Mt. & Mct, 100 bushells of beans, 12 hundredwyt of Wooll, 500 bushells of beans, 12 hundredwyt of Wooll, 500 hundred bushells of wheat, 1 bagg of stockins, 20 kkins & firkins of butter-for Bristoll.

July 23. The Speedwell of Cardiffe (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct, 3 tonn of lead, 2 tonn of pewter, brass & Ironwares, 7 packes of upholsterie, 140 dozen of Calveskines in the haire, 30 bushells of wheat, 60 bushells of oats, 60 kkins & 40 firkins of butter, ten dicker of tannd leather, 2 basketts of Satinware, 2 fardles of stockins, 2 hundredwyt of hopps, 1 packe, 2 trusses Lynen & Mercerie, 2 trusse of Cutlerie-for Bristoll.

July 23. The Lyon of Cardiff (...) Nickolas Kidnor Mt. & Mct, 100 kkins and firkins of butter, 15 hundredwyt of wooll, 200 bushells of oats, 2 tonn of pewter brasse and Iron wares, 12 dozen Calveskins on the haire, 12 bushells of beans, 2 basketts of hatts, 2 packes of woollen cloth, 500 pounds in money & 1 fardle of gloves-for Bristoll.

August 5. The Mayflower of Cardiffe (...) Thomas Jones Mt. and Arthur Yeemans Mct 180 stones of wooll,1 bagg & 1 fardle of stockins-for Mynhead.

August 18. The Speedwell of Cardiffe (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct 3 tonns of lead, 140 bushells of oats, 20 bushells of wheat, 60 kkins & 20 firkins of butter, 20 bushells of oatmeale one basket one box of hatts-for Bristoll.

August 18. The Lyon of Cardiffe (...) Nickolas Kidnor Mt. & Mct, 80 kkins of butter, 200 bushells of Wheat, 100 bushells of beanes, 200 bushells of oats, 2 trunkes 2 boxes of wearing app'ell, 4 hundredwyt of Wooll-for Bristoll.

September 4. The Speedwell of Cardiffe (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct, 300 bushells of oates, 1 tonn of lead, & 140 kkins of butter, 20 sheepe, 1 h'hd of returnd tobacco & 1 fardle of gloves-for Bristoll.

September 4. The Lyon of Cardiffe (...) Nicholas Kidnor Mt. & Mct, 190 kkins of butter, 200 bushells of oats, 100 bushells of wheat, 200 wyt of wool, I bagg stockins & ten sheepe-for Bristoll.

September 19. Mayflower of Cardiffe (...) Thomas Jones Mt. Arthur Yeemans Mct., 10 baggs of wooll qt. l00 stone-for Mynhead.

September 20. Speedwell of Cardiffe (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct 2 tonn of lead, 2 tonn of pewter, brasse & Iron ware, 60 sheepe, 20 bushells of oats, 20 kkins & firkins of butter, 30 bushells of oatmeale, 4 hundredwyt of wooll, 2 packs raw calveskins, 1 dicker of leather & 1 dicker of drest calveskins-for Bristoll.

September 20. The Lyon of Cardiffe (...) Nicholas Kidnor Mt. & Mct 6 tonn of lead, 6 hundredwyt of wooll, 40 kkins & firkins of butter, 40 bushells of Wheat, 40 bushells of oats, 2 tonn of pewter, brass & Iron wares, & 2 packes of upholsterie-for Bristoll.

September 25. The Mayflower of Cardiffe, (...) Thomas Jones Mt. & Mct 20 sheepe, 9 kkins & six firkins of butter, 40 bushells of Wheat, & 40 bushells of pillcorne-for Bristoll.

October 8. Speedwell of Cardiffe (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct 2 tonn of lead, 30 sheepe, 400 bushells of wheat, 80 bushells of beanes, 60 bushells of oates, 60 kkins & 20 firkins of butter, 20 bushells of oatemeale, 2 truncks 1 hamper, 2 boxes of app'ell, 44 rawhides, 10 dozen calve skins in the haire, & 2 baggs of stockins-for Bristoll.

October 10. The Lyon of Cardiffe (...) Nicholas Kidnor Mt. & Mct 3 tonns pewter brass & Iron wares, 3 packes Lynen & Woollen, 4 tonn lead oare, 5 hundredwyt of Wooll], 240 kkins of butter, l00 bushells of Wheat, 1 tonn Grocerie goods 1 fardle of Buckskins, 1 fardle of gloves-for Bristol.

October 16. The Mayflower of Cardiffe Thomas Jones Mt. & Mct 3 tonn of lead ore, 200 bushells of Wheat, 60 kkinn of butter-for Bristoll.

October 29. The Lyon of Cardiffe (...) Nicholas Kidnor Mt. & Mct 150 Caskes of butter, 300 bushells of Wheat, 200 bushells of oats, 20 bushells of beanes & 30 sheepe-for Bristoll.

October 29. The Speedwell of Cardiffe (...) John Brewer, Mt. & Mct 2 tonn of lead, 300 bushells of Wheat, 60 bushells of oates, l00 bushells of beanes, 140 kkins of butter, 2 dicker of leather, 1 dicker of drest Calveskins, 60 sheepe, 10 bushells of oatemeale, 2 baggs of stockins & 70 pounds in plate & money-for Bristoll.

October 29. The Mayflower of Cardiffe (...) Thomas Jones Mt. & Mct 80 kkins of butter, l00 bushells of Wheat, 60 bushells of oats, 40 bushells of beanes, one bagg of stockins-for Bristol].

November 6. The Mayflower of Cardiffe (...) Thomas Jones Mt. & Mct 6 tonn of lead oare, 20 kkins of butter, £2000 in money, ten bushells of Wheat-for Bristol.

November 20. The Lyon of Cardiffe (...) Nicholas Kidnor Mt. & Mct 12 tonn of lead oare, 15 kkins of butter, 150 bushells of wheat, 2 packs of calveskins & Buckskins, 2 hundredwyt of wooll, l00 bushells of oats,  1/2 tonn household goods & 40 sheepe-for Bristoll.

November 20. The Speedwell of Cardiff (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct l00 bushells of beanes, l00 bushells of oates, 7 tonn lead, £300 in money, 4 dicker of Raw hides, 6 dicker of leather, 30 kkins & firkins of butter, 30 sheepe, 6 dozen of hatts, 60 bushells of Wheat, 20 bushells of oatmeale and oats-for Bristoll.

December 8. The Lyon of Cardiff (...) Nicholas Kidnor Mt. & Mct 2 tonns pewter, brass & Ironwares, 4 hundredwyt of wooll, 4 packs of upholsterie wares, 50 kkins & 50 firkins of butter, 200 bushells of wheat, 200 bushells of oats & 30 raw hides-for Bristoll.

December 11. The Speedwell of Cardiffe (...) John Brewer Mt. & Mct l000 bushells of oats, 40 kkins & firkins of butter, 1 tonn household goods, 40 bushells of oatemeale, 40 bushells of beanes, 6 baggs of stockins, 4 packes & 2 trusses of upholsterie, 4 hundredwyt of old brasse, 3 hundredwyt of wooll, six three [sic] sheepe, one box of hatts, 1 truss of returned mercerie & 200 pounds in Money-for Bristoll.

Will: Poulet Customer (?)

Walter T Morgan, National Library of Wales journal Vol X/1 Summer 1957.

Extracted onto the pages of GENUKI with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales

This is a complete extract of this article [Gareth Hicks 2002]

After the unfortunate march on Newport in November 1839 the Chartist movement in South Wales received a severe set-back from which it never wholly recovered. While there remained much sympathy for the convicted Chartists, Frost, Jones and Williams, there was little disposition to resort to further acts of violence. The movement, however, did not die out at once, though the centre of disaffection shifted from Monmouthshire to the Merthyr district. There the leaders of the local Chartists, Morgan Williams, a weaver, and David John, junior, son of the Unitarian minister of Twyn'r Odyn, himself a prominent Chartist, established in 1840 first a Welsh periodical, Udgorn Cymru, and then a short-lived English organ, The Advocate and Merthyr Free Press, to support Chartist principles. From their press also were published pamphlets to propagate Chartist doctrines. In July 1840 David John represented the Chartists of Merthyr, Aberdare, Newbridge (Pontypridd), and Newport at the Chartist Convention held at Manchester, when the National Charter Association was founded. 1  When the executive of the Association consisting of six members was chosen in June 1841, Morgan Williams was elected, being third in the order of the number of votes cast. It is interesting to note that the largest number of votes by a single branch was cast by Merthyr Tydvil, 200 for each of five candidates. 2   In the General Election of 1841 Williams opposed Sir John Guest, the sitting member for Merthyr, at the hustings, was elected on a show of hands, but did not go to the poll.; 3  He used the opportunity to propagate Chartist ideas and to attack the principles of the Anti-Corn Law League. Williams remained throughout his career a supporter of O'Connor and, though he strongly deprecated the use of violence, he was opposed to those Chartist leaders who sought to combine forces with the Anti-Corn Law manufacturers in Joseph Sturge's Complete Suffrage Movement. The winter of 1841-2 was one of extreme distress in the industrial areas of South Wales and conditions were favourable for the revival of Chartism, which derived its chief motive force from the social discontent among the working classes.

The prevailing disaffection and unrest greatly disturbed the ruling powers, who feared very much another armed rising, as had taken place in 1839. This alarm is expressed in a series of letters in the Tredegar Collection, now on deposit in the National Library of Wales, written to Octavius Morgan, the M.P. for Monmouthshire, who had taken a prominent part in the prosecution of Frost and his associates. He had requested certain people to keep him informed concerning the state or feeling in different districts in South Wales. The majority of these letters, which range from February to September 1842, are from his cousin,........................

• 1. D. Williams: John Frost, p. 334.
• 2. J. West: A History of the Chartist Movement, p. 164.
• 3. Bessborough: Journal of Lady Charlotte Guest, p. 124.

.................. Samuel Homfray, an iron master and coalowner with important interests in Tredegar, but there are also letters from Thomas Jones Phillips, a Newport solicitor, and from Henry Marsh of Blackwood. They provide a narrative of events and

.................. Samuel Homfray, an iron master and coalowner with important interests in Tredegar, but there are also letters from Thomas Jones Phillips, a Newport solicitor, and from Henry Marsh of Blackwood. They provide a narrative of events and a useful commentary on the state of feeling in the main centre of South Wales Chartism, as seen through the eyes of employers of labour.

The correspondence opens with a copy of a letter (40/52) sent by Octavius Morgan to Homfray on 8 February to ask for confirmation of information he had received from Alderman Thompson, the proprietor of the Penydarren iron-works, Merthyr, to the effect that 'the temper and disposition of the workmen in the Hills were beginning to wear rather an alarming character' and that unemployment and distress were general. He had received reports also that a division of the funds of benefit clubs was being made for the purpose of purchasing arms. He wishes to know if such proceedings were taking place 'only at Merthyr & Dowlais, places usually inclined to turbulence', or were more widespread. On 10 February Homfray replies. He reports (40/53) that Chartist meetings were being held at Merthyr, Aberdare, and Newbridge, and that a few met at private houses on his side of the hills. Unemployment was widespread at Rhymney and the neighbouring districts, because trade depression had induced the ironmasters to reduce their make by one fourth. The colliers at Coalbrookvale near Nantyglo were on strike against a reduction of wages, but the strikers at the Cwm Celyn works had returned to work. Over 20 'sale' collieries between 'the ironworks', meaning presumably the Tredegar ironworks, and Newport, which had been given notice for a reduction of 2d. per ton, had struck work, except his own works at Argoed, where the workmen, much to Homfray's surprise, had decided to remain at work. He adds, 'from ... the low wages men edegar ironworks, and Newport, which had been given notice for a reduction of 2d. per ton, had struck work, except his own works at Argoed, where the workmen, much to Homfray's surprise, had decided to remain at work. He adds, 'from ... the low wages men are earning & many not being able to get employ it is not to be wondered at the men being uneasy & dissatisfied & ready to listen to anything that they may tell them would lessen & alleviate their distress'. He confirms the reports that a are earning & many not being able to get employ it is not to be wondered at the men being uneasy & dissatisfied & ready to listen to anything that they may tell them would lessen & alleviate their distress'. He confirms the reports that a few of the benefit clubs were being broken up, but does not think there was much cause for alarm on that score.

In a letter of 6 March (40/54) Homfray reports a Chartist Meeting to be held on the following day between Tredegar and Rhymney, about a mile from Dukes Town. The handbill advertising the meeting had been printed by Morgan Williams and David John, but it was not stated who was to address the gathering. He believes that the object of the meeting was to try the strength of Chartism in the district, but little interest appeared to be taken in the event locally. He also reports 'Scotch Cattle' activities at Cwm Tillery, where the houses of people, who lodged miners working at the Coronation colliery, had been entered into and furniture and clothing destroyed. On this occasion the 'Scotch Cattle' were not disguised, but he comments, 'as usual in these nocturnal visits no person is known'. On 12 March Homfray writes (40/55) gleefully to report that the Chartist Meeting had been a failure, and that not more than 200 people had attended, notwithstanding the fact that the workers were idle on that day, which was the first Monday after pay-day, that the meeting took place near a turnpike road, and that there were several public houses nearby. A neighbouring beer house, to which the organizers had resorted to obtain signatures for the Charter, was almost empty..................

............ when Homfray passed by, from which he concludes that very few signatures had been obtained. He ends his letter by stating that the colliers in the disaffected pits had returned to work, as the masters had agreed to pay the old rate of pay. This strike appears to have been successful. Judging by his remarks in a previous letter (40/53) Homfray in this instance does not appear to have much sympathy with the lockout of his fellow employers. He writes 'I expect that the masters will not attempt such an experiment again'. He is full of praise for his own men, who had remained at work.

On 18 March Octavius Morgan received a letter (40/56) from Thomas Jones Phillips, in answer to a request for information concerning the prevailing disaffection. He states that he has no doubt that arms in great quantities were being purchased and distributed to the workers in the colliery districts of Monmouthshire and the neighbouring county of Glamorgan. The purchase of these arms was financed by contributing clubs through the agency of the Chartist missionary, Black, who was then in the neighbourhood of Merthyr. He maintains that 'if Mr. Black is allowed much longer to pursue his present calling there will not be a collier or miner in our Mineral Districts unprovided with a musket'. Phillips had previously caused Black to be apprehended at Pontypool 1  on an alleged charge of receiving arms and ammunition by the mail coach, but he got off with an extremely light sentence of one month for vagabondage, about which Phillips in this letter comments unfavourably in a reference to Black, 'who was afterwards so leniently treated by our nervous Lord Lieutenant and the magistrates of the Pontypool division'. In this letter, too, Phillips alludes to a debate which had taken place in the House of Commons on the truck system, which he roundly condemns, as did the majority of the better type of employer. But he cannot at the same time resist a sly dig at the Whig and Quaker ironmaster, Summers Harford. 'The worthy member for Lewes', he writes, 'ought to come out during the discussion---he knows a few s, as did the majority of the better type of employer. But he cannot at the same time resist a sly dig at the Whig and Quaker ironmaster, Summers Harford. 'The worthy member for Lewes', he writes, 'ought to come out during the discussion---he knows a few of the secrets of the system, it having long been practised by him & those with whom he is concerned at Sirhowy and Ebbw Vale Iron Works in this County. I wish Mr. Ferrand [the member for Knaresborough, who had charged members of the Corn Law League with operating the truck system] would give him a hint of his being aware of the practices at these works which are loudly complained of & very disgraceful'. On 6 April this same Mr. Ferrand presented a petition   2  signed by one hundred and seventy-six members from a parish in Glamorgan, which by reference to a letter in the Cambrian of 16 April 1842 we find to be Maesteg, complaining of the violation of the Anti-Truck Act, and claiming that there were over nine truck shops in connection with factories within an area of twenty miles of that place.

On 12 April the Chartist Convention met in London to make arrangements for the presentation of another petition to parliament. The Convention consisted of twenty-four delegates, including Morgan Williams, who brought with him a petition signed by thirty-six thousand people from Merthyr, Tredegar, ................

• 1. D. Williams: John Frost, p. 329.
• 2. Hansard. 3rd series. Vol. 61.

..............Aberdare and Pontypridd. 1  In his report to the Convention Morgan Williams stated that, while there was little enthusiasm in Monmouthshire owing to the fiasco of 1839, the cause was more flourishing in Glamorganshire, where he claimed that all were supporters of O'Connor and none were Sturgeites. The Charter was again presented on May 2 and again rejected by 287 votes to 49.

On 24 April Samuel Homfray again writes (40/60) to report on a meeting of the Chartists held between Tredegar and Rhymney on 18 April at the same place as the last, and enclosing a copy of the resolutions passed (40/60a). This time it was attended by over one thousand people. The meeting was orderly and the resolutions were moderate. In view of the declaration of Morgan Williams at the Chartist Convention that all the Merthyr Chartists were supporters of O'Connor, it is indeed surprising that a resolution was passed at this meeting in favour of the formation of a branch of Joseph Sturge's Complete Suffrage Union, having as its object the influencing of electors and M.P.s, and the creation of a live public opinion in favour of the aims of the Movement. ion was passed at this meeting in favour of the formation of a branch of Joseph Sturge's Complete Suffrage Union, having as its object the influencing of electors and M.P.s, and the creation of a live public opinion in favour of the aims of the Movement. Efforts were to be made to secure the return of M.P.s pledged to vote for complete suffrage and to oppose all members who refused to support Sharman Crawford's motion. Crawford was the Radical member for Rochdale and a prominent supporter of the Complete Efforts were to be made to secure the return of M.P.s pledged to vote for complete suffrage and to oppose all members who refused to support Sharman Crawford's motion. Crawford was the Radical member for Rochdale and a prominent supporter of the Complete Suffrage Movement, who introduced a motion on 21 April that the House should discuss in Committee the question of the reform of the representative system. This motion was rejected by 226 votes against 67, though all the Radicals and Free Traders voted in Suffrage Movement, who introduced a motion on 21 April that the House should discuss in Committee the question of the reform of the representative system. This motion was rejected by 226 votes against 67, though all the Radicals and Free Traders voted in favour of it. 2  But the introduction of the motion at this time was the occasion of a quarrel between the Sturgeites and the supporters of O'Connor, who wanted the motion deferred till a later date in view of the impending introduction of the National Charter Petition. The speakers at this meeting were Thomas Davies, a shoemaker of Tredegar, who had played a prominent part in the Chartist Movement in the district before the march on Newport, William Davies, William Miles, John Gould, a Mr. Bailey, and a Mr. Rees, all of Merthyr. In view of the seriousness of the situation, Homfray considers that no more troops should be removed from the district and urges Octavius Morgan to impress this view on Sir James Graham, the Home Secretary. 'This will I trust' he writes 'be the means of keeping all quiet & that all will end in words' (40/61).

On 12 May (40/61) he again writes concerning a Chartist Meeting to be held on that day at the Market Square, Merthyr, for the purpose of petitioning the Queen to dismiss her ministers and to appoint in their place men pledged to make the Charter a Cabinet measure. This meeting was timed to co-incide with the return of Morgan Williams from the Chartist Convention in London. The newspaper report in the Cambrian 3  states that the train arrived in Merthyr at six o'clock in the evening and was met at the station by a vast crowd of people, who gave him a warm welcome. The meeting, at which there were between five thousand and six thousand people present, was presided over by Ellis, a weaver. Williams in his .................

• 1. D. Williams:  John Frost, p. 335.
• 2. M. Hovell: The Chartist Movement, pp. 250, 253.
• 3. Cambrian, 21 May.

......................... address reiterated the assertion he had made in London that the people of Merthyr 'were whole hog Chartist---no Sturgeites', a remark which was greeted with cheers. He then outlined a plan agreed upon by the Convention to hold meetings throughout the country on a day which would be advertised in the Northern Star for the purpose of adopting a petition to the Queen. The Cambrian reports him as saying that 'nothing but force would stop them having an interview with the Queen. He was pledged to the Charter, and, in the case of refusal, he would meet his fellow workmen for the purpose of deliberating on the most efficient mode of obtaining his object'. He at the same time appealed to the people to act in a peaceable and orderly manner. The resolution to adjourn till the appointed day was proposed by David John and seconded by W. Gould.

For a few weeks after this meeting Morgan Williams continued to be active in the cause of Chartism in Glamorganshire. But, owing to the increasing social misery, the workers became more concerned with remedying economic conditions than with the realisation of their political demands. The second National Charter Petition reflects the prevailing mood. Besides the six points of the original charter, it drew attention to the distress of the working people, the inhumanity of the Poor Law, the high taxation, the long hours, and low wages, contrasting the wretched condition of the poor with the huge pensions paid to members of the royal family. 1  Early in July Morgan Williams, the Reverend David John, and William Gould addressed a meeting at Merthyr at which resolutions were passed concerning the widespread distress of the labouring population, when Williams again appealed to the workers to keep within the law. The meeting ended with three cheers for O'Connor and the Charter. 2  At the end of the month Udgorn Cymru ceased publication and nothing more was heard of the Chartist activities of Morgan Williams. Professor David Williams suggests that the poverty of the workers was too great for them to buy the paper any longer. Despite his brave words, Williams, like his leader O'Connor, always shrank from the use of physical force. He ended his days as a highly respected citizen of Merthyr. He died 17 October 1883 at the age of seventy. He had acted as Registrar of Marriages for thirty years before his death and was one of the founders of the Merthyr Library. 3

In the summer of 1842 the trade depression grew steadily worse. Faced with a falling market, employers of labour attempted to lower wages still further and this in turn gave rise to an epidemic of strikes. The strike wave, starting in the coal and iron trades of North Staffordshire in June, soon spread to South Staffordshire, the Midlands, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. On 4 August the weavers at Stalybridge struck against an attempt to lower wages and marched to neighbouring towns to induce the workers to join them. If the workers refused, the plugs were withdrawn from the boilers to stop the machinery. For this reason this, the most serious general strike in the nineteenth century, came to be called the 'plug plot'.

• 1. N. Stewart: The Fight for the Charter, p. 170-1.
• 2. D. Williams: John Frost, p. 336.
• 3. Ymofynnydd, Rhagfyr 1883.

At first the objects of the strikes were purely economic, the workers confining their demands for the restoration of the wage level of 1840. Soon, however, the rank and file of the workers began to link with their industrial grievances the agitation for the Charter. At a mass meeting of strikers at Mottram Moor in Cheshire on 7 August it was resolved not to return to work till the Charter had become the law of the land, and similar resolutions were passed throughout the disaffected areas. The idea of a General Strike to secure the political objects of the Chartists had first been mooted by William Benbow in 1839, in his proposal for the 'sacred month', which now seemed on the point of being realised. On 12 August the Chartist leaders met at Manchester General Strike to secure the political objects of the Chartists had first been mooted by William Benbow in 1839, in his proposal for the 'sacred month', which now seemed on the point of being realised. On 12 August the Chartist leaders met at Manchester to decide what policy they should adopt in face of this new revolutionary situation with which they had suddenly become confronted. The leaders were divided. O'Connor and his adherents were opposed to participating in the strike movement, but the majority agreed to a proposal of M'Douall to support the policy of the trade unions and to urge a continuance of the strike until the Charter had been won. The strikes spread as far afield as Scotland, where the miners of Lanarkshire remained out till the following year. The repercussions of this movement were also felt in South Wales. It is with this new threat to the public peace that the remaining letters in this series are concerned.

On 17 August (40/62) Henry Marsh of Blackwood writes to Octavius Morgan in answer to a request for information concerning the situation in his area. He was able to report that, despite attempts made 'by wretched and blasphemous declaimers from distant

On 17 August (40/62) Henry Marsh of Blackwood writes to Octavius Morgan in answer to a request for information concerning the situation in his area. He was able to report that, despite attempts made 'by wretched and blasphemous declaimers from distant places', the neighbourhood was free from political agitation. He attributes this state of affairs to the fact that the colliers there were comparatively well off, 'My men are receiving upon an average 4s per day of 8 hours & are as contented as that class of men generally are'. At this time there were, of course, no nation-wide agreements for wages and there was considerable variation in the rates of remuneration in the different districts. The rates paid at Blackwood contrast favourably with those paid in Lanarkshire, where the rates of pay had dropped in the last five years from 5s. 6d. a day to 2s. 9d. 1  Marsh believes that the workers in his neighbourhood were concerned only with the maintenance of industrial standards and were completely uninterested in the political aspirations of the Chartists. 'The only combination amongst them is for 1  Marsh believes that the workers in his neighbourhood were concerned only with the maintenance of industrial standards and were completely uninterested in the political aspirations of the Chartists. 'The only combination amongst them is for the purpose of keeping up the price of wages', adding 'they seem now to be aware of the strong arm of the law'. He blames much of the disaffection on the cheap newspapers 'containing everything but morality & honest principles', which are to be found the purpose of keeping up the price of wages', adding 'they seem now to be aware of the strong arm of the law'. He blames much of the disaffection on the cheap newspapers 'containing everything but morality & honest principles', which are to be found in all the beer houses, where they are read out to the people who frequent them for refreshment. He makes the suggestion that these papers should be replaced by others of Conservative principles distributed by a confidential agent at a cheap rate. He urges Morgan to take the matter up with the Secretary of State.

The situation in Monmouthshire throughout the General Strike remained quiescent and all action taken in support of the strikers was confined to the Merthyr area, where for some days the situation gave cause for anxiety, as can be seen from the letters

The situation in Monmouthshire throughout the General Strike remained quiescent and all action taken in support of the strikers was confined to the Merthyr area, where for some days the situation gave cause for anxiety, as can be seen from the letters which Homfray sent to Octavius Morgan during the most critical time..................

• 1.  R. Groves: But we shall rise again, p. 130.

................... of the disturbances. On 18 August Homfray writes (40/63) to say that the situation had changed radically within the last few days. A short while before he had never known the men so quiet, but the disturbances in the North and Staffordshire had had their effect at Merthyr. He had no doubt that there had been communication with the strikers in other areas. He speaks of meetings which had been held the night before, on the same day, and of a meeting to be held on the following day at ordshire had had their effect at Merthyr. He had no doubt that there had been communication with the strikers in other areas. He speaks of meetings which had been held the night before, on the same day, and of a meeting to be held on the following day at Dowlais Pond between Dowlais and Rhymney. He believed that this meeting would be critical, because the workers in the neighbouring valleys would follow the lead of the men of Merthyr. He was glad that the troops in Merthyr had been reinforced by a company of the 11th foot.

The events of 17-20 August can best be followed in the reports which appeared in the press. 1  The strikers proceeded in an orderly and regular manner. A requisition signed by the householders was made to David William James, esq., the Chief Constable   2   of Merthyr, inviting him to preside at a meeting 'to take into consideration the situation of the unemployed workmen in this place and the neighbourhood, and the propriety of addressing Her Majesty to reassemble the Commons in the present alarming state of the country'. The meeting was to take place at Pwllywhyaid on the eastern side of the mountain. The Chief Constable was prepared to preside if the venue was changed to the new market ground. The organizers of the meeting refused to agree to this request, so the meeting took place on Wednesday, 17 August, at the place originally proposed. The meeting was attended by two thousand people, but all the Chartist leaders, who were present on former occasions, were absent. It is significant, too, that none of the well known Chartists in the area signed the requisition to the Chief Constable. The agitation throughout seems to have been concerned solely with the redress of economic grievances.

The meeting was adjourned till six o'clock the following morning and was this time held at the New Market Place. There the chair was taken by David Morgan, a journeyman shoemaker. The attendance at this early hour was four hundred. The meeting again adjourned till two o'clock in the afternoon in a place contiguous to Pen yr Heol Gerrig on the Aberdare Mountain side, which was attended by over eight hundred people. At these meetings it was resolved to demand from the ironmasters the wages of 1840. Crawshay met a deputation on Thursday evening when the men were told that wage increases at the moment were impossible owing to the low price of iron. The colliers and miners of Cyfarthfa and Penydarren ironworks came out on strike in large numbers.

On 21 August Homfray again writes (40/65) to continue his narrative. Several meetings had taken place at Merthyr since he last wrote, but events did not take a serious turn till the day before, Saturday 20 August. On that day a meeting was held in the

On 21 August Homfray again writes (40/65) to continue his narrative. Several meetings had taken place at Merthyr since he last wrote, but events did not take a serious turn till the day before, Saturday 20 August. On that day a meeting was held in the evening between Merthyr and Aberdare, attended by over one thousand people, and there was to be another meeting on the following Monday. Efforts were being made to get the puddlers to refuse to light the furnaces on Sunday ...................

• 1. Cambrian, August 20, 27.
• 2. More usually known as the High Constable.

..................... evening, and so prevent the men from going to work on the following day. In which case, the infection would spread to other places with consequences that could not be foreseen. He had written to the Lord Lieutenant asking for the

..................... evening, and so prevent the men from going to work on the following day. In which case, the infection would spread to other places with consequences that could not be foreseen. He had written to the Lord Lieutenant asking for the dispatch of troops to his area for fear that the strike movement would spread into the Monmouthshire valleys. He considers that 'this is not like a local disturbance, it is too general & systematic to be treated as such'. He had also heard from T. Jones Phillips that one of the Leeds delegates had reached Monmouth on his way to those parts. He adds a postscript to the effect that the magistrates of Merthyr had issued a proclamation prohibiting further meetings. There is also a report in the Cambrian 1  of another meeting held at the Market Square on Saturday, 20 August, when the chairman read out a document, which it was intended to ask Sir John Guest, the sitting member for Merthyr, to lay before the Government, requesting a loan of £5,000,000 for the relief of distress. At this meeting appeals were made to the workmen to refrain from all violence. It is also reported in the same paper that on this same day Crawshay sent his bellman round the town to summon all persons who were disposed 00,000 for the relief of distress. At this meeting appeals were made to the workmen to refrain from all violence. It is also reported in the same paper that on this same day Crawshay sent his bellman round the town to summon all persons who were disposed to return to work to meet him at Llwyncelyn. About twelve hundred attended this meeting, which was addressed by Crawshay and his agents.

When Homfray writes again on 22 August he was able to report that all was quiet in Merthyr. The proclamation of the magistrates had had its desired effect. Large numbers were still out on strike, but they had not succeeded in inducing the puddlers to join them. The strikers had shown no disposition to use force against those who remained at work. Much disappointment was felt, too, at the poor response from the workers in the neighbouring Monmouthshire valleys. In Homfray's own district there was scarcely a man absent from work. He took great comfort from the prompt arrival of soldiers, who had been dispatched there in response to the request he had made to the Lord Lieutenant. Their presence would prevent people from the Merthyr district pouring into the area to intimidate those who remained at work. He adds 'I am in hopes that it will check the ardour of the Chartists'. This is his first reference to Chartism in connection with the disturbances.

On 23 August Homfray, writing to Thomas Jones Phillips (40/69), states that all was quiet both in Merthyr and in his own district. No attempt had been made to hold public meetings, though discussions were taking place in the various Chartist lodges, and threatening letters had been dropped at various works and levels. He did not think, however, that these threats had any effect. On 25 August Homfray in his letter (40/70) to Octavius Morgan was able to report that the strike at Merthyr had come to an end with the return to work of the Cyfarthfa men. He did not anticipate further trouble unless the riots in other parts of the country persisted. He believed that the presence of the soldiery had acted as a salutary restraint. On the same day the Home Secretary, Sir James Graham, wrote (40/67) to Octavius Morgan, expressing great pleasure at the favourable report he had received from him on that day. He expressed the hope that the restoration of ...............

• 1. Cambrian, 27 August.

............. order in the North would preserve the peace in South Wales. But he at the same time counselled vigour and vigilance, 'You have at Merthyr' he writes 'same dangerous men deeply involved in the Chartist Conspiracy, which has given life and

............. order in the North would preserve the peace in South Wales. But he at the same time counselled vigour and vigilance, 'You have at Merthyr' he writes 'same dangerous men deeply involved in the Chartist Conspiracy, which has given life and impulse to this insurrectionary movement'. He concludes by advising the apprehending of all persons found writing or dropping threatening letters. In the minds of Homfray and Sir James Graham Chartism was evidently a generic term for every species of discontent and unrest which threatened the public peace.

In a letter of 29 August (40/71) Homfray reports that all was quiet in the disaffected areas, though he still believed in the necessity for vigilance, commenting that 'when all the mining and manufacturing districts are rioting it is not to be expected that this will remain wholly quiet & will require to be closely watched'. He also gives the news that Crawshay had dismissed from his employ certain prominent Chartists including William Miles (see above, p. 11) and others who had lately come into prominence. Altogether nineteen leaders in the Cyfarthfa works and all who favoured Chartism in the Dowlais works were dismissed. 1  On 31 August Homfray writes his final letter (40/72) to Octavius Morgan to assure him that there was no further cause for anxiety. The extra military detachment sent to Merthyr to reinforce the troops had been withdrawn. He concludes with a reference to Cobden, 'Mr. Cobden had better confine himself to the House of Commons to show off, he can there get protection. I doubt this if he will make two or three more speeches at public meetings, although he thinks himself a great man'. There was a widely held belief among the Tories that the strikes had been fomented by the Anti-Corn Law League in order to exploit the distress of the working classes to force the hand of the Government to repeal the Corn Laws. This is an extremely improbable theory, but indirectly the strikes did help the cause of repeal. When the Corn Laws were repealed in 1846 the Home Secretary advanced as an argument 'the painful and lamentable experiences of 1842'. 2  The correspondence concludes with a letter (40/73) from Henry Marsh, in which he expressed the view that the colliers of Blackwood and district took no interest in the disturbances in Merthyr, though he had been informed that 'there were a 2  The correspondence concludes with a letter (40/73) from Henry Marsh, in which he expressed the view that the colliers of Blackwood and district took no interest in the disturbances in Merthyr, though he had been informed that 'there were a few persons who came here to feel the pulse of the working classes, but, finding no encouragement, they departed'.

The participation of South Wales in the 'plug plot' lasted barely a week. The success of a General Strike presupposes the existence of a highly organized Trades Union Movement, which at this time did not exist. As Mr. G. D. H. Cole has pointed out, strikes on a falling market can only succeed if they become revolutions. 3  There was certainly no disposition among the working class leadership in South Wales at this time to put matters to such hazard.

WALTER T. MORGAN.

• 1. D. Williams: John Frost, p. 336.
• 2. R. Groves: But we shall rise again, p. 140.
• 3. G. D. H. Cole: A Short History of the British Working Class Movement, p. 113.

W J Phillips, National Library of Wales journal. 1965, Winter Volume XIV/2.

Extracted onto the pages of GENUKI with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales

This is a complete extract of this article by Gareth Hicks  (Feb 2003)

It was inevitable that the remarkable Rees family of Gelligron near Pontardawe with their background of religious unorthodoxy, their avid interest in Welsh scholarship and their munificence, should attract Iolo Morganwg into their sphere of acquaintances. An examination of the relationship between the bard and the members of this family will reveal much regarding the character of Iolo himself, and perhaps explain how his contemporaries were misled by his many deceptions and his spurious claims to scholarship.

Josiah Rees was the second son of the Rev. Owen Rees of Clun-pentan near Llandovery and Mary his wife. Owen Rees was ordained minister to a congregation of Protestant Dissenters at Pentre Ty Gwyn on 9 March 1742. Morgan Williams' diary records the baptism of Owen Rees' first son on 22 July 1743, with a note that the child 'troubled with ye gripes' 1  died within a month. The same diarist also records the birth of Josiah Rees on 2 October 1744. In 1756 Owen Rees became a minister to the dissenters meeting at Hen Dy Cwrdd, Aberdare, and his son Josiah received his early education at Solomon Harries' school in Swansea and then proceeded to the Presbyterian College, Carmarthen. In 1767, he was ordained minister of Gelli-onnen, a chapel standing on the bare moorland above Pontardawe and he took up residence at Gelli-gron. During his ministry, 1767-1804, he led his flock at Gellionnen through the stages of Arminianism to Arianism and eventually to Unitarianism. This religious unorthodoxy in itself would ultimately have brought Josiah Rees into contact with Iolo Morganwg, but even before the foundation of the Unitarian Society, we can surmise, that Josiah Rees' literary and antiquarian interests had attracted the attention of Iolo.

It is highly probable that Josiah Rees was acquainted with many manuscript collectors in South Wales, and it is almost certain that he was friendly with Morgan Llywelyn of Neath, the possessor of a vast collection seen by Iolo in 1770. Furthermore, it is more than likely that the 'curious collection' of manuscripts known to the editor of the Cambrian Register 2  and in the possession of Josiah Rees, was in fact Morgan Llywelyn's collection acquired by Josiah Rees on the collector's death in 1777. This affinity of interest would possibly have drawn Iolo and Josiah Rees together, but it is the launching of the first serious attempt at publishing a Welsh magazine 'Trysorfa Gwybodaeth' or 'Eurgrawn Cymraeg' which provides us with real documentary evidence of any contact between them. The first issue of this magazine appeared in 1770, and the part played by Josiah Rees in its publication has until the last few years been a matter of controversy. It is not necessary here......

............ to discuss the attempts to ascribe the editorship of the magazine to Peter Williams, but merely to mention that in the collection of Mr. Iolo Aneurin Williams 3  there is a letter sent by Josiah Rees to Iolo Morganwg thanking him for some 'englynion' to be published in the 'Eurgrawn'. Professor G. J. Williams saw in this ample evidence to support the view that Josiah Rees was the actual editor. 4

Although there is no direct evidence, it may be assumed that Iolo during his early peregrinations would have chosen to call at Gelligron. Towards the beginning of the last century, however, the chapel at Gellionnen became an important centre of Unitarianism in South Wales. In October 1802, it was chosen as the venue for a meeting to discuss proposals for the establishment of an Unitarian Society in South Wales. Josiah Rees was instrumental in calling this meeting, and he urged David Davies of Neath to ensure that Iolo Morganwg would be present. In a letter of invitation to Iolo, Davies indicates that Josiah Rees is not convinced of the wisdom of publishing proposals for the establishment of such a Society.

'He (J.R.) is of the opinion that it is by no means advisable to publish proposals of the establishment of an Unitarian Society. But he will be happy to see you and as many friends of rational religion as can attend the meeting'. 5

Obviously Josiah Rees' doubts and fears were allayed during the course of this meeting, and he, like so many of his contemporaries, succumbed to the arguments of Iolo Morganwg, and Proposals for the establishment of the Society were published containing the names of the Rees family. 6

After Josiah Rees' death in 1804, his son Thomas did, for a brief period, accept the ministry at Gellionnen, and the chapel still retained an important place in the development of Unitarianism in South Wales. In 1805 David Davies again writes to Iolo, whom he regards as being the founder of the Unitarian Society, and appeals to him to attend important meetings at Gelligron and at Gellionnen.

'Next Wednesday and Thursday there is a meeting of ministers to be holden at Gellionnen. It is the sincere wish and entreaty of Mr. Rees as well as myself and all your brethren that you attend on Thursday at least, as the Committee meet at Gelligron on that day. We cannot dispense with your Patronage, we claim it from you as our father.' 7

Although it is clear that Iolo Morganwg and Josiah Rees had a community of interest, the evidence relating to this affinity is on the whole scanty. There is ample evidence, however, that the ties of friendship were retained and strengthened by Josiah Rees' sons. Details of the Rees family are to be secured in the copious album compiled by Richard Rees of Alltycham, 8 and also in the Gellionnen Register at...............

................. the Public Records Office. By his first wife Catherine, Josiah Rees had one daughter, and by his second wife Mary, the daughter of Thomas Jones of Pen-y-glog, Carmarthen, ten children. His sons exhibited in their lives many of the remarkable qualities of their father, but we are primarily concerned with the relationship between three of these, Owen, Thomas and Richard, and Iolo Morganwg.

Owen Rees was born in 1770, and while in his early twenties was apprenticed to William Browne, a bookseller of Bristol. In 1795, 'at the special solicitation of ... Thomas Norton Longman Esq.'   9  he moved to London. Thomas Longman was an eminent bookseller and publisher of Paternoster Row, and intent upon enlarging his business he took in Rees as a partner in 1799. 10  In the same year, they acquired the firm of Joseph Cottle in Bristol, and this is especially interesting because Cottle had in 1798 published the Lyrical Ballads of Coleridge and Wordsworth. At the time this was considered a worthless asset, and the copyright was restored to Cottle, who in turn presented it to Wordsworth. This incident must have brought the partners into contact with the poets, and in 1800, Coleridge submits to the firm proposals for the publication of Wallenstein and Wordsworth entrusts to them the publication of his own Lyrical Ballads'. Southey also came to Paternoster Row and arranged for the partners to publish Thalaba and the Destroyer and other works followed including Madoc. In 1802, the firm assumed part responsibility for the influential Edinburgh Review, and Sir Walter Scott also comes within the compass of the firm's activities. In the 1820 edition of the Lay of the Last Minstrel an account is given of Owen Rees' visit to Scotland to conclude terms for its publication. The partners also paid Thomas Moore £3,000 for the publication rights of Lalla Rookh and also published some works by Byron.

Owen Rees was, therefore, acquainted with many of the most prominent literary figures of the metropolis, and his house became the meeting place for many of these persons. During his stays in London, Iolo Morganwg was another frequent visitor to Paternoster Row. Owen Rees describes his impact upon this circle:

'He frequented a literary meeting which was held in our house on Saturday evenings, and he was the wonder of every one who conversed with him, by the acuteness of his observations; and some literary gentlemen of considerable reputation invited him to their houses, particularly the late elegant minded Mr. George Ellis, Editor of the Specimens of the Old British Poets and Romances, and the friend of Mr. Canning'. 11

Is it too much to conjecture that Iolo became acquainted with Southey, a friend of Owen Rees, at such a meeting, and so earn a mention in the poem 'Madoc'.

The firm of Longman and Rees contributed much to the London Welsh Society of the day, and it was responsible for the publication ....................

.................. of the Myvyrian Archaiology, and William Owen Pughe's Dictionary. The publication of the Myvyrian proved to be a fiasco, and the firm suffered a financial loss as a result. Dr. John Jones attributed the failure thus:

'The avarice of the projector, however, was too great, and the scheme proved abortive for by advertising the work at one guinea per volume, a price too exorbitant to meet with purchasers, the eyes of the trade were opened ... and with the exception of eight or ten copies, the whole of the impression was laid to rot in the warehouses of Longman and Rees.' 12

This failure had a profound effect on the relationship between Iolo and Owain Myfyr, and he now complains bitterly of not having been adequately recompensed for his labours in connection with the Myvyrian. In a fit of pique he also attacks the methods of research used by his fellow labourer William Owen Pughe, and he bitterly opposes Pughe's insistence on including the 'absurd fables of the darker ages which are obviously falsehoods of the darkest hue ... such are the fictions of Geoffrey of Monmouth'. 13 An account of the quarrel is given in a letter written by Thomas Rees to John Britton.

'The Bard and Owen Pughe were at one time very good friends especially in their early alliance with Owen Jones in collecting for publication the Ancient Welsh Manuscripts . . . But - --some disagreement took place during the process of printing and he complains; I know not how justly of not having been remunerated for his services. His disagreement with Owen Pughe - --of whom and Owen Jones, he speaks with respect and gratitude in the preface to his poems was, I apprehend wholly of a literary character . . . They differed first in the selection of the documents which they would print. The scrupulous Bard of Glamorgan objected to give currency and permanence by means of the press to ancient compositions pretending to be historical, which were in fact almost entirely of fictitious narratives and gross and extravagant fables.' 14

In the light of Professor G. J. Williams' researches we are able to see here the complete duplicity of Iolo's character, and the manner in which he managed to deceive his contemporaries and to portray himself as a scholar of integrity. His castigations of Pughe's orthography were also severe, and in this he was completely justified.

'These eminent Welsh Antiquaries and critics disagreed most widely on the subject of philology ... The most approved standard of Welsh orthography since the discovery of the art of printing, is that adopted in an admirable translation of the Scriptures --- Williams evidently wished this standard to be followed as far as was practicable ... but Owen Pughe --- supported apparently by the patron Owen Jones --- had other views. He formed a system of orthography, but also introduced a great change in the alphabet itself ... These changes greatly displeased Williams.'

Typical of Iolo's polemical outbursts against Pughe, is the following in a letter to Dr. Thomas Rees.

'In his Dictionary and Grammar, he has introduced into a most horrid cacophony of pronunciation, a most barbarous orthography.' 15

The quarrel with Owain Myfyr and Pughe, and the subsequent loss of Myfyr's patronage, added to the penury of Iolo's existence. His mendicity now draws him nearer to the Rees family, and they prove to be generous benefactors. On a number of occasions Iolo had been assisted by the Literary Fund established by David Williams, but in his own inimitable fashion he had succeeded in arousing the ire of the committee administering this fund. Iolo had apparently informed Thomas Longman of his financial straits, and the letter was passed on to Owen Rees. In an effort to placate the members of the committee, Rees wrote to John Britton seeking his assistance.

'Poor Edward Williams, the Welsh Bard, has inclosed this under cover to Mr. Longman. If you can be the means of procuring him any money it will be of real service to him. I believe he formerly gave offence to some of the gentlemen of the Committee, but I am sure they will forget this to do the poor man an act of charity.' 16

The Rees brothers had themselves subscribed generously towards the bard's financial wellbeing. In an effort to offset the effects of the Myvyrian fiasco, Richard Rees had persuaded a number of prominent people including Owen Rees, Thomas Longman and Benjamin Malkin to contribute an annual sum in order to assist Iolo. William Owen Pughe refers to this plan in a letter written to Iolo.

'Mr. Richard Rees told me of the agreeable news of a plan concerted by your friends of which Mr. Malkin was to be the ostensible agent in London; and which before now that they have been able to accomplish; and which will render the old quarrel between Myvyr and you of less consequence.' 17

After some years, however, this scheme fell into abeyance, and Owen Rees writing to J. Britton states:

'Mr. Longman, Dr. Malkin, myself and a few others used to subscribe a guinea a year each of us in aid of his support, but for what reason I know not, this money has not been collected of late.' 18

Owen Rees was also anxious to reconcile the bard with Owen Myfyr, and in a letter to Iolo he states:

'I prevailed upon Mr. Owen Jones to allow me to send you a copy of the third volume of the Archaiology free from any charge.' 19

He adds,

'I am happy to find you are pursuing your literary associations, and I shall be happy to see any portions or wholes you can favour me with ... You may freely command me as to any aid it may be in my power to render you with respect to yourself.' 20

In spite of the generosity of the Rees family towards Iolo Morganwg, on a professional level their dealings with the bard were far from happy. Spurred on by the success of his brother Owen, Richard Rees had come.....................

.................. to London in 1796 and also embarked upon a career in publishing. In 1808, he set up in partnership as a publisher in Plymouth, and the following year he wrote to Iolo Morganwg seeking his cooperation in a grandiose venture for the publication of a 'History of Wales'. In a letter to Iolo he states:

'I have a Wish to publish a History of Wales ---and as I know that you are a living Chronicler of the principality, I am very anxious that you should undertake it and devote the whole or the greatest part of your time to it. From the huge Mass of Papers that you must have by you, I conceive that with the assistance of a person to transcribe for you, which office your son might perform better than anybody else---you might finish it in twelve months.' 21

Rees was prepared to supply all the necessary books of reference such as Hoare's Giraldus, Pennant's works, Speed's maps, and would in addition procure all the engravings. Bearing in mind Iolo's bitter complaints against Owain Myfyr, he deals in detail with the matter of payment for the work. Iolo is asked to fix a price for all his manuscripts, and in addition the publishers promise to pay a certain sum monthly during the course of the work, and the remainder to be paid at its completion. The work was to be published under the patronage of the Prince of Wales and Sir W. W. Wynne, and it is stressed that the author would also have an interest in the publication. Indeed, Richard Rees is so certain that Iolo Morganwg will accept such a remunerative offer as this, that he even sends him a draft copy of the prospectus.

The History of Wales, by Edward Williams B.B.D.

In which (or will be) incorporated the History of the Ancient British Bards - being the result of forty years laborious investigation and study during which the author has consulted upwards of Five Hundred original manuscripts in the Welsh Language --- and has had recourse to all the authentic records relative to Wales that are known to be in existence ---and availed himself of the friendly assistance of the most able Welsh Antiquarians among whom he is proud to mention the name of William Owen Pughe, a gentleman whose knowledge of the Welsh Antiquities (to say nothing of his other qualifications) is not surpassed, if equalled, by any of this kingdom.
The author is a native of Wales and has resided the greater part of his life in the principality. There is no object worthy of the notice of the antiquarian, which he has not repeatedly surveyed and studied, and he trusts that this local knowledge of the Country is such as to enable him to throw a light over the transactions of former ages (and anything else that Mr. Williams can think of).
The work will form three very large Volumes in quarto --- price to subscribers £-  and to non subscribers £-   and will be embellished with engravings of many various remains of Antiquity, never before published and a new Map of the Principality. Also portraits of eminent individuals and armorial bearings of the principal families.' 22

Such is Rees' enthusiasm for the work, that he offers to pay Iolo's fare by ship to Ilfracombe, and thence by coach to Plymouth. His pre-suppositions were, however, misconceived, for although the original ........................

 .......................... offer was made on 22 August 1809, he is forced to write the following note on the 6th of November in the same year.

'Such a long period has now elapsed since I wrote to you, that I have given up all hopes of hearing from you in answer to my letter. I am totally at a loss to account for my not hearing, unless there was any part that could have given you offence.' 23

Richard Rees had sadly underestimated the extent of the 'bard's' animosity towards Pughe, and also his extreme reluctance to cooperate with any other researchers. It was typical of his nature that he was prepared to show discourtesy to one who had previously assisted him, and to forgo financial gain in order to satisfy and prolong a fit of pique. In a letter, written to Dr. Thomas Rees, he gives his reasons for failing to comply with Richard Rees' request:

'He (R.R.) wrote to me some years ago, wishing to engage me to assist in preparing a complete History of Wales in which he intended that William Owen should have a hand. I am determined never to write in conjunction with any man whatever, and least of all with Wm. Owen, who has (with his hobbyhorsisms), absolutely ruined everything he ever took in hand ... It was the proposal that he should be engaged in the intended History of Wales that made me decline having anything to do with it and to withold my MSS.' 24

The late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century witnessed a prolific outpouring of travel and tourist books. In 1801, Edward Brayley and John Britton formed a partnership and commenced publication of a series entitled The Beauties of England and Wales, or original delineations, topographical, historical and descriptive of each county. Thomas Rees, after a brief period in his father's stead at Gellionnen, followed his brothers to London, and in 1807 he became minister at Newington Green Chapel. He became avidly interested in antiquarian pursuits, and his work earned for him a number of honours, including a fellowship of the Society of Arts and the degree of Ll.D., Glasgow. It is not surprising, therefore, that he was asked to undertake the authorship of the Beauties of South Wales after the death of the Rev. John Evans. Undeterred by his brother's experience a few years earlier, he decided to seek the assistance of Iolo Morganwg, and on 3 October 1813, Taliesin writes to his father 'requesting assistance for Mr. Thos. Rees' work relating to Wales.' 25

A meeting was arranged between lolo and Thomas Rees at the Bear Inn in Cowbridge. After a 'good dinner' the project was discussed, and after Rees had been assured of the 'bard's' full cooperation, each set off to complete his allotted task. Unfortunately, however, the vacillating nature of Iolo's promises was again to become evident, and he failed to provide any worthwhile information. According to Dr. Thomas Rees.

'He had great stores of information relating to the entire subject, but the difficulty I found was to get him into a practical mood to put the information into an available state.' 26

In all fairness to Iolo it must be said, however, that the inordinate haste with which Thomas Rees wished to complete the book in order to meet the demands of the publishers did create a real difficulty. Having had the collection of Theophilus Jones at his disposal for Breconshire, he had anticipated that Iolo could just as easily provide him with material for Glamorganshire. In his reference to Theophilus Jones' work the bard is vitriolic in the extreme, and the following extracts are typical of his polemical outbursts.

... it is a mere mixen of low buffoonery ... low irony, vulgar witticisms, coxcombical sarcasms, and ignorance.' 27

and again

' ... so much ignorance, self conceit and buffoonery never before met together in any attempt at writing history.' 28

In the subsequent correspondence between Iolo Morganwg and Dr. Thomas Rees, the bard appears as a scrupulous and discerning researcher intent on preserving historical accuracy and unwilling to reveal part knowledge. He frequently appeals to Rees to delay the publication of his book in order that he may provide him with authentic information, and he constantly emphasises the magnitude of the work involved in examining the Welsh manuscripts. In a letter to the Rev. D. Davies of Neath, he states:

'Let me know whether Mr. Rees can defer Glamorgan for a while; he may in the meantime go on with Radnorshire ... Camden evinced laborious research and ingenuity in his Brittania, so has Chalmers in his Caledonia, but I fear we shall not in this age, if ever, see such labour, learning, research and general abilities united in a Cambria.' 29

Unable to wait for Iolo's contributions, and under extreme pressure from his publishers, Thomas Rees completed his volume on The Beauties of South Wales and submitted it for publication in 1815. Rees had, apparently, complained of Iolo's failure to furnish him with any information in a letter to David Davies of Neath. This letter was shown to the bard who naturally took umbrage, and penned a long letter to Thomas Rees in reply. In his own defence he states:

'I really intended to furnish you with everything that lay in my power, and for that purpose have been turning over my MSS collections making references to MS and page for the purpose of enabling me with the greatest possible facility to bring relevant passages together of comparing and properly arranging them for you.' 30

He emphasises the fact that these manuscripts are in a state of great confusion, and that the task of arranging them will be an immense one. Criticism is levelled at those who believe that it is an easy matter to extract pertinent historical data at will, and he condemns the authors................

....................of popular tourist books, who, after a brief acquaintance with manuscript material, write what they purport to be the historical truth. Referring to the Beauties he says,

'You certainly never imagined that such accounts or information as you wished to obtain were written in indelible characters on the very face of the County so that you might everywhere have read them as you ran. No Sir, Historical Truth is in its acquisition not to be obtained but with great Labour where nothing has been previously done.'

He attacks the literary pretensions of such writers as Fenton, describing their books as 'husks only fit for feeding a herd of swine' and he exhorts Thomas Rees to refrain from following them and from becoming merely a 'bookseller's hireling'. Once again, Iolo Morganwg seems to emerge as a person dedicated to historical truth and painstaking research, and in all fairness it must be stated that he appears to have undertaken a great deal of work with a view to assisting the author of the Beauties.

'I have been able to collect histories and anecdotes not hitherto known, I have visited remains of antiquity such as Druidical circles, altars (cromlechau), rocking stones etc. I have conceived that such things might have been of some use to you. My idea of your publication 'The Beauties of England and Wales' was that it was to consist of the Beauties (i.e. the most interesting parts) of History, of Topography etc. I know of no other beauties, unless we may make use of such terms as the beauties of imagination, of blind conjecture, of dreaming, in short of mere humbug.'

In another letter to Thomas Rees dated 3 May, 1813, he pursues the same theme,

'I do not include tourists amongst those who have pretended to write Welsh History, it is sufficient for them to give the history of their own travels, and of their own observations and ideas. These things have nothing or very little to do with ancient history.' 31

The failure of Iolo to contribute anything towards the proposed work by Richard Rees and towards Dr. Thomas Rees' book does not appear to have provoked any overt animosity from the Rees family. There appears some subdued criticism in the Beauties, although there is no direct reference to Iolo.

'When I entered upon this work, I felt authorized in calculating upon much aid from various friends in the Principality, whom I knew to well qualified to furnish information, both of a general and local nature, illustrative of the History, Antiquities and Topography of the Country; but my expectations in this respect have in several instances resulted in disappointment.' 32

The brothers seem to have regarded Iolo's inconsistency and vacillation as being unfortunate but inevitable traits in the character of an undoubted genius. Like most of their contemporaries they had implicit faith in his erudition and integrity. While fully aware of his volatile nature and ...................

................... his irascibility, they were so full of admiration for his scholastic prowess, that they regarded these faults as mere peccadilloes. We must not blame them too much for accepting Iolo's theories without question, for in his relations with the Rees family it is evident that his supreme plausibility was an important factor in his genius for deception. In his letters he emerges as a sedulous researcher inveighing against the lackadaisical methods adopted by the historians of his day, and yet a man prone to fits of pique, jealousy and pettiness. An intellectual schizophrenic projecting an image of integrity while indulging in fantasies and purveying these as truth to his gullible contemporaries. Some, of course, doubted the veracity of his work e.g., Edward Davies, author of the Mythology and Rites of the British Druids (1809), but in his letters to the Rees family we see how Iolo Morganwg was able to hoax a society voracious for scholarship.

W. J. PHILLIPS

Aberystwyth              

Notes

• 1. Dyddlyfr Morgan Williams. N.L.W. MS.14916A.
• 2. Cambrian Register 1795, p. 444.
• 3. Iolo Morganwg Letters 407, March ?
• 4. Llen Cymru III, p. 119.
• 5. Iolo Letters 96, 28 August 1802.
• 6. T. O. Williams, Undodiaeth a Rhyddid Meddwl: Llandysul 1962, page 246-247.
• 7. Iolo Letters 104, 26 October, 1805.
• 8. Album of Richard Rees, Alltycham, Pontardawe, N.L.W. 1138D.
• 9. ibid., (also, The House of Longman, Cox and Chandler, London 1925, p. 15).
• 10. ibid.
• 11. Elijah Waring: Recollections and anecdotes of Edward Williams the Bard of Glamorgan, or Iolo Morganwg, London 1850, p. 122.
• 12. 'Owain Myfyr', G. J. Williams, Y Llenor, Vol. I, p. 259.
• 13. Elijah Waring, p. 112, 7 November, 1830.
• 14. N.L.W. 3294E (Miscellaneous Letters).
• 15. Elijah Waring. p. 169.
• 16. N.L.W. 3294E (April 26th ?).
• 17. Iolo Letters 373, 28 July 1806.
• 18. N.L.W. 3294E.
• 19. Iolo Letters 408, 7 October 1809.
• 20. ibid.
• 21. Iolo Letters 411, 22 August 1809.
• 22. ibid.
• 23. ibid., 413.
• 24. Elijah Waring, p. 169-170, 3 May 1813.
• 25. Iolo Letters 645, 3 October 1813.
• 26. N.L.W. 3294E.
• 27. Llanover MSS C. 49, p. 96-97 (13, 136A).
• 28. Iolo Letters, 909, 25 February 1814.
• 29. Elijah Waring p. 164.
• 30. ibid., (28).
• 31. Elijah Waring, p. 171
• 32. The Beauties of England & Wales; South Wales: T. Rees: London 1815, p. 2.

David Lewis Jones, National Library of Wales journal, 1989, Summer. Volume XXVI/1

Extracted onto the pages of GENUKI with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales

This is a complete extract of this article by Bill Griffith-Jones, March 2003

At the time of the Revolution, John Stevens fled from his post as a commissioner of the excise based in Welshpool.  A Roman Catholic, Stevens was a beneficiary of King James II's determination to lift the legal disabilities laid on his fellow Roman Catholics by the Test acts and thus obtain for them employment in the government or the armed forces.  This told against Stevens when the news reached Montgomeryshire that the invasion led by William of Orange had succeeded.  Firm in his loyalty, Stevens joined James in his French exile and served in James's army during the war in Ireland.  After the defeat of the Jacobite army, Stevens turned to literature and published several translations from Spanish as well as a number of works on ecclesiastical history.

Stevens also wrote but did not publish A Journall of my travels since the Revolution containing a briefe account of all the War in Ireland impartially related, &·what I was an EYE WITNESS to &·deliver upon my own knowledge distinguished from what I received from others with an account of all our marches & other memorable passages wherein I bore a part, since first I had the honour of a Commission in his Ma'ties Army in Ireland.  There are added some few remarks and other notable occurrences suitable to the subject.  Three versions of the Journall have been traced.  The fullest version is London, BL Add MS 36296 and was edited for publication in 1912 by Robert H. Murray.  An incomplete version ---this differs only in a number of stylistic points from the complete text ---was quoted by Leopold von Ranke in his History of England, principally in the seventeenth century.  Murray argues that the version used by von Ranke was a later reworking of the text in Add MS 36296.  The third version, London, British Library, Lansdowne MS 828, fols 11-12, is an earlier version of the text but only up to Stevens's departure from Wales and with significant differences from the complete version.

The introductory section of Stevens's Journall is a valuable eyewitness account of the Glorious Revolution in Wales. Stevens shows how in Wales, as elsewhere, the trial of the seven bishops turned many away from their loyalty to James II and he records how Bishop William Lloyd of St Asaph, one of the seven, mustered opposition to the King. Montgomeryshire gentry did not take an active part in the opposition to James until they received news of defections from the royal army which was followed by the news of the King's abandonment of the army and later, on 11 December 1688, of the government.  The time being suitable, the gentry declared themselves, but in a cautious manner, for William of Orange while lesser folk looted the houses of those loyal to James and sought out Roman Catholics.  It was at this point that Stevens left Welshpool. 1

The narrative of events compiled by Stevens is sparing in specific details but it supplies a vivid picture of a turbulent time as seen by an indignant loyalist.  We print below a transcript of the text from BL Lansdowne MS 828 with additional material from the Murray edition of the complete text ---  but as in the original manuscript --- included in the footnotes. Although both versions of the text were written after the defeat of the Jacobites in Ireland, there is a difference of tone: the Lansdowne text is simple and direct unlike the complete version which is written in an ornate prose and betrays a greater sourness as the years had passed since defeat.

British Library Lansdowne MS 828    2

[f. 11a]  I had been above a year in Wales, upon Business   3, at the Time when the never to be forgotten Castastrophe, commonly call'd the Revolution, hapened, in the year 1688, when his Majesty King James the 2d, having been turn'd out of his Palace at Whitehal, at midnight, & sent down in the nature of a Prisoner, under a guard of Foreigners, to Rochester happily made his escape & arriv'd safe in France, to the unspeakeably Joy of all those who still retain'd a dutifull Affection for their rightfull Sovereign.  My usual Place of Residence was at Welch-Poole in Montgomeryshire, often travelling into several Parts of that County & into those of Merioneth, Cardigan, Radnor & Shropshire.

The Fame of the Intended Invasion from Holland, was spread all over the Nation, & most Men were preparing for the Generall Insurrection which ensu'd, when I was call'd to London, 4  in October 1688, & had not continu'd there above 3 weeks, before the News came of the Dutch Fleet's being sail'd to the Westward, & seen off the Isle of Wight. 5  This oblig'd me to hasten my Return back into Wales, lest my Absence might prove prejudicial to my Trust, & accordingly I set out, on Tuesday November the 6th, in the Shrewsbury Coach, & on Wensday the 7th, receiv'd a Letter at Northampton, with Advice, that the Prince of Orange had landed at Tor Bay, in Devonshire, with about 14000 men, on Monday the 5th of the same month.  Upon this Intelligence I was the more earnest to be at the end of my Journey, yet could not reach Welch-Poole, till Monday the 12th, our Coach breaking, short of Shrewsbury, which kept us a Day extraordinary on the Road.

Being come to my Journey's end, I perceiv'd, that the Generality of the People began to be more open hearted, than they had been when I left them, discovering their Inclination to the Prince of Orange, & an Aversion to the King.  They had been work'd into this Disposition by Dr. Floyd, then Bishop of St Asaph, afterwards of Worcester, & before Parson of St Martin's in the [f. 11b] Fields London, famous for being one of the Seven Bishops, who refus'd to read King James's Declaration for Liberty of Conscience, & no less for his enthusiastick Pretensions to the Spirit of Prophecy, besides other remarkable Actions too Tedious for this Place, This worthy Person as soon as releas'd from the Tower, to which he chose to be committed rather than give Bail for his Appearance, taking a Progress through the Country, preach'd at almost every Church, & din'd or supp'd at the Houses of most gentlemen of any note where all the rest met, to incense the People against the King, & dispose them for what follow'd.   6

It was no small surprise to find so great an Alteration in so short a Time; for tho' some, with whom I convers'd, endeavour'd to carry it fair with me, yet I could easily see through the Mask.  This change in others had no further effect upon me than to make me resolve to be the more vigilant in the Performance of my Duty to that Prince in whose service I had the Honor to be employ'd, as my Father & Brother had been in that of his Royal Predecessor King Charles the 2d.  Before I proceed any further, it will not be improper to declare, that tho' I do not make use of the so much abus'd Word Impartial ever foisted in by most Writers, tho' they write nothing but bitter undeserv'd slanders against the Innocent, or fulsome Flattery upon the vilest of Men, yet I shall endeavor to avoid, reflecting on Parties, or giving any Notorious Offence, my Intention being, as a Traveller, fairly to give an Account of those Places I have seen, & as a Soldier to represent the whole Course of the War in Ireland, where I bore a Commission, distinguishing between what I was an Eye Witness to, & what I receiv'd by Information from others who were present; having in Order to this constantly kept a Journal, & often broke my Rest, after much Fatigue, rather than interrupt the Series of my Observations.  This may suffice to gratiffy any Person, who is not altogether bigotted, that my Design is not to rail, or write Panegyricks, according to Prejudice or Affection, but to proceed with all possible Sincerity & Ingenuity so that all Lovers of Truth, may expect to find it here, without any Disguise & many Points of History fairly related, which have been most falsly deliver'd in News Papers & other unfaithfull narratives publish'd [to] please the deprav'd Appetite of unthinking People; & perhaps here will be found some usefull Remarks & Observations not to be met with in other Travellers.  Having thus far made known my Intention, I proceed to what follow'd till my Return to London.

The Country where I was, viz Montgomeryshire & the Parts adjacent, tho' ill inclin'd, as has been said above, was generally quiet enough, till Advice was brought, that severall Persons of Note had deserted the King, & were gon over to the Prince of Orange, as the Lord Cornbury, the Lord Churchil, & others  7  [f. 12a] whom it is no Buziness of this Place to take notice of; this encourag'd others to rise, in several Parts, & in Wales, the Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Sir John Price   8 , & many more well known, follow'd, at first by only a few of their own Tenants & Servants.  These possess'd themselves of Ludlow 9, there being none to oppose them, & were soon reinforc'd from all parts of the Country, Fathers sending their sons & masters their servants, with their best Horses & Arms, & for Fear of any Turn of Affairs, giving out that they ran away; thus making a sure Interest on both sides, by staying themselves, if the King had prosper'd, and by sending those under their Command, if the Prince of Orange succeeded, a Practice well known in the Days of King Charles the first, when many Families thus divided, some serving the King & others the Parliament, not out of any Affection to either Party, but to the End that those who should happen to be with the prevailing side might secure the Estates & Skreen the Persons of those who had been unsuccessful.

The King's Revenue was ever seiz'd by those who were up in Arms, & no serviceable Horse was safe, for either those same People took them violently from such as refus'd to follow their example, or else they were in that Time of confusion, safely stolen by such as improv'd that opportunity to rob, & plunder where they pleas'd.  Having two good Horses at that time in Welch Poole & fearing they might be taken away either privately or by Force, I sent them away by means of one Mr. Humphrey Jones of Poole, whose son & servant were already gon away well mounted to joyn those in Arms, to Mr. Vaughan of Lludiath   10,  a Gentleman in the neighbourhood of a great Estate & no less interest in the Country, & who not very long after acted his Part as well as any of those before in Arms.  However, he secur'd them for me, till my Departure, being resolv'd to stay myself to the utmost, to endeavour to obstruct some Designs I knew there were prejudicial to my Trust 11.  In fine, I continu'd in Poole till all the Country round about was in Arms, & Intelligence brought me, that a Resolution was taken to seize me, for not following the example of the rest; besides that several Houses, of such as refus'd to declare for the Prince of Orange, had been already plunder'd & among them one belonging to the then Earl of Powis   12,  at Buttington, but a mile from Poole.

Perceiving I could expect no further security, I resolv'd to withdraw, sent for my Horses overnight, & left Poole the next morning early, being Monday.   13

David Lewis Jones

House of Lords Library

Notes;

1 John Stevens, ed, Robert H. Murray, The journal of John Stevens containing a brief account of the war in Ireland 1689-1691 (Oxford, 1912), ix-xvii, for a summary of the few sources for Stevens's life and an evaluation of his literary work.  Stevens petitioned for a post with the excise in January 1687, Cal. of Treasury Books, 1685-1689, vol. 8, pt. 2, p. 1120.

2 I am grateful to the British Library for permission to publish this text.

3 "At this time was I employed in Wales in receiving His Majesty's revenue of Excise there"; Stevens, Journal, 4.

4 "when I was obliged to go to London to settle my accounts"; Stevens, Journal, 6.

5 On 5 November 1688, Lord Preston, a Secretary of State, received a message from Cowes Castle that 200 sail had been sighted early that morning off the east coast of the Isle of Wight; BL Preston Papers: volume entitled "1688 Letters from England", f. 11.

6 "One of these seven champions of Satan, to wit Dr. Lloyd, Bishop of St. Asaph"; Stevens, Journal, 5.  William Lloyd, a determined Anglican, became Bishop of St. Asaph in 1680.  It was from Lloyd's hand that James II received the petition in which the seven bishops protested against the royal order that the clergy should read the Second Declaration of Indulgence from their pulpits.  The acquittal of the seven bishops led to public rejoicing: "The first hardned piece of insolence that I observed, was upon the news of the 7 Bishops being released, at which time in Welsh Poole in Mountgomeryshire where I commonly resided, & many other places about, were made public bonfires in contempt of His Majesty's Proclamation forbiding the same, or rather in defiance of his authority"; Stevens, Journal, 4-5.  After the flight of James, most of the seven bishops argued for a regency but while Lloyd attended the meetings held at Lambeth towards this end he was known as a supporter of William; London, Dr. Williams's Library, Morrice MS Q, p. 404, 424, 426, for the meetings at Lambeth; Cal. State Papers Dom. James II, Vol. 3, 381, for a favourable assessment of Lloyd by the Williamites.

7 Lord Cornbury was the eldest son of the second Earl of Clarendon, the brother of Anne Hyde, James II's first wife.  Cornbury's departure was not as painful to James II as the defection of John Churchill, Baron Churchill and later Duke of Marlborough, whom the King had raised from obscurity.  The Duke of Grafton, James's illegitimate nephew, fled with Churchill and they were soon followed by the King's son-in-law, Prince George of Denmark, and the Duke of Ormonde.  At the same time, Princess Anne, the King's younger daughter, fled from London.  These defections were, as Stevens remarks, a signal for a general defection to William.  

8 Henry Herbert, fourth Baron Herbert of Cherbury, had long been opposed to James II.  His cousin, Admiral Arthur Herbert, lost his official position because of his opposition to James's policies and, disguised as an ordinary seaman, he carried the invitation across the Channel to William.
Sir John Price or Pryse, 3rd bart., of Newtown.  

9 Ludlow was the seat of the Council of Wales then under the Presidency of Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, who supported James in a lukewarm fashion and eventually took the oath to William.  

10 Edward Vaughan of Glan-y-Llyn, Merioneth, and Llwydiarth, Montgomeryshire, Member for Montgomeryshire 1679-1718 and a reluctant supporter of the Revolution; see sub Vaughan, Edward III in The House of Commons 1660-1690, ed. by Basil Duke Henning (London, 1983).  Vaughan does not deserve Stevens's later judgment: "whom I suspected & he afterwards proved as great a rebell as the rest, but at that time such men's houses only were safe"; Stevens, Journal, 7.  

11 'Yet I resolved to stay & see the extremity of things myselfe, knowing there were some under me, who designed to receive the king's duty, and wanted only my absence to authorize them in doing of it, and was resolved to expose myselfe rather than the king's authority should be made an instrument to receive his mony to serve against himselfe.  Which whilst I was in Poole was attempted in other parts of the country by one Search, a villain, who was Supervisor under me, but I having timely notice by my letters prevented his malicious intent from taking effect"; Stevens, Journal, 7.

12 William Herbert, 3rd Baron Powis, created Earl of Powis in 1674 and Marquess of Powis in 1687.  A cousin of Lord Herbert of Cherbury and brother-in-law of the Duke of Beaufort, Powis went into exile with James II who created him Duke of Powis on 12 January 1689; see Complete Peerage sub Powis.  As a Roman Catholic and a supporter of James, Powis was an obvious target for the mob.  On 19 January 1689, William ordered that the soldiers from Ludlow Castle quartered in the house of Powis's daughter-in-law, Viscountess Montgomery, return to Ludlow and the men who seized Lord Montgomery's horses should take them back while the local justices were to search for the furniture looted from the house; W. J. Smith, ed. Herbert correspondence (Cardiff, 1963), 37.  

13 Stevens rode to Wrexham and travelled north to Holywell with the intention of seeking refuge in Chester but, on discovering that he was being sought in that city, he turned towards London and sailed for France on 11 January; Stevens, Journal, 8-14.

By Hugh Thomas, National Library of Wales journal Winter, 1975, Vol XIX/2

The complete article has been extracted by Gareth Hicks for Genuki with the permission of the NLW.

This is the first part of a series of three articles.

See also Part II

See also Final Part

See also Particular References of Interest

Although it is strongly recommended that the whole of this article is read as set out by the author, to assist the reader I have inserted these arbitrary bookmarks (which may be within paragraphs)

• Description of parish
• Landownership
• Farms (and farming)
• Swansea Valley Canal (and coal and iron works)
• Population (and Occupations)
• Religion
• Cultural activities

The transformation of the old county of Glamorgan during the nineteenth century was one of the most significant factors in the shaping of contemporary Wales. So dominant has been its role in the Welsh economy, so powerful its impact upon the Welsh social scene that, until the expansion of the tourist industry in our own day, it projected its own image of Wales upon the imagination of outsiders. The process of this transformation, despite its apparent uniformity, derives particular interest from the variety which it produced. While the county contained the largest of Welsh towns, its characteristic growth occurred in the settlement of its valley communities: those towns and villages which, stretching along the length of the valleys and, though separated by no clearly visible demarcation lines, were jealously protective of their own identities. This growth was not the exclusive concern of the county's own inhabitants, for the whole of Wales, though more especially the South, participated in it. The sons and daughters of rural Wales migrated to the valleys in their thousands and wove their own cultural heritage into the social patterns of the emergent communities. They contributed to the lack of uniformity within the overall growth pattern of the county which was reflected in the differences, some obvious others more subtle, to be observed between the communities. Significant, of course, in this context were the differences in the timing, the pace and the scale of industrial expansion in the various parts of the county. But of prime importance initially was the fact that the proportions of the places of origin of immigrants from outside the county differed substantially from one community to another. The complete story of the transformation of the county must await the detailed study of its individual communities. It may be profitable, however, to record the conclusions of an attempt to analyse the change which occurred in one of the county's parishes, that of Llangiwg in the upper Swansea Valley.

The parish, situated in the north-west corner of the county and neighbouring upon the counties of Breconshire and Carmarthenshire, covered an area of some 12,550 acres most of which are over 500 feet above sea level. It is almost entirely bounded by rivers from whose valleys the land rises sharply to the upland centre of the parish, reaching its highest points at Mynydd Alltygrug near Ystalyfera and Penlle'rfedwen overlooking Gwauncaegurwen and Cwmgors. It contains four hamlets: Alltygrug, Blaenegel and Parcel Mawr, all of which were formerly part of the lordship of Gower, and Caegurwen which until the early eighteenth century was a manor in the possession of the earls of Pembroke. Although the economy of the parish was until the nineteenth century based almost exclusively on agriculture there had already been some indication of its mineral potential. Coal had, for instance, been worked on a small scale for centuries. There is clear evidence of this in the surveys of 1610 and 1650, while the custom of the manor of Caegurwen laid down that the tenants had the right to the coal which lay under the land they held. This early coal getting can, however, have involved little more than working the outcrops for local domestic use and for lime burning. Not until the completion of the Swansea Valley Canal in 1798 could there be any significant expansion in a district where land transport was notoriously difficult.

The change from an agrarian to an industrial economy took the best part of three-quarters of a century to accomplish in its entirety, from the late years of the eighteenth century to the 1870s. Though it was coalmining which figured prominently in the early stages of the 'take-off', the transition was in very large measure the product of expansion in the iron and tinplate industry. After the collapse of the largest ironworks of the district in 1885 the economic activity of the parish took another direction but by this time its commitment to industry was irreversible. It had already assumed the features which characterised it during the first half of the twentieth century, features which have incidentally undergone a dramatic change since World War II as a result of the termination of tinplate manufacture and a radical reorganisation in coalmining.

Before the growth of industry the land was the economic base of the parish. The farmers, most of whom were tenants, and their dependants constituted the bulk of the inhabitants while the remainder were either employed as labourers or servants, or were engaged in crafts which were closely associated with farming. The greater part of the land of the parish was owned by six substantial landowning families whose Llangiwg properties formed a part only of their estates. Not one of them was resident in the parish, though with one exception they lived in close proximity to it. Their associations with the district varied considerably. The Awbrey family of Ynysgedwyn, the largest of the parish proprietors, had been acquiring lands there since the sixteenth century, while Madam Turberville, the last of the Herberts of Cilybebyll, Griffith Price of Penlle'rgaer and Philip Williams, younger son of the Dyffryn Clydach family, could in 1770 boast long established connections with the parish. More recent were the interests of Herbert Mackworth of the Gnoll, Neath, who, among much besides, inherited from his father, Sir Humphrey, the manor of Caegurwen, bought by the latter in the early years of the eighteenth century. Finally, the Shewens brothers, William and Joseph, had gained a foothold in the parish through marriage during the 1730s and had added considerably to their properties during the course of the subsequent half century. Between them these six families owned eighty-two of the one hundred and twenty holdings in the parish: the remainder were shared among thirty-three lesser landowners of whom six only were owner-occupiers.

There are two interesting features to be noted in the landownership pattern of the parish. Only the Awbreys owned land in all four of the hamlets, though their main strength was concentrated in Alltygrug where they owned all but two of the twenty-seven holdings in 1772 and were soon to acquire the remainder; in Blaenegel Griffith Price and the Shewens brothers were the largest proprietors; in Caegurwen the latter shared this honour with the Mackworths, while in Parcel Mawr the farms were much more evenly divided among five of the six families. Then, again, there was a marked difference in the relative strength of the major land­owners as compared to the lesser in different parts of the parish. Whereas in Alltygrug the Awbreys monopolised landownership and in parcel Mawr all but six of the thirty-eight holdings were shared among the major landowners, in Blaenegel and Caergurwen the lesser landowners were very much more prominent -- in the former they owned ten of the eighteen and in the latter twenty of the thirty-seven holdings. 1

During the 'take-off' phase the major holdings remained intact, though there were changes in ownership. In the case of the Ynysgedwyn properties this was nominal only for the family abandoned the old Awbrey name and assumed that of Gough. The Cilybebyll farms passed from Madam Turberville to John Herbert Lloyd of Cilmaenllwyd, then from his daughter, Jane Bassett, to Henry Leach whose son assumed the Lloyd name when he inherited the Cilybebyll estate. The Mackworth holdings passed to Capel Hanbury Leigh as a result of his marriage to Herbert Mackworth's young widow in 1797. The Griffith Price properties passed via his widow to a John Wall and then came into the possession of Josiah Rees, while those of Philip Williams were shared among members of his family. 2  Only in the case of the Shewens holdings was there a radical change, for during the first decade of the nineteenth century James Davies Berrington, a Swansea solicitor, acquired these until in 1814 William Shewens surrendered the remainder of his property in Caegurwen to Berrington in return for a sum of £5000 and an annuity of £350.   3   Much more substantial were the changes which occurred in the case of the smaller landowners. Many of their farms changed hands more than once during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Some in Blaenegel and Caegurwen were divided, others were bought by tenants and as a result the number of freehold occupiers in the latter hamlet had increased by eight in 1812.   4

The largest single source of revenue of the major landowners was the rents which they received from their tenants. Of only marginal account in the late eighteenth century were the lands farmed directly and the profits from the coalmines and quarries on their estates, although the latter were increasing as the century came to a close. This is clearly reflected in the accounts of the Ynysgedwyn estate for 1798 where the revenue is listed thus:

This indicates that over 70% of the annual income off the estate was derived from the rents received from land let in one way or or another. It would appear that the Llangiwg properties of the estate yielded a revenue, in money rents and payments in lieu of services to be performed by the tenants, of some £300 a year.

A few of the farms for which these rents were paid were substantially over 200 acres but the large majority were much smaller, varying from 30 to 100 acres and there were considerable number which were less than 30 acres. 6  This is illustrated by the land tax assessments on the farms : one only was assessed at over £1, while fifty-one were assessed at between 5s and 10s and a further fifty-three at less than 5s in 1772.   7   It was not, then, a district of prosperous farmers. Moreover, farming techniques were backward, implements were antiquated and farm organisation followed the long established pattern whose primary concern was subsistence farming. The leases by which the farms were held were characteristic of a backward rural economy. There were a few tenants-at-will, but the majority enjoyed the security of leases for three lives or ninety-nine years. Current opinion had already moved against such long leases on the grounds that they were detrimental to efficient farming and were in part responsible for the poor condition of many of the estates in this part of Wales   8   It was John Herbert Lloyd who introduced the shorter leases into the parish when he inherited the Cilybebyll estate,   9  though his example was soon followed by the Ynysgedwyn estate despite the sympathy expressed by its owner for the smaller farmers in 1816.   10

Though the use made by the farmers of their land varied substantially and was determined by the quality of their soil and the location of their farms, they were all much more concerned with pastoral farming than arable. In 1782 the total acreage under the three main crops, wheat, barley and oats, amounted to no more than 503 1/2 acres which were apportioned as follows: wheat 97 1/4, barley 138 3/4 and oats 266 1/4.  11  The primary concern with the rearing of animals is reflected not only in the relatively small acreage under crops but also in the major crop, oats, which provided fodder for the cattle. This becomes abundantly clear if we examine individual farms. Betting Uchaf, one of the more fortunately situated, had 12 3/4 of its 101 acres under the three crops, of which barley was allowed 6 acres. Carreg Pentwyn, less fortunately placed, had only 3 of its 61 acres under the plough, all devoted to the growing of oats. 12   To confIrm the emphasis on animal husbandry in the parish the Tythe Composition of 1782 noted a total of 573 cattle and 333 calves on its farms. The record concerning sheep seems to have been rather more haphazard though a number of farms are credited with reasonably sized flocks -sixty sheep in the case of Gellilwca Fawr farm, thirty-seven and thirty-five in the cases of Llwynypryfed and Penygarn respectively.   13

Farm management was uncomplicated and traditional. Where a farm contained four or more fields the common practice was to allow one field to lie fallow every year - the summer fallow ( braenar haf). Oats, though losing favour further east, was still as we have seen the most popular crop. They were sown between mid­March and mid-April and after they had been harvested the land was ploughed and limed, then in the Spring of the following year it was ploughed again and allowed to lie fallow. The soil was kept clean with a dressing of hot lime until the Autumn when it was ploughed again and wheat was sown. This crop was usually sown in late November or early December, though some farmers did argue the case for an earlier sowing. In some cases the land under wheat was given a top dressing of lime in March or April to clean and feed the soil. The wheat was then harvested in September in the early seasons, in October in the late seasons. Yields varied but were usually some 15 to 20 bushels an acre. 14   Barley would then be sown in the following Spring, during late April or early May. There were two kinds in fairly common use, the long-eared Spring barley (Barlys) which was considered good for malt making and the square-eared variety (Haidd) which was suitable for bread making. One of the local farms, Gilfach-yr-Haidd, took its name from this last crop. The yield was usually about twenty bushels to the acre.   15  There were, however, local variations, for some of the farmers followed the wheat crop with another sowing of oats or with hay or clover.

More significant than the crops which the farmers raised were the livestock which they reared. It was on the sale of the animals, their wool and their dairy produce that the farmers relied for the little money which they used. The most popular breed of cattle in the district in the late eighteenth century were the small, light red-coloured stock with a white face similar to the Herefords, though much smaller. They were reputedly the ancient stock of the Vale of Glamorgan and were renowned for their milk yield.  16   In addition, there were a number of the black cattle of Carmarthenshire. The sheep were the small mountain variety whose short wool was well suited for making flannels, blankets and felt hats. The normal shearing time was the early summer, generally in June, and the average fleece weighed some 1 to 2 lbs. After the weaning period the ewes were milked throughout the Summer months for the making of cheese.  17

The importance of pastoral farming in the district is reflected in the prominent position occupied by the fairs in the local calendar. The most important of these were at Llangyfelach, Llandeilo, Neath, Alltwen and Y Gwter Fawr. They were highly organised and obviously geared to the farming year. Horned cattle, oxen and steers were usually sold at the Spring fairs of February and March, milk cows in the April and early May fairs and in the Autumn fairs the surplus stock, for which the farmers had no winter keep, were disposed of. The same kind of programme can be seen in the marketing of other animals. In the case of sheep, yearlings, two-year olds and couples were sold at the Spring and May fairs; weaned lambs and wool at the Summer fairs, and wedders from the hills and store ewes in October. Young horses were sold at the May and June fairs, hogs and fat pigs in October and fat hogs in December. Most of the dairy produce was marketed in the Autumn fairs and dried bacon in the Winter and Spring fairs.   18

The lower orders usually possessed sufficient land to keep a cow and a pig or two, and enough remained to provide for a vegetable patch which was used especially for potato growing. Some of them were employed as farm labourers, earning at the turn of the century some 8s to 10s a week, with rather more at harvest time. Others eked out a living with money earned from task work, reaping, harvesting and threshing, or hedging, ditching and fencing - when their wages were calculated by 'piece work'. Finally, there were the farm servants who received their food and board at the farms and could expect to earn between £5 and £7 a year. They were usually hired at the local fairs in October - November and their contracts were usually for a twelve month.   19

The early years of the nineteenth century were particularly difficult for the farmers of the locality. The squire of Ynysgedwyn attributed his difficulty in obtaining tenants for the farms of the estate to the prevailing distress which he explained by the drop in prices of farm produce, the heavy taxes and inflated poor rate and the circulation of paper money. Inefficient estate management may well have contributed also, for Walter Davies was certainly not favourably impressed by this aspect of the local economy. 20   Whatever the explanation, the squire saw little to comfort him when:

Such labouring poor as have employment are better off at 8s a week wages than our small farmers, whose lands present the melancholy picture of neglect and abandonment.   21

That this distress produced little of the expression of discontent which occurred in neighbouring areas to the west may well in part have been due to the accessibility of the local coal and limestone. Increasingly, however, the explanation is to be found in the opportunities of employment for the surplus labour force in the local coalmines and the metallurgical works lower down the valley. It was the opening of the Swansea Valley Canal in 1798 which released the mineral potential of the district. True, there was a long-established ironworks at Ynysgedwyn in the neighbouring parish of Ystradgynlais which had expanded considerably during the last quarter of the eighteenth century. It was still, however, a relatively small undertaking 22    and could find no use for the local anthracite. Coal had been worked in Llangiwg for centuries, usually at the outcrops by farmers for their own consumption. From the middle years of eighteenth century the scale of coalmining assumed more ambitious proportions. In 1752 William Awbrey, who had recently succeeded to the Ynysgedwyn estate, obtained from the Duke of Beaufort a licence to dig for coal under the waste land of Alltygrug mountain and at Cefn Gwrhyd. There does not, however, appear to have been any immediate move to take advantage of this.   23   In 1794 a level was opened at the Cyfyng, near the site of the later ironworks at Ystalyfera, and there is evidence that coal was being worked lower down the valley at Ynysmeudwy.   24   Three years later James Gough Awbrey of Ynysgedwyn cancelled leases which had been granted in 1795 for the mining of coal in various parts of the parish and himself invested in coalmining. In 1795 he spent a total of £252. 7s. 7 1/2d. on his collieries and their ancillary undertakings and obtained a revenue of £92. 1s. 0d. from them.   25

The opening of the canal was the occasion for a much more extensive exploitation of the coal measures of the district. The geological structure of the valley, characterised by its frequent outcrops of coal, made it possible to work the coal without needing much in the way of initial capital investment. Awbrey opened a level at Cwmtwrch in 1798 and in the last years of the century a number of Swansea men began mining for coal in the parish. Thomas Sheasby and George Haynes opened a coal level at Brynmorgan, Cwmtwrch; Edward Martin, a mineral surveyor who was already involved in the industrial development of the lower part of the valley, worked levels near Gwys, and William Arthur and Thomas Walters opened a level at Cwmllynfell. The Ynysgedwyn estate papers for 1798 also contain reference to some seven other coal workings in the Ystalyfera district.   26   The possibilities offered by the canal were, it appears, appreciated by the enterprising landed family of the locality and the business men of neighbouring Swansea. Their lead was soon to be followed by men from widely differing backgrounds.

Meanwhile, the contribution which the coalmines could and should make to the local rates had already been noted. In 1783 a certain Elias Jenkins had alleged that certain coalmines were omitted from the rating lists. The question as to whether they should be rated for the Poor Rate was reserved for the opinion of the Court of King's Bench. 27  It was decided that they should be so rated and in 1802 the Llangiwg Vestry Rating Book records the valuations of various coal workings in the parish. Altogether, eight were rated, the largest at £20 the smallest at 2s.0d. 28  Meanwhile, Daniel Harper, a native of Tamworth in Staffordshire, who was to play a prominent part in the early coalmining of the district, had begun his undertakings. In 1801 he leased coal at Abercrave in the neighbouring parish of Ystradgynlais and was negotiating for collieries at Ystalyfera. In 1805 he opened a level which bore his name and took over the Cyfyng Pit, Ystalyfera. An indenture which he made with the Ynysgedwyn estate in 1808 gives some indication of the scale of his operations at the latter:

Harper also agreed that he would not raise more than 16,500 tons of coal and culm a year.   29  In 1816 he opened a new level at the Cyfyng and was also operating on quite a considerable scale in the Cwmtwrch district. Thomas Walters, a Swansea grocer, was also involved in working the coal in the Ystalyfera district at this time, notably at the Ynysceinon pit and at Pwllbach.

The early years of the century saw other men busy in other parts of the parish and its environs. In 1802 John Jones of Brynbrain, who pioneered industrial growth in the Brynaman district, became the proprietor of the Blaengurwen colliery. He was successful and extended the scope of his activities by opening 'Lefel yr Office' and the Gwter Fawr colliery in 1819. 30   1802 also witnessed the beginnings of J. D. Berrington's operations from two levels at Craigfelin, Cwmtwrch; five years later he opened his colliery at Bryn Morgan in the same district which worked profitably for a considerable number of years. The risks involved in coalmining led to frequent changes of ownership and this is well illustrated in the case of the Hendreforgan mine at Cwmllynfell. Early in the century a certain Richard Jenkins of Coity was working the coal here but late in 1812 he surrendered the workings to John Jones, Brynbrain, who four years later demised them to John Evans and James Cox, a native of Shaftesbury, Dorset. On the last day of 1818 the former relinquished his share and Cox became the sole proprietor. Under his control the works became the largest and most progressive in the area --- by 1831 a total of £33,500 had been spent on it and it had won the reputation of being 'the most complete and valuable colliery in the Principality'.   31  The nearby Cwmllynfell coal workings were re-opened in 1818 and three years later were taken over by Evan James & Co. which, though operating on a more modest scale, than its neighbour at Hendreforgan, were to become one of the most prosperous coalmines in the district by the middle years of the century. These were the largest of a considerable number of undertakings which got under way in the first two decades of the nineteenth century. The overall progress is reflected in the quantity of coal transported along the canal from the upper end of the valley. By 1820 this had reached the substantial total of 66,104 tons a year. 32

A major change occurred in 1826 with the collapse of the Harper interest in the financial crises of that year. Daniel's son Thomas was made bankrupt and the Harper lease was carried on by the partnership of Sheasby and Trotter until it terminated in 1829. 33   It was during these years that Benjamin Treacher and Evan James of Swansea first made their impression on the neighbourhood. In 1827 they found two very rich seams of coal and in 1830 Treacher, with three other Swansea coal merchants, leased the Cyfyng Pit.   34   Two years later James replaced Treacher's partners and they agreed to pay R. D. Gough an annual rent of £350 and royalties of 11s. for every barge of coal transported to Swansea as well as 6d. per ton transported otherwise and a rent of 14 guineas for cottages attached to the pit. 35   By the mid-thirties, then, the parish was committed to coal­mining on a relatively substantial scale, though the major step forward in its industrialization had to await another development, the growth of iron manufacture.

The progess of coalmining inevitably had its consequences for the parish. Population increased significantly from the 829 of 1801 to the 2,813 of 1841, largely as a result of immigration into the parish for by the latter year 946, nearly one-third of the parish's inhabitants, had been born outside the county of Glamorgan. There was a marked change in the occupational pattern of the parish --- between 1801 and 1831 the numbers of families dependent upon occupations other than agriculture had risen from 41 to 126.   36  This change is illustrated by the baptismal register of the three Independent chapels of Pantteg, Carmel and Alltwen. The last named is in the neighbouring parish of Cilybebyll, but it is possible to identify those parents who were inhabitants of Llangiwg. Between 1826 and 1837 the minister of these three chapels, Rev. Philip Griffiths, recorded the occupations of 190 fathers whose 325 children he baptised. The largest group among them were the colliers who totalled 96, although 21 of these were first recorded as labourers. It would appear that these latter either started their working lives or came to the district to work as labourers but during these eleven years changed their occupations to coalmining. The following are the parental occupations represented in the baptismal registers: Colliers-96#; Labourers - 48#; Farmers -- 43; Carpenters -- 5; Tailors -- 4; Weavers, Publicans, Cordwinders -- 3 each; Engineers, Hauliers - 2 each; Shopkeepers, Masons-- 1 each. (#Contain the 21 men who transferred from labouring to coalmining.)   37   While it cannot be claimed that this occupational breakdown is comprehensive it does indicate the changes taking place and agrees closely with the pattern which emerges from the enumerators' census return for 1841. 38  By this year the total population of the parish had grown to 2,813 of whom 946 had been born outside the county. Worthy of note also is the fact that the most significant growth had taken place in those parts of the parish which had witnessed the most mumerous coalmining undertakings, Alltygrug and Caegurwen. In the case of the former the 197 inhabitants of 1801 had grown to 1,078 in 1841, while the latter's 224 had increased to 843 during the same period.   39

This 'take-off' period was also one of substantial developments in the sphere of organised religion. Llangyfelach and its neighbouring parishes had from the seventeenth century been a district where Protestant Dissent had flourished. Inhabitants from Llangiwg had been haled before the Archdeacon's Court at Carmarthen more than once in 1662 to answer charges of recusancy. These and others were no doubt members of the church at Cilfwnwr and Tirdwncyn near Llangyfelach. By the late seventeenth century their numbers were sufficiently large to warrant the release of Llewelyn Bevan from his responsibilities at Cilfwnwr to take charge of the newly-established church at Cwmllynfell in 1701. This was the beginning of organised Nonconformist worship in the parish, although there appears to have been at least one group of dissenters worshipping together in private houses at the Gwrhyd. 40

Although Cwmllynfell remained the one Nonconformist church in the parish until the 1820s, others were established in neighbouring parishes which were more convenient for many of the inhabitants of Llangiwg. For years the church at Gellionen in Rhyndwyclydach was in partnership with that at Cwmllynfell until a split occurred as a result of doctrinal differences whereby the former became Unitarian whereas the latter remained orthodox Calvinist. In 1752 a dissenting chapel was founded at Godre'rhos in the parish of Cadoxton, Neath, two years after the chapel at Ty'n-y-coed in the parish of Ystradgynlais had been established and at much the same time the dissenters of Cilybebyll constituted themselves into the church at Alltwen. The controversy between Cwmllynfell and Gellionen apart, there was close co-operation between these congregations. They shared ministers and assisted one another in times of need. They were fortunate in their ministers, men of ability and character who exercised a decisive impact upon the religious life of the district. This, together with the interest in Bible reading aroused by the schools of Griffith Jones and the evangelising missions of the Methodists between 1736 and 1752, firmly established Nonconformity by the opening years of the nineteenth century. In 1807 the curate of Llangiwg complained of the difficulty he encountered in attracting children to the Anglican Sunday School and commented that  'The tracts most wanted are on the same subject as those sent by your Lordship, The Gospel Way of Salvation to confute the Calvinists of whom there are great many in my neighbourhood.'   41

The increasing hold of Nonconformity is shown in the founding of branches of the older churches, first as schools which were also used for various religious meetings but were later consecrated as places of worship. There had long been such a meeting place at Fforchegel farm in Blaenegel. In 1762 a schoolhouse was erected on the land of Cwmbach farm in Gwauncaegurwen by those members of Cwmllynfell chapel who lived in the neighbourhood. For sixty years it served the dual function of a school and for the holding of preaching and other religious meetings until in 1822 some fifty members of Cwmllynfell chapel left the older congregation to establish the new chapel at Cwmbach. 42   In 1785 a similar school­house was built at Craig Arw, Ystalyfera, where preaching and prayer meetings were held during the week as well as a school on Sundays. Those involved continued to attend Sunday services at Cwmllynfell until 1821 when it was decided to establish a chapel at Pantteg. This appears to have been the outcome of a religious revival in the district inspired by the two cousins, Daniel and Philip Griffiths, the latter of whom became the first minister of Pantteg in 1822. 43  At Cwmtwrch a Sunday School was founded in the late eighteenth century, though further developments were somewhat later here than at Cwmbach and Pantteg. 44  The membership of these new chapels increased rapidly as did that of the mother chapel of Cwmllynfell. This was in part the result of the more general revival taking place in religion at the time but the pressure exerted by the immigrants into the district, many of whom came from parts of Carmarthenshire where Independency was well established, was also an important factor. Two of the interesting features of the religious life of the district at this time are, first, that growth was confined to the Independents and, secondly, that the leadership of the new chapels was, despite the number of immigrants by the late twenties of the nineteenth century, almost entirely in the hands of the natives of the district, small tenant farmers for the most part. 45   Later developments were to modify the overall picture but the Independents retained their supremacy and the farming families continued to fulfil a vital role in the lives of the chapels.

The communities which emerged in the district during the nineteenth century evolved their own distinctive pattern of cultural activities. Within this pattern it is possible to discern three separate strands: the indigenous tradition of poetic composition, the influences brought into the district by its immigrants and the activities which sprang naturally from the new way of life in the emerging communities. Of particular interest in the early decades of the century was the first of these. Written in free verse, its literary quality was undistinguished but it possessed a vigour and frankness which compensated for its lack of aesthetic value. It drew the major part of its inspiration from the affairs of the locality. There were eulogies of prominent individuals, vivid accounts of local events, poetic dialogues on a variety of subjects and reports of the day to day happenings of the district. The poets and versifiers performed the functions of recorder of events, moraliser and social commentator. Though the most prominent feature of much of their work was its humour, it is possible to detect quite serious undertones in its general purpose. This, for instance, was one means whereby a peasant society could ensure the maintenance of a certain standard of social conduct among its own members at a time when there would be some reluctance to resort to the law, administered as it was by people who were considered outsiders by these closely knit communities. The most obvious instance of this is Y Cwrt Bach in which the poets constituted themselves into a court at which were heard and argued in verse a variety of causes which concerned the people of the locality. The court inspired a good deal of fear and respect among local wrongdoers because of the notoriety they suffered with the repetition of the rhyming arguments.

Inevitably the poets became involved in the religious controversy of the district, that between the orthodox Calvinists and the Unitarians. This had provoked much acrimony and had led to the separation of the two existing joint churches, Cwmllynfell which remained loyal to the Calvinist tenets and Gellionen which eventually became Unitarian. The best known of the bardic contributions to this quarrel was that of Owen Dafydd whose Duwdod Crist was published and gained a wide circulation throughout Wales. He carried on his argument in another of his poems, Ymddiddan rhwng y Bardd a'r Angel, in which be urged his brother-in-law and fellow poet, Sion Hywel, Gelli-gron, to abandon his association with the Unitarians, closing powerfully with:

Mi 'gwelaf, yn goleuo
Ar ddynion tywyll trist
A gamarweinir heddiw
I wadu Duwdod Crist ;
Cael  gwarant idd ei chario
Trwy ddyffryn angeu du,
A sel Duw'r nefoedd wrthi,
Siun Hywel, dyna ni.    46

His appeal seems to have had the desired effect for Sion Hywel wrote a violent condemnation of all that the Unitarians stood for:

A thyma un o demlau'r filen
Yw'r lle a elwir Gellionen,
Llefaru mae fel draig uffernol,
A chyrn fel oen i dwyllo'r bobol,
Gwadu haeddiant Crist! cywiddil,
Dyna i chwi nod y bwystfil ... 47

Other prominent themes in their poetry were the social distress of their time, their sympathy with the poor of the neighbourhood and their concern with social justice. Owen Dafydd resigned himself to selling his best pig and his cattle in order to meet his debts; Sion Hywel criticised the churchwardens of Llangyfelach for spending £10 on a new weather vane for the church tower when the money could have been better spent on the relief of the poor.   48  One of the most outspoken of the poets' social commentaries was contained in a song of praise composed by Ifan Gruffydd to an industrialist in the lower part of the valley whose undertakings provided a livelihood for many in the locality. This comes out very powerfully in the verse:

'Doedd mil o'n bro ond byw o'r braidd,
Och' oer oedd gwaedd y gweiniad,
Gwragedd, gweiniaid a gydgerdden
Dan law eisiau am elusen,
A gwyr a gweision yn o ddigalon,
Yn ffaelu er chwilio a chael gorchwylion:
A bonedd Cymru heb falio fawr
Am g'ledi mawr y tlodion ... 49

The relatively slow pace of industrial expansion in the early years of the century and the fact that so many of the early immigrants were drawn from the neighbouring areas helped to ensure two features. These were the continuation of the cultural traditions of the pre-industrial period and the opportunity which was given the inhabitants to absorb the new dimension of industrial experiences into their existing culture. It is not surprising that the poets responded in the traditional manner to the new subjects which were offered them by the emerging industrial communities. Mining tragedies, like the firedamp explosion at the Brynmorgan coalmine in 1812, were a natural subject for them. Owen Dafydd wrote an elegy on the five men killed at Brynmorgan and it is interesting to observe that in addition to the sympathy which he expressed for the men and their families, he recorded the details of the tragedy and the names of the victims. 50

Other aspects of the new life of the district attracted their attention. James Cox was busily making Hendreforgan into one of 'the most complete and valuable collieries in the Principality' but one feature of his enterprise, his over-many officials, prompted the following expression of disenchantment:

Mac Cox a'i Stiwardiaid
Mor aml a'r dail
John Tomos yw'r cyntaf,
Hen Walker yw'r ail:
Yna Wil Hendregyngen,
Jack Filler,Wat Llwyd­
Hen ffratsach mor shimpil
Na 'nillsant mo'u bwyd.    51

Coalmining was a highly speculative business during these years. There were violent trade fluctuations, demands on capital were frequent and the geological faults of the district added significantly to the risks involved. One of the largest of the local mines was the Cyfyng Pit at Ystalyfera and it, like the other pits, suffered periodic crises. It was one such crisis which prompted the following tale of woe:

Holl goliers Pwll-y-Cyfyng, mai wedi mynd yn ddrwg,
'Does yma ddim canwylle, na modd i wneuthur mwg,
Na chig, na chaws, na siwgir, na llafur o um rhyw,
Na sebon i ymolchi; pa wedd y byddwn byw?     52

Another grievance which received an airing among the poets was the high prices charged by the local shopkeepers. The district, like so many others undergoing industrial expansion, was very inadequately serviced by the retail trade. The shopkeepers' exploitation of their virtual monopoly did not pass unnoticed among their customers and one of them listed in verse the surcharges of one Morgan Morgan, proprietor of the Company Shop at the Cyfyng, Ystalyfera, expressing the wish:

Tai pawb drwy'r holl gymdogaeth
Yn cael cynhaliaeth lew
A pheidio dod mor fynych
I flino'r siopwr tew
Cael sistans bob pythefnos
A chyfri glan pob mish
Mi fentra deuai Morgan
I werthu beth yn ish.      53

That the local versifiers of the earlier decades of the nineteenth century continued to perform the traditional functions of the district's poets illustrates one of the significant features of the communities which emerged during the middle decades of the century. Despite the acceleration of industrialization from the 1840s, such was the nature of the accompanying growth that one powerful element in shaping the new communities was the survival of so much of the pre-industrial society of the parish.

HUGH THOMAS

Barry

NOTES;

• 1. Land Tax Assessments 1772, Glamorgan C.R.O., L.T.A.
• 2. Ibid., 1772-1830.
• 3. Caegurwen Manorial Records, D/D MN 46, Glamorgan C.R.O.
• 4. Land Tax Assessments, 1772-1830, op. cit.
• 5. Ynysgedwyn Estate Papers, D/D Yc 687, Glamorgan C.R.O.
• 6. Cilybebyll Deeds, N.L.W., Schedule Vol. 11 (1957), Llanguick Tythe Composition for 1781-83.(No. 126).
• 7. Land Tax Assessments, 1772, op. cit.
• 8. Walter Davies, General View of Agriculture and Domestic Economy of South Wales, London, 1815, Vol. I, p. 172.
• 9. Compare the leases granted by Elizabeth Turberville in 1796 and by J. H. Lloyd in 1807. Cilybebyll Deeds, op. cit., No. 183 and No. 331.
• 10. Compare the leases granted on Gilfach Goch, a farm of some 79 acres, in 1788 and in 1823. Ynysgedwyn Estate Papers, op. cit., D/D Yc 659 and 1079/1, 2.  Fleming Gough commented in 1816 that 'the agricultural classes are wretchedly and hoplessly distressed'. See Replies as to the Agricultural Distress, 1816, quoted in The Report of the Royal Commission on Land in Wales and Monmouthshire, Appendix, 1896, p. 23.
• 11. Llanguick Tythe Composition, op. cit.
• 12. Ibid.        
• 13. Ibid.
• 14. Walter Davies, op. cit., pp. 448-9.  
• 15.  Ibid., p. 457.
• 16. Ibid., Vol. 11, pp, 208-9.   
• 17. Ibid.
• 18. Ibid., pp. 412-414.  
• 19. Ibid., pp. 285-288.
• 20. Ibid., Vol. 1, p. 172.
• 21. Report of the Royal Commission on Land in Wales and Monmouthshire, op. cit., p. 23.
• 22. Between 1776 and 1796 its production rose from 200 to 800 tons a year. Walter Davies, op. cit., Vol. 11, p. 453.
• 23. Ynysgedwyn Estate Papers, op. cit., D/D Yc 726-9.
• 24. Gloucester Journal, 14 May, 1798.
• 25.Ynysgedwyn Estate Papers, op. cit., D/D Yc 687.
• 26. Ibid.
• 27. Glamorgan Quarter Sessions Minute Books, 1783, Glamorgan C.R.O.
• 28. Llanguicke Parish Vestry Minutes, 1802.
• 29. Ynysgedwyn Estate papers, op. cit., D/D Yc 951-5.
• 30. Enoch Rees, Hanes Brynaman a'r Cylchoedd, Ystalyfera, 1883, tud. 13.
• 31. The Cambrian, 31 December, 1831.
• 32. Swansea Vale Canal Toll Books, 1820.
• 33. Ynysgedwyn Estate Papers, op. cit., D/D Yc 954.
• 34. Ibid., op. cit., D/D Yc 953.
• 35. Ibid., D/D Yc 955.
• 36. Census Reports, 1801-1831.
• 37. Non-Parochial Registers, Llangiwg parish 1822-1837, P.R.O. R.G.4. 3495.
• 38. Enumerators' Census Returns, Llangiwg, P.R.O. H.O. 107. 1419.
• 39. Ibid.
• 40. For the early history of Nonconformity, see J. D. Owen, J. D. Jones a Ben Davies, Hanes Eglwys Cwmllynfell, Caerfyrddin, 1935.
• 41. Queries and Answers, 1807, quoted in D. G. Williams Papers, University College, Swansea, Library.
• 42. LIewelyn C. Hughes, Annibynwyr Gwauncaegurwen, Llandysul, 1942, tud. 13-20­
• 43. Y Diwygiwr, 1848, tud. 15 et seq., D. G. Williams, Hanes Eglwys y Pantteg, Ystalyfera, Ystalyfera, 1921, tud. 7-22.
• 44. W. J. Evans, Hanes Cwmtwrch a Chwmllynfell, Ystalyfera, 1890.
• 45. See eg., the names of the trustees of Pantteg Chapel, 1822, in D. G. Williams, op. cit., tud. 16-21.
• 46. For Owen Dafydd's two poems, see Ceidrim a Morgan, Cynhyrchion Barddonol yr Hen Felinydd, Ystalyfera, 1904.
• 47. Y Gwladgarwr, 1862 (Tachwedd), tud. 3.
• 48. Y Traethodydd, 1866, tud. 405; ibid., 1869, tud. 41.
• 49. Y Beirniad, Cyf. IV, tud. 210.
• 50. See Cynhyrchion yr Hen Felinydd, op. cit., tud. 31 et seq.
• 51. D. G. Williams Papers, op. cit.
• 52. Ibid.   
• 53. lbid.

Kenneth Owen Fox, National Library of Wales journal. 1965, Winter Volume XIV/2.

Extracted onto the pages of GENUKI with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales

This is a complete extract of this article by Gareth Hicks  (Feb 2003)

The Merthyr Election of 1906   1

THE election of 1906 was a significant watershed in the political history of Britain; the polls reflected the popular waning of the chauvinism which had attended the now-terminated Boer War, wrecking the eleven-year administration of the Unionists at this first election in a time of peace, whilst the Labour Representation Committee signified its precocious electoral maturity by adopting the name Labour Party. In South Wales those constituencies which had been lost to the Unionists in 1895 returned to their historic Liberal context and the South Wales Miners' Federation, contesting its first general election since the formation in 1901 of its Parliamentary Scheme, joined the Liberals in promoting the further success of the established principle of Liberal-Labour representation in the working class constituencies. In the constituency of Merthyr Boroughs the result of this election vindicated the peculiar alliance of the Central Liberal Office and the Labour Representation Committee and sustained the apparently fortuitous return of Keir Hardie at the 'Khaki' election of 1900.

At first it had seemed that there would be no opposition to the sitting members of Parliament, D. A. Thomas and Keir Hardie: the Conservatives had made no effort to select a candidate and Dan Davies, a Cardiff merchant who had hoped to stand as an unofficial Tariff Reform candidate, had been forced to withdraw before the election contest because of a lack of support for his unpopular programme. 2  The belated appearance of Henry Radcliffe, a Cardiff shipowner and a member of the South Glamorgan Liberal Association as a candidate, however, introduced the element of rivalry into the contest and tested the durability of Hardie's triumph in 1900.

Certainly, Radcliffe had every reason for confidence. As his broadsides pointed out to the Merthyr electors, Hardie's nomination at the Abernant conference of trades union delegates which had been convened by the trades councils of Merthyr and Aberdare in September 1900 had been secured by a small socialist pressure group only after the hostile delegates of 12,000 miners had left the conference. Nor could it be forgotten that the chance antagonism of the sitting members, D. A. Thomas and W. Pritchard Morgan, had conditioned the climate of opinion during this election contest and that Thomas' support of Hardie against Morgan had won a large number of votes for the architect of the Independent Labour Party.

Radcliffe concentrated his campaign against Hardie in a determined effort to woo the labour voters away from the political heresy which they had endorsed at the previous election, and he encouraged the...............

....................... support of the miners by including in his election programme the policies of the Miners' Federation. In addition, his organizers began a smear campaign against Hardie and broadsides were circulated which attacked socialism and questioned Hardie's sincerity. J. Havelock Wilson, the president of the National Seamen's Union, who had failed to secure re-election at Middlesborough in 1900 partly owing to the opposition of Hardie and whose candidature for the same seat was being contested at this time by George Lansbury, a candidate of the Labour Representation Committee, gave his backing to Radcliffe's campaign and urged the labour voters to evict Hardie. One broadside even quoted Lloyd-George's dismay at Hardie's Opposition to Wilson, a genuine Labour representative, and William Abraham, the member of Parliament for the Rhondda, and Tom Richards, the member of Parliament for West Monmouth, were cited as Radcliffe's supporters, but both men denied any connection with Radcliffe.

The Labour organizers responded with equal vigour to these attacks: walls were decorated with anti-Radcliffe slogans and pamphlets were issued in which a number of officials of the National Seamen's Union denounced Radcliffe as the employer of cheap foreign labour. The Labour committee rooms were a centre of attraction for passers-by who gathered in the street to read the Labour manifestos and to view the cartoon which depicted a battered Radcliffe being kicked out of Merthyr by three feet. Broadsides proclaimed gleefully that Radcliffe held shares in the Western Mail, a newspaper which was regarded by the politically-conscious workmen as a heinous Tory conspiracy against labour. In order to add authenticity to the verbal attacks on Radcliffe's record as a labour exploiter groups of seamen were brought from Cardiff and Newport and these attended Radcliffe's meetings, noisily voicing their protests and preventing his speaking. Radcliffe's supporters retaliated by breaking up Hardie's meetings similarly, and this heckling soon developed into pitched battles between the opposing factions. For Miss Kenny, a suffragette and a member of the Independent Labour Party who was participating in Hardie's campaign, this was 'the meanest, dirtiest election ever fought.' 3

Radcliffe's attempt to capture the labour electorate, however, had little success. Hardie's position was far stronger than a casual knowledge of the events which led to his return in  1900 might indicate. Although the membership figures of the Independent Labour Party in South Wales had ebbed after the 1898 miners' strike which had accelerated the growth of this party to astonishing proportions, in the Merthyr-Aberdare area the party retained a considerable influence. Both the Merthyr and the Aberdare trades councils were controlled by the socialists, and, although the political ambitions of the South Wales...........

.................... Miners' Federation were contained within the framework of the old political traditions of Liberal-Labour, the small trades unions of Merthyr Boroughs tended to possess a left-wing character. If the socialists lacked experience in electoral organization they balanced this easily with their whole-hearted participation in the 1900 campaign and Hardie's return owed much to their energetic efforts.

Hardie's surprising victory in  1900 stimulated the expansion of the Independent Labour Party in South Wales from the relative nadir of geographical contraction which had been reached by this year. In Merthyr Boroughs the party expanded steadily and a local Labour Representation Committee was formed in 1903   4 which secured the return of a number of Labour candidates to the local government boards in the following years. When the Merthyr Borough Council was created in 1905 it had a majority of Labour members including the socialist, Enoch Morrell, the first mayor of Merthyr. 5  Even more important for the local development of the Independent Labour Party was the abandonment of the hostility of the miners' leaders and their absorption into the party. 6  In 1904 and again in 1905 the miners' associations in the constituency pledged their support for Hardie 7  and hundreds of miners and their families volunteered to take part in his election campaign long before the date of the election. 8 The Aberdare branch of the South Wales Miners' Federation expressed publicly its disapproval of Radcliffe's candidature and the Federation Executive, although it had refused several applications to run Hardie as a Federation candidate for this election, 9 gave Hardie its tacit support by not contesting his seat with its own selected candidate.

Far more effective than Radcliffe's appeal to the labour voters was his attempt to become the focus on Liberal-nonconformist discontent. Although Hardie and the Independent Labour Party had alienated a number of Liberal electors by their socialist policies, it was D. A. Thomas who faced the more serious challenge from Radcliffe. Since the 1900 election Thomas had been experiencing a political metamorphosis that drew him further to the left away from the Welsh Liberalism he had formerly championed. As early as 1903 Thomas resigned his directorship of the Cambrian Colliery Company in order to retain the support of the workmen in his own constituency who were beginning to view with suspicion the paradox of a capitalist claiming to represent their particular interests. 10  During the 1906 election contest Thomas stressed his cordial relationship with Hardie and revealed that he had rejected several applications for support from prospective Liberal candidates for Hardie's seat. Moreover, he pledged that the interests of the workmen would receive priority on his programme and advocated the formation of another and more durable Liberal-Labour Association in the constituency than the ephemeral organization sponsored by Pritchard Morgan in 1892.

To the dismay of many Liberal electors Thomas, who had become disillusioned with the Welsh Parliamentary Party, abandoned this party and withdrew into political isolation in parliament.

Radcliffe, who attracted local sentiment by his childhood connection with Merthyr and by his membership of a local Calvinistic Methodist chapel, cohered the grievances of the Liberal-nonconformists around his platform. His campaign, which favoured the twin causes of disestablishment and separatism, was applauded by the officials of the chapels, and his promise to re-build the Liberal caucus of Merthyr Boroughs which, after its failure to block Pritchard Morgan's return in 1888, had languished for eighteen years in the shade of Thomas' personal domination of local Liberalism, gained for him the support of the right-wing Liberals of the ineffective caucus. Thomas, who was irritated by this unexpected prospect of a contest, was forced to intensify his campaign, and the popular disapproval of his retirement from the Welsh Parliamentary Party evident at Radcliffe's public meetings spurred Thomas to supervene to his election programme the assurance that, if returned, he would re-join this party and aid its development as an influential element in parliamentary politics.

As during the previous election the contest was three-cornered and the issues, with the exception of the war controversy, revolved around similar themes. For Hardie the main issue was the need to maintain the strength of the principle of independent Labour representation against the powerful counter-attack of the Liberal-nonconformists, whilst Thomas relied on his record as the senior member for Merthyr and promised a continuation of his known policies. Radcliffe, who had the advantage over Pritchard Morgan, whom Hardie had beaten in 1900, that he could not be judged, as Morgan had been, on his experience in office, represented both the hostility towards the socialists and the disappointment with Thomas.

The polls returned the sitting members. Hardie, whose candidature had been supported by a number of prominent Labour leaders including Michael Davitt, the Irish Home Ruler, probably won the majority of the labour electorate with his total poll of 10,187 votes which almost doubled his poll of 5,745 votes in  1900. Thomas received a record poll of 13,971 votes, but it is notable that only 651 'plumpers' were recorded for him in contrast to the impressive 2,304 votes cast for Hardie and the 1,438 votes cast for Radcliffe. The distribution of the split votes shows that the majority of the electors voted for the return of the sitting members who, together, polled 7,409 votes. Nevertheless, Radcliffe, who had not been given the official sanction of the Central Liberal Office, polled a significant 7,776 votes, and the 5,878 votes which were cast for Thomas and Radcliffe together illustrate the numerical extent of ................

....................... that section of the electorate which hoped that, with Radcliffe's encouragement, Thomas would be induced to re-enter into a more vigorous prosecution of Welsh particularism.

The 1906 election re-affirmed Hardie's representation of Merthyr Boroughs. Yet this event was robbed of much of its importance by the electoral pact of  the Central Liberal Office and the Labour Representation Committee which had been concluded in 1903. Merthyr Boroughs was one of a number of working class constituencies in which the Labour Representation Committee candidate was guaranteed no official Liberal opposition in return for the support of the Committee for other Liberal candidates where the Committee had any influence. 11  Herbert Gladstone, the Liberal Chief Whip, had written to Thomas a few months before the election to assure both Thomas and Hardie of his support and to wish them a safe and unopposed return. Hardie and Thomas, themselves, in addition to this Liberal-Labour Representation Committee understanding, had their own personal arrangement which involved a mutual support of each other's candidatures. Although the election seemed to reflect the extension and solidity of the Labour Movement in the area, this Labour victory was stultified by its dependence on Liberal goodwill and the ideal of independent Labour representation remained a chimera for the workmen of Merthyr Boroughs.

KENNETH OWEN FOX

Borth

• 1. Except where otherwise indicated in the footnotes the source for this article is the National Library Purchase Collection of broadsides, pamphlets, and newspaper cuttings relating to the Merthyr Election of 1906 (N.L.W. XJN 563, M 57).
• 2. Labour Leader, 24 March 1905 and Cardiff Times, 16 September 1905.
• 3.  Cardiff Times, 27 January 1906. This observation was partly evoked by attacks on Hardie which had no connection with Radcliffe. W. M. Thompson, the editor of the Reynold's Newspaper and the founder of the now-declining National Democratic League, a radical body intended to press for the removal of electoral anomalies, was disappointed by Hardie's refusal to allow the League to affiliate with the Labour Representation Committee and he demonstrated this disappointment by opposing Hardie's candidature and by reviving an old bogey that the Independent Labour Party had been financed by the Tories. Hardie's warning that an action for calumny would be initiated against Thompson if he continued his attacks terminated them. For an account of this affair, see: F. Bealey and H. Pelling, Labour and Politics, 1900-6, 1958, p. 269.
• 4. Labour Leader, 12 September 1903.
• 5. Glamorgan Free Press, 11 September 1905.
• 6. Cardiff Times, 30 December 1905.
• 7. ibid., 27 May 1905 and Labour Leader, 2 December 1904.
• 8. W. J. Edwards, From the Valley I Came, 1956, p. 140.
• 9. Labour Leader, 9 February 1901 and 26 September 1903 and Glanorgan Free Press, 5 January 1906.
• 10. Reynold's Newspaper, 30 June 19o3 and Labour Leader, 26 September 19o3.
• 11.Bealey and Pelling, op. cit., p. 298.

B G Charles. National Library of Wales journal, Vol VII/1, Summer 1951.

Extracted onto the pages of GENUKI with the kind permission of the National Library of Wales

This is a complete extract of this article [Gareth Hicks July 2002].

Charters

The mediaeval town of Newport in the hundred of Cemais, standing at the mouth of the river Nevern on the north coast of Pembrokeshire, grew up around the Norman castle which the Martin family built there. Although tradition attributes the conquest of Cemais to the shadowy figure of Martin of Tours, history reveals that the district was conquered by his son Robert fitz Martin, who was already in possession about 1115. Nanhyfer (Nevern) was first selected as the site of the Norman stronghold which was intended to dominate the conquered territory. In 1191 the Lord Rhys, during his campaign against the Norman castles of South Wales, captured the castle of Nanhyfer which was held by his son-in-law William fitz Martin who had married Angharad, daughter of the Welsh prince. Rhys gave the castle to his son Gruffudd. Within three years, in the course of a family feud, Maelgwn and Hywel Sais, sons of the Lord Rhys, imprisoned their father in the castle of Nanhyfer which was then in their possession. In 1195 Hywel Sais destroyed the fortification when the reconquest of Cemais by the Normans appeared likely. That seems to have been the end of Nevern as the stronghold and caput of the invaders. From now onwards Newport (Trefdraeth) became the seat of the lords of Cemais. A new castle was built there; in 1215 Llywelyn the Great is reported to have captured it.

Having settled upon a new site for his central stronghold, the lord of Cemais proceeded to establish a borough in the shadow of the castle and called it Newport. In Welsh the place was (and still is) called Trefdraeth from its situation near the traeth or shore which was called Traeth Edrywy. Like other Norman lords, he recognised the advantages of settling a compact community of burgesses in a newly conquered district and establishing an outpost of predominantly English settlers in the midst of his Welsh subjects. He realised, too, that a thriving urban community would be an added source of income so long as complete control of the town remained in his own hands. It will become apparent in the course of these notes that the lords of Cemais never relaxed their hold on the government and finances of the little borough of Newport throughout the long period of its history.

How soon after erection of the castle the town began to develop is not known. The earliest known charter of Newport, which is undated but which may be attributed to circa 1241, is still extant in the Bronwydd Collection (NLW), complete with the seal of Nicholas fitz Martin, lord of Cemais. This charter is a confirmation by Nicholas to his burgesses of Newport of all the liberties and customs which his father, William fitz Martin, had granted to them by his charter. William was lord of Cemais.

The following is the gist of the charter;

'The burgesses shall have common pasture in the grantor's land and common in water from the ditch which encloses the vill towards the east as far as the sea, and easement of wood for their houses and buildings and for their fire under the supervision of the lord's forester. If a burgess die from any death whatsoever, unless he lose his life by judgment for felony, the lord will have nothing of his chattels, except the relief, viz 12d. If a burgess deliver to any man his living plough cattle, and the latter lose his life or his cattle, being accused of felony or larceny, the burgess shall prove the cattle to be his by good and lawful (men), and shall have them. If a burgess hire land from any freeman, and the freeman wish to break the agreement, the lord is bound to distrain on the freeman to compel him to keep the agreement. In the same way he is bound to distrain the debtors of the burgesses of whom they have bail and witnesses, that they shall pay their debts to them. A burgess accused by any foreigner shall be bailed by his neighbours. The burgesses ought to have a reeve and catchpoll appointed by consultation with the lord. No foreign merchant shall buy or sell without the lords town of Newport. A burgess who is accused of felony or larceny and says ' I deny the felony or larceny and whatever is charged against me' makes a good defence. The burgesses shall not go on expedition, except as the burgesses of Pembroke go. And with the liberties aforesaid, the lord granted them the liberties and free customs of Pembroke.'

Nicholas fitz Martin granted another and supplementary charter (undated but circa 1273-81) to the burgesses of Newport. This is an important document inasmuch as it gives the bounds of the liberties and amplifies the clauses touching burgage tenure and rights of pasture;

'The lord granted to the burgesses in common all his land wet and dry, moors and turbaries, without their burgages and within, according to these boundaries; on the east part of the town of Newport from the chapel of Milburge as (the river) Cleudach [i.e Clydach] holds its course as far as the boundaries of the lands of the sons of William Dev towards Talleronnauc [i.e Dol-rhanog] --- saving to the lord and his heirs the dry arable land in the place called Gvernrou and also saving whatever arable land there may between Gvernrou and Carnengli within the bounds of Talleronnauc. And saving to the burgesses and their heirs and assigns all the pasture in the same land so long as it is not ploughed or bearing corn and Nicholas grants that that land shall not be sold to any foreigner but only to his burgesses of Newport --- And from the bounds of the lands of the sons of William Dev as far as the boundaries of the land of Talleronnauc and thus encircling the hill called Carnengli [Carningli] as far as the bounds of the tenement of Nantmarchan [?Cwm Collen by Llannerch] and thence as far as the boundaries of Menithmelin and thence descending to the highway leading from Newport to Haverford to the river west of Makmareis [Park y Marriage] running towards Rogian [Rhigian] as far as the sea, saving the burgages and the lands of freeholders and the lands of burgesses within the aforesaid boundaries and saving the lands of those bearing a free rent ( portantium liberum reditum) outside their burgages; and thence all the marshland on both sides of the river called Nevern as far as the bridge of the town of Newport over the Nevern and the small island which is between the said bridge and the mill of the lord called New Mill ( novum molendinum). Moreover, he granted to the burgesses their heirs and assigns that they may collect fern through all his demesne, viz at Birie [Bury], Ryvgyan and Makmareis, outside his corn in the time of summer and autumn.'

Because of the paucity of mediaeval records, it is not known how many burgesses were attracted to this seignorial borough by the privileges and customs set out by the lord in his charters, nor how much land went with each burgage. Apart from some stretches of demesne land, most of the parish seems to have been parcelled out in burgages and common land among the burgesses, although there were a number of freeholders with lands in the parish and liberties of Newport who did not enjoy the status of burgesses. Newport is a parish of over 4606 acres, a great deal of which consists of the rough mountain land on the hill-slopes of Carningli which rises steeply south of the town and castle. The town itself lies below the castle on the lower levels towards the sea. Here, along the coast and the rivers, is the more fertile agricultural land. In mediaeval times the slopes of Carningli were a large common of rough grazing land. The eighteenth and nineteenth century enclosures made more and more inroads into the common until only some one thousand acres of common now remain on the upper slopes of Carningli.

Very little is known of the development of Newport from the time of its creation to the end of the mediaeval period. The economy of the borough was mainly based on agriculture with a little fishing, trade in the fairs and markets, and business in connection with the lord's castle and courts. A number of ministers' accounts, preserved in the 'Register Book of Kemes', provide a few glimpses of the affairs of the borough between 1394 and 1513.

The Castle

The castle was kept in some kind of repair and there was a constable in charge --- the constable of Cemais. In the account for the year ending Michaelmas 1395, 66s.1d was expended in repairs there --- lime and its carriage from Haverfordwest, stone tiles for roofing the castle buildings and lath-nails, wages for the mason and tiler and other servants engaged on the work of reparation and roofing. The constable's fee was 40s in the account for Michaelmas, 1398. In the same account 5s.4d was paid to a stone mason who was employed for sixteen days at 4d per day in repairing certain buildings of the castle, helped by his servant whose wage at 3d per day for sixteen days came to 4s. The two carpenters who spent three days felling timber in the wood of Penkelly to make a new bridge for the castle received 2s.6d at the rate of 5d a day. Carriage of the timber to the castle cost 8s. There was an expenditure of 6s for boards ( ass'bus) for the bridge bought at Fishguard, with 8d carriage.

The castle was in ruins long before the end of the sixteenth century. There is no record that the Audleys ever lived there. The following, taken from the 'Vairde Book', describes it as it appeared to a surveyor in 1594;

'Also there is a Castell there now decaied called the Castell of Neewporte which Castell was the mansion and chiefe manorhouse of the Lorde of the saide Lordshipp or Baronie of Kemes, and the Lorde is owner of the saide Castell in which Castell there were many lardge and faire roomes with buildings abowte three partes of the Coortlage, which Castell was seated on a mounte above the towne and moated with a faire Cleere spring of sweete Runing water out of which moate by a sleewse the saide water was lett forth to drive the mill called the Castell mill beinge Close adioyninge to the saide moate unto which Castell did belong the lands called the Burye as the demesnes of the saide Castell which standeth so that owte of the saide Castell maye be seene all the Cattell that shalbe feedinge and all ye corne growinge upon the same land called the Burye beinge a very greate and lardge demeynes and good grownde most apt to beare Barley, pease and beanes and to feed sheep & Connyes, which Castell is not valued at any rent.
Also there is a peece of grounde without the saide moate belonginge to the saide Castell called the Castell garden ... which garden is not valued.
Also there is a close called the Castell parke close adioyninge to the saide moate of the Castell on the sowth side thereof conteyninge by estimacon vi acres of the Contrey measure and was in old tyme closed with a stone ditch which nowe is ruinowse and is valued above at vs. under the title of terr' dominical.'

In 1341 James de Audley, then lord of Cemais, farmed out the issues of the town to Phillip de Chetwinde for the term of the latter's life at a rental of 17 ½ marks per annum. A further indication of the revenue derived by the lord from the town is given in the accompanying table of statistics which are drawn from the accounts. The reeve, who later became the mayor, was responsible for the collection of the issues.

(The full table only comprises figures under separate headings so I only show one example as follows;

Date; 1512-3

• Issues received from the reeve; £6.16s.9d
• Farm of the mills; £2.13s.4d
• Rents of assise; £5.12s.9d
• Prise of ale; 13s.4d
• Toll of the fairs; 12d
• Perquisites of the hundred; 9s.8d)

The Courts

Records of the courts of the borough of Newport date from the 8 Oct. 1566, but there is only one roll, covering the years 1588-1593, for the queen's reign. There are eight other rolls dating from May 1604 to 29 April 1741 but unfortunately, some serious gaps occur in the series. Three files of subsidiary documents, consisting of writs, precepts, declarations, copies of pleadings, panels of jurors, legal costs and correspondence for a number of years in the reigns of Elizabeth, James I, Charles I and Charles II, illustrate the internal procedure of the borough courts in some detail. Eleven estreat rolls (1574-1632) help in a small way to fill the gaps in the court roll. From 1742 to 1853 a series of court leet presentments and court books bring the records down to modern times.

Two courts were held in the borough: (1) The Court Leet and View of Frankpledge, (2) the fortnightly Hundred Court.

(1) The title used in the rolls for the first court is the 'Court of the View of Frankpledge', and in the later rolls the 'Court Leet and View of Frankpledge'. It was held at Newport twice a year, soon after Michaelmas (Sept, Oct or early November) and about Easter (April or May). In the early part of the seventeenth century the place of meeting was the Guildhall but from about 1625 the court was held at the house of the bailiff of the borough, probably because the old Guildhall was falling into ruins. The court was held before the reeve ( prepositus) of the borough or his deputy. Burgesses and freeholders, inhabiting within or without the borough, owed suit of court, and for each default they were amerced 7s.

Periodically the records of this court begin with the roll of the suitors of the town of Newport (freeholders with lands in the parish) followed by the roll of the burgesses of the town. The lists are not mutually exclusive; a man might be a suitor by virtue of a freehold tenement within the liberties as well as by virtue of his burgage holding. The clerk or recorder of the court marked the suit-rolls with his own symbols --- a dot, apparently, to denote the presence and a cross to denote the absence of suitors, thus providing himself with a record of defaulters who were duly amerced. The same lists were used for several successive courts. Deceased and sick suitors and burgesses who had fled the borough were often denoted; names of new burgesses were added at the end of the suit-rolls; the quality and occupations of burgesses were often added to their names. e.g there is a glover, merchant, corvisor, miller and tanner in the oldest roll of burgesses (Bronwydd No 75). In spite of deletions, emendations and additions these suit-rolls provide us with the approximate number of burgesses of the town from one period to another; sixty-seven (1588), sixty-four (1594), sixty-four (1611), sixty-eight (1625), seventy-nine (1631), sixty-three (1655), eighty-six (1712). The approximate number of freeholders who owed suit of court were ; twenty-six (1588), thirty-one (1594), twenty-four (1611), fifteen (1625), fifteen (1631), seven (1655), eleven (1712). New burgesses were elected by the jurors at the View of Frankpledge 'by consent of the lord and reeve' (3 May 1604) and were sworn in court. An example of the oath sworn by a burgess may be seen in roll No 72 (1655). A number of aldermen appear among the ranks of the burgesses from 1655. The following excerpt from the customs of the borough dated 1594 (in the 'Vairdre Book' fo. 156) gives some information on the election and status of the burgesses;

'Also the great enquest sworne there every leete do electe and chuse such persons as they thinke fitt to be burgesses of the saide Towne and so doth the Lorde at everye of the said leetes of himselfe chuse and electe any person or as many as himselfe pleseth to be burgesses there also, which persons so elected by the Lorde of greate Enquest furst do fealtie to the lorde and are sworne in open Coorte and take the oathe of the burgess there and then such person so chosen and sworn is free to enjoye any libertyes within the saide Towne. If any Burgesse do misbehave him selfe or otherwise then becometh him or doth refuse to paye or contribute with the burgesses there in any common rate or taske then is the same Burgess disgraded in maner as he was elected, with disgradinge being entred in the recordes in open Coorte he is barred from all liberties and freedoms that he enjoyed before as burgess.'

At the Court Leet and View of Frankpledge a 'grand inquisition' consisting of from fifteen to nineteen jurors (sixteen was the normal number) were elected by the reeve (mayor) from amongst the suitors to the court and it was their duty to make presentments and amerce offenders. They were appointed 'to inquire for the king and for George Owen', lord of the town. The jurors were sworn in court, apparently in batches of three, and one of them acted as foreman or spokesman. On occasion they acted in successive courts by adjournment and presented leet matters at the fortnightly court.

The election of the officers of the borough took place at the Michaelmas court. The chief officer was, of course, the reeve or portreeve ( prepositus) or mayor, as he is called in English records (the term mayor is used as early as circa 1500). He was elected by the lord of the borough from a list of three (sometimes four between 1611 and 1655 and not infrequently including the name of the retiring mayor) submitted to him by the grand inquisition of jurors. He was also sworn by the lord in person: in the time of George Owen some new mayors had to go to Henllys to be sworn by the lord. The mayor was answerable for the lord's rent, the prise of ale, tolls, estreats, waifs and strays within the town.

Then followed the election of the bailiff. Three or sometimes four names, which might include the old bailiff, were presented and this time the mayor made the choice. But in theory, according to the custumal in 'Vairde Book', fo. 156, the lord elected and swore both the mayor and bailiff. When Owen Lewis was elected bailiff on 12 Oct 1590, he was sworn by the recorder of the court. The bailiff was the executive officer of the court: he served writs, collected fines and amercements, and took charge of prisoners. When the new bailiff came into office on 13 Dec 1629, he was handed a pair of great bolts, two pairs of small bolts with two rings and a shackle.

Two constables or petty constables were also appointed at this court and sworn in full court. From 1615 to 1721 three petty constables were appointed.

Early in the proceedings of the court would come the calling of the roll of suitors. Defaulters, both freeholders and burgesses, were presented and amerced 7s each, a sum which was later mitigated by the affeerors. It has been noticed that generally speaking the persons who absented themselves regularly were men of standing --- the 'esquires' and 'gentlemen'.

The jury then made their presentments on oath. The following extracts from the rolls will give a good idea of this aspect of the business of the View of Frankpledge;

• The jury say that William Phillip Gworda enfeoffed David John Hodge in one burgage in Reol Vayre and it is held of the lord of Kemes as of Newport by free socage, wherefore there falls due to the lord for relief 6d (20 April 1589).
• That Eynon Phillips, gent, died seised as a burgess of the town, wherefore there falls due to the lord 12d.
• That Henry Bowen of Parke y Maries encroached upon the waste of the lord near the stream called Nant gelly moch.
• That Lleyky verch Phillip, spinster, broke the common pound in rescuing from the possession of Jane Griffith her cattle and sheep in the way going to the common pound of the town for divers transgressions, etc; therefore, in mercy 7s.
• That Phillip Rees encroached on the liberties of the town, therefore in mercy 7s. (7 Oct 1589).
• That Thomas John Turnour made a bloody assault upon Morice Teylour, therefore in mercy 7s (11 May 1590).
• That Thomas William, miller of Mertell on 25 April 1591, made a rescue and affray on Owen Lewys, bailiff of the town, in arresting Robert Edwards at the suit of Owen Thomas of Moelgrove, therefore in mercy 7s. (26 April 1591).
• That Melchior ap Ievan ap Howell died seised of 5 tenements within the liberties of the town and by his will bequeathed them to William Melchior and his heirs in perpetuity, and the tenements are held of the lord of the town by free socage and suit of court every fifteen days, wherefore there falls to the lord as a relief 7d. (10 May 1591).
• That John Lloid of Rossemaen had seisin of one acre of land or more in a place called Maes y knouck of William Phillip Gwrda, therefore he owes to the lord a relief of 12d.
• That Lewis Thomas of Kilgwin made an assault and rescue upon Owen Lewys, bailiff of Newport, in the exercise of his office, therefore in mercy 7s.
• That William Phillip Gwrda, James Howell and Thomas John Turnour did not repair the hedges according to the custom of the town, therefore in mercy 2s.6d each (?July 1592).
• That the hedges between the lands in the tenure of Jenet John, widow, and the common of the burgesses of the town are ruinous and in decay, and that she should repair them [in mercy] 2s.6d.
• That Griffith John, smith, made an assault and affray on Agnes, wife of John David, alias Taylor, therefore in mercy 7s.
• That Angharad John, widow, enfeoffed William Bedo in six burgages in Longstreete, Goatestreete, Golsmith streete, and Westreete which are held of the lord of the town of Newport by fealty and suit of court every fifteen days, wherefore there falls to the lord a relief of 12d for each burgage --- 6s.
• James Perrott, knight, Walter Rees, knight, Cicil, daughter of James Perrott, Owen Picton, gent, John Kiblewhite and Rowland Thomas Yong the younger, freehold tenants of the town, because they did not appear at the Court of View of Frankpledge but defaulted, are amerced 7s each (3 May 1604).
• That Owen Griffiths and four other burgesses did not attend with the mayor at the fair held in Newport 16 June 1604, but made default, in mercy 7s each.
• That Jenet John, widow, kept her pigs unringed to the damage of her neighbours, in mercy 2s.6d.
• That Caria Tanner, widow, broke the assise of ale, selling small measure in illegal measures, therefore she is in mercy 12d.
• That Lewis ap Hugh of Haverfordwest and his wife intruded on the liberties of the town and broke the assise of ale there, therefore in mercy 7s (8 Oct 1604).
• That James William Lloyd and Hugh John, smith, kept playing cards and other illicit games in their houses, in mercy 2s.6 each (31 Dec 1604 --- ?adjourned leet).
• That Richard ap Ievan, tailor, and ten others kept taverns in their houses and sold ale without licence (25 Aug 1606).
• That Henry Stedman died seised in his demesne as of fee in one tenement and two acres of land in the town of Newport in a place called Pen y voydir which are held of George Owen, lord of the town; relief due
• Thomas Phillip Gwrda was amerced 40s by the mayor because he, being present in court, refused to take oath in evidence on behalf of the king, although desired to do so by the mayor [5 Feb 1611 the mayor mitigated the sum to 7s] (7 Oct 1611)
• That William Melchior encroached on the common of the burgesses of Newport and erected a stone hedge on the common west of his mansion house and north towards Carnengly to the damage of the burgesses. On 8 June the court ordered him to remove the hedge before the next court under penalty of £5 to the lord (4 May 1612). For not complying with the order of the court he was later deprived of his right of being a burgess (12 Oct 1612).
• That the highway within the liberty of the town near Park y marys is ruinous and in decay.
• That David Thomas and Thomas Hughe caught small salmon in the river Nevern near the bridge of the town, in mercy ----
• That the bridge of Pont Lloydach is out of repair (22 April 1616).
• The jury find the lands and burgage of Edward William Bedo to be escheat to the lord of this liberty for not paying the chief rent for 1 ½ years and not doing service at the court (23 April 1621).
• The jury present William Anthony, Katherine James, John Lloyd, clerk, and Trevor Hugh, clerk, for keeping mangy horses contrary to the Statute, amerced 7s each.
• Because Thomas Owen Smith did take tobacco in open court he was amerced 3s.6d. (25 Feb 1655).
• The jury present the stocks and whipping post to be out of repair (20 Oct 1720).
• The Grand Jury present a market to be necessary in the town on Thursday weekly, according as it was formerly and ought to be kept as usually. They present a gaol and a town hall to be built in the said town upon the charge of the lords of the borough with the benevolences of the burgesses in the place where it was formerly near the Crosse. Note : where the new house is now built (25 Sept 1713).
• John Roberts was presented and sworn a burgess 19 May 1715 under the legal stamp.
• The jury presented Thomas Hellier, Thomas William and others to be fit persons to be burgesses, each to be fined 10s which was moderated by the affeerors to 2s.6d each (19 May 1715).
• They present that all toll of fairs and markets to be the lords, and for poundage from those out of the corporation 6d to the lord of the corporation [William Owen and William Laugharne] and 4d. ye bailiff, and from all burgesses 2d. only to the bailiff (5 Oct 1724).
• Defaulters amerced : freeholders 10s, landholders 5s, and cottagers amd tradesmen 2s, affeered to 1s.6d and 3d respectively (29 April 1741).

(2) The other court which was held within the borough of Newport was a court of record.

In early times it was called the Hundred Court 'holden before the mayor or portreeve every fifteen days there, which Court holdeth plea of any action personal or mixed of what sum soever and to the said Court are all freeholders by tenure of their land and the burgesses by reason of their freedom bound to do suit and service' ('Vairdre Book', fo. 158). In the sixteenth and seventeenth century court rolls it is styled the 'Court of George Owen (later Alban Owen), esq., lord of the town of Newport'. In some eighteenth century rolls it is described as the 'Court Baron'.

The jurisdiction and procedure of this fortnightly court have several points of considerable interest. It was held every other Monday at the Guildhall in Newport (later, like the Court Leet, at the house of the bailiff) before the reeve or mayor. Sometimes the reeve's deputy presided. The normal business of the court was the trial of pleas of debt, detinue, trespass, and slander, but there was an important difference between the court baron of a manor and a borough court of this kind inasmuch as the limit of 40s was not observed in pleas of debt. A great many cases recorded at on the extant rolls involved much larger sums, as may be seen from the pleas quoted below, but nevertheless the majority of cases was concerned with small amounts.

During the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth and the reign of James I it was a popular court for the settlement of debts and the award of damages for trespass. Its business proved a source of profit, if not to the lord of the town, at least to the officers whose duty it was to conduct proceedings and to the attorneys or professional pleaders who acted on behalf of litigants. These drew fees at every stage of the proceedings. The clerk of the court usually entered the name (initials or surname) of the attorney immediately above his entry of the suit on the roll --- complainant's attorney on the left and defendant's on the right. Litigants did not invariably employ attorneys to plead their suits; in such cases the clerk usually notes that they appeared in person. Among the attorneys noted in the early rolls are Morris Powell, J Br(?rown), M Bowen, Phillip Young, Williams (?George William [Griffith] of Penybenglog), Gruffydd Vaughan, William Gwyn of Newport, William Bowen of Holmus, and John Symins, most of whom were local gentlemen with legal training. The attorney's fee seems to have been about 1s.4d. but there is one case in which William Bowen of Holmus, gent, claimed a debt of 4s.4d. from Richard ap Ievan, tailor, who had retained complainant as his attorney in the court of Newport and he sued for his fee, viz 4s.4d. (12 Oct 1612). At the court held on 15 March 1613, there was a scene between the attorneys. William Gwyn snatched the declarations in a number of suits which were before the court from the hands of William Bowen and tore them to pieces before the mayor in court.

From a minute study of all the countless annotations made by the clerk of the court on the rolls (cryptic and puzzling though some of them may be) and from the interesting files of subsidiary court documents, it should be possible for the student to reconstruct the internal procedure of the court in some detail. The first stage was for the litigant to get his suit entered by the recorder or clerk. His complaint would be set out by his attorney in what was termed the declaration ( narratio), a copy of which was given to the defendant who was summoned to answer complainant. Defendant would put in a plea in his own defence or plead guilty and issue was joined. It often happened that defendants made essoin or raised an objection on a point of law or procured postponement in some other way. Thus these suits could, and often did, drag on from one court to the next for weeks and even months before the pronouncement of judgement, followed by execution. The suits were tried by jurors. A precept ( venire faceas) signed by the prepositus ( and often by the clerk as well) was directed to the bailiff of the town to summon twelve burgesses to act as jurors in a particular suit at issue, giving the names of the litigants and the nature of the suit. The bailiff then summoned the jurors individually to appear in court on the appointed day when six of them were sworn in court to sit on the case. One of the six was appointed foreman or spokesman and it was he who declared the verdict of the jurors after they had heard the pleadings on both sides and assessed the damages and costs. The panel of jurors, with the names of the six who were sworn indicated thereon, is often endorsed on the precepts returned by the bailiff, some of which have survived. The verdict, damages and costs may also be found endorsed on these precepts. The same information is frequently entered on the rolls themselves. Witnesses were also summoned by precept. The following is the earliest example noted;

villa de novo burgo

'To the persons undernamed and every of them Whereas you are necessary witnesses as is alleaged in a matter dependinge at yssue in the towne Corte of the said town between Eignon Younge, gent, plaintiff, and David Griffith, deft., these are to will and require you to appeare in the corte of the said towne upon Monday the vth day of this moneth then and there to testifie the trueth of your knowledges in the said matter of the plaintives behaulfe, your reasonable chardges considered, thereof faile not at your peril.

Dated the 11th day of November 1634
Jennet John, Mary Edward,
Thos Jones, clerk of the court
Geo Gwynn, maior.'

It fell to the bailiff to execute the judgements of the court. Failure on the part of defendants to pay the damage and costs awarded brought forth a warrant ( capias ad satisfaciendum), directed by the mayor to the bailiff to arrest him;

'Warrant to Griffith John, bailiff, to attach John Taffe or Owen Lewis, his pledge, and bring him before the Mayor of Newport to make satisfaction to Phwke Lloyd of Cardigan in respect of a debt of 27s.6d. which he recovered in the court of Newport and 5s.6d. costs. Signed : William Warren, prepositus. Endorsed by the bailiff; I have arrested the body of the said Owen Lewis, who was committed by the prepositus of the town and he remains in my custody, Griffith John, bailiff.'

There are many instances of writs which bear the endorsement that the mayor had committed a person to the town gaol where he remained in the custody of the bailiff. When the bailiff was unable to find the defaulter in his bailiwick he then attached his pledge who had to answer for the debt or be imprisoned until satisfaction was made. On 23 Aug 1630 Owen John David, pledge of William Phillips, was arrested to satisfy a debt of 40s.4d. and 4s.2d. costs. On 20 Sept the mayor committed him to prison until he paid and on 1 Oct he paid the debt and costs in full. Debts recovered in court could also be levied by distraint;

'Writ of levari faceas directing the bailiff to distrain the goods and chattels of Thomas Phillip Gwrda to satisfy Roland Yong, gent, in respect of a debt of 16s.9d. and 5s. costs. Signed Wm Warren, Mayor, 3 Nov 1600. Endorsed: Distrained from his goods one brown cow valued 22s. by Lewis William and Phillip Meredith and it remains in my custody --- Griffith John, bailiff.'

It was one of the duties of the clerk of the court to keep a record of the costs of litigation. Using a system of abbreviations he noted in the margin of the rolls or wherever he could find space, the various precepts issued in the suit and certain other bits of information, e.g dida (dies datus), vefa (venire faceas), lefa (levari faceas), casa (capias ad satisfaciendum), fifa (fieri faceas), narr' (narratio 'declaration'), esso (essoin), jud (judicio 'judgement'), and the puzzling li'lo (?liberata loquela) cum copia which had to do with informing the defendant of the suit initiated in court against him and supplying him with a copy of the declaration. A few bills of court costs have survived and include such items as these ; entrance fee 6d., filing declaration 4d., attorney's fee 1s.4d., writs of venire faceas, levari faceas and capias ad satisfaciendum 1s. each, warrant to witnesses 10d., jury 1s., witnesses 1s. ? each, judgement 8d., pledge 4d., etc. Costs in two suits in 1665 were 7s.8d. and 10s. respectively, but from 5s to 6s seems to have been the average costs at the beginning of the century.

There can be little doubt that this town court conducted considerable business in petty suits and functioned successfully , at least before it began to decline in the second half of the seventeenth century. It was an expeditious court for the settlement of debts and probably cheaper than the Quarter Sessions of Great Sessions. A remarkable number of litigants came from outside the borough, even from beyond the boundaries of Cemais. They were mostly traders and merchants from Haverfordwest and Tenby and farmers who visited Newport to buy and sell, especially at fair time. Suits were often tried between two litigants, both of whom lived outside the liberties. It is probable, though not quite clear, from a cursory examination of the records, that the issue in dispute had to originate within the borough before the case could come before the mayor. Debts, trespasses and slanders are frequently, but not always, stated to have been committed at the town cross or in Cocklane. Suits initiated in the court could be transferred to the Great Sessions by writ; several such writs have survived. A suit between Alban Owen, esq, plaintiff, (lord of Cemais) and Thomas Griffiths, defendant, in a plea of trespass to the damage of £13.13s.4d. was thus removed on 6 April 1631. Plaintiff had entered into a bond in £8 with a silk-weaver from Bristol at Cocklane on 20 July 1628 at the instance of defendant. The silk-weaver recovered the sum with costs at the King's Court at the Guildhall, Haverfordwest, against plaintiff, but as Thomas Griffith, the defendant, had not made satisfaction to him he brought a suit to recover the debt  'before the mayor in the Newport court without the king's writ according to the custom of the said town'. But because an error in procedure had become apparent, to the damage of the plaintiff, a writ was served on the mayor ordering him to send the documents in the suit for trial at Carmarthen, probably in the Great Sessions.

To illustrate the work of the court the following excerpts (summarised from the Latin of the originals) have been taken from the rolls at random. Some of the clerk's annotations are summarised in the square brackets;

• Owen Lewys pleads against George Gworda, Ellen verch David and Thomas Gworda in a plea of trespass to the damage of plaintiff 10s. made at le Westreat in 'the hagard' of plaintiff in Dec last past with the sheep and cattle of defendants [Plaintiff pleaded not guilty. Jurors assess damage at 10d or at one peck of barley. Satisfaction made to plaintiff in court] (24 Feb 1589).
•  
• Rees ab Bowen of Cledye pleads against Maurice ap Hoell of Morvill in a plea of trespass on the case to the damage of plaintiff £12 [28 July defendant` pleads non assumpsit per patria. Case adjourned to the next court with copy of declaration] (16 June 1589).
•  
• William Warren, esq, pleads against Henry ap Ievan in a plea of trespass on the case to the damage of plaintiff £20. [14 Sept defendant dismissed because plaintiff did not prosecute, after the trial had commenced.] (22 June 1590).
•  
• Henry Bowen pleads against Etheldred Thornton in a plea of trespass on the case to the damage of plaintiff £3.6s.8d [24 Sept a day is given with copy of declaration. 28 Sept defendant did not accept the charge and issue is joined. 26 Oct the jurors by the mouth of John ap Rees Gall find against defendant and assess damages at £3.6s.8d.. Plaintiff satisfied in court (20 July 1590).
•  
• Rees ap Ievan ap Howell of the parish of Newport complains against Phillip William of the same, pedlar, in a plea of debt 55s.8d for cheese and butter sold to him on the feast of Phillip and James. [After allocation of a day for hearing the suit, defendant denies the debt. 25 Oct the jurors say that he owes 55s.2d., give judgement and aquit him of the remainder. Defendant paid costs of 5s.9d.] (13 Sept 1590).
•  
• John Lloyd of Rosymaen complains against John William Roblyn of Newport, yeoman, in a plea of debt £4.7s. by a bill given at Cocklane 25 May 1607 to be paid on the Feast of All Saints next following [After essoins and denial of debt, on16 July defendant acknowledged all. Costs 6s.4d.] (7 May 1604).
•  
• Richard Powell of Fishguard complains against Thomas Phillips of the parish of Fishguard, gent, in a plea of debt £4 by an obligation made at Cocklane 11 Jan 1604 [2 July defendant pleaded that he did not contract the debt and issue was joined. 10 Sept the jurors by mouth of William Thomas say that he did not make the obligation, wherefore judgement for £4 and execution; paid. Charges 6s.8d] (18 June 1604).
•  
• At this court the two petty constables of the town were amerced 2s.6d. each by the mayor because they were neglectful and remiss in the execution of their office in keeping the king's peace (Nov 1604).
•  
• David ap Ievan Thomas of Newport complains against William Anthony in a plea of trespass to the damage of 7s. Plaintiff was retained by defandant to work at the harvest and threshing from 1 Sept - to 1 Oct for which he was to have been paid 7s. (10 June 1611).
•  
• Rowland John y gove of Monnington complains against Thomas William of Newport, clerk, in a plea of debt 3s., for a stone of cheese sold to him on 1 Jan 1611 to be paid on 1 May following. (10 June 1611).
•  
• Thomas Bowen James of Llannerch, gent, complains against Jankin ap Richard of Cardigan in a plea of trespass to the damage of plaintiff £5. Defendant on 2 Aug 1610 felled and broke four oak-trees in plaintiff's wood at Llannerch Wood hic infra, and carried them away. [22 July defendant dismissed because the defendant was made outside the liberties and jurisdiction of the court of the town].
•  
• Ievan Walter of Neverne complains against Jenkin David of the same in a plea of debt super demanda 5s.6d. Complainant on 29 Sept 1609 sold to defendant one stone of cheese of the weight used within the town of Cardigan for 5s.6d.
•  
• Thomas James of Kilgwyn, gent, complains against Ievan James John Llewelyn of the same in a plea for trespass on the case to the damage of plaintiff £200. Defendant on 16 May 1611 at Cocklane here spoke false , malicious and scandalous Welsh words, viz Ty di (meaning plaintiff) a dyngaist ynydon gyda erill yn yr achos a oedd mewn kyfraith rhwng Harry John Llewelyn a myfi (meaning defendant); in English, thou hast puriured thy self with others in the cause depending in suite between Harry John Llewelyn and myself; on account of which words plaintiff is much harmed and whereof he brings his suit etc [At later stage, 2 Sept, plaintiff did not prosecute].
•  
• Robert James of Harysmote complains against Robert Thomas William of Pontchardston in a plea of trespass to the damage of plaintiff £200 for scandalous words spoken of plaintiff May last, viz., llidir r hwch y wyt i [5 Aug defendant delayed in law and the case was postponed. 23 Dec jurors through Morris Richard say that he is guilty and swear the damages at 3d and wherefore judgement]. (24 July 1611).
•  
• Thos Lloyd of Fishguard, gent, complains against Hugh Thomas of Newport, clerk, in a plea of trespass to the damage of plaintiff £13.13s.4d. Plaintiff on 14 Dec 1608 at the request of defendant leased to Griffith ap Rees a tenement in the parish of Dynas in a place called Vron Vawr and land called Tir y brin with six cows, and four oxen for a term of three years, in consideration of which the defendant promised for himself and the said Griffith, that the said Griffith should pay annually to plaintiff 6 pecks of barley, 6 pecks of ground oats, 1 peck of peas, one peck of wheat, and 2 ½ stone of cheese, and 2 gallons of butter of the weight and measure of Haverfordwest for each cow and two calves every Michaelmas during the said term, but the said Griffith did not render the same at Michaelmas 1609 as he should have done, and wherefore he brings this suit. [Suit ended when plaintiff did not prosecute] (8 July 1611).
•  
• William Bowen of Hollmus, gent, complains against Gwenllian verch Ievan of the same, spinster, in a plea of trespass to the damage of plaintiff 20s. Defendant withdrew from the work and service of plaintiff before the end of the term agreed between them (22 July 1611).
•  
• Owen John of the parish of Newport complains against James Lewis of the town of Newport in a plea of trespass, 10s. Defendant on 1 Nov 1610 promised to find five fishing nets for herring-fishing in the fishing season of 1610 and to place them in the boat of Rees Lloyd, gent, in which they would fish together. (5 Aug 1611).
•  
• Alban Owen. Gent, complains against Thomas Phillip Gwrda of Newport in a plea of trespass, 40s. for not hay-making and leading hay from the meadow called Castlemead. [25 Nov jurors say that he is guilty and assess damages at 6d. Plaintiff gives satisfaction in court] (19 Aug 1611).
•  
• Thomas Bowen, gent, complains against Owen Hugh of Newport in a plea of debt 15s.6d. in respect of 1 ½ meizes of herrings and 30 herrings sold to defendant. (11 Nov 1611).
•  
• Henry Bowen, gent, pleads against William Gwyn, gent, in a plea of trespass to the damage of plaintiff £4 [22 Jan, defendant acknowledged £3.8s.10d., and plaintiff was satisfied]. (11 Nov 1611).
•  
• Owen John David complains against Griffith ap Ievan Gall in a plea of trespass 20s. Defendant 1 Sept 1611 demised 35 sheep to plaintiff to enjoy their milk and half their wool while in his care, but defendant on 1 May took the sheep without permission to his own house to the damage of plaintiff of all the milk and half the wool from 1 May to 31 Oct. (11 May 1612).
•  
• Nicholas David, mason, and Margaret his wife complain against William Thomas Penry in a plea of trespass to the damage of plaintiffs £20 for scandalous words spoken by defendant about the said Margaret, viz Ty di (i.e Margaret) a rhegaist fy nha ag y ma fynghosin n waeth nag y by or hanner oi dy achos di [20 July defendant pleaded not guilty. 3 Aug 1612 the jurors found he was guilty and assessed damages at 3d.]. (20 July 1612).
•  
• Robert Llewelyn of Fishguard complains against Henry William in a plea of trespass; damage £100. Defendant at the high cross on 29 May 1614 spoke those scandalous words against plaintiff : Lleydr wyti a mab y Leidr, a whiw leidr, nys gadawaist ti ddim erioed heb ddwyn ond y fae ry-drwm neu ry-boeth, ond torri tai A mab y Leidr ysyn torri Llongau ac yn dwyn keffyle ac yn ei kuddio yn r Eithin. (31 July 1615).

B G Charles (to be continued).

The Vikings in Medieval Welsh Literature - on NLW's blog

Welsh Identity, Symbols and the National Eisteddfod - on NLW's blog

Journey to the past  Wales in historic travel writing from France and Germany.
(A collaboration between Bangor University, the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (CAWCS) and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales. )
"For centuries, continental Europeans have come to Wales for numerous reasons. During the Romantic period some came seeking a rural idyll, whilst others in the Victorian era travelled as industrial spies, and during times of war many refugees escaped to Wales to find shelter from persecution. Not only have continental Europeans left their traces among the people of Wales by settling here, but they have also written extensively about their experiences in diaries, letters, books and magazines or novels. Follow along nine themed trails and discover Wales, its culture and people in an entirely new way. Through the eyes of these historical travellers, experience the country like you have never done before. Explore an ivy-covered Tintern Abbey, marvel at the fiery night-sky of Merthyr Tydfil and fall in love with some very unusual Ladies in Llangollen."

How online tools can help us discover Wales’ history - Article on Nation Cymru by Adam N. Coward, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales

Timeline with a Welsh slant - on our Genealogy Help Pages

Inspiring passion from our past (CADW) - "We are the Welsh Government's historic environment service working for an accessible and well-protected historic environment for Wales."

Industrial Wales' & 'Brickworks of Wales'  " Potted histories, potted maps, potted notes and potted memories on all the places that I and others have visited and remember, along with Grid References so that you can visit them too. "(Phil Jenkins)

National Library of Wales Portrait Archive on wikimedia commons. This includes c  5000 portrait prints, photographs and paintings

Pictures and stories of Wales' lost towns, villages and neighbourhoods on Wales Online. "Some of the names are instantly recognisable and integral to the history of Wales. Others are not so well-known and their names, just like their buildings and villagers, all but lost to time."

Story of resurrected Welsh warrior inspires St Thomas Way. Paths to follow tale of William Cragh’s medieval pilgrimage after being brought back to life. A series of hiking paths based on the supposed pilgrimage of a medieval warrior who came back to life after being executed for fighting against the English is to open in the Welsh Marches.......the paths meander through the long-disputed borderland, linking Hereford and Swansea.

Wales Remembers 1914-18

Archwilio  "the easy way to discover the archaeology of Wales through the records of the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts. There are over 100,000 archaeological sites to be found here, so to start discovering them simply click on an area of the map .........."

People's Collection Wales   - A Welsh National Assembly backed undertaking geared to bringing together in one place online all the strands of Welsh history,  not only from those held in various Libraries and Archives but also from the  memories and memorabilia of ordinary folk.

The Welsh History Review  - "Since its inception in 1960 as one of the journals of the University of Wales Board of Celtic Studies, the Welsh History Review has become firmly established as the most authoritative journal in its field. It is an invaluable medium for publishing the fruits of the steady upsurge of interest in the history of Wales in schools, colleges, universities and the media over the past thirty years. Both its readership and its contributors are truly international, including geographers, economists, philologists, sociologists, archaeologists and demographers as well as historians. Every issue includes articles on varying aspects of Welsh history, a large array of book reviews, obituaries and other special features where relevant. Each year a full checklist of publications relating to the history of Wales is given."  See Welsh Journals Online

Coflein - is the online database for the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW) - the national collection of information about the historic environment of Wales.

History Forum for Wales

A Vision of Britain through Time - A vision of Britain between 1801 and 2001. Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions

Cyfraith Hywel Dda (Peniarth 28) (Search Catalogue) A Latin version of the native Welsh law (known to scholars as 'Latin A') which is set quite apart from all other Welsh lawbooks by the series of illustrations in the text.

Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516  "The Gazetteer is a catalogue of markets and fairs in medieval England and Wales......The Gazetteer is valuable to those interested in all periods, as the markets and fairs established during the Middle Ages formed the core of the later network............"

The Spartacus Educational website has some interesting material Welsh History

The Owain Glyndwr Society

Castles on the Web

Here are direct  links to a selection of Welsh history sites by Castles of Wales;

• Chronological Documentary Evidence  A  partial documentary chronology of the Castles of Wales
• Early Medieval Wales with links to other similar sites, such as; Dark Age Wales ; The Age of Saints in Wales
• Medieval Welsh Warriors and Warfare
• Norman Castles in Wales
• Motte and Bailey Castles and Ringworks
• The Castles of Wales and the Civil War
• Kingdom of Deheubarth
• Gerald of Wales
• Llewelyn the Great
• Hywel Dda
• Owain Gwynedd
• Lord Rhys
  • The Last Campaign of Prince Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth
  • Genealogy of The Lord Rhys and the rulers of Deheubarth
• Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
• Owain Glyndwr
  • Cymdeithas Owain Glyndwr

KINGS, QUEENS, ARCHBISHOPS & BISHOPS
OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Notes

• Brass* - from 1992 "bronze" 1p and 2p coins were made from copper-plated steel.
• Silver* - from 1920 "silver" coins contained only 50% silver, and from 1947 "silver" coins were made entirely of cupro-nickel.
• Cupro-Nickel* - the alloy used for 20p coins contains more copper than the other cupro-nickel coins.

UK and Ireland: History

• British History Online is a "digital library of British historical sources .... including text and information about people, places and businesses from the 12th century to the present day".
• History On-line - a comprehensive resource from the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London.
• The British Association for Local History's journal The Local Historian now makes all but the most recent three years of its issues freely available online.
• The British Library provides an extensive set of Learning History (and other subjects) pages.
• Listing of Rulers of England and Great Britain from 829AD, compiled by Dick Eastman.
• Information about the Kings and Queens of England and Scotland has been provided by Colin Hinson. He has also made available a table of Kings, Queens, Archbishops & Bishops which is also available as an Excel spreadsheet.
• Information from the book The English Peerage, which actually covers a wider area than just England.
• Local History Magazine have information related to the local history scene.
• The Virtual Museum of "treasures" from The National Archives - "collected over a 1000 years of British history".
• Anglo-American Legal Tradition - "Documents from Medieval and Early Modern England from the National Archives in London" (a huge resource).
• The Spartacus Educational website has provided some interesting and useful material on many aspects of British History, including:
  • Art & Artists
  • The Chartist Movement
  • First World War
  • Child Labour: 1750-1900
  • Journalists and Newspapers
  • Parliamentary Legislation
  • The Monarchy: 1750-1900
  • Members of Parliament: 1750-1820
  • Members of Parliament: 1850-1950
  • The Peterloo Massacre
  • Prime Ministers: 1780-1900
  • Political Parties and Government Legislation
  • Parliamentary Reform: 1750-1832
  • 19th Century Railways
  • Religion and Society
  • Emancipation of Women: 1780-1920
  • Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders
  • Political Parties and Election Results
  • Trade Unions and the Labour Movement
• The Brigham Young University of Utah has provided online versions of many Primary Documents relating to the History of the United Kingdom.
• Britannia's British History website (archived copy) offers some very useful material from many periods of British history. Their History Sources page (archived copy), which provides the text of many important documents and speeches, is particularly interesting, as are their Timelines of British History (archived copy).
• Another useful Timeline allows you to discover the historical events which were occurring throughout the lives of any chosen ancestor.
• The Great Britain Historical Database - from the Vision of Britain website.
• 19th Century: Victoria Research Web provided by the History Department of Indiana University.
• NetSERF's Hypertext Medieval Glossary (archived copy) explains many of the obscure terms we might encounter in our research.
• Robin Alston's Library History - The British Isles - To 1850 (archived copy) provides "a comprehensive series of files covering libraries, institutional, commercial and private in the British Isles from the late medieval period to the year 1850".
• A brief guide to British Coins 1861-2000.
• The Victorian Web covers many aspects of nineteenth century life including Biography, History, Politics, Gender, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Technology, Literature, Visual Arts and Victorian Design.
• The Heritage Trail (archived copy) - "One of his sceptred isle's greatest assets is her incredible wealth of heritage. From Stone Age Circles to Iron Age hill forts, Roman Baths to Medieval Castles, ruined Abbeys to vast Cathedrals, fine Manor Houses to Victorian seaside piers and pavilions - we have it all. The aim of this site is to offer the visitor a comprehensive insight into as much of Britain's heritage as possible."
• Current Value of Old Money - useful links and information by Roy Davies.
• The H-Net Discussion Network for British and Irish History.
• Great Britain and the United Kingdom History courtesy of "Teacher Oz".
• Knud Mariboe's Encyclopedia of the Celts.
• At the end of the 19th century, Mr Charles Booth held an Inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People of London - his 1889 descriptive map of London poverty is also online.
• An Overview of the The Great Exhibition of 1851 at Crystal Palace.
• Internet Modern History Sourcebook covers a wide range of topics dating from the 16th century to the present.
• The William Morris Gallery - "Discover the life and works of Britain's most inspiring designer at the newly-refurbished William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, London".
• History in Focus: The Victorian Era from the History Online website.
• A Web of English History - history of the period 1760-1850.
• The Victoria County History website gives information on the status of this ambitious project and includes the drafts of some unpublished articles destined for future volumes.
• Victoria County History: Place Index. An Index of places mentioned in the titles of articles in the published volumes of the Victoria History of the Counties of England.
• Useful dates in British History for the local historian or genealogist.
• Outlaws and Highwaymen a "History of the Highwaymen and their Predecessors, the Medieval Outlaws" made available by Gillian Spraggs.
• Roughly Date a Victorian or Edwardian Lady (archived copy) Photographs sorted by date by Roger F. Vaughan. Another useful site for dating photographs is The Costume Gallery which deals with changes in fashion over the years.
• A History of Women's Regency Fashion: Brocades, Fragrance, Lace, and Powder.
• Sewing Patterns and Guides for Historical Clothing and Costumes, by Lulus.
• The entire 3500 British Pathe news film archive covering "news, sport, social history and entertainment from 1896 to 1970" is now available online. The search facility allows one to locate and immediately view summaries and stills. Low resolution film "preview files" can be downloaded for viewing using Windows Media Player, free of charge to UK residents (though only after providing credit card and other identifying information).
• Britain on Film - by the National Film Institute: "1,000s of beautifully preserved films, capturing 120 years of Britain on Film"
• The National Co-operative Archive provides information on all aspects of the Co-operative movement.
• Historical Photographs are available from:
  • The Genealogist Image Archive.
  • Mary Evans Picture Library. 
  • Francis Frith.
  • History Pin - user-submitted historical photographs.
  • Britain From Above - free aerial photographs of Britain from 1919.
• Tim Lambert's Local Histories pages, provide histories of mny towns and cities in of towns and cities in the UK and Ireland.
• Jorge H. Castelli provides a large Tudor History web-site.
• Chamber's Book of Days - "a miscellany of popular antiquities in connection with the calendar".
• Pound Sterling - the History of the Pound, by Wikipedia.
• The British Isles - from the History Files website.
• The British Civil Wars, Commonwealth and Protectorate website