40th Anniversary Celebratory Tea.

 

Jeff Childs does his sixteenth lap!!

The speaker this month needed no introduction since it was none other than Jeff Childs, erstwhile of Pontardawe who spoke on the legacy of steel and tinplate in the town, especially that of the Gilbertson’s work. This was Mr Childs’s sixteenth visit to the Society.

He began his illustrated talk by alluding to the famous people with association to Pontardawe, including Siân Phillips, Rachel Thomas, Gareth Edwards who went to the technical school and the Welsh poet Gwenallt. Even Glynneath boy, Max Boyce began his illustrious career above in the folk club situated at the Ivy Bush public house. None of this would have happened without the advent of heavy industry.

The catalyst for steel and tinplate was the Swansea canal built between 1796 and 98 , to Abercrâf. This alongside the building of the famous Edwards bridge, near the present day Pontardawe Inn, led to the land at Ynysderw farm being commandeered by the Herbert family of Cil-y-bebyll, for the building of a works. Indeed the main road in Pontardawe to this day is Herbert Street. The original entrepreneur was Richard Parsons, who built ultimately and industrial complex including a steel, tinplate and sheet steel works. A chemical works not owned by Parsons supplied vitriol for Galvanising. The Gilbertson family then dominated the enterprise for many decades, leaving a legacy in St Peter’s Church which today still dominates the skyline with its 197’ spire. William Gilbertson indeed was responsible for the beginnings of steelmaking at the Abbey works in Port Talbot, though he quickly returned to Pontardawe. The Gilbertsons intermarried with the Gwyn family and indeed fourteen children issued from William’s marriage.

Following the death of William Gilbertson from a stroke in 1912, the plant was managed by three o f the Gilbertson brothers, as the plant was gradually taken over by other interests including  RTB , and the Steel Company of Wales in the early 1950s. Indeed by 1958 the works was slowly closing and the land was being redeveloped, closing ultimately in 1962, with the trademark chimneys demolished in 1965. Today the site is marked, by the site of Cwmtawe School, the Alloy trading estate, a sports centre, a Lidl store and an old peoples’ complex which is being redeveloped from the old administrative block to the best environmental specifications. Some walls still contain the old waste sheets of steel as a reminder of a previous age.

In concluding his talk, Mr Childs made reference to the well-known story that the roof of the White House and especially the West Wing was manufactured in Pontardawe. This is partially true, in that a former roof was manufactured by Gilbertsons, however this predated the building of a west wing to the building, so 80% correct. The present White House has an entirely new roof.

Mr Trefor Jones, thanked Mr Childs for a memorable talk, and hoped that he would add to his tally of visits.

Next month the Society will finish the year with a social evening  to mark its 40^th anniversary. The event will take the form of an informal tea, starting at 6 o’clock and all members  past and present are invited to share some memories of the Society. See you all on Monday, May 13^th!!!!

Trefor Jones

April Meeting Jeff Childs!

 

Huw Williams Returns.

 

Huw Williams makes a glorious return

This was sixth occasion that Huw Williams of Merthyr had spoken to the Society, and despite the long break during the pandemic he had lost none of his enthusiasm and indeed his humour. He noticed that numbers were down on past years , however he maintained that the Society was doing well in comparison with other major societies which had crashed in recent years in the Cynon and Merthyr areas.

 

Mr Williams took as his broad canvas, which included recruitment for an imagined film. That Resolven stood on an apex historically between three varieties of Wales. To the west was traditional Welsh Wales, steeped in the Welsh language and chapel culture. To the east were the more anglicised valleys and to the south the “Americanised” coast. This was highlighted by the traditions of the anthracite and steam coal areas with their waves of migration coming from different directions, both to avoid the penury of agriculture in  Carmarthen as against the Forest of Dean and Herefordshire. After all, a collier could earn more in a few weeks than a year as a tenant farmer, ensuring his diet of salted butter, cheese and fatty bacon. This was illustrated by comparing Resolven resident B.L. Coombes who had moved from rural Herefordshire to “Aberclwyd”, when he met the hymnal of Pantycelyn. This was capture in his book “These Poor hands”, and “Miner’s Day”.

 

The technological revolution in the valleys epitomised in the Railway age, saw Brunel’s vale of Neath Railway carry coal to Swansea, usurping the monopoly of the Butes in east Wales. Similarly David Davies of Llandinam, had exported more coal through Barry Docks which fuelled the sea traffic of world trade. This was epitomised by Chaplin’s “Modern Times”, film.

 

Mr David Woosnam, thanked Mr Williams for a brilliant talk, and hoped he would speak on north versus south next year.

 

Trefor Jones.

March Meeting

 

Friendly Societies in Neath

 

A Report on the February Meeting of Resolven History Society

Some examples of research.

In 2015 an article appeared in the history journal Morgannwg on Friendly Societies in Neath and Mr David Michael of Neath Antiquarians was invited to speak on the topic to the History Society. Owing to work commitments, clashing dates and a pandemic, some nine years later Mr Michael made it, and it was well worth the wait. Since Mr Michael gave a glimpse of a movement once all pervading in its time but now largely forgotten or subsumed into the world of insurance.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, sickness and welfare was largely absent save for the meagre Parish relief and the workhouse following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1831. The workhouse split up families and a friendly society was a means to ensure that this did not happen.In order to combat this working men had come together to form friendly societies which would give relief in times of distress but also had a social function in that they were largely based on pubs. The societies had rituals reminiscent of the masonic lodges with joining ceremonies. In essence a joining fee of 10 shillings was followed by smaller weekly contributions in order to ensure relief.  In the 1801 century Neath had a population of around 2,500 adults, though this trebled with the advent of industrialization as did the number of societies. Indeed there were 14 societies with a collective membership of 1,222, with the earliest tracing its roots to the Coal Miners Society of 1768. The largest and most prominent group were the Oddfellows ,but other more exotic names such as “True Friends” abounded. The money was kept in a box with three keys, though a pub where part of your contribution was to provide the beer was hardly an ideal situation. Indeed some societies lodeged their funds with the Gnoll Estate. The Ivorites were an exclusively Welsh friendly society and several societies had Welsh names such as “LLeision Nedd”, in Glynneath and “Iestyn ap Gwrgan”

Resolven was tiny at that time with a population of around 380. Yet it boasted four societies. The New Inn was the home of the Ynysfach Lodge of the Oddfellows in 1841. In 1844 the True Britons Lodge was established at what later became the Vaughans., and in 1862 the Church began its own friendly society which held its meetings at the Vaughans, another society was ensconced at the Gored. The Farmers or Ynysbipan Arms was home to the Foresters Lodge , a society which was more closely masonic in organization. Each society had its sashes, its ceremonies and banners. In return the publican did exceedingly well from the proceeds. The processions were not unlike those of the Whitsun marches of recent memory, and were  usually accompanied by a brass band. These were illustrated by Mr Michael in his talk.

The Societies declined during the 20^th century as they became redundant as a welfare state tookover much of their role. The Peoples’ Budget of 1909, and the establishment of both an old age pension and national Insurance. The reforms of the Attlee government in 1945, and the provision of a National Health Service in 1948 made the notion of a self-help society redundant. The Oddfellows held their final annual meeting in Neath in 1980.

Mr David Woosnam thanked Mr Michael for a memorable talk, and hoped members would take uop his offer of a course with the Antiquarians in order to further explore the history of friendly societies in Resolven.

Trefor Jones

 

February Meeting