The Miners’ Strike, 1984-85 – The South Wales Women’s Support Groups

In March we marked forty years since the start of the Miners’ strike. Triggered by plans unveiled by the National Coal Board for a further round of pit closures, over 20,000 miners in Wales went on strike on the 12th of March 1984 in what was to be one of the most bitter and divisive industrial disputes in modern times.

Over the coming months we will feature several of the collections held in Glamorgan Archives that tell the story of the strike from different perspectives.

As a starting point we have selected the records of the South Wales Women’s Support Groups (SWWSG). Women were in the forefront of the fight from the outset forming local support groups to raise money and collect food for the mining communities. In addition, many women joined the picket lines and forged alliances with a plethora of national and international groups that provided support for the miners.

The SWWSG was formed in the summer of 1984 to provide a forum for women from the local support groups to come together to share experiences and agree action. For example, at the first meeting, attended by over 200 women, the range of support already in hand was outlined, including raising funds and arranging rallies. There was also discussion of wider and more direct action with plans to picket the Port Talbot steel works and meet with the women of Greenham Common to learn about “passive resistance” when confronted by the police.

In all, the SWWSG collection includes meeting and conference papers, photographs, scrapbooks and newspaper clippings. If you would like to learn more about the Miners’ strike of 1984-85 and the role of the South Wales Women’s Support Groups the collection can be viewed at the Glamorgan archives under reference DWSG.

Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Stephenson & Alexander, Auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors – “A Palace in a Wilderness”

The records of Stephenson and Alexander, the Cardiff based auctioneers and chartered surveyors, contain details of many of the grand houses and estates in Glamorgan. To advertise a sale, elaborate brochures were often produced, many of which can be seen in the company papers held at the Glamorgan Archives.

Of the brochures in the collection one stands out as, perhaps, the most spectacular, with the property in question described in 1901 as …one of the most romantically placed and attractive Mansions ever brought onto the market… where …the arts, luxuries and comforts of refined civilization are associated with the wild and beautiful in nature.

Such was the interest that the auctioneers, E & H Lumley of Chancery Lane, London, were able to charge for copies of the sales brochure. Those who paid their ten shillings were not disappointed. Spread over almost twenty pages and illustrated with illuminated script and sumptuous photographs, the brochure provided a glimpse of the home of one of the most famous and glamorous “divas” of the time.

The tone was set on the first page with a lengthy verse describing the estate and its setting as …A palace in a wilderness. As to the owner, it was suggested that her skills in moulding the estate and décor of the house surpassed even those of Merlin.

The power of a voice achieved,

More than magician e’er conceived

And raised a castle high and strong

By aid of music and of song.

If you have not guessed already, the estate is Craig y Nos in the Swansea valley and the owner was the “Queen of Song”, Adelina Patti, the most famous opera singer of her day.

We have included a number of photographs from the brochure. They include the theatre, with its blue and gold Corinthian columns, that could seat over 150 people and where royalty from across Europe were entertained by Patti. No expense was spared in the construction, with the theatre floor designed to be raised to the height of the stage, transforming the space into a ballroom.

The centrepiece of the adjacent Music Salon was an “Orchestrion”, brought at enormous cost from Germany. Eighteen foot in height and powered by electricity, the Orchestrion was capable of producing music that replicated the sound of a full orchestra.

Some may also have recognised in the photographs the Grand Winter Garden, almost 100 foot long and laid out with walkways winding thorough an array of exotic plants. The iron and glass structure, with its ornate columns and fountain, was later gifted to the people of Swansea and moved to the seafront at Victoria Park where it is known as the Patti Pavilion.

As to the reasons for the planned sale, they may have been linked to Madam Patti’s marriage to the Baron Cederstrom in 1899. Possibly, the Baron and Baroness planned to travel more rather than use Craig y Nos as their main residence. If such plans existed, they were shelved or amended. Craig y Nos was withdrawn from sale in 1901 and Adelina Patti continued to live there until her death in 1919. For Patti, Craig y Nos was always “Home Sweet Home”, the song that she was perhaps most associated with throughout her career.

The sales prospectus for Craig y Nos can be seen at the Glamorgan Archives. Details of the Stephenson & Alexander collection, including the reference for the prospectus, can be found online, under reference DSA, in the catalogue of the Glamorgan Archives at https://canfod.glamarchives.gov.uk/.

Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

St James’ Cricket Club, 1908 and 1910

Identifying articles donated or loaned to Glamorgan Archives is generally straightforward, particularly when the donor is able to provide the relevant detail. However, occasionally we have to use networks and contacts to “join the dots” in compiling a comprehensive description of new items added to the collection.

A recent example of such networking arose when two photographs of St James’ Cricket Club were added to the collection. Both were formal team photographs taken in 1908 and 1910. So far so good, but the donor was unable to provide further details. However, with information drawn from Cathays Heritage Library and with help from the Museum of Welsh Cricket we have been able to draw together background detail on the photographs.

In short, the site occupied by the church was donated by Lord Tredegar in 1877 with the aim of replacing the mission church established in the Tredegarville school. The first church on the site, known as St James the Great, was made from corrugated iron and opened in 1878. This temporary accommodation was replaced in 1894 by the stone building that can still be seen today, on the corner of Newport Road and Glossop Road, built in the early English gothic style.

It is likely that the cricket team dates back to the opening of the first church.  Certainly from 1881 onwards there are reports of games played by the church team, initially known as St James’ Choir Cricket Club but later simply as St James’ Cricket Club. By the 1890 the St James’ Cricket Club was an established side, competing with junior sides across Cardiff each year for the Cardiff District Cricket Union Challenge Cup. The club was also a founder member of the Cardiff and District Cricket League established in 1895, and league champions in 1898.

The teams in the 1908 and 1910 photographs are quite a seasoned group. The senior players include George Wozencroft, Bill Wilks, Fred Mees, Gomer Roberts and Fred Wood. George Wozencroft, a joiner by trade, was well known in cricket circles having played for a number of local sides. In his younger days George had been one of the best bowlers in the district, and he was also a talented batsman who had played for a Glamorgan Colts side against the county side. The bowling attack was led throughout this period by Bill Wilks, who worked at the Ely Colliery, and Gomer Roberts, a clerk on the Taff Vale Railway. They were well supported by the “two Freds” Mees and Woods, with George Wozencroft always ready to lend a hand.

After a spell at Llandaff Fields, by 1908 the St James’ Club was playing its home games at Whitchurch. While some clubs had cast their net wide to lure talented players, the evidence suggests that the St James’ Club was still drawn from the clerks, plumbers, joiners and shipyard labourers who lived on the maze of streets that run off Crwys Road and Castle Road (now City Road) and just north of the church.

This is an extract from the information drawn together from the Cathays Heritage Library and the Museum of Welsh Cricket. The full text can be obtained from https://www.cricketmuseum.wales/st-james-cricket-club-1908-and-1910/.  The two photographs of St James’ Cricket Club can be seen at Glamorgan Archives. Details of the early days of the Church can be found in T Ackerman, St James’ Church – A History, at Cathays Heritage Library. The Museum of Welsh Cricket is located at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. For details see www.cricketmuseum.wales. St James the Great closed in 2006 and has been converted into living accommodation.

Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Stephenson & Alexander, Auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors – The Waterloo Tin-Plate Works, Machen

The records featured this week from the Stephenson and Alexander collection at Glamorgan Archives are from the world of “dippers, doublers, picklers and behinders”. All were roles undertaken by workers in the production of tin-plate, and the jobs of several hundred men and women were clearly at risk in December 1900 when the Waterloo tin-plate works at Machen was offered for sale.

The production of tin-plate – rolled sheets of iron and later steel, protected by a coating of tin – revolutionised the food industry with the capacity to preserve food for long periods in cans and boxes. With access to the basic raw materials and the skills needed to produce tinplate, Wales accounted for 80% of worldwide production at one point in the nineteenth century. Employment in a tin-plate works, with its furnaces and choking fumes, was hot and dangerous work. However, with the offer of jobs for both men and women, the hundreds of small factories scattered across South Wales were an important source of employment for many communities.

As the date of the proposed sale of the Waterloo Works, on Tuesday 11 December 1900, approached the auctioneers were upbeat. After all, the Waterloo Works was a going concern with four mills and rail access to the ports of Cardiff and Newport. In addition, much of the equipment in the mill, tin and boiler houses was relatively modern. The inventory compiled by Stephenson and Alexander underlined the extent to which the works was a cornucopia of industrial equipment, from the large Lancashire steam boilers and twenty ton Bartlett railway weighing machines, to the array of hand tools and ancillary equipment that included Batson’s “hot neck grease” and an “old steel fast crab”.

The auctioneers’ notes, however, suggest that Stephenson and Alexander were less that sanguine about the prospects for a sale given that …the tinplate trade is at the present moment in a most unpromising condition. By 1900 intense competition from both Europe and the United States had loosened the grip that South Wales had once held on the market for tin-plate. As factories experienced ever lengthening periods of trade depression, many tin-plate works were working short time or had been placed on the market for sale. It was estimated that, in little more than a decade, the market value of a tin-plate works had fallen by almost 50%.

As a result, the reserve set on the Waterloo Works at the auction was £5,000. Even at this price, no bids were received. Ten months later a further attempt to auction the works was also unsuccessful. For many works across South Wales this was the end of the line, with the company liquidated and its assets sold off piecemeal. If the Waterloo works followed the same route, Stephenson and Alexander advised that the equipment, despite its quality and condition, would raise no more than £3,000 at auction.

It had been estimated that, as a going concern, the works might expect to realise an annual profit of £300. No doubt to the relief of the local community, the owners elected to carry on, with records confirming that the Waterloo works finally closed in 1943.

Details of the Stephenson & Alexander collection, including the sales prospectus for the Waterloo Works and a full inventory of the buildings and equipment on the site, can be found online, under reference DSA, in the catalogue of Glamorgan Archives at https://canfod.glamarchives.gov.uk/.

Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Stephenson & Alexander, Auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors – D L Evans, Wholesale and Retail Draper, Barry

The records of the Cardiff-based auctioneers and chartered surveyors, Stephenson and Alexander, provide a snapshot of life in South Wales just over a hundred years ago. Many of the businesses that passed through the company’s books were major concerns, including collieries, metal manufacturers and breweries. There were also, however, many smaller firms and shops that served local communities for decades and were very much part of the local infrastructure.

One such company was D L Evans & Co of Holton Road, Barry. Offered for sale by Stephenson and Alexander in May 1920, D L Evans’ shop provided local families with just about everything they needed in terms of clothing and drapery. It was the place to go for Sunday best outfits, school and work wear and just about all aspects of household drapery. The photograph included with the sales particulars shows the shop windows packed with all manner of goods looking like a veritable Aladdin’s cave.

Visits to D L Evans were designed to be a “shopping experience” with adverts in the local newspapers boasting that, if you wanted to return from your shopping …fresh and happy… then D L Evans was the place to go. On entering the premises customers were welcomed by a phalanx of smartly dressed assistants. Standing behind the fifteen foot long oak and mahogany counters, staff stood ready to pull out goods, for perusal and sale, from the ranks of brass-handled drawers built into each counter.  Along the walls stood rows of glass display cabinets and, at the end of the room, a roll top desk where the accounts were dealt with.  Those looking for more specialist goods or possibly ordering made-to-measure dresses were ushered to a series of ornate showrooms in the basement and on the first floor.

There are no details of the number of staff employed but it must have been substantial. The Holton Road premises had bedrooms on the second floor almost certainly for staff. By 1920, however, they were probably disused for Evans had purchased three houses on Merthyr Road in Barry for use as a staff hostel.

Evans was a plain speaking businessman. The company’s advertisements were very much to the point and included …no low class rubbish… and …if its value you want – Here you get it. The sale particulars held by Stephenson and Alexander also include company headed paper used by D L Evans & Co that tells you much about the owner and the popular mindset at the time. Evans was known for only dealing in cash. It seems that this was a point of principle for the headed paper proclaims that …to accept credit is to sell your liberty… and …mighty is cash, it conquers all difficulties in trade. To underline this point a £100 reward was offered to anyone who could show that the company operated in any way other than through cash.

Evans was probably the first occupant of the premises on Holton Road, constructed in 1891 as Nolton Buildings. After almost thirty years, however, it was time to retire. For the next generation of local entrepreneurs the business was probably an attractive proposition given that the books confirmed that it made a significant profit.  The price set for the business, however, was quite a challenge with the shop placed on the market at twelve thousand pounds – just under half a million pounds at today’s prices – and presumably cash. In addition, stock and fittings were to be sold separately.  It was perhaps no surprise, therefore, that the shop failed to make its reserve at auction in May 1920 and was not sold.

As to what happened next, we know that, within a year, D L Evans had retired to Cardiff and the stock from the shop was being sold by his brother, W L Evans, also a draper, of High Street, Merthyr Tydfil.  With the shop sold or let, the business that had served so many was no longer a feature of the high street in Barry.

As to why D L Evans elected to sell, it may have been due to poor health in that he died in 1931 at the relatively early age of 60. Set against this he might have recognised the emerging competition on Holton Road, particularly in the form of Dan Evans and Co. Opened in 1905 at 81 Holton Road as an Ironmongers, Dan Evans and Co grew rapidly and steadily extended its range of household goods to become Barry’s first department store until the business eventually closed in 2006.

Those familiar with Holton Road will know that the site occupied in 1920 by D L Evans is still used today as a supermarket. However, if anyone can add to what we know about D L Evans and Co then do please let us know.

Details of the Stephenson & Alexander collection, including the sales prospectus for D L Evans and Co, 102-106 Holton Road, Barry can be found online, under reference DSA, in the catalogue of Glamorgan Archives at https://canfod.glamarchives.gov.uk/.

Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Stephenson & Alexander, Auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors – Hollanton House, Marine Parade, Penarth

Those who avidly scan the house ‘for sale’ signs will know that, occasionally, a rather special property comes onto the market. The price may be well beyond our pocket, but we still view the details and possibly imagine what it would be like to own such a house. This would have been the case for many when, in July 1898, Hollanton House on Marine Parade in Penarth was offered for sale. The house was to be sold by auction, with the sale entrusted to Cardiff-based auctioneers and chartered surveyors, Stephenson and Alexander. The company records, held at Glamorgan Archives, provide a glimpse of this grand building and the family that lived at Hollanton House.

Marine Parade, looking over Windsor Gardens and the Penarth promenade to the Bristol Channel, boasts to this day some of the most prestigious and sought-after properties in South Wales. Mostly constructed in the mid-1880s, the houses on the Parade were built to impress in an area that was often referred to as Millionaires Row. Hollanton House, a double-fronted, three-storey house set in its own grounds and adjacent to Windsor Gardens, was a fine addition to the Parade.

Through the sale particulars, compiled by Stephenson and Alexander, we are afforded a guided tour of the house and grounds. Those entering the ground floor would have encountered a series of generously proportioned rooms including drawing, breakfast and dining rooms followed by a billiard room and kitchen. On the first floor there were three bedrooms complemented by dressing and sitting rooms alongside a study and offices. Finally, onward to the top floor where there were four further bedrooms, a nursery and a second bathroom. As to the grounds, they included a grass tennis court at the front of the house with ornamental gardens and a summer house to the rear.

It is difficult to gauge the opulence and luxury to be found in such homes. However, an indication is provided by fact that the furniture, mostly in walnut and mahogany, had been sourced from Maple and Co. of London, upholsterers to Queen Victoria. In addition, the owners employed three house maids who lived on the premises, alongside probably four others who arrived daily to manage the kitchen and garden.

The sale particulars provide a fascinating portrait of the family that called Hollanton House their home. On the steps you may be just able to make out the figure of Eugene Bregeon in a rather nonchalant pose. A native of St Nazaire in France, Bregeon had made his fortune as an agent exporting coal from South Wales to France, with his ships then sailing on to Bilbao and returning with iron ore. By 1898 he was a wealthy and influential man who held a number of directorships in companies such as the Naval Colliery and the Barry Graving Dock. He had, however, decided to sell up, with plans for a new home in Paris. Close to the time of his departure it was no surprise that a plethora of leading figures in the business world were present at a dinner held at Penarth’s finest hotel, the Esplanade, to celebrate his time in Wales and wish him well for the future.

In the foreground of the photograph you can see four of Eugene’s daughters taking a short break from tennis on the grass court at the front of the house. In their late-teens and early-twenties, the Bregeon women were often to be seen at society and charity events in Penarth and Cardiff. The family was associated with All Saints Church, and Eliza Bregeon and her daughters had been leading lights in fundraising events held on summer evenings in Windsor Gardens that stretched from afternoon tea through to dancing late into the night. In the photograph Eliza is probably seated on the veranda on the right. Eugene’s first wife Grace had died at the early age of 37 and he had married Eliza in 1888. Given that Hollanton House was constructed in the mid-1880s, it may well have been built for the Bregeon family when they moved from Cardiff to Penarth.

Eugene’s only son, named after his father, does not figure in the photograph. Four years previously, he had married Minnie Weichert at a celebrated society wedding, with the newspapers reporting that the wedding cake had been provided by Huntley and Palmers, ‘Purveyors to the Queen’. A lawyer, Eugene Junior was the one member of the family to remain in South Wales when the Bregeon family finally set sail for France.

As for the sale, Stephenson and Alexander’s records confirm that it was handled in two parts. The furniture, given its quality, was quickly snapped up, with much being sold to John Cory, also of Penarth and head of the Cardiff shipping company, John Cory and Sons. The auctioneers were similarly impressed with the contents of the house, to the extent that D T Alexander bought several items. The house, however, failed to meet its reserve of £3800 and at least one interested party had withdrawn when told that it did not have stables. Nevertheless, it was an impressive building in a much sought-after area.

In the following months it became clear that there was a potential buyer in the wings. The Duncan family, originally from Scotland, were proprietors of a number of newspapers in South Wales, including the Cardiff Times, the South Wales Echo and the South Wales Daily News. It was John Duncan (later Sir John), the eldest of three brothers, who lodged an initial bid for Hollanton House, significantly below the asking price. With Eugene Bregeon now in Paris and the house unoccupied, Duncan drove a hard bargain and eventually acquired the house, early in 1899, for £3500.

At this point the rich vein of information provided by the Stephenson and Alexander papers ends. However, we know that Eugene Bregeon returned to Britain and set up home in Weston Super Mare, where he died in 1918. As for Eugene Junior and Minnie, their marriage sadly failed with Eugene divorced in 1922 for “desertion and misconduct”. With regard to Hollanton House, the name soon disappeared from records and it is likely that it was renamed by the Duncan family as Dros y Mor. If so, it served as John Duncan’s home until his death in 1914. Beyond this, if you can add to what we know about Hollanton House, then please get in touch and we will update the story.

Details of the Stephenson & Alexander collection, including the sales prospectus for Hollanton House, can be found online, under reference DSA, in the catalogue of Glamorgan Archives at https://canfod.glamarchives.gov.uk/.

Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Stephenson & Alexander, Auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors – The Naval Steam Coal Colliery

The work of auctioneers and chartered surveyors is often associated with housing and land – primarily agricultural. However, as the records held at Glamorgan Archives for Stephenson and Alexander demonstrate, the Cardiff based company handled the sale and letting of just about every manner of property, including a swathe of businesses both commercial and industrial.  When the auctioneers advertised the sale of the Naval Steam Coal Colliery in September 1897, it was by no means unusual, given that the company had recently sold an engineering works in Treherbert, a foundry in Caerphilly and a fuel works in Cardiff.

The Naval Colliery drew together three pits Pandy, Nantgwyn and Ely. The pits were to be sold lock, stock and barrel, including …fixed and loose plant machinery, railway sidings, colliery horses and appliances. For those interested in the history of mining in South Wales the lists compiled by the auctioneers provide a treasure trove of information, detailing the equipment used and, in most cases, providing details of the manufacturers. The scale of the enterprise across the three pits is underlined by the inclusion in the sale of 600 railway waggons to transport the coal to the Barry and Cardiff docks, almost 650 miners lamps and 156 horses for underground work.

In addition, the sale details contain a range of background information on the performance and prospects for the pits. This includes the costs of transporting the coal by rail to either the Barry or Cardiff docks and the size and scale of the estimated reserves of coal in the seams mined by the three pits. Recent production figures were also given, with the pits having produced 46,000 tons of coal in the 26 working days in July 1897.

As might be expected, the auctioneers were very upbeat about the prospects for the colliery:

The quantity of unworked Steam Coal in the measures which have been proved under the property is estimated at 28,000,000 tones. This coal is of first quality, is within short distance of port, and can be worked at the rate of over 600,000 tons a year with a relatively small expenditure beyond the purchase money. Such an opportunity of acquiring a really first class Steam Coal Colliery in the Rhondda district, rarely presents itself.

There seemed to be grounds for optimism that the colliery would soon be sold. Just a month before the sale the owners had paid for the men of Naval Colliery and their families to travel by train to Swansea for the annual summer outing, with most heading for the seaside delights of the Mumbles. There was even heady talk of the miners banding together to buy the colliery. Yet the number of cases in the newspapers of fines imposed for the theft of coal confirmed that these were also hard times. The demand for coal in Britain and abroad fluctuated and many pits in this period were on short time.

There was relief in local communities, therefore, when it was announced, in mid-October, that the colliery had been sold to Messrs D A Thomas and Gueret. Despite the best efforts of Stephenson and Alexander, the colliery had failed to make its reserve of £85,000 at auction. No doubt, Thomas and Gueret had acquired the colliery at a significant discount.

Louis Gueret was head of a Cardiff coal exporting firm and went on to be the Chairman of the Naval Colliery Company. D A Thomas was almost certainly David Alfred Thomas, later known as Viscount Rhondda, the son of a family that owned the Cambrian Collieries. In 1908 Naval was merged with Cambrian and two other collieries to form the Cambrian Combine under Thomas’ leadership. As such it became part of a very powerful industrial group. However, in forming larger units Thomas was already anticipating the decline in the demand for coal that would severely damage the industry in the interwar era.

If you are interested in the history of the local collieries and mining communities in South Wales you can access a research guide, Colliery Records for Family Historians, on the website of Glamorgan Archives. In addition, the National Coal Board records held at the Archives have basic information on just about every colliery. Details of the Stephenson & Alexander collection, including the sales prospectus for the Naval Steam Coal Colliery, can be found online, under reference DSA, in the catalogue of the Glamorgan Archives at https://canfod.glamarchives.gov.uk/.

The next article, drawing on the Stephenson and Alexander collection, will look at the grand home in Penarth of one of the directors of the Naval Steam Coal Colliery that was sold just over 12 months after the colliery changed hands.

Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Stephenson & Alexander, Auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors – All Saints’ Church, Tyndall Street, Cardiff

Have you ever thought of owning a church? Those of a similar mind scanning the properties to be sold by Cardiff auctioneers Stephenson and Alexander in the early 20th century would have been in luck. The company records for that period include a number of churches placed on the market for sale. Perhaps one of the best known in Cardiff was All Saints’ Church, situated on the corner of Tyndall Street and Ellen Street, that was first put up for sale in 1899.

All Saints’ had been built, at a cost of £3000, with the support of the Marchioness of Bute. Constructed by local builder James Griffiths, the church, with its 100 foot square tower, was described at its opening, on 10 April 1856, as a …handsome structure… and …a beautiful specimen of Norman architecture. It was known initially as the Welsh Church and it was one of the first “modern” churches, constructed to cater for a rapidly growing population. Sited on the doorstep of the gates of the East Bute Dock and close to Cardiff Central Station, All Saints’ was perfectly situated to serve those employed in the dockland industries.

Forty years later, however, the seating for 450 people lay largely empty and the church little used. The marriage records for All Saints, held at Glamorgan Archives, reveal that, in its last two years, there were a total of five marriages. The last, overseen by the Rev Andrew Hyslop, was on 25 July 1899 when William Harris, a railway porter of Treharris Street, married Agnes Lyons. With William having moved to Cardiff from Devon and Agnes from Herefordshire the couple were typical of those drawn to South Wales at this time.

By 1899 the busy streets surrounding the church were largely the home of those that had arrived from Ireland. All Saints’, as an Anglican church, played little or no part in the life of the families living in the terraced streets running off Tyndall Street, with most looking to the Catholic church for worship and prayer. The condition of the church building was also poor.

Most of the dwindling congregation of the church was now drawn from Adamsdown and it was in this area, in Augusta Street, that the newly-weds William and Agnes Harris set up their first home. Those attending services on Sunday at All Saints’ from Adamsdown had to navigate a series of footbridges across the main railway line and pass through the closely packed terraced houses running off Tyndall Street.

The decision was, therefore, taken to close the Tyndall Street site and relocate All Saints’ to Adamsdown.  The cost of the new church was estimated at £2500. To mitigate the cost All Saints’ was stripped of just about everything that could be moved including the altar, pulpit, lectern, organ, stained glass windows, font and seats. The one sticking point was the bell in the tower built on the Tyndall Street side of the church. Although valuable it was too expensive to move. It may well have been the auctioneers, Stephenson and Alexander, who came up with a solution. Whoever purchased the church would be required to buy the bell separately or deliver it to the church authorities.

The move was a success with the new church on Windsor Road opening in January 1903. It can still be seen today although it is no longer used as church. As for the original church, although there was a growing demand for factory and warehouse space in the Tyndall Street area, initially, there was little interest in the site. Eventually it was acquired by the Great Western Railway and converted for use as a power station to provide the electricity needed to light its premises. Over the years it took on a number of roles before finally being demolished in 1980. For those familiar with the area, the site on the corner of Ellen Street and Tyndall Street is now occupied by the Capital Building.

If you want to find out more about All Saints’, a list of the records held in the Stephenson & Alexander collection can be found online, under reference DSA, in the Glamorgan Archives catalogue at https://canfod.glamarchives.gov.uk/.  The Ecclesiastical Parish Records for All Saints, including the marriage records, are held at Glamorgan Archives under reference P156CW.

Background information on the church has been drawn from the collection of Welsh newspapers compiled by the National Library of Wales at https://newspapers.library.wales.  This includes a sketch of All Saints’ that appeared in the South Wales Daily News on 18 January 1899.

For those with an interest in the second church on Windsor Road, an article by David Webb, a volunteer at Glamorgan Archives, provides commentary on a sketch of the interior produced by Mary Traynor. The sketch can be found at Glamorgan Archives under reference D1093/2/16 and David’s article can be found at https://glamarchives.wordpress.com/2017/08/16/interior-all-saints-church-adamsdown-cardiff/.

Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Stephenson & Alexander, Auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors – The Royal Clarence Theatre, Pontypridd

The sale at the New Inn Hotel, Pontypridd on Wednesday 14 March 1900, orchestrated by Stephenson and Alexander auctioneers, was far from the usual fare. On offer was a castle complete with a throne room, an old Roman street and a village tucked away in a dark wood. The catch was that they were all made of wood and canvas as stage scenery and were included in the sale of the Royal Clarence Theatre.

The Royal Clarence was one of many properties that passed through the hands of the Cardiff auctioneers in this period and the sale details, now held at Glamorgan Archives, provide a fascinating glimpse of how the theatre would have looked in its prime.

Situated on High Street, Pontypridd, adjacent to the Clarence Hotel, the Royal Clarence Theatre was the first purpose built permanent theatre in Pontypridd and described in the sale particulars as …an admirable property in the midst of an important commercial area.

Constructed by Turner and Sons, the company responsible for many of the civic buildings in Cardiff, the theatre first opened its doors in April 1891 and it was clear, from the outset, that the owners, Trenchard and Jones, had spared no expense to make it …the greatest and most complete theatre in South Wales.  With seating for 1300 people on three levels it was an impressive auditorium described by the newspapers as …well ventilated, admirably lighted and exceedingly comfortable. As a sign of their ambition the owners boasted that it was …the prettiest theatre in Wales… with …the best companies booked… and …every production mounted in a far superior manner to any theatre in Wales.

All did not go exactly to plan, however. Within weeks of the opening night a dispute between Will Smithson, the theatre manager, and a member of the orchestra resulted in a fist fight that led to a court appearance for Smithson. The fine of £2 imposed on the manager was not the headline that the theatre had hoped for. Nevertheless, the Royal Clarence was a popular venue that attracted the crowds night after night with its mix of drama, comedy, burlesque, musicals and opera.

Perhaps one of the most notable appearances at the Royal Clarence was made by Annie Oakley, the celebrated American champion “lady shot”, in 1895. Oakley was starring in ‘Miss Rora’, a comedy drama, and it was reported that the theatre was besieged by people hoping to see the performance with scores turned away. The interest lay not so much in ‘Miss Rora’ but in the promised inclusion of a scene where Oakley would re-enact a shooting demonstration recently performed for Queen Victoria and the Royal family by Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Sure enough, at the appointed time, Oakley arrived on stage on horseback and thrilled the crowd by shooting …with unerring aim… an assortment of targets that were thrown into the air by an assistant.

The photograph of the theatre (above), held in Glamorgan Archives, was probably taken in 1898, just two years before the sale.  It shows the two lock-up shops incorporated into the building at the time of the sale, Eastman’s the butcher and Tucker’s fruit and vegetables. In addition, the poster by the theatre door advertises a performance of ‘The Streets of London’ that played at the theatre in February 1898.  Hailed as a drama produced …on a scale of unusual magnificence… by Messrs Montefoire, …theatrical caterers, and with specially painted scenery of Trafalgar Square, the Bank of England and the Tower of London.

Those willing to pay 2s 6d for a seat in the Dress Circle would have entered by the main door on High Street decorated with gilt mirrors and forty photographs of famous actors and past productions. Perhaps they would have then headed, initially, to the bar before being conveyed to the dress circle, adorned with an array of plants in earthenware stands, and led to their red plush velvet seats. For most, however, it was entry by the side door as they were guided to the cheaper seats and benches in the pit and gallery priced at 1s and 6d respectively.

At the time of the sale in 1900 the theatre was only being used intermittently, although it had provided a venue, on several occasions, for mass meetings of striking railwaymen and miners.  As it turned out, the Royal Clarence Theatre failed to make its reserve price and it was withdrawn. The following year Trenchard and Jones elected to reopen the theatre, and by 1911 it had been renamed as the New Theatre. By then it was also providing performances using ‘Theatrescope’ to meet the growing demand for cinema. Over the following years the theatre attempted to change with the times. It is possibly remembered best as the County Cinema and, in its last years before demolition, as a Bingo Club.

For those who want to find out more about the Royal Clarence Theatre a list of the records held in the Stephenson & Alexander collection can be found online, under reference DSA, in the catalogue of Glamorgan Archives at http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/. The photograph of the theatre is also held at the Archives – reference D1079/5/2. Background information on the theatre has been drawn from Welsh Newspapers Online https://newspapers.library.wales

In the next article we move on to another property handled by Stephenson and Alexander – a church in Tyndall Street, Cardiff. When first opened in 1856 it was one of the first new churches built to cater for people drawn to Cardiff by work opportunities in the docks. The sale particulars compiled by Stephenson & Alexander in 1899 provide detail of how this church looked just over forty years later, and why the congregation supported its sale and the move to a new site in Cardiff.

Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer

Stephenson & Alexander, Auctioneers and Chartered Surveyors: The Barry Hotel

On 28 February 1901 the Barry Hotel was “under the hammer” at an auction held at Cardiff.

As a hotel of some status, the sale was conducted by Stephenson and Alexander, Auctioneers and Surveyors, of Cardiff. The company records, held at Glamorgan Archives, provide an insight into the luxury and service that lay behind the imposing doors of the hotel over a hundred and twenty years ago in 1901.

When opened in 1890 the new hotel planned to capitalise on the anticipated boom in trade that would follow from the completion of Barry docks. The prospectus for the Barry Hotel estimated that with up to 50 ships in the port at any one time there was ample scope for a new and upmarket hotel. The target audience was both businessmen and tourists with the growing vogue for seaside summer vacations. Situated in Barry on the corner of Broad Street and Windsor Road, adjacent to the railway station and within walking distance of the docks, the hotel looked to be perfectly situated.

What could the visitor expect in 1900 as they were delivered at the front door by the hotel’s own omnibus? Walking under the large gilt letters over the doorway, announcing the Barry Hotel, the first impression was of opulence and sophistication. The vestibule and entrance hall were lit with gas globes and bedecked with flowers set on ornate pedestals, alongside walnut tables with a display of Japanese vases and plates. To complete the scene, a series of oil paintings lined the walls in the hall and continued up the staircase to the upper floors.

After registering and stowing your valuables in the hotel’s formidable steel safe, made by Perry and Co of Bilston (a company famous for its armour plate used in the construction of battleships), guests were whisked upstairs to one of the hotel’s 57 rooms. The most luxurious were to be found on the first floor, with ash or walnut dressing tables and washstands topped with St Anne marble imported from Belgium. The brass bedstead was offset with a white embroidered French style “Marcella” counterpane, while the floor was covered with a Brussels carpet.

But why linger in the room when, on the same floor, guests had access to a club room, a coffee room and two private drawing rooms? The drawing rooms offered a range of easy chairs covered in either Moroccan leather or “figured” green velvet, writing tables and even a piano – again the best – provided by Stiles and Co of London. Venturing to the ground floor the guest had access to a billiard room with two tables made by Burroughes and Watts, and an employee ready to “chalk” your score.

After a long day there was the option of refreshment in the hotel’s First Class bar, with its walnut settees and picture of The House of Commons, before heading to the a la carte restaurant with table settings embellished with the hotel’s Elkington silver plate. The extensive menu included a range of produce drawn each day from the large gardens to the rear of the hotel. No doubt the meal provided an opportunity to plan for the next day, and one option lay in hiring a horse-drawn carriage or trap from the hotel’s stable for a country tour and a picnic.

However, by modern standards a stay at the Barry Hotel was not what might be expected of a premier hotel. The rooms were heated by coal fires and each guest was provided with a hot water bottle. Plumbing and bathrooms were basic with just two bathrooms and two toilets serving the entire first floor. Also, visitors to the public bars would have found spittoons dotted across the floor and liberally used by those who habitually chewed tobacco. Nevertheless, a guest in 1900 could not fail to have been impressed by the comfort and service provided at the Barry Hotel.

The hotel was the project of TA Walker. Thomas Walker had made his reputation and fortune as a “contractor” managing some of the greatest engineering projects of the era.  He was perhaps best known for his work on the construction of the Severn Tunnel, Barry Docks, Swansea Docks, Llanishen reservoir and the Metropolitan and District lines in London. He also worked on projects across the globe, including Russia, the Sudan, Canada and Buenos Aires. At the time of his death in November 1899, he was heavily involved in directing work on the Manchester Ship Canal. Sadly Walker, who was described in the newspapers as “…the hero of the Severn Tunnel and the contractor of colossal engineering works”, did not live to see the opening of the Barry Hotel.

The building is still standing today, although no longer a hotel. For those who want to find out more about its illustrious past a list of the records held in the Stephenson & Alexander collection can be found online, under reference DSA, in the catalogue of Glamorgan Archives at http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/.

In the next article we move on to another property handled by Stephenson and Alexander –a theatre in Pontypridd. When first opened in April 1891 it was described as the premier and first permanent theatre in the town, with seats for over a thousand people. With acts including Annie Oakley, the American “sharpshooter”, alongside a regular diet of drama, musicals and burlesque, it was soon one of the most popular venues in South Wales. The sale particulars compiled by Stephenson & Alexander in 1900, provide a glimpse of just how this theatre looked at the turn of the century and include details of some of the acts that performed on its stage.

Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer