ABERTILLERY & DISTRICT MUSEUM SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER February 2007

Museum News –the work on refitting the Museum is pressing ahead and everything is going smoothly and to schedule.  Don or Peggy can give you a more detailed update. 

Lecture Programme - we will now be using the Metropole Cultural Centre above the Museum for our monthly lectures, initially in one of the lecture rooms. Our spring programme of lectures starts in February with a talk by Richie Rudd on Medals and Militaria.  You will also see from the diary that Frank Olding is running a series of daytime lectures at the Museum, this time on The Celts, starting on 5^th February. All are welcome – both the Museum lecture programme and Frank Olding’s talks are open to the public at large.

100 Club January – to be drawn at the February lecture.

Museum opening times
The Museum is open to the public, free of charge:
Monday - Thurs 10am - 1pm     2pm - 4pm
Friday                 10am - 1pm
Saturday             10am - 1pm
Museum phone number 01495 211140. Visitors and volunteers are always welcome so please call in as often as you like.

Contact Names
Mrs Peggy Bearcroft,       Chairperson                      01495 213806
Mr DonBearcroft,       Curator                                     01495 213806 
Mr Ron Selway,         Vice Chairman                          01495 215775
Mr Trevor Cook Secretary- c/o Museum                 01495 211140
Mrs Margaret Cook  Assistant Secretary
Mr Bernard Jones, Treasurer                                     01495 213185  
Mrs Enid Dean, Fund raising Secretary                   01495 212880 
Mrs M Gilson, Schools Liaison                                01495 212413    
Mrs M Selway, Programme Sec                                01495 211960
Mr Roy Pickford, Social Events Sec                        01495 213377
Mr Bernard Hill, Asst Curator                                  01495 212864 
Mrs Jen Price (Newsletter)                                        01633 482851

Fundraising – to be announced.  This is an ongoing exercise to meet the running and other costs of the Museum so please continue to support us.

Diary Dates

Monday 5^th February 2007 – The Celts, first in a series of 6 daytime lectures by Frank Olding, at the Museum. £3 per lecture or £15 for all 6 sessions. More details available at the Museum.

Wednesday 7^th February 2007 – Medals and Militaria by Richie Rudd

Saturday 17^th February 2007 – Coffee Morning at the Museum (Please bring and buy cakes)

Wednesday 7^th March 2007 – J J Cordes Nail Manufacturer 1835-1961 by Malcolm Johnson

The lectures will now be held in one of the lecture facilities in the Metrople Theatre, starting at 7.00pm.  Entry is £1 and the public are most welcome. Copies of the Newsletter and details of coffee mornings and other events can be found on the notice board at the Museum or at

www.cwmtillery.com

Annual Dinner – a big round of thanks to Roy Pickford for once again organising our annual dinner.  We were pleased to welcome Cllr Nigel Daniels and Mr Lyn Phillips of Blaenau Gwent CBC, Sir Richard and Lady Hanbury Tenison, and over 70 members and partners. Our guest speaker was Dr Madeleine Gray who has a long history of involvement with the Museum Society; she spoke of that connection before moving on to tell us something of the research which is going on in the area, including the interaction between the local populace and the Normans at the time of the ‘invasion’.  Mrs Enid Dean rounded the evening off on a light hearted note with a quiz which generated the inevitable round of cheers and groans. 

Vice Presidents
Mr Keith Dykes                         Mr Alan Hunt
Mrs Esme Heal                          Mr Glyn Saunders 
Mrs Kathleen Davies                 Rev. R Watson
Mrs Margaret Herbert               Prof.Gerwyn Griffiths       
Mr David Llewellyn               Mrs Carole Brooks           Mr Edward Meredith (dec'd) 
Mrs Jeanette Fulton                   Mr Arthur Lewis

(Annual Subscription £25)

 Page 1

ABERTILLERY & DISTRICT MUSEUM SOCIETY

Poet’s Corner

‘Quiet Road’

I am alone on this road,
which before me lies empty,
winding, climbing yonder hill,
like a finger beckoning me.

Here on this country lane,
I find peace and beauty,
As I travel in the way,
I have found most suits me.

Background music by the birds,
Air perfumed by hedge and tree,
unpolluted here by traffic,
stays clean, pure and lead free.

In the distance is the drone,
of vehicles on a motor way,
Nose to tail, nought to see,
as they hurtle on their way.

Protect us from those who,
destroy countryside so green,
Let city life stay where it is,
and keep the green belt clean. 

                 Gordon Rowlands, 1993

Local Voices
A few weeks ago I was talking to a relative about the austerity that still existed during the years of post war Britain.  I asked “Do you remember when we tried to supplement our meagre butter rations by making our own?”  This was done by skimming the cream from the top of the milk each day, storing it in a jam jar and shaking.  Members of the family would take turns until a small blob of butter was formed.  I can’t remember whether we added a pinch of salt but I do recall that it was white in colour and tasted good.

Wallpaper was still scarce and a craze started in Abertillery when bedroom walls were distempered (not emulsioned) and a sponge was used to create a pattern.

What about the shortage of stockings.  I believe that some young ladies of fashion used a type of dye on their legs and would then get a friend to ‘draw’ a line down the back to simulate a seam.  This didn’t apply to me.  I was still wearing ankle socks!

Anonymous

Llanelly Parish Church

Is situated on a hill overlooking Gilwern, and is dedicated to St Ellyw or Elli who was a daughter or granddaughter of Brychan, the king who gave his name to Bryncheiniog (Brecon). However some say that it is dedicated to St Elli, of the 6^th century (500-550), and the only information about him is in the ‘Life of St Cadoc’, written in the 11^th century.  St Elli was said to have been entrusted by his mother to the care of St Cadoc, who was abbot at Llancarfan.  There he supervised his studies, directing his life according to his mother’s wishes. When Cadoc left for Benevento, Elli was chosen to succeed him.  The other church dedicated to him is at Llanelly in Carmarthenshire.

Llanelly Parish church was built between 1150 and 1200.  The magnificent circle of yew trees that surround the churchyard were probably planted at the same time as the church was built, and there are still 13 left standing out of the original 16. Although their trunks are hollow, they look sturdy enough to last many more centuries.  There are six bells dated 1908, two 1715, two 1620 and one 1440 which is one of the oldest in Wales. The Latin inscription on that translates to ‘Ellimus, Saint of Jesus, ever keep thy bell safe and sound’ and was cast by John Gosselin in Bristol.  It is recorded that a ringer (Williams of Ty Isha Farm) became chief bell ringer at St Pauls Cathedral.  The church tower is of early English fortified type, built in the same period as the font and South aisle. The North aisle was added in 1626 when there was an influx due to the establishment of Clydach Iron Works.  There is an old communion table dated 1624, while the altar was reputed to have been taken from the cellar of Aberclydach House and is the older.

The registers commence at 1701.  Recorded is the baptism of Sir Bartle Frere 1815-1884, born at Clydach House, as his family owned the iron works.  He became Governor of Cape Colony and High Commissioner of South Africa.  Frederick John Payne born 1842 became Bishop of Chester. 

Welsh services were held here until the end of the nineteenth century.  Minister here for some years was the great Welsh scholar Rev. Thomas Price, author of the ‘History of Wales’.  Due to the steep ascent to the church, and the distance from the village, monthly services and other church activities are now held in a comparatively new Church Hall, built in Gilwern village.

 Much of the above is derived from a guide written by Canon D. Parry – Jones.

Page 2

ABERTILLERY & DISTRICT MUSEUM SOCIETY

Honour at last for conscript miners Forgotten for 60 years, the Bevin Boys ordered down the pits in the fight against Hitler are to be awarded a medal in recognition of their invaluable role in the Second World War.  They represented 10% of male conscripts between 18 and 25 called up in the last two years of WW2.  Ernest Bevin, in response to a shortage in the mines workforce, put the scheme in place in December 1943.  A ballot took place to put a proportion of conscripted men in the mines.  A number was drawn from a hat every month for 20 months and all men whose National Service Registration Number ended with that digit were directed into coal mining – 48,00 in all.  Refusal meant a heavy fine or imprisonment.  After a medical examination they were sent to one of thirteen training camps for four weeks before being assigned to a particular pit where a further two weeks of training followed before starting work ‘for real’.  Many of the Bevin Boys were subsequently required to carry on working in the mines until 1948.  They faced danger daily but when the war was over there was no official recognition to match the medals awarded to returning soldiers acclaimed as heroes. That omission is now to be redressed.

Book Review - The Hidden World of Wales by David Gerrard is described as ‘a beautifully illustrated book that tempts you to explore more of the Principality’.  Now in its fourth edition, it focuses on the more secluded and less well known places of interest, tackling Wales chapter by chapter from north to south in geographical areas, with fine photographs and narrative. Price £11.99

Navigation Colliery – A firm of housebuilders has been selected to carry out the heritage-led regeneration of the colliery site in Crumlin.  The £25million scheme will be in partnership with other agencies including the Welsh Assembly Government.  The scheme includes plans to refurbish the Grade II listed colliery buildings.

Anniversaries

There are a number coming up this year including the centenary of the founding of the Scout movement, and the 60^th anniversary of the nationalisation of the coal industry in Britain. We are not expecting to hear from founder members of the scouts but it would still be good to hear a few scouting tales from our older members, and likewise to hear from anyone who can remember the early days of coal nationalisation.

wildernesses on Planet Earth, this vast cave system winds its way under Pwll Du near Blaenavon.  At 70kms in length, and with more tunnels being discovered, it is one of the thirty longest cave systems in the world and the second longest in Britain after the Easegill System in the Yorkshire Dales.  The cave was known only as a small entrance in the hillside below Pwll Du until several years of digging broke through into major passage developments in October 1994.  The cave systems are highly complex and only accessible to experienced cavers but deep within the cave can be found spectacular decorations of global importance and huge cathedral-like chambers.  The War of the Worlds section of the cave is probably the second longest cave passage in Britain.  Other sections of the cave have equally imaginative names, some examples being Strawberry Passage, Indigo Rift and The Realm of Baron Von Carno.

The limestone geology of the area was an important factor in the development of industry in the Industrial Revolution and is also the reason why the mountains immediately to the north and west of Blaenavon are rich in cave systems.  In the immediate area there are eight caves over 1 km long – 150 kms of cave systems of which Ogof Draenen is the jewel in the crown.
Caves can occur wherever there is limestone but the position of Blaenavon at the southern edge of the ice field at the end of the last Ice Age was of particular importance, with a steady supply of groundwater and rainwater slowly dissolving the limestone over thousands of years to create the caves which are being discovered today.
Ogof Draenen has also been important for Lesser Horseshoe bats for thousands of years. An examination of their droppings has allowed scientists from Brunel University to deduce what the local vegetation and landscape was like some 2000 ago – the area was then covered in dense oak forest with an abundance of holly and ivy in marked contrast to the grassland and heathers to be seen today.

Source: Blaenavon Heritage News

 Things to do

‘The Welsh Rugby Shirt’ at St Fagans Museum 17-25^th February 

‘Painting the Coalfields’ Big Pit Mining Museum 19, 21 & 23 February 

Please let us know of any forthcoming events likely to be of interest to our readers.

Page 3

ABERTILLERY & DISTRICT MUSEUM SOCIETY

The first written records in existence of a legal system which included capital punishment are the Codes of Criminal Law promulgated by Hammurabi (2285-2242BC). Murder was a capital offence in 1179BC among the Greeks and the Egyptians and in 700BC Draco in an effort to suppress crime in Greece made every crime a capital offence.
He failed, but the expression "Draconian Measures" comes from him.
On 25^th December 1066 William the Conqueror made one of his first public announcements,
“I forbid that any person be hanged for any cause!” No one was hanged for 40 years. He went on to say, "let their eyes be torn out and their testicles cut off".
The Newgate Calendar first published in 1774 recorded felons who were hanged on the Tyburn Tree. The Tyburn Tree stood at the corner of Edgware and Bayswater Road and had been an execution site since the 12^th cent and is now the site of Marble Arch.A triangle gallows was erected which could hang 8 people at a time from each of its 3 beams public executions were a popular entertainment at this time. The last execution at Tyburn was in 1783 the first execution at Newgate was on 9^th December 1783.
The condemned prisoners were held in Newgate prison. The wall between Newgate and Ludgate was known as the Bailey the first record of the name was in 1423. It became the site of the Central Criminal Court (The Old Bailey). During the Fire of London 1666 the prisoners were transferred to the Clink Prison on the River Clink. This is where the slang word comes from for prison.

Jonathan Wild a Thief Taker who adopted the title Thief Taker General in 1718 was in fact in league with the criminals. The thieves brought their loot to him and he paid them for it, afterwards returning it to its owners for a reward.

If the thief committed a certain offence Wild would put an X beside their name in his ledger. If the thief offended him he would add a second X and impeach him to the authorities. This is where the expression "Double Cross" comes from.

The Patron Saint of Forensic Science is St. Thomas, (Doubting Thomas) John, 20: 25.

Voice recognition is mentioned in the Bible, (Judges 12: 6) Jephthah in order to identify his own followers from the Ephraimites when passing through Jordan asked each man to pronounce the word 'shibboleth'. The Ephraimites pronounced the word without the 'h' and it was easy to distinguish his followers.

Voiceprint machines (Speech Spectrograph) were first demonstrated in the USA in1963.

In 1879 Alphonse Bertillion of the Sûretė developed a system of classifying criminals by physical attributes (no two people have the same measurements). However an Indian Civil Servant William Herschel had developed a system for identifying Indian ex soldiers when he was paying out their pensions. He made them sign for their pensions making an inky fingerprint beside their names. Sir Francis Galton improved on this devising a method by which fingerprints could be classified and filed.

In 1900 Paul Uhlenhuth discovered how to test blood to see if it was human using a serum from rabbit's and human blood. When human blood is injected into the serum it turns a milky colour. He found that this would work on old blood stains if they were dissolved in salty water.

Science continues to advance with ballistics, DNA Profiling, Rena Scans etc to aid the detection of crime but crime stills happens.

Sweet dreams!

Don Bearcroft curator.