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NEWSLETTER May 2006
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Museum News We are busy finalising the details of the refit and sorting out contracts and the like. Meanwhile, it’s life as usual and we still need our visitors, volunteers and fund raisers. Spring Trip This will be on Saturday 6th May when we will travel to Swansea to visit the brand new National Waterfront Museum and Swansea Museum. The coach fare will be £6.50 per person. There is a restaurant at the Museum, and other food places nearby, so finding somewhere for lunch will not present any difficulty. Contact Roy Pickford on 01495 213377 for cancellations if you haven’t yet booked. “Steps in Time” is the title of the anthology of poems written by Museum Society member Gordon Rowlands to help raise funds for the Museum. The illustrated booklet was launched at our recent coffee morning and proved a great success, with Gordon reading a selection of the poems. The anthology is on sale at the Museum at £3.50 – a very enjoyable read with a poem to suit every mood and occasion. It’s a lovely little book to buy for yourself, and also makes an excellent gift. April Numbers 1. No.83 Robert Duggan £25 2. No.50 Bernard Jones £10 3. No.30 Dorothy Nemes £5
Contact Names
Fund raising April £218 |
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. Details of coffee mornings etc available at the Museum Memberships – last call! Please pay your £4 if you haven’t already done so.
Lecture Programme
Diary Dates
Wednesday 11th June 2006 –
Serving a Custodial Sentence
by Roger Morgan Don’t forget, this is the place to catch up on local news (and much more) and also where you will find the Newsletter if you miss collecting your copy at the monthly lecture or Museum.
Obituary
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Book Corner Hills and Vales of the Black Mountain District by Richard Baker-Gabb Following the article on the Grwyne Fawr Reservoir in the March Newsletter, some members might be interested in this description of the Vale of Grwyne Fawr by Richard Baker-Gabb. It was first published in 1913 after the Abertillery & District Water Board constructed a road into the heart of the Black Mountains. The road would give access for the new reservoir to be built to provide an urgently needed water supply to Abertillery and the adjoining towns and villages. It opened up a hitherto inaccessible landscape to visitors to the area. The chapter on the Vale of Grwyne Fawr describes the terrain along which the road passes and outlines the structure of the reservoir. The building of the reservoir and the thirty-two miles of pipe required to carry the water to Abertillery was an engineering triumph. This compilation by Richard Baker-Gabb gives a delightful description of the valley as it was in the early twentieth century.
Border Country by Raymond Williams, published by Parthian, price £7.99 This new edition of the novel, first published in 1960, is one of the first titles to be published in the Library of Wales Series, which will re-issue many titles of Welsh literature written in English which deserve to be continually available. It is a story about the lives of Welsh people set in a Welsh border village. A young man, after many years absence, returns to the village of his birth to visit his father who is gravely ill. The story evolves through talks between father and son and their remembrances of the past. There is a graphic description of the 1926 General Strike as it affects the railway workers of the area and the repercussions that follow. It shows the intertwining of individual lives and social conditions during the 1920s and 1930s. Border Country is a moving and well written novel which will be of interest to anyone who knows the Welsh Border area and has an interest in social history. Jean Colwell |
More About Salt – It is a wonder we had not heard more about the SALT family in Abertillery. They were obviously a very important business concern in the area. They appeared to be most diverse in their activities, ranging from colliery owners to animal feedstuff suppliers and haulage contractors. The letter below is a reduced scale copy of an original document belonging to Mr John Taylor who has kindly consented to its reproduction in the Museum Newsletter. Roving Reporter
The letter, headed Rhiw Colborn Colliery, reads: February 22nd 1908 To Whom it may concern Ernest Charles Whiney 12 Jane Street, Abertillery Born November 29th 1893 Have been employed at above colliery – working with his father Birth Certificate mislaid Signed Thos F Salt
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Vice Presidents
Peter Law hit the national headlines in 2005 as a Labour rebel, winning the Blaenau Gwent constituency as an Independent, as well as serving in the Welsh Assembly Government. However, to those in Blaenau Gwent he will be remembered primarily as a local man with many years of public service. Born in Abergavenny, he was educated at Nantyglo and later studied through the Open University. He was chairman of Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust and a Blaenau Gwent councillor for more than 25 years, serving as mayor in 1988. At the time of his election to Parliament he was already undergoing treatment for a brain tumour. He bravely carried on with his constituency duties until his recent death; even when too unwell to attend at Westminster or Cardiff he had his parliamentary papers sent for him to work on at home. The Museum Society has lost a staunch supporter. Peter Law was a familiar figure in the Museum, and was always ready to fight our cause. He found time in his busy schedule to attend and speak at the re-opening of the Museum last year - testament to the commitment of a man who had his constituents at the top of his priorities. The Society sends its condolences to his family. Archaeology Lectures I’m sure everyone who attended the course of archaeology lectures at the Museum given by Frank Olding, enjoyed them as much as I did. As always his lectures were very informative and entertaining; around 25 people attended each time. The lectures were rounded off by a day out at Caerleon and Caerwent on Monday 24th April. The visit started at Caerleon. Our first stop was the Roman Amphitheatre and then on to the Legionary Barrack Blocks. The blocks are situated within the Prysg Field where the examples of pottery and tiles in the Museum collection came from. After lunch at the White Hart we visited the Museum, and made the short drive on to Caerwent. Caerwent, (Venta Silurum) was the most important civilian Roman site and holds many historic remains. Frank explained everything in great detail which inspired everyone’s imagination and made the day a great success. The course of lectures made £416, half of which came to the Museum Society. Peggy Bearcroft
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Town Trails
Gwent Birds 1 House Sparrow 2 Blue Tit 3 Chaffinch 4 Starling 5 Blackbird 6 Great Tit 7 Greeenfinch 8 Robin 9 Collared Dove 10 Jackdaw. If you are a keen birdwatcher then Newport Wetland Reserve near the power station at Nash is worth a visit; if you’re less keen on birds you can still enjoy the views over the Bristol Channel. The RSPB have been awarded a £3million grant to develop a visitor centre and other facilities. Payments to a serving maid The National Library of Wales holds a manuscript listing payments by a gentleman in Denbighshire to his maid – Elin Fawr. This is one of the very few sources of information on the dress of women from the lower levels of society in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is believed that the list was produced over a number of years and that the employer (who died in about 1610) was fairly generous – some of the items were made from his own cloth and there was no charge for these. By way of example of prices, the list sets out 3d for a pair of gloves and 8 shillings for a felt hat from Chester. Aprons and smocks were usually made from linen but jerkins and petticoats were made from cloth or flannel. As well as utilitarian items such as smocks and petticoats, Elin was also provided with more ornamental items such as collars and a ribbon to tie back her hair. Source: National Library of Wales website
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