ABERTILLERY & DISTRICT MUSEUM SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER October 2006

AGM – our Annual General Meeting was well attended.  Members were given a round up of the year’s events from our Chairman, Curator and Treasurer and were pleased to learn that despite the inevitable hiccups (as recounted by Don, our Page 4 man in the Newsletter), the Museum has seen increased attendance figures, Museum events have proved popular, the refit is going to plan and should be completed in May, and our financial position is sound.  The three directors who stood down were re-elected and the Committee was re-elected without change so that was an encouraging vote of confidence for all those who are directly involved in Museum affairs.  Peggy and Don were at pains to extend their thanks to all those, too numerous to mention, who volunteer their time and skills to make the museum what it is – a People’s Museum for the whole community.  The AGM ended with a welcome cuppa and an opportunity for another look at the range of handicrafts temporarily on display.  We have a talented bunch of members and the display is well worth a visit so pop into the Museum soon.

Lecture Programme Our September lecture was given by Mr John Long of Newport.  This is the third time Mr Long has come to speak to the society and the audience was again enthralled.  He told us in great detail of the life of George Hudson who was Railway King in Victorian times.  George was an unscrupulous character who cheated and lied to enable the building of his beloved railway.  Nevertheless we have a lot for which to thank George.  Mr Long spoke for well over an hour without a note - a considerable achievement for an eighty eight year old.  We look forward to his next visit.

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.

Coffee Morning
The coffee morning on 16^th September proved to be a very busy and successful morning.  The sale of refreshments and cakes raised £113 and the ‘Guess the number of buttons on the Pearly King and Queen’ raised a further £47, to give a  total of £160.
Thanks to Rose Smith for the loan of the Pearly King and Queen.
First prize went to Enid Dean with her spot on guess of 1020 buttons.
Close runners up were, Margaret Gilson, Wendy Hill, Janet Preece, Beryl Thomas and Moira Brown.
The ‘Guess the name of the doll’ competition was also drawn at the coffee morning.  The dolls name was TESSA and was won by Pat Carter.  Thanks go to Enid Dean for donating the doll and to Elaine Roles for helping to sell so many names.  The doll competition made £100.
I would like to thank anyone who helped with the coffee morning in any way, preparing beforehand, in the kitchen Saturday morning, baking cakes, buying and selling raffles and numerous other things which help to make a successful fundraising event

Peggy Bearcroft.

Diary Dates
Wednesday 4^th October 2006 – Scenes of Switzerland by Harry Vagg
Wednesday 1^st November 2006 – Birds and Mammals (with owls) by Dave Cooksey
Saturday 11^th November 2006 – Christmas Bazaar at Ebenezer Chapel
Wednesday 6^th December 2006 – The Haunted Hills by John Rutter

The lectures are usually held at Abertillery Comprehensive School and start at 7.00pm. Entry is £1 and the public are most welcome. News of coffee mornings and other events can be found on the notice board at the Museum or the website below –

www.cwmtillery.com

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ABERTILLERY & DISTRICT MUSEUM SOCIETY

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)

Fund raising September £436. Special thanks to Cllr Mark Holland for his generous £50 donation

Home made jam  Museum member Enid Dean makes superb jam which she sells in aid of Museum funds at £1 per pot.  With this season’s fruit coming on stream we hope you’ll try some – once tried we know you’ll be back for more.  The jam is on sale at the Museum or contact Enid.  Various flavours available including blackcurrant, greengage, gooseberry and plum.

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

Lucky Numbers
July
1^st         No.14   Jeanette Fowler             £25
2^nd        No.44   Sian Price                     £10
3^rd        No.59   Ray Jones                     £5
August
1^st         No.27   Sylvia Matthews            £25
2^nd        No.104 Eileen Warfield             £10
3^rd        No.66   Pat Carter                     £5
September
1^st         No.85   Gordon Rowlands          £25
2^nd        No.55   Judith Jones                  £10
3^rd        No.122 Margaret Jones             £5

We could do with some new members to the Numbers Club so please try to persuade family and friends to join. It’s in a good cause and a lot of fun.

Lucky Dip and Crafts – Yes, we know the Christmas Bazaar is some time away but now is the time to get cracking with making craft items for sale and for digging out unwanted gifts etc for the Lucky Dip. Please help; please bring Lucky Dip items into the Museum as soon as possible so that we can make a start wrapping them up.

The Welsh Revival

Just over a century ago Wales was gripped by the Revival – a movement which saw a hundred thousand people commit to religion in a single year.  The article by Rev Roy Jenkins on the BBC website in the Religion and Ethics section contains an account of events.  Referring specifically to Abertillery the account notes that:

“Just after eleven o’clock on a Wednesday evening a hundred years ago, a solo voice rang out with the hymn ‘Here is love vast as the ocean’.  Maybe a thousand people were in Ebenezer Baptist Church, Abertillery at the time, leaning over the galleries, packing every pew and squeezing into every spare corner.  They’d been here for more than four hours, in a service of intense emotion”.

Meetings like this were taking place all over Wales.  The South Wales Gazette gave a detailed commentary on the effects locally of the Revival, stating:

“Drunkards have been soberised, publicans have lost much business, conduct on public streets has been elevated, and the police and magistrates have had quieter times….The bottom of the pits have been utilised as centres for prayer and praise meetings, and there has been a general raising of the standard of public life”.

Ebenezer Baptist Church recorded 465 conversions, followed by Blaenau Gwent Baptist with 425, Somerset Street Primitive Methodist 350, Salvation Army 170, and Tabernacle Congregational 131.  Six other chapels recorded between 23 and 98 converts. 

What an extraordinary time it must have been.

Local Voices It is invariably the case that our members, of all ages, reminisce when they get together.  Please share your memories with us.  If you’d prefer not to put pen to paper yourself then we’ll do it for you.  Please contact Jen Price via the Museum or telephone 01633 482851.  Thank you.

Best wishes to Mrs Shirley Winmill for a speedy recovery from a pelvic fracture.  We hope to see you back at the lectures soon.

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ABERTILLERY & DISTRICT MUSEUM SOCIETY

 Blaenau Gwent Heritage Forum

Blaenau Gwent Heritage Forum held its first Heritage day at the Ebbw Vale Civic Centre on Saturday 1^st September 2006.  It was supported by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council. Peter Jones of the Heritage Forum introduced the day, explaining that it was the first of what the Forum hoped would be an annual event.  He then introduced Mr Frank Olding, the first speaker.
Frank was already well known to most of those present.  He spoke about pre-industrial Blaenau Gwent from the earliest times up to the beginning of the Industrial Age.  He showed a series of slides of artefacts which had been found in Blaenau Gwent, many of which can be seen in local museums.
The second speaker was Janet Karn, Local Studies Librarian for Blaenau Gwent.  Janet gave us information about the Local Studies Collection which is held in Tredegar Library but can be used by anyone in Blaenau Gwent.  She described areas in which she is able to help users in their research; studying family history; the many ways in which Census records may be used and the collection of old newspapers and maps that are available.  She was also collecting information on current events which would be the history of tomorrow.
The final speaker of the morning was David Rimmer the County Archivist, who gave us an insight into the materials held at the County Record Office in Cwmbran.  The records include school log books, minutes and reports of the local district councils, christening and burial records of many parishes and a large collection of maps.
After a buffet lunch in the leisure centre where we were able to talk to the speakers informally, the afternoon session opened with Peter Jones changing hats and becoming the first speaker. Peter’s brief was Industrial Blaenau Gwent.  He explained the effect this had on the way of lives of the people, culminating in the Chartist Rising in 1839 and the personalities involved.  He posed the interesting question whether the modern day view of events agreed with the factual reports of those who were present.
The final speaker was Dr. John van Laun, a noted archaeologist author with an interest in the development of tramways and railways.  He gave a fascinating description of the development of the transport system in the industrial areas of Blaenau Gwent from the horse drawn truck on the tramways, and the development of the rails from wood to wrought iron.  He also described how the tram roads became linked to the canal of the Monmouthshire Canal Company which later became the canal and railway company which was the forerunner of the G.W.R.

All the speakers answered questions from the floor and Mr Jones brought the proceedings to an end.  He thanked all the speakers and those who had attended and had helped to make the day successful. It proved to be a most interesting and enjoyable day and surely with the support of the History Societies and Museums in the area it will become an annual event.

Blaenau Gwent Heritage Forum holds monthly meetings and is formed by Local History and Museum Societies together with individuals with an interest in local history.  Further details may be obtained from the secretary, Janet Karn; tel Tredegar 722687.         Jean Colwell

Early Welsh literature A narrative poem known as the Goroddin by 7^th century poet Aneurin is one of the earliest known works, recording a battle between the native Britons and the Saxons in the north of England.  Rather better known are the works of the poet Taliesin, a near contemporary of Aneurin, but who composed shorter poems, in honour of Urien Rheged the ruler of the Kingdom of Rheged around the Solway Firth.  Many of Taliesin’s poems are preserved in the 14^th century manuscript known as the Book of Taliesin, the poems reflecting Taliesin’s role as a court poet (as were many of the poets of the time) and also including a body of mystical poetry attributed to Taliesin.  Here is a translation of an example of his work:

The Song of the Little World Book of Taliesin LV1

I’ll sing of the beautiful, the gay,
I’ll sing of the world just one more day;
Much I reason and much I ponder,
Much I meditate – much I wonder! 
The bards of the world I will address
Since never was told me I confess
What thing it is that supports the world
Lest into the deeps it should be hurled
Or what, if the world should fall anon,
In falling ‘tis like to fall upon;
Or who ‘tis upholds it that it may
Revive when it winters into decay,
To burgeon into green leaf anew
Each yearly cycle it passes through.
The world – how wonderful it is
It falls not into the dread abyss! 
The world -  how strange, and how complete,
Trodden by men’s unnumbered feet! 
John, Matthew, Luke and Mark,
It is they who sustain God’s holy word 
Through grace of the Holy Spirit heard.

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Museum matters.

These are the people who the council are using on the Metropole, Cultural & Conference Centre. Having met Mike and finding him helpful not only to us but also to Alan Morgan our designer, we hired him.

With this sorted out work could now commence on the museum design.

The carpenters had already visited the museum to measure up and discuss the carpentry work required for the design.

The electricians also came to see what was required for their work.  It was essential that the electrical conduits and sockets were installed before any other work could commence.

It was decided that they would start work on Monday 4^th September, which they did, arriving promptly at 8am. After bringing in their tools and materials, they set up a laser level which gave them a mark around the walls for the conduits.

In any type of work there are hidden facets that are necessary for the scheme to work.

The work done by Socket & See is first class, cleaning their mess up as well as ours after they had finished every day. The conduits are so unobtrusive that you have to point it out to people.

The next phase in the design will be the installation of the new cases and displays around the peripheral walls.

Socket & See: Gareth Sullivan, Joel,andMark Robinson
 

The first to be the installed will be the II WW on the Home Front, the Anderson Shelter and the Home Guard and W.V.S Kitchen.

The Anderson Shelter will have sound effects added.

The Artist

Geraint Derbyshire has already completed the dioramas for the backdrop on this exhibit.

This subject is a part of the National Curriculum for Schools and this exhibit together with the Bon March Shop will be interactive.

While this is being done, work on the Mining Gallery Displays will also be in progress.

Much of the work will be done off site, the mannequins, displays and cases, these will then be brought to the museum in sections and assembled on site.

A Craft Exhibition by members of the society was held on Saturday 16^th September. The items on exhibit were of an exceptionally high standard.

Those of you who attended the coffee morning will have seen the monitor showing pictures off the Community Archive. The monitor bracket was donated by our Assistant Curator Mr. Bernard Hill. Thanks Bern!

Don Bearcroft, Curator.