Gwasanaeth Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg: Adroddiad Blynyddol Archifydd y Sir 2023-2024

Adroddiad Blynyddol Archifydd y Sir

Port Talbot

Port Talbot Councils

Gwasanaeth Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg

Mae Gwasanaeth Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg yn casglu dogfennau, mapiau, ffotograffau, recordiadau ffilm a sain sy’n ymwneud â phob agwedd ar hanes Gorllewin Morgannwg. Mae’n wasanaeth ar y cyd ar gyfer Cynghorau Dinas a SirAbertawe a Bwrdeistref Sirol Castell-nedd Port Talbot.

Ein cenhadaeth yw cadw a datblygu ein casgliadau o archifau, diogelu ein treftadaeth ddogfennol a chaniatáu ymchwilermwyn datblygu ein casgliad. Rydym yn ymroddedig i ddarparu gwybodaeth a’r cyfle i gyflwyno’r archifau i bawb.

Gwasanaeth Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg

Canolfan Ddinesig

Heol Ystumllwynarth

Abertawe SA1 3SN

 01792 636589

archifau@abertawe.gov.uk

Clawr blaen: Mr Antony Armstrong-Jones (Arglwydd Snowdon) ar ymweliad â’r Celtic Stained Glass Studios, Abertawe, c.1960 (derbyniad diweddar)

www.abertawe.gov.uk/archifaugorllewinmorgannwg

@archifgorllmor

Cysylltu Pobl a Hanes

Agor Cornel Clipiau Archif Ddarlledu Cymru yn yr Archifau, Ionawr. O'r chwith i'r dde, y Cyng Lyndon Jones, Owen Llywelyn (Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Kim Collis, Rhodri ap Dyfrig (LlGC), y Cyng Robert Smith

Mae Gwasanaeth Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg yn cael ei gynnalar y cyd gan Gynghorau Abertawe a Chastell-nedd Port Talbot er mwyn cadw mynediad i'wharchifau a chasgliadau archifau eraill y mae wedi'u derbyn a'u casglu ar eu rhan. Mae trigolion y ddwy ardal awdurdod lleol ac ymchwilwyr o bob rhan o’r DU a thramor yn cyrchu ein casgliadau archif, ar-lein acyn bersonol, er mwyn gwneud amrywiaeth eang o waith ymchwil.

Mae'r archifau wedi wynebu goblygiadau'rbwriad i gau Canolfan Ddinesig Abertawe ers rhai blynyddoedd. Mae’r penderfyniad (a gafodd eiffurfioli ym mis Rhagfyr 2021) i symud yr archifau i Hwb yng nghanol y ddinas sydd wedi’i leoli yn yr hen British Home Stores ar Stryd Rhydychen yn un sy’n cynnig cyfleoedd i’r Gwasanaeth gydweithio’n agosach â Llyfrgell Ganolog Abertawe a Llyfrgell Glowyr De Cymru, a fydd hefyd yn meddiannu'r adeilad. Yn ystod y flwyddyn, mae enw’r adeilad newydd wedi’i ddewis a’i ddatgelu fel‘Y Storfa’ sy’n adlewyrchu defnydd blaenorol yr adeilad a’rhyn a gynigir.

Bydd angen i'r cyfleuster archifau newydd ffitio i mewn i adeilad amlbwrpas ac mae hyn wedi gofyn am gryn ofal a sylw i sicrhau bod y storfa archifol yn cyrraedd y safon BS 4971 gofynnol ar gyfer cadwraeth a gofal y casgliadau archifol. Mae llawer o waith wedi'i wneud dros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf i fodelu'r ardal storio archifau a llunio cynllun gweithredu ar gyfer adleoli'r casgliadau. Y bwriad yw y bydd pobeitem sy'n cael ei storio'n archifol (gan gynnwys cyfrolau) yn cael ei rhoi mewn bocsys a'i chodio â chod bar cyn iddynt gael eu symud. Mae lluniau ar ochr dde’r dudalen

hon yn dangos golygfeydd ‘cyn’ ac ‘ar ôl’ o’n llyfrau ardrethi, enghraifft o ble bu’n rhaid gwneud blychau mawr iawn yn arbennig i’w ffitio.

Mae rhywfaint o ddeunydd archif anhraddodiadol, fel ffotograffau asetad a pholyester, yn cael eu gwahanu a rhoddir storfa arbenigol iddynt, polyester mewn blychau plastig aerglos ac asetad yn cael ei roi yn y rhewgell. Wrth wneud y gwaith hwn, rydym yn caelein harwain gan gyngor arbenigol gan y Gwasanaeth Cadwraeth Cenedlaethol, sydd hefyd wedi cynnal Arolwg Asesu Cadwraeth i ni yn ystod y flwyddyn.

Mae cynllun y man cyhoeddus bellach wedi'i gwblhau. Fel y dangosir isod, mae gan yr ystafell chwilio 85m³ newydd (yr ardal wedi'i lliwio'n binc) le i ddeuddeg o ymchwilwyr wrth ddesgiau astudio, pedwar ohonynt ar fyrddau y gellir addasu eu huchder sy'n addas ar gyfer defnyddwyr cadeiriau olwyn. Mae hefyd saith sedd ar gyfer defnyddwyr cyfrifiaduron personol ac un sedd ar gyfer defnyddio darllenydd-argraffydd microffilm/fiche. Mae gan y dderbynfa (yr ardal wedi'illiwio'n oren) le ar gyfer loceri a rhesel cotiau y gellir ei chloi, yn ogystal â wal arddangos manwerthu ar gyfer ein llyfrau ac eitemau eraill sy’n cael eu gwerthu. Mae lle yn y manstaff ar gyfer dau aelod o staff, y derbynnydd a'r archifydd ar ddyletswydd.

Er bod hyn yn cynrychioli gostyngiad yn y gofod yn ein hardal gyhoeddus bresennol (mae’r Ganolfan Hanes Teuluol yn enwedig wedi’icholli oherwydd cyfyngiadau gofod cyffredinol), mae’r ffaith fod rhan fawr o’n casgliadau ar gael yn ddigidol wedi arwain at lai o ddefnydd o’n gwasanaeth, tueddiad a gynyddwyd gan y cau oedd yn gysylltiedig â’rpandemig diweddar lle darganfu llawer o’n defnyddwyr hanes teulu hwylustodchwilio copïau o’n hadnoddau archif ar-lein. Y gobaith yw y bydd ein cydleoliad canolog newydd yn annog cenhedlaeth newydd o ddefnyddwyr. i'n Gwasanaeth.

Adeiladu a chadw ein casgliadau

Ym mis Awst, galwodd staff o wefan hanes teulu Ancestry heibio i ddigideiddio deunydd ychwanegol ar gyfer gwefan Ancestry. Fe'u gwelir yma yn gweithio ar gofrestrau Eglwys Blwyf y Drindod Sanctaidd, Abertawe.

Prif rôl y Gwasanaeth Archifau yw cadw ein treftadaeth ddogfennol er budd cenedlaethau'r dyfodol, gan dderbyn rhoddion ac adneuon ychwanegol o ddeunydd archif tra'n cynnal a datblygu'r graddau eithaf o fynediad i'rcasgliadau sydd danein gofal. Mae sawlelfen i'r gwaith hwngan gynnwys chwilioam dderbyniadau newydd o archifau a’u derbyn, glanhau, gosod mewn blychau a chadw yr hyn sydd gennym eisoes, yna catalogio a rhoi cyhoeddusrwydd i'n casgliadau. To this list of our activities can now be added digital preservation

Prif swyddogaeth y Gwasanaeth Archifau yw diogelu ein treftadaeth ddogfennol er budd cenedlaethau’r dyfodol, gan dderbyn rhoddion ychwanegol ac adneuon o ddeunydd archif wrth gynnal a datblygu’r mynediad mwyaf i’r casgliadau sydd yn ein gofal. Mae sawledefyn i’rgwaith hwn, gan gynnwys chwilio am archifau newydd a’u derbyn, glanhau, bocsio a chadw’r hyn sydd gennym eisoes, yna catalogio a rhoi cyhoeddusrwydd i’n casgliadau. Bellach gellir ychwanegu cadwraeth ddigidol at y rhestr hon o'n gweithgareddau

Fel y'i diffinnir gan lawlyfr y Digital Preservation Coalition, mae cadwraeth ddigidol “yn cyfeirio at y gyfres o weithgareddau a reolir sy'n angenrheidiol i sicrhau mynediad parhaus at ddeunyddiau digidol cyhyd ag y bo angen...[mae'n cynnwys] yr holl gamau gweithredu sydd eu hangen i gynnal mynediad at ddeunyddiau digidol y tu hwnt i derfynau methiant cyfryngau neu newid technolegol a sefydliadol.” Yn ymarferol mae hyn yn cynnwys cadw cofrestr o gynnwys digidol; datblygu polisi a phroses i arwain caffael, cadw a darparu mynediad i gynnwys digidol; cadw copïau lluosog o gynnwys digidol i ddarparu yswiriant rhag colled; gwirio cyfanrwyddcynnwys digidol yn amli sicrhau nad yw wedi dadfeilio na chael ei niweidio; ac archwilio cynnwys digidol i ddeall ei nodweddion, ei asesu ar gyfer risgiau cadwraeth a chymryd camau i'w lliniaru.

Yn ystod y flwyddyn, gyda chymorth aruthrol gan Adran Ddiwylliant Llywodraeth Cymru sydd wedi darparu hyfforddiant a chymorth ariannol – ac mewn cydweithrediad ag archifau eraillledled Cymru drwy nawdd Cyngor Archifau a Chofnodion Cymru (ARCW) – rydym wedi ymuno â chonsortiwm sy’n ceisio canfod ateb masnachol i'n hanghenion cadwraeth ddigidol. Bu'n rhaid ailddyrannu'r gyllideb a gwneud paratoadau ar gyfer cynnwys ein holl ddeunydd digidol yn y dyfodol o fewn Cadwrfa Ddigidol Cymru yr Ymddiriedirynddi sy’n cael ei rhannu ond sydd hefyd yn cael ei dosbarthu i wahanol adrannau. Er mwyn dechrau rheoli ein casgliadau digidol, rydym wedi cofnodi ein holl gynnwys digidol yn systematig mewn cronfa ddata. Mae'r Gofrestr Asedau Digidol (DAR) hon yn cynnwys gwybodaeth am fformatau ffeiliau, cyfryngau storio, maint ffeiliau, lleoliadau storio, dyddiadau a metadata disgrifiadol arall. Rydym yn bwriadu ychwanegu rhagor o wybodaeth am risgiau igynnwys, gan gynnwys dibyniaethau meddalwedd neu galedwedd. Mae cynnal digon o fetadata digidol yn ein DAR yn ein helpu i gydlynu gweithgareddau ein cadwraeth ddigidol.

Rhoddodd ein rhan ym mhrosiect Kickstart Cymru CACC yr hwb roedd ei angen arnom. Rydym wedi defnyddio ein gweithfan annibynnol newydd (a ddarparwyd gan grant Llywodraeth Cymru) i lyncu’r mwyafrifhelaeth o’ndata digidol yn ddiogel ac yn ddibynadwy i yriant disg caled allanol enfawr. Roedd y broses amlyncu hon yn cynnwys defnyddio atalydd ysgrifennu i atal newidiadau, rhedeg meddalwedd gwrth-firws, cynhyrchu symiau gwirio diogel a dogfennu ein gweithredoedd ar ein DAR.

Wrth asesu lle’r ydym ar ddechrau’r broses hon, gwnaethom ddefnyddio sawl teclyn i feincnodi gallu ein gwasanaeth i gadw’n ddigidol. Y model a ddewiswyd gan y consortiwm oedd Model Asesu Cyflym y Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC RAM), Gan ddefnyddio’r DPC RAM, penderfynom fod WGAS ar hyn o bryd ar y lefel ‘sylfaenol’ mewn meysydd sefydliadol megis adnoddau a gallu TG, ond bod einhymgysylltiad â’r gymuned cadwraeth ddigidol ehangach ar y lefel 'a reolir'. Cyfrifwyd hefyd bod galluoeddWGAS mewn perthynas â phrosesau gweithredol caffael ac amlyncu, cadw llif didau, cadw cynnwys, rheoli metadata a darparu mynediad ary lefel ‘sylfaenol’. Ochr yn ochr â’n helpu i asesu’r bylchau yn ein gallu presennol i gadw’n ddigidol, mae’r teclyn hwn yn darparu meini prawf rydym wedi’u defnyddio i osod lefelau targed o gadwraeth ddigidol ac i arwain ein blaenoriaethau wrth symud ymlaen.

Er ein bod wedi cyflawni rhai gweithredoedd adnabod a dilysu fformatau ffeiliau at ddibenion hyfforddi yn ystod y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, ein nod yw defnyddio ein partneriaeth meddalwedd cadwraeth ddigidol sydd ar ddod i awtomeiddio’r prosesau hanfodol hyn ar draws ein holl gasgliadau digidol. Yn ogystal, bydd y feddalwedd hon yn arbed cynnwys digidol mewn storfa cwmwl ddiogel, yn cynnal ffeiliau'n awtomatig mewn fformatau cadwa argymhellir, yn cynnal gwiriadau cywirdeb rheolaidd ac yn hwyluso mynediad cyhoeddus i ffeiliau digidol mewn porth arlein. Mae WGAS yn ymroddedigi gefnogi strategaethau cadwraeth ddigidolo’r fath i liniaru yn erbyn y posibilrwydd o golli data ac i sicrhau mynediad hirdymor i’ncasgliadau digidol gwerthfawr.

Tudalen o lyfr llofnodion nyrs, 1911. Yn nodweddiadol ar gyfer y cyfnod, roedd cleifion yn ysgrifennu negeseuon o ddiolch, yn adrodd cerddi ac yn llunio cartwnau fel cofrodd i’w nyrs (SL WL 10/35)

Uned Cadwraeth Archifau Gwynedd: lluniau cyn ac ar ôl atgyweirio cofrestr Carchar Abertawe, 1883-1884 (D/D PRO/HMP 1/1a)

I ddychwelyd at gadwraeth deunyddiau mwy traddodiadol, mae’r rhan fwyaf o’n gwaith cadwraeth yn caelei wneud dan gytundeb gydag uned gadwraeth Archifau Gwynedd yn eu prif swyddfa yng Nghaernarfon. Mae’r lluniau ar y dudalen hon yn dangos sut mae gwaith cadwraeth ar ein casgliadau yno’n dod â’n dogfennau yn ôl i gyflwry gellir eu defnyddio.

Yn ystod y flwyddyn, mae’rGwasanaeth Archifau wedi parhau i gasglu deunydd o werth archifol yn ymwneud â’n dwy ardal awdurdod lleol gan sefydliadau ac unigolion. Mae rhestr lawn o'r derbyniadau a dderbyniwyd i'wgweld isod yn Atodiad 2 ac mae nifer o'r derbyniadau mwyaf diddorol i'w gweld yn ein herthyglau hanes lleol ymhellach ymlaen yn yr adroddiad hwn. Dyma rai o uchafbwyntiau allweddol y flwyddyn 2023/24.

Soniom yn adroddiad y llynedd ein bod wedi derbyn nifer sylweddol o gofnodion gan Eglwys Methodistiaid Calfinaidd Gorphwysfa yn Sgiwen, a oedd wedi cau yn ddiweddar. Gwerthwyd yr adeilad wedyn a'i drawsnewidat ddibenion eraill, ond yn y broses darganfuwyd nifer o gofnodion pellach mewn tŷ allan a'u trosglwyddo i'r Gwasanaeth Archifau. Wrth ymchwilio, darganfuwyd mai’r rhain oedd y cofnodion sy’n weddill o nifer o gapeli eraill o’r un enwad a gaeodd ddegawdau lawer yn ôl. Maent yn cynnwys y Tabernacl, Glandŵr; Bethel, Melincryddan; Bethlehem, Penyrheol, Gorseinon; Nasareth, Treforys a Tabor, Pengelli, a gaeodd ar wahanol ddyddiadau yn amrywio o 1948 i 1966.Mae'r cofnodion yn cynnwys rhestrau aelodaeth, cyfrifon acmewn rhai achosion, cofrestrau bedydd. Roedd cofrestrau priodas hefyd ar gyfer Capel Bethlehem Green yng Nghastellnedd hyd at 1966. Ym mhob achos, ni chadwyd cofnodion blaenorol ar gyfer yr eglwysi hynny yn y Gwasanaeth Archifau. Ceir hefyd gofnodion a chyfrifon Henaduriaeth Gorllewin Morgannwg dros yr un cyfnod.

Yn yr un modd, mae sawl capelo enwadau eraill wedi cau eu drysau yn fwy diweddar ac mae cydweithwyr yng Nghymdeithas Bedyddwyr Cymru yn parhau i sicrhau bod eu cofnodion yn cael eu hadneuo gyda ni lle bo modd. Yn ystod y flwyddyn ddiwethaf rydym wedi derbyn llwythi sylweddol o gofnodion yn ymwneud â Chalfaria yn Sgiwen, Addoldy, Glyn-nedd ac Adulam, Bôn-y-maen, pob un ohonynt yn gapeli Cymraeg y Bedyddwyr a gaeodd yn 2022 a 2023, a Soar,Casllwchwr, a oedd yn gapel y Bedyddwyr Cymraeg a gaeodd yn 2022 a 2023, a Soar, Casllwchwr, a oedd yn gapel yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg. Mae’r cofnodion yn cynnwys rhestrau o aelodau, cofnodion, ffotograffau, cofnodion ariannol ac ymddiriedolwyr a hanes yr eglwys..

Tra bod Llyfrgell Castell-nedd wedi agor yn ei lleoliad newydd ar 1 Chwefror 2023, mae Llyfrgell Abertawe yn parhau â'r gwaith o baratoi i symud i adeilad newydd yn Y Storfa. Yn y broses, mae'r ddwy lyfrgell wedi trosglwyddo cyhoeddiadau a dogfennau i'r Gwasanaeth Archifau. O Lyfrgell Castell-nedd daeth cyfres o gofnodion gan Gyngor Dosbarth Gwledig Castell-nedd. Set brintiedig lawn yw'r rhain a gafodd eu coladu a'u rhwymo gan Lyfrgell Castell-nedd ac a oedd ar gael ar y silffoedd agored yn yr adran gyfeirio. Maent yn cwmpasu'r cyfnod 1929-1974 ac yn llenwi'rbylchau yn y cyfrolau llawysgrifen a theipysgrif o gofnodion a gadwyd gennym yn flaenorol. Yn y cyfamser mae Llyfrgell Abertawe wedi trosglwyddo cymysgedd eclectig o adroddiadau, dogfennau ymgynghori a dogfennau eraill i ni, sydd wedicymryd eu lle’n rhwydd yn y Gwasanaeth Archifau.

Cynrychiolir dwy ochr y gagendor gwleidyddol mewn casgliadau a gawsom yn ystod y flwyddyn: ceir cofnodion Chwith Llafur Abertawe, carfan bwyso asgell chwith o fewn y Blaid Lafur leol yn etholaethau Gŵyr, Dwyrain Abertawe a Gorllewin Abertawe, a chofnodion Cymdeithas Geidwadol ac Unoliaethol Gŵyr.Mae’r ddau gasgliad yn dangos gweithgareddau codi arian ac ymgyrchu’r pleidiau yn ystod etholiadau lleol a chyffredinol.

Yn y rhan fwyaf o achosion, mae llyfrau cofnodion cynghorau cymuned a phlwyf sifil wedi bod dan ein gofal ers blynyddoedd, ond yn achlysurol mae cyfrolau eithaf cynnar yn ymddangos yn annisgwyl. Eleni derbyniom y gyfrol gyntaf ar gyfer Cyngor Plwyf Port Eynon, yn ymdrin â'rcyfnod 1894-1936, ac un ar gyfer Cyngor Plwyf Llangynydd dyddiedig 1927-1962. Er eu bod yn ymwneud yn bennaf â materion lleol yn unig, maent serch hynny yn cynrychioli ffynhonnell bwysig i hanes pentrefi.

Mae llawer o'n derbyniadau yn ystod y flwyddyn wedi bod yn ychwanegiadau at ein daliadau presennol. Erenghraifft, adroddwyd y llynedd ar archif Côr Orffews Treforys, casgliad mawra phwysig yn ymwneudag un o sefydliadau mwyaf eiconig Cymru. Derbyniwyd papurau pellach eleni ac mae’n bleser gennym adrodd bod y casgliad cyfan bellach wedi’i gatalogio.

Mae gan y Gwasanaeth Archifau gasgliad helaeth o gofnodion hanes llafar yn ymwneud â'r ardal leol. Atgofion yw’r rhan fwyaf o’r rhain, ond mae rhai ohonynt yn cynnwys elfen ieithyddol,er enghraifft tapiau hen drigolion Penrhyn Gŵyr sy’n cynnwys enghreifftiau o dafodiaith Saesneg Gŵyr sydd bellach yn brin iawn. Yn ystod y flwyddyn adrodd cawsom gyfres o recordiadau yn Gymraeg o’r enw Tafodiaith Nedd ac Afan, sy’n cofnodi pobl yn siarad yn y tafodieithoedd Cymraeg sy’n lleol i gymoedd Afan a Nedd, ffynhonnell werthfawr a phwysig ar gyfer ymchwili’r defnydd o’r Gymraeg a’ithafodieithoedd. Bydd gan ymchwilwyr cerdd hefyd ddiddordeb mewn cyfres o recordiadau a wnaed gan Jazz Heritage Wales o gyfweliadau gyda cherddorion a chantorion jazz nodedig sydd â chysylltiadau â sîn gerddoriaeth Abertawe, a dderbyniwyd hefyd yn ystod y flwyddyn. Ein polisi gyda’n holl gasgliadau hanes llafar yweu digideiddio er mwyn cadw’r tapiau gwreiddiol rhag difrod a’u gwneud ar gaelar ffurf ddigidol yn ein hystafell ymchwilio.

Daw rhai o'r straeon mwyaf diddorol o adneuon cymharol fach o gofnodion a dderbyniwyd yn ystod y flwyddyn. Er enghraifft, mae tystysgrif a dau ffotograff yn adrodd hanes Ellen Davies, yn wreiddiol o Sir Gaerfyrddin, a gymhwysodd fel fferyllydd yn 1900, y fenyw gyntaf o Gymru i wneud hynny. Ar ôl cymhwyso, bu'n gweithio yn J.T. Davies yn Uplands, Abertawe. Yna cafodd ei recriwtio’n benodol gan Ysbyty Abertawe ym 1916 a’i phenodi’n uwch fferyllydd y flwyddyn ganlynol, swydd a wnaeth hyd ei hymddeoliad yn 1947. Yn ystod y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf, cafodd llawer o filwyr wedi’u clwyfo driniaeth yn Ysbyty Abertawe, ac roedd un o’i nyrsys yn cadw llyfr llofnodion, fel yr oedd llawer o bobl ar y pryd, a daeth hwn atom yn ystod y flwyddyn. Yn ogystal â’r llofnodion, mae’n cynnwys amrywiaeth o gartwnau, darluniau a cherddi gan y milwyr yr oedd hi’n gofalu amdanynt.

Daw’r lluniau canlynol a llun y clawr blaen o gasgliad diweddar Ivor Davies, crefftwr gwydr lliw, a hyfforddodd yn Ysgol Gelf Abertawe ac a weithiodd yn Celtic Studios yn y 1950au a’r 1960au. Mae'r delweddau'n dangos gwaith dylunio cartwnau yn Stiwdio Abertawe a gosod ffenestr yn Eglwys y Plwyf Leytonstone, Essex..

Ymgysylltu â chynulleidfaoedd

Ym mis Ebrill, rhoddodd Archifydd y Sir gyflwyniad am hanes Canolfan Ddinesig Abertawe ac aeth â changen Cymru o Gymdeithas yr Ugeinfed Ganrif ar daith dywys o amgylch yr adeilad.

Dros y blynyddoedd, mae Archifau GorllewinMorgannwg wedi gweithio gyda phartneriaid sefydliadol eraill ar nifer o brosiectau arloesol. Mae’r Gwasanaeth Archifau wedi parhau i chwarae ei ran mewn rhai prosiectau creadigol sy’n procio’r meddwlac mae nifer o’n cydweithrediadau yn cael sylw yma.

Ym mis Ionawr,agorwyd cangen o Archif Ddarlledu Cymru, un o’rrhai cyntaf o blith nifer o Gorneli Clipiau i gael eu hagoryng Nghymru gan Lyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru gan roi mynediad i’w harchif teledu a ddarparwyd iddynt gan BBC Cymru, ITV Cymrua S4C. Mae maint y deunydd archif sydd ar gael trwy ein dolen yn tyfu'n barhaus ac yn rhoi cyfleoedd i'r cyhoedd wylio er ymchwil a hamdden.

Er na fydd ystafell chwilio archif

WGAS yn Y Storfa ynddigon mawr i'w gynnwys, mae cynlluniau wedi'u gwneud i leoli Cornel Clipiau newydd yn yr ardal ar brydles i Lyfrgell Glowyr De Cymru. Heb os, bydd lleoliad yng nghanol y ddinas yn apeliomwy at ddefnyddwyr sy’n galwheibio sy'n awyddus i weld rhaglen y maent yn ei chofio.

Eleni, rydym wedi cynnal ac ymestyn ein cysylltiadau â darlithwyr o sefydliadau academaidd lleol. Rydym wedi croesawu ymweliadau gan grwpiau myfyrwyr o Brifysgol Cymru y Drindod Dewi Sant (PCYDDS) a Phrifysgol Abertawe, nid myfyrwyr Hanes yn unig, ac wedi ymgysylltu â nhw ar amrywiaeth o bynciau cwrs-benodol yn ogystal â rhoi sgyrsiau rhagarweiniol iddynt ar sut igael mynediad at archifau a’u defnyddio. Rydym wedi parhau â’n cysylltiadau agos â Jazz Heritage Wales, elusen fach sydd â chasgliad archif arbenigol a gynhelir gan PCYDDS, ac ynghyd â nifer o bobl eraill rydym yn galaru am golli ei sylfaenydd, Jen Wilson, ym mis Mai 2023, un a fu’n hyrwyddo hanes Du a hanes jazz yng Nghymru.

Yn ystod y flwyddyn rydym wedi gweithio gyda dau grŵp cymunedol lleol i gefnogi eu ceisiadau am Arian Treftadaeth y Loteri Genedlaethol ermwyn iddynt ddarganfod a disgrifio agweddau ar hanes lleol trwy gyfrwng arddangosfeydd a ffilmiau dogfen. Daeth yddau sefydliad, Renew Your Mind a Phrosiect Datblygu Congolese, atom gyda’u prosiectau arfaethedig (‘Merched yn y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf’ a ‘Gorffennol Diwydiannol Abertawe’ yn y drefn honno) a gwnaethom ddarparu llythyrau o gefnogaeth ar gyfereu ceisiadau am arian a rhoi cyngor cychwynnolar archifau sy'n ymwneud â'u dewis bwnc. Edrychwn ymlaen at barhau i weithio gyda nhw yn y dyfodol agos.

Rydym yn parhau â'n nod o sicrhau bod ein casgliadau'n cynrychioli'rholl gymunedau yn ein hardal yn well ac mae staff wedi cael hyfforddiant ar faterion amrywiaeth. Eleni rydym wedilansio tudalen ‘Cymunedau Amrywiol’ newydd ar ein tudalennau gwe, llerydym yn tynnu sylwat ddogfennau perthnasolyn ein casgliadau.

Mae’r cyfryngau cymdeithasol yn parhau i chwarae rhan fawr yng ngwaith allgymorth y Gwasanaeth ac yn ystod y flwyddyn rydym wedi ehangu ein detholiad drwy agor cyfrif gydag Instagram i ategu ein presenoldeb presennol ar Facebook ac X (Twitter gynt). Mae'r dudalen ganlynol yn dangos detholiad o'n negeseuoncyfryngau cymdeithasol amrywiol

Criw o’r BBC yn ffilmio’r digrifwr Max Boyce ar gyfer rhaglen arbennig yn dathlu ‘Max Boyce at 80’

Cyfanswmaelodau'rcyhoedda ymweloddâ'rGwasanaeth

Archifauynystod2023-2024: 2,355

Gangynnwys: Abertawe 1,523 Castell-nedd 411 Ymweliadaugrŵp 421 2023/24 MEWN RHIFAU

41 ymholiadau drwy'r post

123 nifer y tocynnau a roddwyd ar gyfer darllenwyr newydd

724 nifer y disgyblion ac athrawon oedd yn bresennol mewn sesiynau i ysgolion

812 Defnyddwyr oddi ar y safle

2,303 nifer yr e-byst a atebwyd

3,167 defnyddwyr ar y safle ac oddi arno

6,291 nifer y dogfennau yr ymgynghorwyd â nhw yn ein hystafell ymchwilio yn

Abertawe a Chastell-nedd

6,533 dilynwyr ar gyfryngau cymdeithasol

136,095 nifer y tudalennau a welwyd o'n catalogau ar wefan yr Hwb Archifau

350,290 y nifer a roddodd eu barn am ein cofnodion digidol ar wefan hanes teulu

Ancestry

Yn 2022 cymerodd y Gwasanaethran unwaith eto ynyr Arolwg o Ymwelwyr ag Archifau’r DU. Cyhoeddwyd y canlyniadau ym mis Mehefin 2023.

Roedd 83% o'rymatebwyr wedi defnyddio ein gwasanaeth o'r blaen a 63% yn ystyried eu hunain yn ddefnyddwyr rheolaidd o WGAS. Y rheswmmwyaf cyffredindros ymweld oedd hanes teulu (41%)wedi'i ddilyn yn agos gan hanes lleol (35%) gyda nifer llai yn ddefnyddwyr academaidd (18%).

Mynegodd 73% eu bod yn fodlon iawn gyda'r gwasanaeth, roedd 23% yn fodlon a 3% ddimyn fodlon iawn. Dywedodd93% eu bod wedi dod o hyd i'r hyn roeddent ynchwilio amdano. Yn gyffredinol, cafodd y gwasanaeth sgôr cyfartalog o 9.5 allan o 10.

Mae’n werth nodi bod 72% wedi teithio mewn car i gyrraeddyma adim ond 25% a ddaeth ar drafnidiaeth gyhoeddus.I 56% o’r ymatebwyr, ymweld â’r archifau oedd yr unig reswm dros eu taith, ond roedd 32% yn bwriadu cynnwys siopa a/neu bryd o fwyd tra roeddent yny dref. Hyd yr arhosiad cyfartalog oedd 2.6 awr. Roedd 60% wedi gwirio ar-lein cyndod a 63% wedi anfon ebost ymlaen llaw.

Y dudalen nesaf: detholiad o luniau o ddigwyddiadau’r flwyddyn: Ymweliad ysgol, Mehefin; ffilmio ‘Max Boyce at 80’, Gorffennaf; Ffair Lyfrau Hanes Lleol Abertawe yn Amgueddfa Abertawe, Hydref; ymweliad myfyrwyr israddedig Prifysgol Abertawe, Tachwedd; Ysgol Undydd Cymdeithas Hanes Morgannwg, Tachwedd; Cymryd rhan mewn seminar ar Archifau Gwydr Lliw, Ysgol Gelf Abertawe, Tachwedd

Ein

gwaith gydag ysgolion

Mae Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg yn parhau i ddarparu gwasanaeth i ysgolion Abertawe a Chastell-nedd Port Talbot ar gyfer dysgwyr oedran cynradd ac uwchradd. Ers cyfnod y pandemig, rydym wedi defnyddio Microsoft Teams yn gynyddol i gynnal ein sesiynau ysgol ar-lein, sydd wedi bod yn fwy cyfleus a chosteffeithiol i ysgolion. Mae hefyd yn caniatáu i'r gwasanaeth ymgysylltu â mwy o ddisgyblion nag y gallwn yn ystod ymweliad â'r safle.

Yn 2023/4 rydym wedi darparu sesiynau addysg i’r ysgolion cyfun canlynol: yr Esgob Vaughan, Gellifedw, yr Esgob Gore ac YsgolGyfun Gymraeg Bryn Tawe ac i’r ysgolion cynradd canlynol: Glyncollen, St Thomas, Tirdeunaw, Pentre’r-graig a Chwmrhydyceirw. Yn ogystal â chynnal ymweliadau a darparu gweithdai, rydym wedi ymgysylltu ag athrawon a grwpiau dosbarthiadau i ddatblygu cynlluniau gwersi.

Rydym hefyd wedi gweithio ar y cyd â Partneriaeth i ddatblygu cynlluniau gwersi a chymhorthion dysgu ar gyfer athrawon sy’n cyd-fynd â’r Cwricwlwm i Gymru. Mae ein gwaith yma yn parhau; gobeithiwn fanteisioar bwyslais y cwricwlwm ar ddysgu ‘Cynefin’ fel rhan o faes dysgu’r dyniaethau. Rydym hefyd yn gweithio gyda Phrifysgol Abertawe a'r adran addysg athrawon i ddatblygu ein cysylltiadau ag athrawon newydd gymhwyso.

Isod: Sesiwn a gynhaliwyd yn Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bryn Tawe, Rhagfyr

Gadawodd Katie Millien, Archifydd, y Gwasanaeth ym mis Ionawr er mwyn cymryd swyddgyda Gwasanaeth Archifau Sir Gaerfyrddin, gyda chyfrifoldeb arbennig am sefydlu gwasanaeth i ysgolion y sir honno. Mae Katie wedi bod yn aelod gwerthfawr o’r tîm Archifau ers dros un mlynedd ar bymtheg ac mae ei chyfraniad i waith y Gwasanaeth, ynenwedig wrth sefydlu ein gwasanaeth einhunain i ysgolion, yn anfesuradwy. Bydd ei swydd yn cael ei llenwi’n fuan gan LowriJenkins, sy’n dod atom o Amgueddfa Cymru.

Dyma fy adroddiad blynyddol olaf cyn fy ymddeoliad sydd ar ddod. Hoffwn fanteisio ar y cyfle hwn i ddiolch i’m staff am eu hymroddiad a’u gwaith caled dros yr ugain mlynedd diwethaf, yn yr un modd diolch i’n llu adneuwyr a rhoddwyr archifau dros yr amser hwnnw ac i’n holl ddefnyddwyr archifau a chwsmeriaid eraillam eu diddordeb yn ein casgliadau a'n cyhoeddiadau a'u cefnogaeth i'r Gwasanaeth. Gallaf sicrhau darllenwyr yr adroddiad hwn bod gweithdrefnau yn eu lle i recriwtio fy olynydd, a fydd yn ddiamau dros y blynyddoedd nesaf yn dod â hanes tebyg o'n cyflawniadau i chi bob blwyddyn.

Diolchiadau

Mae cadeirydd ac aelodau Pwyllgor Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg wedi parhau i ddangos eu diddordeb a’u cefnogaeth i waith y Gwasanaeth yn ystod y flwyddyn, ac rwy’n ddiolchgar am hynny. Hoffwn hefyd nodi fy niolch i Gymdeithas Hynafiaethwyr Castell-nedd am gynorthwyo i ailagor Sefydliad Mecaneg Castell-nedd

Kim Collis

Archifydd y Sir Gorllewin Morgannwg Mai 2024

Portread o Oliver Cromwell, yr Arglwydd Amddiffynnydd, sy’n ymddangos ar siarter dyddiedig 26 Chwefror 1655/6, dogfen a rhoddodd maer i dref Abertawe yn lle’r porthfaer, ac yn cadarnhau i Faer, Henaduriaid a Bwrdeisiaid Bwrdeistref Abertawe freintiau hynafol y fwrdeisdref, gan ddiwygio cyfansoddiad y fwrdeisdref, a gosod allan y cyfansoddiad a’r sefydliad ar gyfer cynal cyfarfodydd. (B/S Corp A5)

Roedd y siarter hon yn un o’r eitemau a archwiliwyd yn ystod y flwyddyn fel rhan o ailbrisiad yswiriant o’r casgliadau i baratoi ar gyfer ein symud.

Pwyllgor Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg

Yngywirar31Mawrth2024

Cadeirydd

HM Lord Lieutenant ofWest Glamorgan

Mrs R. Louise Fleet JP

Is-gadeirydd

Dinas a Sir Abertawe

Councillor R.V. Smith

Bwrdeistref Sirol Castell-nedd Port Talbot

Councillor C. Phillips

Yn cynrychioli Dinas a Sir Abertawe

Councillor P.M. Black CBE

Councillor L.R. JonesMBE

Councillor E. King

Councillor J. Pritchard

Yn cynrychioli Bwrdeistref Sirol Castell-nedd Port Talbot

Councillor W. Carpenter

Councillor N. Jenkins

Councillor R. Mizen

Councillor S. Renkes

Yn cynrychioli Esgobaeth Abertawe Ac Aberhonddu A. Dulley MA, MSc

Yn cynrychioli Esgobaeth Llandaf Vacant

Yn cynrychioli Prifysgol Abertawe

Prof. L. Miskell FRHistS

Yn cynrychioli Cymdeithas Hynafiaethwyr Castell-nedd

Mrs J.L. Watkins

Dinas a Sir Abertawe

Pennaeth Gwasanaethau Diwyllianol

Ms T. McNulty MA

Bwrdeistref Sirol Castell-nedd Port Talbot

Pennaeth Hamdden, Twristiaeth, Treftadaeth a Diwylliant C. Saunders

Rheolwr Gwasanaethau Llyfrgell

Mrs C. Davies BA, MSc, MCLIP

Gwasaneth Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg

STAFF

Yngywirar31Mawrth2024

ArchifdyGorllewinMorgannwg Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road, Swansea SA1 3SN Tel. (01792) 636589

ArchifdyCymdeithasHynafiaethwyrCastell-nedd Neath Mechanics Institute, 4 Church Place, Neath SA11 3LL Tel. (01639) 620139

e-bost: westglam.archives@swansea.gov.uk

Gwefan: www.swansea.gov.uk/westglamorganarchives

Archifydd Sirol ..............................................................................................Kim Collis MA, DAS

Archifydd Sirol Cynorthwyol.....................................................Andrew Dulley MA, MSc (Econ)

Archifydd....................................................................................................................Swydd wag

Archifydd (rhannu swydd)......................................................Anne-Marie Gay MA, MSc (Econ)

Archifydd (rhannu swydd)............................................................................Emma Laycock MA

Cynorthwy-ydd Cynhyrchu...................................................................Ffion Kidwell BA, PGCE Cynorthwy-ydd Cynhyrchu.........................................................Peter Neville MA, MEd, PGCE

Rheolwr Swyddfa..................................................................................Don Rodgers MA, PGCE

Cynorthwy-ydd Derbynfa Archifau.............................................................Rebecca Shields BA

Hyfforddai archif .............................................................................................Bethany Amos MA

The Aberafan Charter, c.1306

Undoubtedly one of the jewels in our collections is Leisan ap Morgan’s charter to Aberafan, and this is the latest ina series of charters to feature in the pages of this report with a new transcription and translation. Leisan ap Morgan was a descendant of Iestyn ap Gwrgant and the seventh Lord of Afan, one of a line of Welsh rulers of the area between the River Afan and the tops of the hills that divide the Afan and Neath valleys. This remarkable little charter is undated, but it was probably made around 1306. It is a rare example of a borough charter granted by a Welsh rather than a Norman lord, and has had a history punctuated by dramatic incidents.

It has been in the public domain since 1953, when it was presented to the Borough of Port Talbot by Edward C. Barker of Coventry, who had acquired it at a country house sale down at Helston in Cornwall. Being rather fragile, it was sent to Glamorgan Record Office for safekeeping, where it was flattened, strengthened with a gauze backing and given a new housing to keep it safe, made of buckram and board. A translation was printed on the inside cover to help make it accessible. It came to Swansea inthe 1980s among the records destined for the new West Glamorgan Area Record Office, and here it remains to this day.

Before that, it tended to surface and disappear on a regular basis. When he published a transcription in his Cartae et Munimenta de Glamorgan (1910), G. T. Clark referred to it simply as ‘Lord Swansea’s Charter’, implying that it was then in the hands of Ernest Ambrose Vivian, Baron Swansea (1848-1922). Before that, Samuel Lewis in his Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1833) described Aberavon as a borough by prescription, suggesting itwas not in possession of its charter. A century earlier, according to a note dated 1735 on the dorse of the documentitself, it was used as evidence in Chancery in a casebrought against the Portreeve and Burgesses of Afan, suggesting that at that time it was stillin their possession. During the century before that, according to local folklore, the charter narrowly avoided destruction by Cromwell’s men. This is said to have taken place in 1648 in retaliationfor the town’s support of the Royalist cause. Samuel Lewis tells the story quite succinctly:

‘During the usurpation of Cromwell, the portreeve, being apprised of the approach of the protector's emissaries, contrived to secure the charter and other documents relating to the borough, by concealing them in a rough piece of oak, in which he had formed a cavity for that purpose, and on which, upon the arrival of the officers, he was found chopping sticks, as upon a common block. By this artifice the papers were preserved, and the piece of oak, upon which the marks of the hatchet are still visible, is now carefully preserved as the corporation chest’.1

The piece of oak has travelled much less than the charter. It was in the town hall councilchamber in 1926 according to James O’Brien2 and it is on show to this day at Port Talbot Civic Centre.

Despite its adventures, the charter is on the whole ina good state of preservation. It is written on a piece of velum measuring 24 x 10.5 cm with the bottom margin of 1.5 cm folded up to support the seal tag, which is a doubled-over strip of parchment about 12 cm in length. The seal (pictured) is in good condition. It is made of a dark green wax, measures 2.5 cm in diameter, and has at some stage been varnished inthe interests of preservation. On the obverse are the arms of the guarantor, Gules, three chevrons Argent (which means three silver chevrons on a red background) surrounded with enough surviving letters to supply the legend + S. LE[YSA]N [AP M]ORGAN (the seal of Leisan ap Morgan). The reverse is plain and rounded. The one pervasive horizontal fold and two vertical ones indicate that the document was once stored folded, but it has been kept flat since its repair at Glamorgan Record Office in 1955.

The script is clear, fine and by and large quite legible, although there are circular areas of historic mould damage and some holes that obscure some of the letters. Nonetheless, the text is nowhere in doubt. The Latin has some vernacular features; for instance, the adjective frequently precedes the noun as it does in English, a feature uncommon in correct Latin, Welsh or French. Similarly, the verb is positioned in the heart of the sentence as it is in English, only reverting to its usual Latin position at the end of the clause in the standard phrases at the beginning and end of the document.

The text itself is simple and straightforward, but there are three areas that have caused errors and misunderstandings in the past. The first are the chenseres. James O’Brien’s translation wrongly gives this as ‘chancers’, which has been taken to mean market stall-holders. The Glamorgan Record Office translation is ‘chense payers’, while ‘censers’ appears in some old legal text books, both of which mean little without explanation. So who were they? In the document they are always coupled with, burgenses, the burgesses, who held burgage plots, ran the affairs of the borough and are described as English. The chens-/cens-/sens- root is allto do with the payment of rent, and the Revised Medieval Latin Word-list quotes instances of chenseria meaning a burgage rent paid by non-burgesses. The chenseres (censers) therefore pay rent for properties within the borough, but lack the status of the burgesses. Notably, as will be seen from the text of the charter, both groups were granted the same additional rights by the lord of Afan.

The second problematic passage relates to the payment of eight gallons of beer. The confusion comes from the word cervisia, which can mean beer (like the Spanish cerveza). The root cervis- is also a variant spelling of servic-, meaning service or rent, but with a different set of endings. It is likely that the scribe mistakenly wrote cervisia (beer)instead of cervisio (service, rent), which the sense requires. Finally, the names of three places that mark the boundaries of the pasture on Mynydd Dinas all end in -ecȝ in the original text, the final character being the obsolete letteryogh, which equates to the modern Welsh ch. Earlier translations and transcriptions ignored one or other of the letters, eithermaking all three placenames end in -ec, or in -ez, neither of which is correct. I have transcribed this as -ech, which I believe better represents the sound intended.

What follows is my transcription and a literal translation which remains true to the rhythm of the original. Both are new: although there areother earlier versions in existence, the transcriptions, especially those based on Clark’s Cartae, contain many errors and approximations that sometimes depart from the meaning of the original, and the translations suffer as a result.

Transcription

Sciant presentes et futuri quod [ego] Leysanus ap Morgan Dominus de Avene filius et heres Morgani Vachan dedi concessi et hac presenti carta mea confirmavi pro meet heredibus seu assignatis meis omnibus anglicanis Burgensibus et etiam chenceribus meis de Aveneet eorum heredibus et assignatis omnes libertates in villa mea de Avene et intoto dominio meo infra limites de Avene quas habent Burgenses de kenefeg in villa de kenefeg et infra dominium domini Cometis Glovernie et Hertfordie quantum inme est.

Et dabunt octo lagenas de qualibet bracina pro cervisia molendini et proassisa mihi et heredibus et assignatis meis.

Concessi etiam prome et heredibus meis et assignatis predictis burgensibus et chenceribus meis de Avene et eorumheredibus et assignatis libere quiete bene et in pace et sine aliqua calumpnia Housbote et Heybote in omnibus nemoribus hominummeorum de metenencium.

Et optinebunt communem pasturam libere quiete bene et in pace imperpetuum in omnibus locis silvis pratis pascuis et pasturis intempore aperto super terram meam. Et etiam illam pasturam inlaterede LeDinas que est inter karnwendrech et locum qui dicitur kaekedrech in longitudine et in latitudine inter teram arabilem de tyrruskech usque adterram arabilem super le dinas in omne tempore anni.

Et si contingat me aud heredes velassingnatos meos circaaliquam terram claustruram facereet dicta clausturaprestata fuerit per bestias dictorum burgensium [et] chencoriorum tenentur eandem claustruram iterum construere.

Et etiam habebunt communem pasturam in tempore aperto in omnibus boscis pratis pascuis et pasturis hominum meorum de me tenencium cuiuscunque condicionis fuerint.

Pro hac autem donacione concessione et presentis cartemee confirmacione dederunt mihi predicti Burgenses mei et chenceri quadraginta solidos sterlingorum.

Et quia volo quod hec mea donacio concessio et presentis carte mee confirmacioRobur perpetue stabilitatem optinea[nt, h]anc presentem cartam sigilli mei inprescione Roboravi.

Hiis testibus domino Thoma tunc abbatede Morgan, Enea Rectore ecclesie de Avene, Henrico clerico tunc senescallo de Avene, Reso ap Morgan, Reso ap Cradoc et multis aliis.

Translation

Let those present and future knowthat I, Leysanap Morgan, Lord of Afan, son and heir of Morgan Vachan, have given, granted and by this my present charter confirmed, for myself andmy heirs or assigns, to allthe English burgesses and also to my censers of Afan and their heirs and assigns, all the liberties in my town of Afan and in all my demesne within the boundaries of Afan whichthe burgesses of Kenfig have in the townof Kenfig and within the demesne of the Lord Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, as much as I am able.

And they shallgive eightgallons from any brewery for the rent of the milland for a tax tome, my heirs and assigns.

I have also granted, for me, my heirs and assigns, to my said burgesses and censers of Afan and theirheirs and assigns, that they may freely, quietly, well, in peace and without any molestation, gather timber for house-building and fencing in all the woods of mymen who hold them from me.

They shall also have common pasture, freely, quietly, welland in peace for ever, in all places, woods, meadows, grazing meadows and pastures, in the open season, upon my land. And also that pastureon the side of the Dinas which is between Karnwendrech and aplace that is called Kaekedrech in length, and in breadth between the arable land of Tyrruskech as far as the arable land upon the Dinas, at all times of the year.

And if it should happen that I or my heirs or assigns should put a fence around any land and the said fence weretobe broken down by the animals of the saidburgesses and censers, they areobliged to rebuild that fence once more.

And also they shall havecommon pasturein the open season in all the woods, meadows, grazing grounds and pastures of my men who holdthem from me whatever rank they may be.

Moreover, for this gift, grant and confirmation of my present charter my aforesaid burgesses and censers have given me forty shillings sterling.

And because I wish that this my gift, grant and the confirmation of my present charter should have perpetual force and effect, I have ratified this present charter with the impression of my seal.

Withthese witnesses: Lord Thomas, then abbot of Margam, Eynon, rector of the church of Afan, Henry the clerk, then steward of Afan, Rees ap Morgan, Rees ap Cradoc andmany others.

Andrew Dulley Assistant County Archivist

Notes

1. Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (Second Edition) (London, 1850)

2. J. O’Brien, Old Afan and Margam (Aberavon, 1926), p. 69

Archives

Charter of Leysan ap Avan to Aberafan, reference B/A 1

Camaraderie in Chorus: the Making of the Morriston Orpheus

Photograph of Morriston Orpheus Choir choristers, their founder conductor Ivor E. Sims and the National Eisteddfod Trophy, [1946] (D/D MOC 14/2/9)

The proud singing of Welsh male voice choirs resonated across the Lower Swansea Valley and beyond throughout the twentieth century.1 West Glamorgan Archive Service carefully safeguards the memories of some of these local male ensembles, who area crucial component of our heritage.2 However, gaps remain inour coverage of this wonderful musical tradition.We were therefore thrilled to receive and catalogue an extensive collection of documents relating to the Morriston Orpheus Choir(MOC) this year (D/D MOC 1/1-18/9). We aim to ensure long-term access to this cultural treasure trove, which tells the story of an internationally-renowned local choral sensation.

Following a meeting held at the Parish Hall in Morriston on 9th April1935, the MOC was formed. The minutes tell us that those present at the meeting, including Chairman Hubert Uren, appointed the Choir’s first Committee, and Ivor E. Sims as the MOC’s first conductor. Mr. Sims had left the post of conductor of Morriston United Male Choir in 1934. The MOC’s first rehearsal was held at the Wesley Chapel schoolroom on 19th April1935.

The membership of the MOC had mainly comprised of manual workers from the steel and tinplate industries who lived in or near Morriston. Most of the members spoke Welsh and had experience of choral singing in the local chapels.3

MinutesfromthefirstMOC meeting,1935(D/DMOC1/1)

Local tinplate industry workers, c.1940 (D/D MOC 14/11/5)

Morriston’s Nazareth Chapel with the sign for the ‘Ivor E. Sims Memorial Hall’, 1960s (D/D MOC 14/12/3a)

Programme for an MOC event with the Royal Marines, 1976 (D/D MOC 9/4/1d)

Performing in New York, 2001 (D/D MOC 11/16/4c)

Under the conductorship of Sims, the MOC initially concentrated on competing in National Eisteddfodau and performing a classical repertoire at local concerts, including their Annual Concert. The MOC won their first National Eisteddfod male voice competition in Machynlleth in 1937. They went on to win this trophy numerous times.

In their early years, the MOC rehearsed in the Forward Movement building on Woodfield Street and in the Tabernacle, Soar/Zoar and Horeb Chapels in Morriston. During the Second WorldWar, the MOC’s rehearsal room was also a canteen for HM Forces and American GIs. Morriston’s Parish Hall then became an additional rehearsal space. Following the death of Mr. Sims in 1961, the MOC’s accompanist Eurfryn John became the conductor. In 1963, the MOC purchased and renovated the Nazareth Chapel in Morriston and named their new home the ‘Ivor E. Sims Memorial Hall’.

In 1969, former London Welsh Male Voice Choir conductor Lyn Harry replaced Eurfryn John as MOC conductor. He led two MOC tours of North America and then remained in Canada to form the Canadian Orpheus Male Choir. Former MOC deputy conductor and organist Leslie Ryan became the MOC musical director in 1975. Ryan’s period as musical director saw two MOC recordings with the Band of the Royal Marines.

Alwyn Humphreys, Leslie Ryan’s successor, was musical director of the MOC for 26 years, from 1979 until 2005.Although a fire destroyed the Ivor E. Sims Memorial Hall in 1980, itdid not suppress the choristers’ enthusiasm. During Humphrey’s conductorship, the Choir made 28 recorded albums. Three of these won ‘Best Choral Record’ awards. The MOC’s ventures into the ‘pop’ world included recordings with T’Pau and The Alarm. Locations of memorable MOC performances included: Cardiff Airport before Pope John Paul II; Hyde Park for the 1981 royalwedding celebrations of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer; the Carnegie Hall in New York; and the Sydney Opera House. In recognition of the contribution Humphreys had made to the Choir, he was given the title of ‘Conductor Emeritus’ in March 2005.

In 2005, Siân Pearce became the first female MOC musical director and she toured New Zealand and Australia with the Choir.Stepping down in 2007, she was succeeded by former MOC accompanist Joy Amman Davies. In 2009, the Choir released the popular CD ‘Nella Fantasia’. Davies presented a copy of this recording on CD to the Queen.

The baton of musical director passed to Conal Bembridge-Sayers in 2021. In recent years, the Choir has rehearsed at the Calon Lân Centre in the former Mynyddbach Chapel. The choir’s membership has become largely English-speaking and now is drawn from a much larger area, ranging from Pembrokeshire to Bridgend. However, all the choir’s members remain united by their passion for song. Alongside its performances, the MOC has provided valuable assistance to the local and global community. The Morriston Orpheus Choir Subscribers’

Association (MOCSA) was founded in 1974. This group for MOC supporters was formed with the aim to encourage the development of young singers. They organise the annual MOCSA Young Welsh Singerof the Year Competition. The MOC has also fundraised for Leukaemia Research, the RNLI, AirAmbulance Wales, Urdd Gobaith Cymru and the Save the Children Fund, among other charitable causes.

Not only has the MOC lifted the spirits of their local and international audiences, but they also seem to have followed a piece of advice given to them by Sir Walford Davies in 1935.4 After delving into their vibrant archives from the past 90 years, it becomes apparent that the Morriston Orpheus choristers have long endeavoured to ‘make music joyously’.

Beth Amos Archive Trainee

Notes

1. See, for example: Geoff Rees, John Hayward and Phil Newbury, For the Love of Song: The Story of the Swansea Imperial Singers (2023).

2. This includes the following collections: Côr Meibion Aberafan (D/D CMA); Dunvant Male Choir (D/D DMC); and Swansea Male Choir (formerly Manselton and District Male Choir)(D/D SMC).

3. See Alun Howell’s account of the history of the Morriston Orpheus Choir in the programme for their 75th Anniversary Concert ‘Orpheus by Candlelight’ at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea (D/D MOC 9/17/1).

4. D/D MOC 9/17/1.

Archives

Records of Morriston Orpheus Choir, 1873-2023 (D/D MOC)

MOCSAconcertprogramme,1988(D/DMOC9/5/10g)

The MOC at the Taipei National Concert Hall in Taiwan, 2004 (D/D MOC 14/6/97)

The MOC performed for the Pope at Cardiff Airport, 1982 (D/D MOC 14/6/10)

Advert for the MOC album entitled ‘Nella Fantasia’, 2015(D/D MOC 8/7f)

Hidden pearls in an unmarked box: the story of Neath Philosophical Society

The Neath and Port Talbot Library Collections were transferred to West Glamorgan Archives in a succession of consignments in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The various parts of the collections have been catalogued over the years, most recently in 2011 when the bulk of the Neath Library collections were sorted and listed. Earlier this year, as part of the ongoing work of boxing, barcoding and packaging that we are doing in order to prepare for the move to new premises, a box was discovered containing more records from Neath Library. It was out of place and had been missed back in 2011. It contained two volumes, bound alike in sombre chocolate-brown with leather spines and corners. The gold lettering on one announced ‘Catalogue of the Neath Library’, while on the other was ‘Neath Library Committee 1834-66’. Both are misleading, for these two volumes contain within theirpages the story of the Neath Philosophical Society, the precursor to Neath Antiquarian Society and a predecessor to Swansea’s Royal Institution of South Wales.

The society was established on the day before Christmas Eve, 1834. Howel Gwyn was in the chair and the other ten in the meeting included local industrialists, landowners and the rector of Neath. They resolved ‘that the institution of a museum at Neath as a depot for scientific specimens and other objects of interest is highly desirable for the town and neighbourhood’ and appointed William Llewellyn, the Rev. Henry H. Knight and Isaac Redwood as a subcommittee to make ‘enquiries and preliminary arrangements for carrying that object into effect’. Howel Gwyn was duly appointed president of the fledgling institution, with Edwin Tregelles as secretary and John Rowland as treasurer, and the subcommittee set to work. When they reported back on 9 March 1835, they had raised over £30 in subscriptions and had been promised several donations of objects for the museum. They resolved that the name of their society should be the Neath Museum and Society for Encouraging the Arts and Sciences. This would not be its last: indeed, the committee seems almost immediatelyto have adopted the snappier title of The Proprietors of Neath Museum. Its objects would includenatural history, works of art both ancient and modern (and includingmedals, coins, paintings and engravings) and models, casts, maps, sections and works of general interest. Two months later,themembership was growing steadily and donations were coming in. They were rather eclectic: there were pieces of polished lava, stuffed birds, specimens of sulphur, ores, coins, the backbone of a shark and two views of Sydney, to name but a few.

The meeting on 2 June 1835 noted ‘an announcement of the formation of a similar institution in the neighbouring town of Swansea’, and granted its members free access to the Neath Museum in the interests of cooperation and mutual benefit. This was the Royal Institution of South Wales. It is notable that at the same meeting John Dillwyn Llewelyn was received into membership and George Grant Franciswas listed among the donors, both two of its founder members. Of more immediate value was the patronage of the Rev. W. D. Conybeare FRS, who delivered the first

brief talk on the topic of Neath’s geology ‘with the enthusiasm of genius, and was listened to by all present with marked attention’.1 He followed this up with a more substantial lecture in September. The interest in geology seemed to influence the nature of the donations, as many were specimens of minerals and ores. In 1839 the committee resolved to make a comprehensive collection of local geological specimens, and contacted local mine owners forhelp.

The first home secured by the society for its museum was acquired from Henry Grant of Gnoll for £750. It was the Great House, which used to stand on the site of the row of phone shops to the east of the market, and the society set about converting this into a museum, library and lecture hall. In the spring of 1837 Hopkin Rees and his familymoved into part of the building to act as livein caretakers. Meanwhile donations of all kinds continued to pour in, from the head of a grampus whale and 14 Brazilian birds to a facsimile of the Domesday Book and the trunk of a small ash tree. The Great House was to be only a temporary home: by 1838 the committee was actively seeking a suitable site on which to buildpremises to contain a museum, library, lecture halland observatory. It is not clear when this was built, but in 1840 they acquired a telescope and began making daily observations, suggesting the observatory was built. The premises were on Queen Street. At the time of writing, the site is now occupied by Marks and Spencer, opposite the Gwyn Hall. The impression gained from the minutes is backed up by reports in the local press: Neath’s new institution was growing, adding to its holdings and showing every promise of a secure future.

By 1840 the society had renamed itself the Neath Philosophical Society (it would later add ‘and Antiquarian’). There had been some changes in personnel too: Edwin Tregelles had resigned as secretary the previous year and his neat script was replaced by that of Isaac Redwood. By the close of the decade, the first signs that allwas not well began to appear in the minutes. In 1848 annual subscriptions were at a healthy £66 4s. They oscillated for some time, falling by over £10 the following year, tumbling further to £48 6s in 1850. They rose again to £58 16s the following year, then to £61, then back down to £55 in 1853. 1855’s total was £40 19s, followed by £30 9s in 1856. Meanwhile the rent had to be covered, coal purchased, the librarian’s salary paid. The deficit for that year was £6 13s 11d, over 20% of the income. The decline was obvious for all to see and by 1858, subscriptions stood at a mere £17 17s. Committee meetings were now being held only occasionally and after 1863 nearly three years went by with neither meeting nor report recorded in the minute book. Then, on 9 February 1866, with Howel Gwyn stillwearily presiding in the chair, the proprietors met for the last time. They had been given notice to quit the museum building on 25 March, and this had forced their hand. ‘As for some time past,’ the Secretary wrote, ‘From want of interest shown by the Public the Institution has not been supported by sufficient subscriptions to meet its expenses, it must now be discontinued, the presents returned to the donors and the rest of the property disposed of’. The writing had been on the wall for over a decade. A new subcommittee was formed to dispose of the museum exhibits and library books. The former were to be returned or sold and the latter donated to Neath Library.

So why did it fail? The committee blamed local apathy: the subscription was a guinea a year and the people of Neath did not want to pay it. Perhaps it was beyond the pockets of too many to keep a stable subscription base. Interestingly, theNeath Mechanics’ Institute also had difficulties in the 1860s: founded in 1843, it flourished long after the Philosophical Society ceased to function, but at its anniversary meeting in 1867 it reported a drop in membership which it attributed inpart to the removal of the Great Western Railway works from Neath, and as a result it too was having to run at a deficit. Rather than sit on its hands, the Institute’s committee issued an almost impassioned plea for more members: ‘They desire strongly to urge upon the tradesmen of the town, and others who can afford to do so, that they should enrol themselves among the subscribers of £1, in order that the benefit of the sums realised by the extra exertions of a few only of the members may be enjoyed by the young men for whom the institution was originally designed.’2

The Institute offered a varied output, including readings, talks, music and drawing classes, and there was a library and reading room too, all for a shilling a year less than the Philosophical Society was charging. The original proponents of Neath Philosophical Society began in the right way, with a sense of purpose that is very evident from the minutes and newspapers alike. However, the drop in subscriptions seems to accompany a drop both inthe number of meetings and in reporting in the press. The minutes became increasingly erratic: whether it was that meetings were not held, or that they were just not recorded, is unclear, but this suggests the committee had lost its way. The lecture programme seems to have been scaled back during the 1840s and only one lecture is listed in the annual reportfor 1854. The following year the committee lost both its treasurer and its secretary, then in 1856 the librarian died. In that year, only one item was donated to the museum and five books to the library. The surprise is not that it came to an end, but that it managed to carryon for another ten years.

Of course, that was not the end and its ultimate destination was rebirth some 57 years later. Although none of the original proponents of the Philosophical Society were stillalive, Neath Antiquarian Society was a conscious revival of the original spirit of its predecessor and itadopted the emblem used by the Philosophical Society, the common seal of Neath Abbey. However, their energy, vision and strength of purpose were palpable: the commendable work undertaken in those early years in excavating Neath Abbey is proof enough of that. Likewise their collection of documents, begun at a time when there was no county record office in Glamorgan, continues to speak for itself to this day. Last year, Neath Antiquarian Society celebrated its centenary, proving that the public does have an enduring interest after all – when the society is run well and with vision.

Dulley Assistant County Archivist

Notes

1. The Cambrian, 19 June 1835

2. Ibid., 23 Nov. 1867

See also Keith Tucker, ‘The Great House and the Neath Philosophical Society’ in The Neath Antiquarian, volume 4 (NAS Centenary Edition), 2023.

Archives

Minutes and catalogue of the Neath Philosophical Society (NL NPS 1-2)

Uncovering hidden images from our collections

Langland Bay on Gower in its heyday of popularity. The image shows a row of canvas beach tents in front of the familiar wooden beach huts. The canvas tents used to be erected annually in spring for use during the summer months.

As part of our preparations to move the archive collections to Y Storfa, over the past year the Archive Service has engaged in particular with its non-standardformat material which requires special measures to protect and preserve it. In this category is our glass plate collection.

Our glass plates and slides have never been accessible to researchers because of their fragility and they remain largely uncatalogued because they are so difficult to decipher and make sense of (especially where they are in negative format). Glass lanternslides and glass plate negatives, while differing in purpose, are both vulnerableto damage from breakage and scratching. Dry plate negatives, which account for most of this category of our collections, are typically on thinner glass plates than lantern slides and hence are even more fragile than the latter. Dry plate glass negatives were in common use between the 1880s and the late 1920s and it wasn’t until the introduction of Kodak’s 35mm slide film in 1936 that they dropped out of fashion.

Our collection is mostly later in date. The majority of the glass plates have come to us from Swansea Council departments, particularly from Estates, Engineering and Libraries. Other glass plate and slide collections, not derived from the Council, include images of farming and thatching on Gower, and of staff and patients at Swansea Hospital. The latterset of images are of various hospital departments including the pharmacy, operating theatres and clinics. There are also family portraits from within the Tennant and Vivian Estate collections.

Drawing on advice received from the National Conservation Service, we planned to digitise the complete glass slide collection in one go and create working and preservation digital copies.

To start the project, Archivist Katie Millien undertook a comprehensive survey of our glass slides and identified all the material which we believed would benefit from digitisation (a total of just under 7,000 slides). This excluded material where we already had a corresponding print and also any images from places outside West Glamorgan.

We then looked for companies with a good track record of handling institutional archive material and we chose Townsweb Archiving, who came out top on both price and quality. In 2023, Townsweb travelled to Swansea to transport the collection to their studios in Kettering for digitisation. A team of skilled technicians there assessed each plate during the digitisation process, carefully removing them from theiroriginal packaging and capturing each plate individually using an overhead high-resolution camera and lightbox. Surface dust was removed from each plate before capturing and producing high-quality digital images. The resulting images were saved as master TIF files and named individually using the plate's catalogue reference code. The pictures from Townsweb here record parts of the work process.

Throughout the project, TownsWeb Archiving discovered many amazing images, several of which are reproduced here. The digitised preservation copy will be placed in the trusted digital repository which WGAS aims to establish later in the year as part of the allWales digital consortium. Working copies will be made available in the archive searchroom and selections from the collection will be used to publicise the archives via press releases and social media. On both sides we have thoroughlyenjoyed working on the project to deliver high-quality digital images which will enable the collection to be preserved, shared, and celebrated.

Kim Collis County Archivist

Overleaf: some more examples of recently digitised glass slides

(Top) Swansea Guildhall looking very new (Bottom) Horton, Gower, in quieter days

Controlling contagion along the coast: cholera and Swansea’s Port Isolation Hospital

Second edition Ordnance Survey map of 1899 showing the location of the Isolation Hospital on the Swansea foreshore. The map shows how its proximity to Swansea Docks enabled the speedy and efficient removal of ship-borne cases of contagious disease.

The construction of temporary facilities to treat patients during the recent pandemic carries echoes of similar measures to cope with contagious disease during the nineteenth century. During this period, ports were vulnerable spaces for introducing communicable diseases into British towns and cities. South Wales was an important centre of international maritime trade, with Swansea importing copper ore from distant parts of the world. Yet, as well as cargoes, ships carried passengersand crew on board who might bring potentially fatal diseases such as yellow fever, plague, and cholera. The importation of yellow fever into the town of Swansea in1865 had highlighted the potential for disease to spread beyond the docks and into their hinterlands.1

While the last epidemic of cholera inBritain occurred in 1866, there were continued fears of the disease being imported into the country by infected sailors travelling from ports abroad. Alongside notification systems and disinfection, the isolation of persons infected, or suspected of carrying infection, was a key measure undertaken by port authorities to contain and prevent the spread of contagious diseases such as cholera into Britain. Created in 1872 under the Public HealthAct, port sanitary authorities played an important part in detecting and controlling disease at these gateways to Britain.

The risk of importing disease through the ports and the perceived importance of isolation are evident when exploring the history of Swansea’s port isolation facilities. A glance at an Ordnance Survey map in the area of Swansea’s West Pier in 1899 reveals a rectangular piece of land containing a number of separate buildings, located on an isolated spot along the foreshore. These buildings comprised Swansea’s port isolation hospital which was erected in 1884 and consisted of tents, and iron and wooden huts. The site was 247 feet long by 169 feet wide and was enclosed

by a wood paling fence 8 feet in height. Through using a number of archival sources held in the archives, we can piece together the storyof this hospital.

The siting and construction of isolation hospitals

It was seen as essential that hospital facilities were situated in a secluded place due to the fears of infection spreading tonearby houses. Equally, porthospitals needed to be conveniently situated for access from the docks to ensure the early removal of sailors from ships with suspected or confirmed cases of disease. As shown on the map, Swansea’s foreshore hospital was bounded on the south by the sea; on the east by the river Tawe and on the north by the South Dock. Evidence from newspapers reveals a further desire to site its hospital facility within pleasant surroundings and in a relaxing environment which would have a therapeutic effect on patients. As the Western Mail explained to its readers in 1882, when Swansea Corporation was first considering an area for a fever hospital, plans for a site near the sea were put forward where its windows might overlook the ‘charming sweep of the Bay’, and where its patients might be ‘soothed to slumber by the plashings of the waves, and brought round through convalescence by the fresh breezes…’2

Amid fears of ship-borne cases of Asiatic cholera being imported into the town in 1884, wooden huts and tents were erected near the West Pier as part of the precautionary measures against the disease. Swansea Corporation agreed to pay the landowner,the Duke of Beaufort, an annual rent of £10 for the use of the site.3 Yet there were concerns over the use of temporary buildings such as tents and huts. In his 1883 report on hospitals to the Works and Sanitary Committee, Swansea’s Borough Surveyor Ralph Wyrill argued that, while it was cheaper to construct wooden buildings than those made from stone in the first instance, the cost of maintenance would be greater in the long term. Wyrill had objected to the use of wooden huts due to the ‘extreme difficulty of heating them in winter and keeping them cool in summer’ and argued that they were more likely to harbour dust and infections.4

Despite the criticisms of temporary facilities,tents and wooden or iron huts were widely used by other port sanitary authorities across Wales, either as the main form of isolation or as an extension to an existing hospital.An advantage of these facilities was the ability to erect them rapidly when faced with an epidemic, and they were much cheaper. Another potential advantage of building temporary facilities was the option to destroy them once the epidemic had passed as part of the process of disinfection. The hospital along the foreshore was initially intended to be a temporary small eight-bed unit, primarily for the isolation of sailors. However, further buildings were added on the site during the next ten years. The hospital was to be Swansea’s main isolation facility for the next three decadesand it was also used by Swansea Urban Sanitary Authority.

Throughout the 1890s, Swansea’s PortMedical Officer of Health, Ebenezer Davies, complained about the numberof beds available at the hospital facility and argued that additional accommodation should be built for the reception of cases. In August 1892, Davies expressed concern over cases of cholera in Hamburg, Antwerp, and Le Havre, from all of which portsships had arrived in Swansea. Davies warned that, between January and July 1892 alone, 255 vessels had arrived directly from Le Havre and other cholera-infected ports in northern France. Hepointed out that the current hospital facility, which by now had accommodation for 14 persons, was ‘quite insufficient’ for a port if confronted with the danger of imported cholera.5

In 1893, amid further fears of the importation of cholera by sea, an additional galvanised iron hut was constructed which measured 80 to 90 feet in length. This facility was knownas Humphrey’s Portable Iron Hospital and comprised 12 beds which were reserved specifically for patients suffering from cholera. The tents and huts here were clearly an important means for Swansea’s Port Sanitary Authority to combat the possible spread of cholera.

Patients and the Architecture of Isolation

The design and layout of the spaces inside the foreshorehospital reflected attempts to prevent cross-infection between wards. The hospital consisted of separate wards for different diseases, with accommodation for patients suffering from smallpox, scarlatina, enteric fever (typhoid), and cholera. Pavilion-stylewards were at the time the accepted design for hospitals in Britain, with architects influenced by methods of hospital construction in France. These separate wards were designed to maintain a distance between diseases to avoid patients infecting each other. The importance of separating patients with different infections was outlined by Ebenezer Davies in his1883 report to the Council:

‘In order to secure efficient means of isolation, the Hospital should be so constructed that patients suffering from each separate disease may be in a separate building, having no enclosed means of communication with any other Hospital building, and this result may be obtained by the construction of pavilions, standing at a proper distance from each other’.6

The hospital comprised additional wooden huts for the laundry, for disinfecting and mortuary purposes, and two iron galvanised huts for administrative purposes.By 1893, there were a number of staff working at the hospital, including two matrons, two nurses, servants, and a ‘man in charge of the disinfecting apparatus’.7This apparatus was known as a Washington Lyons Steam Disinfector and was used for disinfecting clothes. Steam disinfection was regarded by sanitary officials as the most efficient means of destroying contagion inclothing, due to its ability to penetrate a wide variety of materials.

With regard to sailors receiving treatment at the hospital, evidence from newspapers gives us a good indication of the fears surrounding cholera, particularlyduring the 1890s. For example, the Medical Officer decided to isolate a sailor from the SS Abeona, arrived from Hamburg in 1892, who had developed symptoms of diarrhoea during the ship’s voyage to Swansea. It was well known by medical officers that vomiting and diarrhoea were the classic preliminary symptoms of Asiatic cholera.As The Cambrian concluded, the outcome of the case ended well, and the patient was discharged from the hospital.8 Such measures reflect the importance given to isolation of the patient and other precautionary measures.

Article from The Cambrian of 9th September 1892, giving details of a case of diarrhoea from the SS Abeona

While the tents and huts on Swansea’s foreshore close to the WestPier have long since disappeared, through looking at Ordnance Survey maps, Councilminutes, newspapers, and other sources, we can gain a deeper understanding of the history of Swansea’s port isolation hospital and its role in controlling contagion along the South Wales coast.

Anne-Marie Gay

1 Further information can be found in the article by Bill Bytheway, ‘WhenYellow Fever Struck Swansea’ in Minerva,volume 27 (2019/20)

2 ‘Swansea and its Fever Hospital’, Western Mail, 27th April1882, p. 2. The hospital was known by various names, including Borough Hospital and Foreshore Hospital.

3 Swansea Council minutes, 1884, (TC 3/4)

4 Swansea Council minutes, 1883, (TC 3/3)

5 Swansea Port SanitaryAuthority minute book, 1888-1910, (TC 71/1/1)

6 Swansea Council minutes, 1883 (TC3/3)

7 ‘Cholera Precautions, 1893’, bound inside Local Government Board Correspondence letter book, October 1887 -December 1900, (TC 50/1/6)

8 The Cambrian, 9th September 1892, p. 7.

The Curse of Ethel Street, Melincryddan

I am very grateful to the author, Paul Richards, and to the Neath Antiquarian Society for permission to reproduce the following article from the Society’s website. You can find it there along with a host of other interesting articles at http://www.neathantiquariansociety.co.uk/index.asp

Ethel Street, Melincryddan, was built during 1896-1900, principally to house the workers of local industries. It quickly developed a bad reputation and stigma due to the high degree of lawlessness alongside significant deprivation prior to WW2. In time such frequent reports somewhat subsided although they resurfaced in a different form in the 1990s. Through the subsequent perseverance of the street’s inhabitants, it has since gained a true community spirit.

This article details the early development of Ethel Street and some of its inhabitants principally from its construction up to circa 1939 by using analyses of building plans, censuses, the 1939 Register, Electoral Registers and period newspaper reports. Whilst these outcomes in Ethel Street were probably not exceptional of the time, the reputation was certainly a matter of concern for local magistrates.

Construction of Ethel Street

As shown in fig.1 the area which surrounds the current Ethel Street was at one time bounded by Briton Ferry Road - Chemical Works Road (now named D.C. Griffiths Way) - Railway LineMarshfield Road; note that circa 1862 Marshfield Road was actually a tramway linking Briton Ferry Road to the railway line and at that time thisenclosed area had no distinguishing features. However, by 1877 (fig.1a), a brickfield with clay pits had been established utilising the abundant clay deposits and a series of ponds were constructed to facilitate production. A path can be seen bisecting the area between the head of Lombard Street and Chemical Works Road.

By the time of the 1897 survey (taken for the 1900 OS map) (fig.1b) the Cambrian Pottery was in operation, being located in the area marked ‘139’ in fig.1a. By that time, 11-or-so Ethel Street houses had been built. The demarcation line between the pottery and the adjacent land ran parallel to the railway line towards Chemical Works Road and ceased at what was originally the small waterway seen in fig.1a – the path of this waterway would become the continuation of Marshfield Road (fig.1b). If the demarcation line is continued itis seen to be the boundary at the rear of what became Ethel Street and was the boundaryof Marshfield Road, (figs.1c-d).

The building of EthelStreet was completed by 1901 as indicated in the census of that year with habitation from numbers 1-37. Numbering began from the Marshfield Road end. It is likely the odd numbered houses nearer the railway line were not continued up to Chemical Works Road, as on the other side, despite the terrain being similar, since the small block of land of the ‘missing’area was owned by the ‘Melyn Tinplate Company’ who also owned the large area between the rear of Ethel Street and the railway line. The whole of this land clearlydelineated in figs.1c-d was later established as a factory site by the ‘Wales & Monmouthshire Industrial Estates Ltd’ circa 1946 and eventually opened in 1949 as ‘D.S. Smith Ltd’, a company launched by David Solomon Smith in 1940, and since known locally as the “Cardboard Factory”.

All Ethel Street houses would almost certainly have been constructed in a similar style to that of Marshfield Road premises, described in Council minutes as ‘...of stone and brick opening to the pavement in front roadway with bounded backyard areas’ Unlike the adjacent Cecil Street where all houses were very similar, Ethel Street had a few anomalies to accommodate a kink in the road and the boundary line at the rear as shown in fig.2a-b.

Downstairs floors would be laid with flagstones. There were 3 bedrooms upstairs, downstairs featuring, from the front, a parlour, living room and scullery. At the rear of the scullery undera lean-to would be a pantry/larder and coal store, while outside at the rear of the garden would be the lavatory with drain to the sewer, and a store for the coal fire ashes. Some designs simply had a living-room and kitchen downstairs with a scullery off the kitchen, with a lean-to comprising a lavatory and coal store immediately behind the scullery.

The Ethel Street numbering system remains to thisday with odd numbers1-33 on the railway side with evens 2-34 plus 35-37 on the same side extending up to Chemical Works Road. Both sides had a rear lane, the evens side via an opening in Cecil Street continuing up to and around no.37 emerging at the top of the street. The lane sat below the road level of Chemical Works Road. The lane behind the odds began between the rearof Marshfield Road and No.1 Ethel Street continuing up to behind no.33 where it reached a dead-end. Fig.2c shows an area at the rear of Nos.1&3 which was not part of their property. In 1903Charles Pike submitted plans fora stable in that area

- a person of the same name was registered at no.33 in1904. It is not known if the stablewas built, although the area remained as a separate entity.

Note that, in 1955, at least 5 houses in the Marshfield Road sectionbelow Ethel Street railwayside were issued withdemolition orders as they were considered dangerous and unfit for habitation, the owners being unableto maintain the properties due to theirfinancial situation. It may be assumed that the condition of properties in Ethel Street would not be far behind and this is indeed the memory of the author in the 1960s at which time Council grants were thankfully being offered to improve the living conditions i.e. inside bathroom with lavatory and upgraded downstairs floors.

Life in Ethel Street

A local man, John S. Mill wrote of his own experiences from starting work in 1908 at the ‘Galv’ i.e. ‘Neath Steel Sheet & Galvanising Co. Ltd’, which was established in 1896 - “...particularly in and around the Galv, Melyn and Eagle Works many children without shoes or stockings because many parents didn’t have the money to buy any, and was the reason for many children missing a great deal of schooling...Many of the houses in either Ethel or Cecil Street were built for the ‘Galv’ to house their employees, mostly the Staffordshire mill men (Staffies) who came down to start the mills in its early days and whose descendants still live in the town today. They were hardworking and hard drinking men...” The reference to Staffordshire employees is borne-out by the 1901 and 1911 censuses, although the inhabitants were generally more ‘local’ by the 1921 census. The movement of families/lodgers was very fluid in the beginning ofthe 20th century, no doubt due to a combination of factors including employment and of course the lack of employment with commensurate inability to pay rent, the vast majority of occupants unable to buy theirown property, although this would gradually change.

As seen in table 1, thenumber of inhabitants per household was significant. There were up to 326 persons living in Ethel Street during 1911 with the maximum number of occupants in one house reaching 17 during 1921, often there being 2 families plus their extended family in the premises where more than seven lived. Generally there were at least 8 people perhousehold with 27 of the 37 houses having more than 7 residents. The numbers reduced somewhat by 1939, possibly as other premises became more available and affordable. As aforementioned, each house would typically hold at least two families, but there would sometimes also be a lodger(s). The overall picture meant that every occupant would need to use the single outside lavatory and kitchen facilities thereby necessitating anyone making use of these facilities passing-through the downstairs living-room. It would not have been peaceful for whoever was renting that room and, as in table 1, may have meant significant intrusion.

Ethel Street held a high degree of notoriety for many years. Up to 20 related press reports/prosecutions per annum were made over the period 1898-1939 albeit with up to 10 per annum being more typical. These were of course only those being reported due to prosecution and may not have been the fullcomplement. Some inhabitants featured more regularly than others, for a range of reasons, usually drunkenness, swearing, assault, theft, cruelty, child neglect, abusive and/or obscene behaviour, threatening, gambling, beer buying/selling, fraud/forgery, causing damage, aiding and abetting, committing an indecent act, illegal trading, trespass, wife desertion, unpaid family maintenance, etc. Note that these misdemeanours were not restricted to

the men, women very often being prosecuted for similar offences, also children, with the accused sometimes alongside or prosecuted when having the issue with otherfamily members. Other prosecutions which may seem strange today included that of attempted suicide, wasting water, lying on grass in Victoria Gardens, littering, absent from work without giving notice, taking possession of a stray dog, selling coal in the street.

The frequency and nature of many of these incidents probably reflect the reason why Ethel Street gained such a fearsome reputation. It was reported (Evening Express, 18/8/1908) that Alderman E.S. Phillips stated ‘...it was quite time that some drastic measures were taken in connection with the curse in Ethel-Street and Cecil-Street.’ Also during his time on the bench he claimed that ‘...half the cases came from the neighbourhood indicated.’ This was also reflected in the upbringing of the children where Neath Borough Education Committee were documented (Cambria Daily Leader, 29/1/1913) as considering how to ‘...make the children of Ethel-street and Cecil-street go to school like other children in the town.’

An example of the poor living conditions from late 1909 (The Cambrian, 17/12/1909) where an inquest into the death of a woman in labour revealed in that ‘...there was nothing in the house to eat...no saucepan to boil the wate.’ Further,‘The coroner also dealt with the overcrowding in EthelStreet, and it was full time that the Town Council took steps to put a stop to four or five families living in one house.’ A tongue-in-cheek comment was made (Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder, 16/9/1916)where a subscribergave his address as ‘The Dustbin Mansion, Back of Ethel-street’. Typically, householders would be evicted for not paying rent, there were a number of incidents where children and/oradults wouldbe burned or suffer death by fire, also where it was considered ignorance caused the premature death of a child. The relatively high degree of child neglect was reported (The Cardiff Times, 21/11/1908) wherean incident was described ‘...house in a filthy condition...only furniture consisted of a broken chair and a bedstead with a straw mattress without bedclothes.’ Also, that an undeclared baby was ‘...lying in an old perambulator, covered up with rags.’ A separate account (The Cambrian, 20/11/1908) described the three children as undernourished and that there was ‘...practically no food, but a bottle containing beer.’

Whilst the foregoing paints a very sad picture of Ethel Street, notwithstanding fatal incidents of accidental poisoning and horse/vehicle/coalmining accidents and incidents, it was not always totally inhabited by miscreants. Serving their country in the First World War, Private J. Williams of 6th Welsh was reported killed (Herald of Wales and Monmouthshire Recorder, 16/10/1915) while Private Gideon Knight, Cheshire Regiment was wounded (Cambria Daily Leader, 24/4/1918). Subsequently, Ivor Davies who had joined the International Brigade in Spain during 1937 was among those reported captured by Franco’s army the following year. His cousin from Elias Street had already been killed the previous year (Neath Guardian, 8/4/1938). An established ‘old’ boxer Walter ‘Darkie’ Thomas was given a benefit night (Neath Guardian, 16/12/1932) and it appears Ethel Street had its own football team in the late 1930s named the ‘Paragon Stars’. A match was reported (Neath Guardian, 4/11/1938) with many local names mentioned and a reference to the next match bus leaving from the ‘Paragon Hut, Ethel Street’.

Despite the misgivings above, some occupants remained in EthelStreet for virtually theirwhole lifetime. Many of the surnames featured in the censuses of 1901,1911 and 1921, plus particularly the 1939 Register, will be well-known not just to those with memories of EthelStreet but also of the Melincryddan more generally. While the list below is not exhaustive and covers a number of families of the same surname it represents families who remained in the same property for a few years at least or moved around Ethel Street and its neighbourhood over the period 1898-1939 (and later):- Griffiths, Matthews, Taylor, Randall, Clarke, Harris, Dodd, Nicholas, Youatt, Knight, Gilbert, Nicholas, Ware, Savage, Shea, Francis, Summers, Taylor, Venables, Green, Eynon, Morgan, Richards, Jenkins, Egan, Williams, Chappell, Hulonce, Allen, Jenkins, Lewis, Parker, Hale, Scanlon, Norris, Rees, Davies, Williams, Price, Singleton, Cuff, Hodgetts, Harrison, Edmonds, Diamond, Watkins, Harries, Bowen, Thomas, Arnold, Bowen, Mort, Mellin, Hyde, Vincent, Gwilliam, Wall, Moody, Morris, Tamplin, Reilly, Clifford, Hughes, Park, Mainwaring, Summers, Fry, Alford, Pike, Jefford, Roach, Foley, John, Booth, Cronin, Jefford, Riley, Derrick, Hodge, Blackmore, Llewellyn, Jaynes, Bendle, Sheppard, Silvey.

Some of the ‘characters’ from EthelStreet in the later pre-WW2 period were ‘Pimpo’ (Sidney Singleton, No.33) and one of the best local comedians, Joe Richards (No.21) who is surely worthy of his own article. A memory of Pimpo told by my late uncle was that he would regularly eat a bag of crisps. Not unusual in itself but he would eat the crisps and the bag!

Final Comments

My own memories while growing-up in Ethel Street in the 1960s and 1970s was of a relatively content group of people, generally not poor but certainly not with money to spare and only the occasional vehicle present in the street. Tinbaths and mangles were stillin use, bicycles were made from parts, not bought complete and new. Owners would be proud of their house and regularly clean not just the inside but the outside as well although the former reputation of Ethel Street would still be told by residents, somewhat proudly, of ‘police only patrolling in pairs’ in daysgone-by.

The atmosphere was to change for the worse during the 1990s and into the early 2000s with the influx of many undesirable tenants with issues predominantly including drug-related incidents. The situation has since been dramatically improved by the actions of the more longstanding residents themselves as seen by searching and viewing on ‘YouTube’ the “Mini F.A.Ns Ethel Street Film” –i.e. Friend and Neighbours Alliance, from 2011, with the street once more establishing a proper community and having a spirit which must be the envy of many similar areas. The revival outlined in the film has, through the hard work of the residents, been maintained to this day.

Paul Richards

Neath Antiquarian Society

References

Original source material has been used in the preparation of this article from:

Neath Antiquarian Society Archives

West Glamorgan Archive Service

Additionally, the following online resources have been used:

British Newspaper Archive

Ancestry

FindMyPast

Fresh insights on the Swansea Hebrew congregation

Charles Wilson-Watkins is a prolific blogger on Swansea’s history and the former family history columnist in Swansea’s recently defunct and sadly-missed ‘Bay Magazine’. He has kindly permitted this article from 2023 to be reproduced here.

In October2016, I wrote an article entitled Exploring Swansea’s Graveyards. In the piece, I stated that “The oldest Jewish cemetery in Wales was opened in 1768 and by 1965 was practically full. The ‘new’ cemetery was opened in 1962 and located in Oystermouth Cemetery.”. It is in the old cemetery, located off North Hill Road in Mount Pleasant, that Bernat Hecht is buried, the father of the former MP Michael Howard, now Lord Howard of Lympne. The 2016 article referring to the Jewish cemetery was read with interest by Canadian reader, Susan Boulanger, who contacted me via email with regard to her distant relative, Levi Michael, whom she thought was also buried in this cemetery. The question was to find out who was this Levi? My research, using information provided by Susan, makes for interesting reading

Swansea has the distinction of being home to the oldest Jewish community in Wales, dating back to the 1730s. During this period there were a few unrelated Jews living inSwansea, though why they came here is unclear. One of the first recorded births within the Jewish faith in Swansea was that of Lazarus David in 1734. He later emigrated to Canada during the 1760s, where he became one of the founders of the Canadian Jewish community.

Back in Swansea, the numberof Jews in the first half of the eighteenth century was still very small. However, in 1749 David Michael, an early pioneer, arrived. David Michael was born in 1727 in Germany. It is from him that Susan descends. Also arriving from the Continent were a MrCohen and a Mr Joseph. The fledgling community flourished and David Michael established himself as a silversmith.

In 1768, David Michaeltook out a 99-year lease on a plot of land measuring 15 by 30 yards located at Town Hill. The annual

The plaque recording the founders of the first Swansea synagogue, now preserved in Oystermouth Cemetery

rent was 10 shillings and he proposed to use it as a burial ground. The plot was enclosed by a 8 feet high and 20 inch thick stone wall. David Michael’s next step was to establish the first synagogue, which was in a back room of his house in Wind Street, a room which could accommodate 30 to 40 people! This room was used for about 30 years, then in 1818 a further 99-year lease was taken out on a piece of land along Waterloo Road This was the place where the first proper synagogue was built. Sadly, the building was destroyed in the Swansea.Blitz. However, the plaque which mentions the names of the five members who laid the foundation stone can be found at Oystermouth Jewish Cemetery, a subject to which I willreturn later. Two of the names on the plaque are LeviMichael and his brother Jacob.

The entry in the 1830 Pigott Trade Directory lists Levi as a Silversmith & Jeweller, in Wind Street and Jacob as a Pawnbroker, also in Wind Street. By 1841, Levi had died. An article in The Cambrian describes Levi as the oldest resident in Swansea, aged 87. He was buried at the ‘old’ Jewish Cemetery and his headstone states that he was the first Jew to be born in Wales.

What about Lazarus David? Here I take up the lead from Susan. Levi’s son, Jacob, moved away to London where he was a solicitor. He married twice, and both the marriages were performed in Anglican Churches. If a Jewish man marries a Gentile, their children are classed as non-Jewish. Conversely, if a Jewish woman marries a Gentile, their issue is considered to be Jewish. Jacob’s son, Lemon Hart Michael, an artist and architect had by the time of the 1881 census moved to Guernsey, residing inSt. Peter’s Port. His son, Henry Lemon, married Emily May Carre, Susan’s great-grandmother. Florence Michael, Susan’s grandmother, was still living in Guernsey after her father returned to London, married Thomas Maindonaldand they emigrated to Canada in 1921.

Another of Levi’s sons, Francis David Michael, was a founder of the Swansea Savings Bank in 1816. MichaelJohn Michael, son of Jacob, was a successful flour and grain merchant, who was an elected Alderman in the Swansea Corporation. He was elected Mayor of the town in 1848 and a JP in 1849. During the autumn of 1849, he played an important part in the cholera outbreak in Swansea of that year.

Today, the Swansea Jewish community numbers only about forty. One member of this small community, Mrs Norma Glass, told me how her late husband’s aunt, Rachel Hoffman, came to the United Kingdom fleeing war-torn Europe at the outbreak of the Second WorldWar. Sadly, her husband, Semy Hoffman, who was serving in the French Army was captured by the Germans and later died in Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. Semy is remembered on his wife’s headstone, located in Oystermouth Jewish Cemetery.

From top to bottom: Levi Michael’s grave in the old cemetery Townhill; the gates to the Oystermouth Jewish Cemetery; Rachel Hoffman’s grave in the Oystermouth Jewish Cemetery

Remembering the Miners’ Strike 1984-85

Trouble flaring between pickets and police at Marine Colliery, Cwm. This is one of a series of dramatic photographs by Helen Lofts which forms part of Betty Evans’ collection (SWMM 5/1/1-6)

2024 sees the fortieth anniversary of the start of the Miners’ Strike, an event which had such a profound effect on somany of our communities here. The pictures in this tableau are taken from the archive of the South Wales Miners’ Museum, which is in our care.

A personal record of the strike was collected by Betty Evans, who was part of the Women's Support Group in Gorseinon and worked at the Miners’ Support Shop there. Her albums of cuttings, photographs and ephemera are a testimony to the role of women in support of the striking miners by distributing donated food and money. The brochure cover below is a souvenirof the Miners’ Gala held in St Helen’s rugby ground Swansea in1986, after the strike.

The South Wales Miners’ Museum at Afan Argoed celebrates the mining heritage of the Afan Valley and preserves and displays artefacts from the South Wales Coalfield. As these albums show, it is a record of a distinctive working class history and culture.

Kim Collis County Archivist

Atodiad 1: Adneuwyr a Rhoddwyr

Gwasanaeth Archifau'n ddiolchgar i'r unigolion a'r sefydliadau canlynol sydd wedi rhoi cofnodion lleol a hanesyddol yn ei ofal yn ystod 1 Ebrill2023 i 31 Mawrth 2024.

Mrs J Atzori; R Austin; Mrs C Baldwin; Ms P Bashford; Ms V Bassett; S Beale; P Beattie; Mrs E Belcham; Ms A Bevan; G Bevan; Dr D Brook; K Brookes; S Brown;Mrs T Bryan; Miss S Burden; Mrs T Cadbury; Mrs M Cadman-Davies; P Cameron; K Collis; C Dale; I Davies; Revd R DaviesHannen; Miss E Dawkins; Ms H Eaton; R Evans; Mrs G Falck; Ms E Fletcher; Ms M Fox; G Games; Ms K Gass; H Griffiths; P Griffiths; Mrs M Grove; P Hall; Mrs H Hallesy; A Harfort; G Harries; E Harris; Mrs E Hewitt; Dr L Hodgson; Revd Canon A Howells; D James; H Johnson; Ms A Jones; Mrs C Jones; Ms G Jones; Ms J Jones; Mrs M Jones; Ms RJones; R Jones; Ms K Kaneen; Ms F Kilpatrick; Mrs L Kneath; A Lascelles; R Leonard; Revd H Lervy; M Locke; Revd Canon B Lodwick; M Ludlam; Ms G Mackender; Dr G Matthews; Miss C McCarthy; A Meech; J Milner; Ms M Morel; Professor P Morgan; MsG Naylor; B Niedergang; Mrs E Niedergang; J Parkhouse; Ms M Passmore; Ms H Polden; L Price; R Pugh; C Reed; T Rees; I Richard; G Richards; A Robins; JRogers; I Rogerson; Ms S Samuel; J Skidmore; N Smith; Cllr R Smith; S Smith; Cllr W Smith; Ms C Stevens; A Thomas; K Thomas; G Warren; A Warrington; A Watts; Ms M Watts; K Whitehead; Ms C Wilkinson; C Williams; D Williams; G Williams; J Williams; R Williams; Ms S Williams; M Wyatt.

Bethania Welsh Baptist Church, Neath; Bristol Archives; Bristol Channel Yacht Club; Davies, Ingram & Harries, solicitors; Derbyshire Archives; Dundee City Archives; E. R. Brown Ltd.; Glamorgan Archives; Gloucestershire Record Office; Glynn VivianArt Gallery; Gower College; Jazz Heritage Wales; JCP Solicitors; Llanrhidian Higher Community Council; Morriston Orpheus Choir; Neath PortTalbot Libraries; Old Dy’vorians Association; Parish of Morriston; Parish of Sketty; Powys Archives; Rectorial Benefice of Swansea; Royal Institution of South Wales;South East Wales Unitarian Society; South Wales Baptist Association; Strick and Bellingham, solicitors; Swansea Labour Left; Swansea Reference Library; Swansea Valley History Society; The Gower Society; University of Wales Trinity St David; Ystradgynlais Family History Society.

Atodiad 2: Derbyn Archifau

Mae'r archifau a restrir isod wedi'u derbyn fel rhodd, adnau, trosglwyddiad neu bryniant yn ystod 1 Ebrill 2023 i 31 Mawrth 2024. Nid yw'r holl eitemau ar gael i'w defnyddio ar unwaith ac mae rhai eitemau'n cael eu cadw ar fynediad cyfyngedig.

PUBLICRECORDS

SHRIEVALTY

Declarations and warrants of Alan Brayley as Sheriff and Andrew Meech as Under Sheriff of West Glamorgan, 2023 (HS/W 50/1-4)

RECORDSOFLOCALAUTHORITIESANDPREDECESSORAUTHORITIES

UNITARY AUTHORITIES

City and County of Swansea

Brochurefor the ceremony to mark the Honorary Freedom to Swansea Branch of the Merchant Navy Association, held at the Guildhall, 22 July 2022, (CC/S CE12/8)

Programme for the inauguration of Councillor Graham Thomas as Lord Mayor of Swansea, 19 May 2023 (CC/S CE 11)

Plans of the Quadrant development and town centre; aerial photographs of Gower, 1940s-2000s (CC/S NC 3a-g; CC/S Pl 8/35-38)

Definitive Map and Statement of Rights of Way, 2023

Bid for Swansea as City of Culture 2021, 2018

City and County of Swansea, Planning Department: files of records relating to scheduled monuments in Swansea, 20th cent.

Digital photographs of various Swansea Council building projects, including the following: Cefn Hengoed School, Guildhall, Glynn Vivian ArtGallery, Leisure Centre, Bwrlais School, Gowerton School, Oystermouth Castle, Penyrheol School and Swansea Market, 2011-2015

Neath Port Talbot County Borough

Books of condolence for HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 2021; The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Book of Celebration 2022; Book of Condolence for HM Queen Elizabeth II, 2022 and associated tributes left at Neath and Port Talbot, 2021-2022 (CB/NPT M 1-2)

BOROUGHS AND DISTRICT COUNCILS

Swansea City Council

Valuation lists, 1973-1990 (TR 4/53-74)

Llwchwr Urban District Council

Valuation list, 1973 (TR 6/11)

Pontardawe Rural District Council

Valuation list, 1973 (TR 7/10)

Neath Rural District Council

Minutes, 1929-1974 (NL RD/N 210-252)

CIVIL PARISH/COMMUNITY COUNCILS

Dulais Higher Parish CouncilBurial Authority: Bryn-y-bedd Cemetery cash book, 1925-1956 (P/247/198)

Llangennith Parish Council: minutes and accounts of Llangennith Parish Council,1927-1967 (P/109/26-27)

Llanrhidian Higher Community Council:minutes, 2023 (P111/45, 58)

Loughor parish: highway rate book, 1874

Port Eynon Parish Council: minute book, 1894-1936 (P/119/2a)

SCHOOLRECORDS

Clevedon College, Swansea: photographs of staff and pupils, 20th cent.

Dunvant Infants School: prospectuses and booklet entitled It's time to move to the reception class, 1996-2001 (E/S 7/24/3-6)

Dynevor School: The Dy'vorian school magazine, Winter 2023; Swansea Municipal Secondary School magazine, July 1914 (E/Dyn Sec X 13/9); The Old Dy'vorianmagazine, 2023 (E/Dyn Sec X 2/18)

Gwyrosydd Primary School: information pack on the life of Daniel James (1848-1920) produced for use at Gwyrosydd Primary School,accompanied by an animated DVD about his life. English and Welsh

Hafod Secondary Modern School: class photograph (teachers andpupils arenamed on reverse), 1970s (D/D Z 1179/1a-b)

Pontardawe Grammar School: school photograph, 1955

Swansea Grammar School: school magazines, 1936-1937

ECCLESIASTICALPARISHRECORDS

Landore: newsletters 1970-1980; parish history 2003, 1970-2003 (P/309/CW/77)

Morriston: marriage register, 2014-2018 (P/312/CW/115)

St. John-juxta-Swansea: marriage register, 15 Apr. 1971-21 Apr. 2021 (P/322/CW/60); Register of services, 1987-2007 (P/106/CW/105); Design for a memorial window for St. Johns Church, c. 1914-1918

Sketty: marriage registers, 1984-2015 (P/316/CW/290-292)

Swansea St. Mark: marriage register, 5 June 1971-4 June 1994 (P/106/CW/104); Memorial plaques, 1920-1929

Swansea St Mary: order for a Service of Thanksgiving in celebration of the Coronation of HM King Charles III at St Mary's Church, Swansea, 30 Apr. 2023 (D/D Z 168/17)

NONCONFORMISTCHAPELRECORDS

Baptist

Addoldy, Glynneath, church histories, photographs, business and financial records, exhibition materials, 1894-c. 2010 (D/D W/Bap 47/1/1-47/4/1)

Adulam Welsh Baptist Church, Bonymaen: minutes, commemorative and display items, photographs, other historical items, 1897-2001 (D/D W/Bap 46/1/1-46/7/2)

Bethesda Welsh Baptist Chapel, Swansea: correspondence and notebook relating to renovation work, 1882

Calfaria Welsh Baptist Church, Skewen: membership and financial records, minutes, legal papers and records relating to church premises, photographs, 1890s-2013 (D/D W/Bap 29/2/1-29/9/4)

Seion Noddfa, Gorseinon: photographs, 1912-1929 (D/D W/Bap 48/1/1-2)

South Wales Baptist Association: chapel histories of the following chapels: Bethany Baptist Church, West Cross; York Place Baptist Chapel; Sketty Baptist Church; Mount Pleasant Baptist Church; Aenon, Morriston; Memorial, Swansea and Mount Calvary Baptist Church, Danygraig, 1933-1998 (Searchroom Library)

Calvinistic Methodist

Bethel, Melincryddan:chapel accounts, 1935-1948 (D/D CM 33)

Bethlehem, Penyrheol, Gorseinon: baptisms, accounts and other records, 1922-1966 (D/D CM35)

Bethlehem Green, Neath: marriages 1906-1968 (D/D CM 32)

Nazareth, Morriston: financial records, 1923-1960 (D/D CM 37)

Tabernacl, Landore: membership records and accounts, 1893-1964 (D/D CM 36)

Tabor, Grovesend: baptisms, accounts and membership registers, 1913-1949 (D/D CM 34)

West Glamorgan Presbytery: accounts and minutes, 1905-1966 (D/D CM GM)

English Congregational

Fabian's Bay Congregational Church, St Thomas, Swansea: chapel magazines, financial statements, 1951-1995 (D/D E/Cong 13/2-4)

Unitarian

Annual reports of Gellionen and Graig Unitarian Chapels, 1914, 1933 (D/D Z 1176/1-2)

Welsh Independent

Brynteg, Gorseinon: record of purchase of burial plots 1975-2013

Siloh Newydd, Landore: annual reports, mid 20th century (D/D Ind21/5/37-46)

Soar,Loughor:chapelrecords, 19th-21st cent. (D/D Ind 57/1/1-57/4/2)

Tabernacle, Morriston: concert programmes,1905-1976 (D/D Z 1154/9-22)

Various

Rhaglen a chofnodion Henaduriaeth Gorllewin Morganwg, Tabernacle, Penclawdd Mehefin 15, 1950; Cyfarfodydd Sefydlu Eglwys Annibynol Danygraig Pontardawe, 13-14/11/1946, 1946-1950 (D/D Z 12/5-6)

Programmes for cymanfaoedd canu taking place in Pontarddulais, mid-late 20th century (D/D Z 1180/1-67)

West Glamorgan Presbytery Collection Fund for the Poor of the World and induction service for Aenon English Baptist Church, 1955-1971 (D/D Z 1172/1-2)

LIBRARY,MUSEUMANDGALLERYRECORDS

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery: photocopy of accession register, 2005-2023 (closed access)

Swansea Library Collection

Maps of Swansea, including Harbour and Docks, 1827-1919 (SL Pl 1-16)

Records from the rarebooks cupboard. detailed list attached to paperwork, 1795-2000 (SL 65/119)

A volume of local photographs belonging to ‘Reverendo Johanni Young’,of Bishop GoreSchool, with a letter inside the volume signed by Anne Shortland-Jones, dated 26 March 1985 on Eton College headed paper.The volume was presented to her great grandfather, 1895 (SL 67/1)

Consultation documents relating to the nomination of the Guildhall as a Swansea-based National Assembly for Wales, 1998-2014 (SL PC10-11)

Minutes of a hearing in arbitration between the Swansea Harbour Trustees and the Assessment Committee of the Swansea Union, 25-26 April 1910

Swansea City Council Local Plan Review, including ten maps, 1994-1995; Swansea Local Plan (including Waste Policies) Review No.1 1993-2003, depositdraft proposals maps, 1996; A Poverty Profile of Swansea 2008, 1993-2008

Clecs y Cwm, Papur Cymraeg Castell Nedd a'r Clych, 1986-1992

Swansea Castle Defence Committee: letter discussing the possibledemolition of Swansea Castle, 1957

Books relating to the City and County of Swansea policies and procedures, including Poverty Profile, Bridging the Divide Report, Review of Childrens Social Services, and Education in Wales, 1997-2010

Volumes relating to plans and reviews of the City and County of Swansea and the Borough of Lliw Valley, including the Council Constitution, environmental strategy, improvement plan, social services review and community strategy, 1983-2008

Neath Union abstract of accounts, including list of paupers 1864; booklets on the Passion Play, Behold The Man, at Margam Park; booklets on BP Baglan Bay; Report on a dispute at the Port Talbot Steelworks; booklet on British Hydrocarbon Chemicals, 1864-1999

Annual reports of the School Medical Officer of Health and School Health Service for Swansea and Swansea Education Committee Handbook, 1908-1970 (with gaps)

POLITICALRECORDS

Gower Conservative Association: records of Gower Conservative Association and branches, 1925-1995 (D/D Cons/G 1/1-4/1)

Swansea Labour Left: minutes, 2017-2023 (Lab/SLL 1/14-19)

WOMEN’SARCHIVEOFWALES

Eunice Stallard, tape and transcript of interview with additionalnotes and comments, photographs, 2020s (WAW 51/1-7)

SOLICITORS’RECORDS,DEEDSANDESTATERECORDS

Strick and Bellingham, solicitors: pre-registration title deeds relating to various properties in Swansea and surrounding area, 1858-2003 (D/D SB 32/15-55)

Copy of conveyance between Dame Mary Philippa Agnes Germaine Mansel to the Mayor Alderman and Burgesses of the County Borough of Swansea relating to Penllwynmarch Farm and other land in Manselton, 1 June 1946 (D/D Z 1165)

Deed relating to 2 Hall Terrace, Goitre Road, Dunvant, 1916 (D/D Z 1171/1)

Conveyance of lands, Swansea, 1891 (D/D Xbt 3)

Underlease of land at Pentre Estyll, Llangyfelach, 1883 (D/D Z Z1147/2)

Davies, Ingram & Harvey, solicitors: pre-registration title deeds of properties in West Glamorgan, 19th-20th cent. (D/D DIH 1/2-1/49; D/D DIH 2/1-2/2)

R.J. Thomas, solicitor: plans of Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen Colliery boundaries and workings, superimposed on OS maps, 1900-1926 (D/D Xdf 1-3)

Papers relating to Penrice Castle, Gower. New Building Works, n.d. (D/D Xbt 12/1-6)

Notes on the ownership of the Manorof Millwood by T. R. Fearnside, Land Revenue Record Office, 1838

Legal document regarding a bond (loan) between Nicholls Company and the Provident Association. The solicitors dealing with the case were John Leeder Viner of 102, Oxford Street Swansea, 11th June 1894 (D/D Z 1189/1)

Documents relating to the history of Belle Vue House West Cross, including transfer deedand photograph of house, c.1953-2000

SOCIETIESANDASSOCIATIONS,SPORTANDTHEARTS

Clych mam a'i Phlentyn a Chylch Chwarae Casllwchwr: scrapbooks, including photographs of activities, financial papers and news articles and a selection of calendars of old Loughor and Gorseinon, 1980-2001 (D/D MM 1/1-2)

Friends of Swansea International Festival: minutes and other records, 20th-21st cent.

Glynneath and District Gardening Club: account books, 2005-2015 (D/D GHS 2/2, 4/1)

The Gower Society: minutes, programmes, and newsletter,May 2022-October 2023 (D 56/18/1)

The Grand Theatre, Swansea: poster, 1909 (D/D Z 1161/1/1)

Llwchwr Society: Magazines vols 13 and 15, 1989-1991 (Searchroom Library)

Morriston Orpheus Choir: photographs, programmes and letters relating to the Morriston Orpheus Choir left by the late John Williams, ex Choir Marshalland former Yeoman of the Guard, 1960s2023 (D/D MOC 18/1-18/9)

Pentrechwyth AFC: team photograph, 1907-1908 (D/D Z 1181/1)

Royal Institution of South Wales: newsletter: Summer; programme of events, 2023 (RISW X 2/4; 6/1); Annual General Meeting agenda and newsletter, 2023

Scrapbooks, photographs and programmes of Swansea Amateur Operatic Society. Also includes programmes from Cockett Amateur Operatic Society and Neath Opera Group, 20th Century

BUSINESS,INDUSTRIALANDTRANSPORTRECORDS

Brochurefor housing development Ferrara Quay, Swansea Marina. Includes price list, floorplans and general specifications of the properties available, 1987 (D/D Z 1158)

John Milner Collection: reports and maps in relation to the Afan Valley Project, a proposed narrow gauge railway, 1980s (D/D Z 1160/1-5)

Great Western Railway Engineers' Department, Neath: boxes of staff record cards, mid-20th century (D/D Z 1164/1)

Lewis and David Foundry, Port Talbot: photograph of Edward Lewisand W Lewis, foundry owners, n.d. (D/D Z 1177/1)

Colliery area plan of Briton Ferry, 1900 (D/D Z 1178/1)

Waun Anthracite Colliery Company: minute Book, 1941-1942

The Colliery Pioneers of the Dulais Valley by the Rev. Edmund Davies, Congregational Minister, Seven Sisters, 1923 (D/D An 35/1)

Transit and Commerce – an antiquarian book with references to the Mumbles Railway, 1907 (D/D Z 839/19)

Chapel Underground - Mynydd Newydd (New Mountain) Colliery - Penlan by Ivor Williams, 2022 (Searchroom Library)

Papers relating to South Wales Transport Company Limited, 1963-1964 (D/D Z 1186/1-3)

Ivor Davies collection: records relating to Celtic Studios, c. 1950s-1960s

Photographs of Swansea and Port Talbot Docks, c. 1860-1995

Records relating to Swansea and Port Talbot Docks, 1804-2001

Plans of Avon Colliery pithead baths, n.d. (D/D PRO/NCB 2/527)

HOSPITALSANDHEALTH

Margaret Excell (laterDavies) of St Thomas, midwife: register of cases, 1919-1945 (D/D Z 1163)

Notebook taken by student nurse Kate Hopkin during her training at Swansea General and Eye Hospital, 1939-1941 (D/D Z 1185/1)

Papers and photographs relating to Myfanwy Nixon (née Harries) and her time as a midwife in and around Swansea, 1942-1955

Records relating to Rachel Ellen Jones, Swansea pharmacist, including certificate of qualification, photographs in the Swansea Hospital pharmacy, biographical notes written by Richard Jones and facsimile copies of House Committee minutes of her recruitment, 1900-1952 (D/D Z 1093/6-10)

Photographs (postcards) of staff and patients at Swansea Hospital, 1920s (D/D Z 1184/1-4)

FIRSTANDSECONDWORLDWARS

Swansea War Museum Library: autograph book belonging to a nurse working at Swansea Hospital including during the First World War, c 1909-1916 (SL WL 10/35); Miscellaneous propaganda pamphlets relating to the First World War, 1914-1918; The Prince of Wales Hospital for Limbless Sailors and Soldiers at Cardiff, 1918

Photograph of the War Damage Commission, Swansea Technical Staff, including names and some signatures, 1 Dec. 1945

Miscellaneous ARP booklets, mid 20th century

ARP sticker book, 1940s

PERSONAL,FAMILYANDRESEARCHPAPERS

Correspondence relating to property in Alfred Street, Neath and Mr Morgan Reynolds Morgan, 1922-1927 (D/D Z 1137/2)

Photographs of family members and local views; booklets relating to local churches, 1840s-2000s (D/D Z 1157/1-34)

Clive Reed Collection: documents, photographs, histories associated with the Swansea Canal and industries in the Swansea Valley; video recording of Pontardawe Festival dance team, c. 1998; Cassette recording of a lecture by Clive Reed on the development of Pontardawe, 1994, 19821994 (D/D Z 80/329/1-17)

Family documents, including Daily Post leaflet regarding general strike, 1926; War Damage Contribution bill; Civil defence enrolment form; Plasmarl CouncilBoys’ School photograph, 1913; information on Mr and Mrs Elias Par, 1915-1943 (D/D Z 1151/6-26)

Canon Brian Lodwick Collection: Personal research papers, copies of documents, publications and personal appointment diaries of the donor, relating to his research interests and published articles, and to his career as an Anglican clergyman, 1950s-2020s; research notes and publications, annual reports of the Friends of Llandaff Cathedral, 'Ymlaen' magazines for the parish of Dyffryn Clydach, the 'Nisian' magazine for Neath County Grammar School for Boys, programmes and historic, 1610-2023

Diary and letters of Derek Harper, 1940s-2000s (D/D Z 1084/16-18)

Papers of Jack and Gwyneth Davies relating to RISW, Pennard Church, and other Swansearelated documents, 20th century

Miscellaneous printed ephemera, 1889-1924 (D/D Z 1166/3-7)

Photographs of workers at Middle Banks works; The Story of Old Middle Bank Works, Upper Bank and White Rock by T. H. Williams, 1951; handwritten and typescript copies of speeches given by T. H. Williams to Pentrechwyth Congregational Church Young People’s Guild, c.1920s-1954 (D/D Z 1174)

Newscuttings book covering local Swansea events and news, 1906-1909 (D/D Z 610/6/1)

RonaldAustin Collection: foldersof research, notes and informationon the history of regattas and yachting in the Bristol channel. The folders include research notes, newspaper cuttings, regatta programmes, articles, 20th century (D/D Z 610/7/1-3); notes written by Dr Austin in preparation for his History of Bristol Channel Yacht Club, 20th cent. (D/D Z 610/8/1-25; D/D Z 610/9/1)

Eluned Mair Mackender collection: papers collected by family members including Swansea Field Naturalists and Scientific Society; Swansea Grammar Schoolpapers; Neath Abbey postcard, n.d. (D/D Z 1142/4-9)

Research notes and papers relating to sites of geological interest in the Swansea area, 1990s2000s

Diaries of George P. Body, 1940-1946; autograph book belonging to George P. Body; bundle of mounted photographs of amateurdramatic productions, one image is labelled as being the Swansea YMCA Players; two formal photographs of unknown women; two BBC scripts, c. 1940s

The memoirs of Jeremiah Thomas Jeremiah (1894-1965), 1965 (D/D Z 1073/6)

Edward Harris collection: Photograph showing John Glyn Rees on his wedding day, with his father, n.d., c. 1930s

Midwife case book forSwansea Hospital; various school class photographs (Swansea and Morriston schools); photograph of MorristonUnited Male Voice Choir; calendars showing old pictures of Morriston, c 1919-1988

Swansea Valley History Society: diary and training notes of a Pontardawe policeman (unidentified); school project work book of Mervyn Williams, 1944-1950s

Illuminated address to Howard Corbett uponhis leaving his position as managing editor of the Cambria Daily Leader, Sporting News and Herald of Wales, signed by staff members, 1913 (D/D Z 1188)

Papers and ephemeraof Bob Cotterrill relating to his life as a DVLA employee and CPSA trade union branch secretary and committee member, 1970s-2000s

Captain Stephen Henry Piper, 1901-1982: A Swansea Man Remembers, 2023 (Searchroom Library)

Collection of printed material relating to Neath, Pontardawe and the Dulais Valley, 20th century

PICTORIAL,FILMANDSOUND

Photographs of Grove House, Alexandra Road, Swansea, 1960s, and the Strand, c. 1930s

Oral history recordings conducted with residents in Cwmafan; books about, owned by and connected with D.Afan Thomas, and singing culture inthe Afan Valley, 19th-21st centuries (T 36/2-3; D/D Z 1013/2/1-5)

35mm slides taken by G. Elfed Jones of Swansea and the surrounding area. Most slides are identified and dated, 1959-1973 (D/D Z 1142/3)

Charles Morgan papers: Watercolour painting by Charles Morgan, showing Penmaen Rectory, c.1832-1833

Royston Kneath Collection: Three glass slides of Holy Trinity Church, Swansea after the Blitz, and an unidentified building, c. 1941; large backed photograph of the Head Department of the National ShellFactory, Landore, c. 1916, c. 1916-1941

Cassette tapes of localchoirs, 1980s-1990s (D/D Z 1183/1-18)

Jazz Heritage Wales: Collection of tape recordings relating to the history of jazz, 1988-2006

Postcard of Cwmdonkin Park, Swansea; Map of Swansea and the bay, c. 1860-1900 (D/D X 84/56)

The Peter Hall Video Collection: films on local historical topics, 2023-2024 (D/D Z 717)

Tafodiaith Nedd ac Afan: Oral history recordings of Welsh dialect speech in the Neath and Afan valleys, n.d., 2000s

Photographs taken ona field trip to Gower, 1993

Photograph of the first committee of the Pontardawe Public Hall and Institute, 1909; and series of postcards of South Wales scenes, c. 1905-1912

The Derek Gabriel Collection: photographs, slides, publications and ephemera relating to the Swansea area. Includes material from Swansea Bus Museum, photographs from Derek's National Service days in Aden and Nairobi and generalphotographs of Swansea. 1940s-2010s (D/D DG)

Rhodd newydd i’r Archifdy yw y lluniau canlynol o gasgliad Ivor Davies, crefftwr gwydr lliw, a hyfforddodd yn Ysgol Gelf Abertawe ac a weithiodd yn Celtic Studios yn y 1950au a’r 1960au. Mae’r ail lun yn dangos ffenestr yn cael ei gosod yn Eglwys yr Holl Saint Ystumllwynarth.

Gwasanaeth Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg

Mae Gwasanaeth Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg yn casglu dogfennau, mapiau, ffotograffau, recordiadau ffilm a sain sy’n ymwneud â phob agwedd ar hanes Gorllewin Morgannwg. Mae’n wasanaeth ar y cyd ar gyfer Cynghorau Dinas a SirAbertawe a Bwrdeistref Sirol Castell-nedd Port Talbot.

Ein cenhadaeth yw cadw a datblygu ein casgliadau o archifau, diogelu ein treftadaeth ddogfennol a chaniatáu ymchwilermwyn datblygu ein casgliad. Rydym yn ymroddedig i ddarparu gwybodaeth a’r cyfle i gyflwyno’r archifau i bawb.

Gwasanaeth Archifau Gorllewin Morgannwg

Canolfan Ddinesig

Heol Ystumllwynarth

Abertawe SA1 3SN

 01792 636589 archifau@abertawe.gov.uk @archifgorllmor

www.abertawe.gov.uk/archifaugorllewinmorgannwg Clawr cefn: Ivor E Sims (sylfaenydd Côr Orpheus Treforys) yn arwain côr bechgyn mewn seremoni i gynnull Rhyddid Anrhydeddus Abertawe ar Gadlywydd Bernard Montgomery, Is-iarll Cyntaf Alamein, 1948 (D/D MOC 14/1/6)

Adroddiad Blynyddol Archifydd y Sir

Annual Report of the County Archivist

Gwasanaeth ar y cyd ar gyfer Cynghorau

A joint service for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot Councils

Abertawe a Castell-Nedd Port Talbot