West Glamorgan Archive Service: Annual Report of the County Archivist, 2020-2021

Adroddiad Blynyddol Archifydd y Sir

Annual Report of the County Archivist

2020-2021 Gwasanaeth ar y cyd ar gyfer Cynghorau Abertawe a Castell-Nedd Port Talbot A joint service for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot Councils

West Glamorgan Archive Service West Glamorgan Archive Service collects documents, maps, photographs, film and sound recordings relating to all aspects of the history of West Glamorgan. It is a joint service for the Councils of the City and County of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot County Borough.

Our mission is the preservation and development of our archive collections, to safeguard our documentary heritage and to enable research in order to further our collective knowledge. We are committed to providing information and the opportunity to engage with archives to everybody.

West Glamorgan Archive Service Civic Centre Oystermouth Road Swansea SA1 3SN  01792 636589

Front cover: Detail from an illustrated address to Sir Henry Hussey Vivian by the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, Swansea District, 1883 (D/D Z 1104/3)

westglam.archives@swansea.gov.uk www.swansea.gov.uk/westglamorganarchives

@westglamarchive

Connecting People and History

Family History Centre Supervisor Lorna Crook went online to give a number of well-received talks on aspects of family history during the year.

West Glamorgan Archive Service is run jointly by Swansea and Neath Port Talbot Councils in order to preserve access to their archives and to other archive collections which it has received and collected on their behalf. Residents of the two local authority areas and researchers from across the UK and overseas access our archive collections, both online and in person, in order to carry out a wide variety of research.

Our COVID-secure service re-opened in September, with a maximum capacity of four persons at any one time, strictly by advance booking only. Closures followed in late October and December following further lockdown announcements.

For the Archive Service, in common with so much of the cultural sector, 2020 was a frustrating year of national and local lockdowns. Our Swansea service point was closed for much of the year; our Neath service point for the whole year; our work with schools, local history groups and family historians was provided only online. As a result, as I’m sure readers will understand, physical visits to the archives were much reduced in number this year and were by pre-booking only.

However, the picture is not all negative: certain of the innovative practices described in this report which were used to maintain contact remotely with our users during lockdowns will no doubt continue beyond the end of the pandemic. Numbers of people attending our online events were encouraging and many frustrated would-be searchroom users turned to email and our research service for answers to their queries, instead of a physical visit. The Archive Service can also be proud that it was one of the first in Wales to re-open after the lockdown and has maintained a position of re-opening the service as soon as allowed to by Welsh Government since that date.

It goes without saying that the activities and initiatives described below rely on the skills and experience of a very loyal archives staff team. That we have continued to be well-regarded by users of our physical and virtual services and by the general public, who may only have had a glancing contact with our service through an online event, a book or a social media post, is testament to the team’s imagination, creativity and hard work during the most trying of times.

Helping the regeneration of Swansea city centre

The Archives provides advice and assistance to departments of both its parent authorities and during the year has helped Swansea Council’s Economic Regeneration and Planning Service Unit in research and interpretation of the history of the Swansea Arena site currently under development, which was once part of the Swansea Victoria station site.

Image from circa 1975

To mark World Refugee Day in June 2020, we published a short film about the 80 Basque child refugees who came to Swansea in 1937.

You can find the film and digital copies of the portraits of the refugees, made from glass slides we hold, at www.swansea.gov.uk/article/ 58044/Basque-refugeechildren-in-Swansea-19371938 Informative and moving, and I liked Captain David Potato Jones too. I think this is a very timely exhibition, as it comes alongside Swansea’s celebration of the 10th anniversary of us becoming a City of Sanctuary. It reminds us that, long before then, we have been welcoming people fleeing war and persecution and hopefully we will continue to do so.

(Cllr Mark Child, Lord Mayor of Swansea 2020/21)

A selection of the online activity by WGAS staff to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day in 2020 and the 80th anniversary of the Swansea blitz in 2021. From top left clockwise: BBC news coverage; new online school resources; Welsh Government VE Day tweet using a WGAS image; WGAS VE Day Facebook banner

Building and preserving our collections

Glamorgan Archives has been carrying out a particularly intricate repair of a Briton Ferry estate map over the past couple of years, work featured in last year’s report and then held up by the pandemic. Here a painting of the River Neath estuary at Briton Ferry which formed an attachment to the map is mounted on the light box ready for conservation and restoration of some of its missing parts. See below for an image of the almost completed work. At the time of writing the last touches are being made to this piece (D/D BF/E 157a).

The primary role of the Archive Service is to preserve our documentary heritage for the benefit of future generations, receiving additional gifts and deposits of archive material while maintaining and developing the greatest degree of access to the collections in our care. The pictures in this section show how conservation work on our collections brings our documents back to a useable condition.

Because of the lockdowns, both our conservation work and our work to grow and develop our collections has been severely curtailed during the year. The pandemic did not however prevent people contacting us with offers of documents and where possible arrangements were made for their safe transfer to archives. Indeed there may be said to have been a ‘lockdown effect’ in 2020 where a number of people used the time to sort out their papers for the archives.

Records collected and curated by Mr K Sawyers, County Secretary to West Glamorgan County Council and then Chief Executive of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council from its inception in 1996 until his retirement in 2009, were an example of this. The collection consists of documents relating to the events he attended, committees on which he sat and initiatives that occurred during his period of office. It is a comprehensive record of the birth and early years of one of our two parent authorities.

The major addition to our collections this year is in fact a large supplement to a small collection that was mentioned briefly in last year’s report. Readers may remember that we had recently acquired a small collection of deeds relating to the Ynyscedwyn Estate, which a sharp-eyed member of staff had noticed for sale at a west Wales antiques fair. Subsequent enquiries established that this was the tip of a much larger iceberg and negotiations ensued to acquire the remainder of the collection. As the pandemic progressed into full lockdown the task became more difficult, and the acquisition was eventually effected with the much-valued assistance of a third party.

The collection did not disappoint. The majority of the records are title deeds relating to the acquisition, management and disposal of the Ynyscedwyn Estate in the Upper Swansea Valley.

The earliest of them date to 1507 and the bulk cover the period from the mid-sixteenth to late seventeenth centuries. In addition, there are some bundles of later deeds and documents relating to particular pieces of business including mortgages and the leasing of minerals which help to contextualise the growth of Ystalyfera as a residential and industrial centre.

The deeds are particularly revealing about the area and the people who lived there. They give a wealth of topographical information, naming streams, ditches and footbridges, and putting the farms and little cottages in their context. In a bundle of deeds of the Coelbren part of the estate we find references to the ancient church, the mill, the bakehouse and half a dozen farms, most of which can still be found on the map. Intriguingly, they mention three ‘mansion houses’ at Coelbren, which seem to have disappeared without a trace. Just as important as the farms are the people who lived there. Each deed has its parties who conveyed and acquired the land, but they also list the witnesses who were necessary to secure the transaction. There may be up to a dozen of these, most of whom were able to sign their names confidently on the dorse of the document, testament to levels of literacy at a time when the majority of people were unable to write. The names are almost exclusively patronymic, John ap William ap Thomas and so on, and they are an important source of genealogical information.

The particular importance of this collection is its early date. They graphically describe the preindustrial landscape of the upper reaches of the Swansea Valley and people it with its residents, rich and poor, and hint at the way they interacted, socially and commercially. It is relatively rare for collections like this to become available these days. In the relatively quiet period between the first relaxation of restrictions and the opening of the public service, the opportunity was taken to calendar the deeds, many of which are in Latin, in the traditional level of detail.

Around three years ago, Capel y Pant-teg closed its doors for the last time. With its extensive graveyard, its situation on the southern edge of Ystalyfera just as the houses start to give way to countryside shows that this was once a rural chapel set in farmland. The first chapel was built in 1821, when Ystalyfera meant two farms, but with the coming of industry, the development of local coal seams and the exploitation of the opportunities afforded by the canal and railway, farmland soon gave way to housing and the town grew to include the chapel.

The membership grew with the population and the chapel was modified in 1842 and 1854, then rebuilt successively in 1864 and 1898. English and Welsh daughter congregations were established nearer the centre of Ystalyfera where the majority of the people lived and for nearly two centuries Capel y Pant-teg played an important role in the lives of its local residents. Religious services were of course at the centre of its activities, but these also included music (there was a church orchestra) and a library, active social groups and an inter-church fellowship with other likeminded congregations in Ystalyfera. The Welsh programme Dechrau Canu, Dechrau Canmol was broadcast from there in 1986 and 1996.

The records consist of membership records, annual reports, minutes, graveyard records, orders of service, photographs and histories of the chapel. The very earliest records are not among them, but the period from the final rebuilding of the chapel through the twentieth century is well represented. While the story of the growth, flourishing and decline of this particular cause is far from unique, it is an important part of the history of its area and the acquisition of its records is likewise significant.

A collection of illuminated loyal addresses to Henry Hussey Vivian (1821-1894), MP for Glamorganshire and First Baron Swansea, came our way after they were offered at auction and the Archive Service was subsequently given the chance to acquire them from the purchaser at their sale value. The seven documents are not only of historic and artistic value but also of civic importance to the city. An article about them written by archivist Emma Laycock is to be found below, and details from the illuminated addresses adorn the front and back covers of this report.

Remedial and preventive conservation work carried out in 2020/2021 18 volumes 250 volumes individually boxed 11 searchroom resources bound (including facsimile parish registers) Gwynedd Archives Conservation Unit carries out most of our conservation work. The picture below and the two following demonstrate how Gwynedd Archives conservator Rowena Doughty brought a 1905 Swansea Local Board of Health ratebook back to usable condition for our researchers.

Engaging new audiences.

The COVID pandemic has not only seen all the Archives staff working from home for most of the year but also a move to providing more online engagement with our audiences. The products of this shift have been short films, quizzes, social media posts and more latterly online local history lectures.

A significant event during the year was an online talk by Dr John Alban on the eightieth anniversary of the Three Nights’ Blitz on Swansea, which was attended by 176 people and provided a lively discussion during the Question and Answer session at the end. A question about the physical scars left on Swansea by the Blitz led to the promise of a follow-up talk on this particular subject.

Having said this, we have missed the visits from schools, family history events and book fairs which are the staple of our outreach work and which generally determine the shape of the Archive Service calendar.

We look forward to their return in due course.

A selection of the comments and compliments received by the Archive Service during the year, both from physical visitors to the searchroom and our followers on social media

Dear Andrew Thank you so much for making everything so easy for my visit yesterday. I honestly don't think anything could have been bettered. You thought of every detail - even down to having the locker doors open in advance!

Actually, having all the rate books on a trolley was a great help as it meant I could look at some volumes twice without having to ask for them back later.

It was a profitable visit and I greatly enjoyed being able to do some research once more.

(Email from Kate Jones, our first searchroom customer after the lockdown)

To support pupils working from home, archivist Katie Millien produced online versions of some of our most popular education modules, ‘Rich and Poor Victorians’ and ‘The Three Nights’ Blitz’. The first is a comparison between life in Rees Court, Swansea and Margam Castle as evidenced in maps, plans, census, photographs and newspapers..

Hi Katie, [The new online resource] sounds fantastic. I will certainly share it with colleagues and will definitely use the Census Report as a distant learning task. Thank you again and if anything else becomes available, please let me know.

(Email from Carl Farrant. a teacher at St Thomas Community Primary School, Swansea)

Ancestry and The Genealogist launched their Welsh parish register set online in October

Much work has taken place in Swansea during the year to renew the contract for the online publication of the Welsh parish registers, a contract where West Glamorgan is one of twelve consortium members drawn from the Welsh local archives. The County Archivist was one of the small working group tasked with renewing the 2010 contract with Findmypast on a non-exclusive basis and with opening up the record source to rival companies Ancestry and The Genealogist. Spreading the resource across the three websites will reach a larger audience and ultimately provide a greater royalty payment to help conserve these precious records for future generations.

One of our family history video guides launched during the year, this one for beginners to the subject

Responding to the Black Lives Matter movement The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 proved a catalyst in raising voices across the world who demanded a fairer, more equitable and kinder society. The event forced global public attention on the realities of discrimination and racism, particularly where they exist as a vestige and legacy of the historic slave trade and later political and cultural imperialism.

At the time of writing, Swansea Council has signed up to an imaginative and ambitious UK project addressing many of these concerns through art and education, ‘The World Reimagined’, and we look forward as a Service to playing our part in this project in future months.

The County Archivist has also provided related advice and assistance to the HistoryPoints project, which places QR codes across Wales linking to a website which explains and interprets our monuments, archaeological sites and built heritage.

The Service has also been a key initiator of a project to identify items in archive collections across Wales which throw light on Wales’ connection with the transatlantic slave trade, both from participation in and opposition to it, with a view to providing an educational resource on the all-Wales digital learning platform for schools, Hwb. While this project is in its early stages, it now comprises almost all Welsh local archives, Bangor, Cardiff and Swansea Universities. Our early work has been submitted to the working group set up by Welsh Government to review the Wales curriculum and received favourable feedback and encouragement to continue. Professor Charlotte Williams, the chair of the working group that came to the conclusion that there was a gap in learning resources relating to Black, Asian and minority ethnic histories, said the first draft list of documents in Welsh archives was “startling”. She said “there are some huge stories in this set of documents - and a lot indicate allyship and protest over the inhumanity of slavery.”.

“By quickly glancing through this list, I am struck yet again at the breadth of Welsh involvement in slavery across the whole country and at its ‘normalcy’ in the way it is included in some of these documents (as just another estate matter). This list provides yet further proof of how widespread involvement in slavery was. Even though most of these documents come from ‘elite’ collections, this at the very least hints at the prosperity of Wales being linked to the broader Atlantic economy.” (Dr Marian Gwyn, Heritage consultant and working group member)

The Archives has been closed to the public for the majority of the year due to the three national lockdowns and staged re-opening of public venues. It is therefore no surprise that only 98 people visited just the Swansea service point during the year. The service in Neath is yet to resume once COVID restrictions are fully lifted. .

Total members of the public visiting the Archive Service during 2020-2021: 98

2020/21 IN NUMBERS 72 Archives Cards issued to new customers 76 Family history starter sessions delivered online 98 Researchers through the door 297 Attending our online learning events 1,034 Documents consulted in our Swansea searchroom 1,098 Views in February of our memorial index of Swansea’s Civilan War Dead 2,595 Followers on Twitter at end of year 2,610 Emails answered 2,819 Facebook likes 122,418 Page views of our catalogues on the Archives Hub 388,565 Image views of our records on Ancestry 705,399 Total of our record views on Ancestry

Including: Swansea Neath Port Talbot Group visits

98 0 0 0

With approximately two and half thousand followers, the West Glamorgan Archive Service Facebook page in August 2020 was ranked number one in Wales and fourth in England and Wales.

Staff In December, Family History Centre Supervisor Lorna Crook left us to take up a post with the NHS in south west England. Lorna has been a most popular member of staff, much appreciated by our family history customers in both Swansea and Neath, and will be much missed by both them and us.

Both Lorna and archivist Katie Millien volunteered at the start of the pandemic to take on new roles. Lorna provided counselling and support to front-line key workers, while Katie volunteered for the Test Trace and Protect programme run by Swansea Council. We are grateful to both of them for their readiness to volunteer and take on new roles during this period of crisis.

Acknowledgements The chair and members of the West Glamorgan Archives Committee have continued to show their interest and support for the work of the Service during the year, for which I am grateful. After one cancelled meeting in June, subsequent meetings were held virtually and have proved successful in this format, with business conducted as efficiently as when we were meeting in a room together.

Thanks are due to Mr David Michael and other committee members of the Neath Antiquarian Society for continuing to monitor the Neath Mechanics Institute during the lockdowns and enforced closure of the service point.

All the Archives staff were saddened at the death of Mr Philip Havard in April, long-serving NAS committee member and Society trustee. Phil’s extensive knowledge of Neath’s history was always communicated with an affecting modesty and an ever-present good humour which endeared him to all of us. He will be sorely missed. …………………………………………..

Kim Collis West Glamorgan County Archivist May 2021 …………………………………………..

West Glamorgan Archives Committee As at 31 March 2021 Chairman HM Lord Lieutenant of West Glamorgan R. Louise Fleet JP Vice-Chairmen City and County of Swansea Councillor R.V. Smith County Borough of Neath Port Talbot Councillor P.A. Rees Representing the City and County of Swansea Councillor P.M. Black CBE Councillor M. Durke Councillor L.S. Gibbard Councillor L.R. Jones MBE Representing the County Borough of Neath Port Talbot Councillor A. Aubrey Councillor W.F. Griffiths Councillor H.N. James Councillor R. Mizen Representing the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon A. Dulley MA, MSc Representing the Diocese of Llandaff S. Perons Representing Swansea University Prof. L. Miskell FRHistS Representing the Neath Antiquarian Society Mrs J.L. Watkins City and County of Swansea Head of Cultural Services Ms T. McNulty MA Neath Port Talbot County Borough Head of Legal Services M.C. Griffiths LLB County Librarian W. John MCLIP

West Glamorgan Archive Service STAFF As at 31 March 2021 West Glamorgan Archives Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road, Swansea SA1 3SN Tel. (01792) 636589

Neath Antiquarian Society Archives Neath Mechanics Institute, 4 Church Place, Neath SA11 3LL Tel. (01639) 620139

Email: westglam.archives@swansea.gov.uk Website: www.swansea.gov.uk/westglamorganarchives

County Archivist ...........................................................................................Kim Collis MA, DAS Assistant County Archivist ....................................................... Andrew Dulley MA, MSc (Econ) Archivist.......................................................................................... Katie Millien BA, MSc (Econ) Archivist (job-share) ....................................................................David Morris PhD, MSc (Econ) Archivist (job-share) ..................................................................................... Emma Laycock MA Production Assistant .............................................................. Anne-Marie Gay MA, MSc (Econ) Family History Centre Supervisor ................................................................................... Vacant Archives Reception Assistant ....................................................................Rebecca Shields BA Office Manager ...................................................................................... Don Rodgers MA, PGCE

Neath Borough’s medieval charters

Detail from the Neath borough charter of 1397 Among the lesser-known documents held at West Glamorgan Archives are photographic copies of Neath’s three surviving medieval charters. The original documents are not held here, but are part of the Cardiff Library collection at Glamorgan Archives. The photographs are among the least-studied documents we hold, but they deserve to be more widely known. My purpose in writing this article is to explain what they are and why they are important, and to make them available for the first time in translation from the original Latin.

Our medieval collections may not be extensive, but they do contain some important charters granted to the institutions that have been instrumental in shaping the history of this part of Wales. Some relate to the two abbeys at Neath and Margam, while others were granted to the boroughs, of which there were four within the West Glamorgan area in medieval times. Swansea and Loughor boroughs stood sentinel on either side of the marcher lordship of Gower, while the boroughs of Neath and Avon (Aberavon) lay towards the western edge of the lordship of Glamorgan. Each one had a castle at its heart and was situated at a strategic river crossing with access to the sea. On one level, the Welsh boroughs provided defensive centres for Norman lords against the more hostile elements in the hinterland, but with the right encouragement they could also become centres of commerce, which could pay dividend to their overlords in tax revenues. Boroughs were given privileges that encouraged trade and enabled a degree of self-governance, but they also needed management to ensure that the lord was able to maintain overall control. This could result in the granting of a succession of charters which define boundaries, institute markets and fairs and set out the machinery of local government. Some charters stand on their own as discrete grants of rights, but many are confirmations of the terms of earlier charters, often with supplementary grants of their own. The inspeximus is a variety of confirmation, its name taken from the Latin phrase within its text that means ‘we have inspected’, which is generally followed by a full or partial transcript of the charter that is being confirmed. An inspeximus can be particularly important, as contained within it may be the text of a document that no longer survives in original form.

This is precisely the case with the three charters granted to Neath, all of which are of the inspeximus type. The first is a charter of Thomas Despenser, Lord of Glamorgan, who declares that he has seen and confirmed the charter of his father Edward Despenser, made in 1359. Edward’s charter in turn confirms three earlier charters. There is the inaugural grant from circa 1150 to the burgesses of Neath of the same liberties as the burgesses of Cardiff, and a second from 1280 instituting an annual summer fair on St Margaret’s Day. The third, from Edward’s uncle Hugh Despenser in 1340, granted the burgesses of Neath the right to collect wood and other materials for household maintenance.

After quoting the earlier charters, Edward and Thomas Despenser both add considerable additional clauses. There is a description of the boundaries of the borough, lengthy provisions as to how trade

should be conducted and detailed instructions about the jurisdiction of courts and the administration of justice.

The importance of this document to the history of Neath is undeniable. Perhaps most importantly, it contains the text of no fewer than five charters granted to the town, beginning with what is probably its foundation charter. It shows a progression from borough status in the twelfth century to a fair in the thirteenth, followed in the fourteenth by much more detailed provisions as to trade, taxation and courts. These charters reflect the aspirations of a prospering borough keen to expand trade and secure its position, and the determination of the lords of Glamorgan to maintain overall control.

The charter of Thomas Despenser went on to be confirmed successively in 1421 by his son in law Richard Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester, and two years later by his daughter and eventual heiress Isabella, who was by then Richard Beauchamp’s widow. These documents are the other two charters held in facsimile form by West Glamorgan Archive Service. Their texts are virtually identical and they both quote the charter of Thomas Despenser in full. There are additional grants in both, but they are minor in nature in comparison with those of Edward and Thomas Despenser.

Victorian antiquarians took a good deal of interest in Glamorgan’s charters. Translations of some of those granted to Swansea were published by Lewis Weston Dillwyn in his eclectic Contributions towards a history of Swansea in 1840. George Grant Francis produced a lavishly designed volume of transcriptions and translations in 1867 entitled Charters granted to Swansea. Unpublished and limited to a print run of 100, it nevertheless made the town’s charters available to a wider audience than was possible before. This was not Francis’s first work of its kind. In 1845 he had privately printed a volume entitled Original charters and materials for a history of Neath and its Abbey. This volume is even rarer, with a print run of a mere fifty. It includes transcriptions of the charters granted to Neath Abbey and Borough that were known at the time, crucially including the three that are translated here. Francis’ work was emulated on a massive scale by George T. Clark, who set about collecting material for his monumental work, Cartæ et alia munimenta quæ ad dominium de Glamorgan pertinent (‘Charters and other muniments that pertain to the lordship of Glamorgan’) full publication of which was achieved after his death by his son Godfrey in 1910. Motivated by similar considerations to Francis, his aim was to present for study transcriptions of medieval charters. In the fourth book of his six-volume work are transcripts of the three charters that form the subject of this article, which he references MLXXV, MCXVII and MCXXVII. Clark’s original documents were for the most part written in Latin and he transcribed them without translations. While his work made them available to an audience brought up on the classical languages, today they are effectively closed to most researchers. It is for this reason that they are translated here rather than transcribed. A footnote to MCXVII in Cartæ rather waspishly declares “Francis’s text, from which this is derived, is very incorrectly copied from the original.” The errors were compounded and while there are many minor mistakes, Clark’s text departs significantly from the original in places. A crucial first stage was therefore to create a new transcription from the original text. The translation below is a literal one and stays true to the business-like language of the original.

Section headings and paragraphs do not exist in the original, but have been inserted for clarity. In transcribing place names, only the modern equivalent is given for larger places, including Cardiff, Neath, Margam and Llandaff. It should be noted that throughout the documents Neath is written Neeth and Cardiff is generally rendered as Kaerdyf. When it comes to local topographical names, the original spelling is given, followed by the modern equivalent, if there is one, in square brackets.

1. The Charter of Thomas Despenser, Lord of Glamorgan, to Neath Borough, 1397

Thomas Despenser, son and heir of lord Edward Despenser and lady Elizabeth his wife, lord of Glamorgan and Morgan, to all the sons of the holy mother church to whom the present writing comes, greeting. Know that we have inspected the confirmation of lord Edward of goodly memory, our father, late lord of Glamorgan and Morgan, which he made for the burgesses of the town of Neath regarding their liberties in these words: 1.

The confirmation charter of Edward Despenser, 1359 Edward Despenser, Lord of Glamorgan and Morgan, to all our bailiffs and others faithful to us to whom these present letters may come, greeting. Know that we have inspected the charter of lord William of pious memory, formerly Earl of Gloucester, our ancestor, which he made for the burgesses of the town of Neath regarding their liberties, in these words: i. The charter of William, Earl of Gloucester, undated but circa 1150 William Earl of Gloucester to his steward and sheriff of Glamorgan and all his barons and ministers, French, English and Welsh, greeting. Know that I have given and granted to my burgesses of Neath all the liberties and customs that my burgesses of Cardiff have through all my boroughs in England and Wales and through all my English and Welsh land. With these witnesses: Countess Hawise; Richard of Cardiff the steward, Hamon de Valons, Guy de Regni son of Simon, Gilbert Crok, Henry Crasse, Hervey the clerk, Roger son of Neath.

We have also inspected a certain writing of lord Gilbert de Clare, once Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, our ancestor, in these words. ii. The charter of Gilbert de Clare, 1280 To all Christ’s faithful ones to whom the present writing may come, Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford, greeting in the Lord. Know that we wish and grant for ourselves and our heirs that there should be one fair in our borough of Neath every year to last for three days, that is to say the eve, the feast day and the morrow of St Margaret the Virgin1. In witness whereof we have caused our seal to be affixed to the present writing. Dated at Margam on the sixteenth day of April in the year of our Lord 12802.

Furthermore we have inspected a certain charter of lord Hugh Despenser, our uncle, late lord of Glamorgan, in these words: iii. The charter of Hugh Despenser, 1340 Let people present and future know that we, Hugh Despenser, lord of Glamorgan and Morgan, by our special grace and for a fine of £10, have given and granted to our burgesses and tenants within our town of Neath that they and their heirs may forever have reasonable estovers3 in our and our heirs’ demesne woods within the waters of Neath and Dylais [Dulais] for their tenements in Neath, that is to say housebote, haybote and firebote4, without making waste and destruction, with the oversight and permission of our and our heirs’ foresters there. In witness whereof we have placed the seal of our chancery of Cardiff on this our present charter. Given at Cardiff the seventh day of April in the 14th year of the reign of King Edward the third after the conquest [1340].

And we have given and granted to our said burgesses, for us and for our heirs, that they and their heirs may henceforth have common pasture for all manner of their cattle in our heaths called Keven Seson [Cefn Saeson], Westermore [Westernmoor] and Brynn Adam, just as they used to have in the time of our ancestors, just as they lie by ancient metes and bounds. Also that none of our or our heirs’ servants may henceforth, by virtue of their office, take from our said burgesses corn, meat, wine or other victuals that are for sale within our said borough against their wishes, unless for the use of us and our heirs. We also grant, for us and our heirs, that our said burgesses and their successors may henceforth be free and

quit, of payment of advowry5 through all our lordship of Neath and elsewhere forever, and that all our other tenants of our same town may have freedom.

Furthermore we wish and grant for us and our heirs that concerning all goods made in the land of Neath, as much on the near side of the river as beyond, for which tolls should be paid, that both the buyer and the seller may come to this our town to show and pay to us and our heirs what is lawful for their goods according to the ancient customs of our said borough. So that the portreeve6 of our said town, or the one who is the receiver of the market tolls of our town for the time being, may not charge a toll upon the said buyers and sellers of goods before their buying and selling. We also grant to our said burgesses and their successors that henceforth no Welshman nor anyone else should have any liberty by reason of any burgage in our said borough unless they are resident there, that is to say potwalling7, paying lot and scot8 with them and received into a guild of their liberty.

Furthermore we wish and grant that the same our burgesses and their successors may have the same metes and bounds of the liberty of our said town that they used to have in the time of our ancestors. Also that none of our or our heirs’ bailiffs or ministers, by virtue of their jurisdiction, should serve summonses, make arrests or take goods in distraint9 within the said bounds, except however for the constable of our castle of Neath and the bailiff of the same town who shall have been elected by the burgesses themselves.

And we grant to our said burgesses and their successors that if anyone comes in a ship or small craft to the port of the River Neath within the Blackstone, which is to the west of Brutton [Briton Ferry] to sell or buy any goods, that that ship or small craft should come first to the port of our town of Neath, and before anything is sold from it or removed, let it be shown to the constable of our castle there and the portreeve of our borough, on pain of forfeiture of those goods, and for all goods coming by land, let them be shown in the same manner. And that, as regards everything done within the liberty of our said town that affects the said burgesses, their land-holdings or possessions and causes an inquiry to be held, that inquiry should be decided by the townsfolk and not by anyone else.

And we grant to our said burgesses and their successors that they may have all the liberties and free customs that they used to have in the time of our ancestors and which our burgesses of Cardiff have through our grant and confirmation. So that all pleas and complaints, as much of pursuit, claim and the shedding of blood, as of trespass, debts, agreements and other various contracts, should henceforth be tried and determined in the hundred court of our said town, except for pleas of the crown, forest and homesocken10, which should be tried before our sheriff in the court of Neath, and pleas of land by writ in our county court of Cardiff forever. Wishing and granting that the constable of our castle of Neath who may be for the time being may hold our hundred court from month to month and the courts called piepoudres11 from day to day when it is necessary.

We, deeming the aforesaid grants and confirmations right and desirable, do grant, confirm and ratify them for us and our heirs to our said burgesses and their successors and renew them by the tenor of these presents, wishing and granting for us and our heirs that the said charters should be firmly and unbreakably observed in all their particulars. In witness whereof we have caused the seal of our chancery of Cardiff to be placed upon this present charter.

Dated at Cardiff the eighth day of November in the thirty-third year of the reign of King Edward the Third after the conquest [1359]. With these witnesses: the venerable Henry, Abbot of Margam; Thomas, Abbot of Neath; John of Coventry, Archdeacon of Llandaff; Richard de Turbervill; John de Norres, Oliver de St John and Edward de Stradling, knights; William Denyes, Gilbert Denyes, Lewelyn ap Rees ap Gronowe, Jevan Griffith ap Morgan and others.

We the said Thomas, by our special grace, have given and granted to our beloved burgesses of our town of Neath for ever all the liberties written below, that is to say, that they and their heirs may be quit and free of toll, murage, pontage, pavage, land tax, quayage and pickage12 and the other various customary payments and duties through all our dominion, both in England and in Wales. And also that the said portreeve and bailiff who shall be for the time being, for their

services, should be exempt from the rent of one burgage per year whichever of them it may be.

And that none of our said burgesses should be arrested or imprisoned in our said castle for anything affecting them, while bail or pledge can be brought to the outer door of the same castle, except however in a case of felony when they are caught in the act, or for crimes particularly affecting us or our household.

Moreover we grant to our same burgesses that neither they nor their heirs should be receivers of our money, unless however it is the portreeve of our said town with money going out of the castle bailey. Nor should corn, meat and wine or our other victuals be distrained to be sold against their will, but they should be free to sell all they have to sell to whichever person or persons and at whatever time they wish, without any impediment.

Moreover we grant to our said burgesses that they and their heirs may freely bequeath all the burgages acquired by them, both tenements and rents, to whichever person or persons they wish, according to their will. Also that our same burgesses should not be forced against their will to go outside the bounds and liberties of the said town to do anything. Also that no stranger from any foreign place should sell any goods within the said bounds outside the fair or market unless by reason of trade from our burgesses of our said town. Nor should anyone hold an open stall of any goods nor set up a tavern or shop in the said town unless they should be scot and lot with the said burgesses and received into the guild of their liberty.

We also grant to the same burgesses that they and their heirs may make a guild together at whatever time or whenever they wish, for their profit; and that they should not be distrained for any debt unless they are debtors or surety for them, and that they may freely mow all the rushes and dig all the turves for their fuel and stones for their needs, growing in the same heaths, and they may have one hayward13 to oversee the said rushes, turves and stones well and faithfully, so that nobody should mow there or dig apart from the burgesses of our said town, and if anyone else should be discovered in the act there, he should arrest them and present them at the hundred court of our said town, and they should be fined according to the extent of their crime.

Moreover we have granted to our said burgesses that all the merchants, as much clothiers, cobblers, pelterers14 and glovers as various others, who make a living from buying and selling within our lordship of Glamorgan and Morgan, should live in a house of the borough and not in the uplands, and they should make all manner of goods in the fairs, the markets and the houses of the borough and not elsewhere. And also, that all the merchants should transport their goods nowhere but on the highways past the houses of the town, so that neither we nor our heirs will at any time surrender our tolls or the other customary payments that are owed to us.

But we grant to our said burgesses that, by the ordinance of the said constable, they may freely make ordinances and proclamations of assize of bread and ale and of various other things affecting the town, according to their wishes, whenever it shall be necessary, for the compensation of the town and the profit of the people.

We desire that the same burgesses should not be bound by proclamations that are made at any time in our county court of Glamorgan. Also that they may have their prison in our same town for imprisoning and punishing criminals and rebels there and for fulfilling and keeping the law, also for carrying out punishment before our said constable, with a plea or without a plea, regarding all matters affecting our said town. Also that all other matters affecting the liberty of our said town should be determined and verified before him, and that he should henceforth be the mayor of our same town.

But we the said Thomas from our special grace do grant to our said burgesses and their successors that the boundaries of their liberty confirmed to them previously by our ancestors by general words should be particularly laid out and specified. And these are the bounds of their liberty, that is to say, beginning at the stream called Seynt Iltwytbrook on the east, to a certain ditch called Newedych, and from there to a stream called Luytel Brook, and from there to a certain place called Pantemargh and from there to a stream called Selwe, and from there ascending in a straight line to a place called Kevensayson [Cefn-Saeson] with a certain piece of land called Seven Acres and so descending from there to land called Brenadam and from there to a certain stone called Horseston, and so turning back towards the south to a certain ditch dividing our native land and a certain parcel of land called Westermor [Westernmoor], and from there to an ancient

stream called Cradanbrook [Crythan Brook], and so by the said stream to a certain ditch called Comunedych, and so leading by the said ditch as far as another ditch called Sarthdyche towards the west and so to the middle of the course of the River Neath to the north and so by the said middle of the water course to the said stream called St Illtwyt Brooke to the east.

Furthermore we grant to our said burgesses and their successors that all the lands and tenements that are within the said bounds should be fully within the liberty of our said town, excepting, as regards this matter, our castle and our hall called le Courthows [the Courthouse].

Also that all pleas and plaints, as much of forestalling15, homesoken, pursuit, claim, the shedding of blood, as of trespass, debts, agreements and other various contracts should henceforth be pleaded and determined in the hundred court of our said town, except for treason, pleas of the crown and the reversion of land, the consideration of judicial error, plotting, third-party collusion, taking fees from both sides, the price of food, craftsmen and labourers, for us and our heirs, as often as it may be necessary and similarly excepting all other matters whatsoever touching us, our heirs, servants or household.

Also that the same burgesses and their successors should be able to be tried and determined for view of outlaws in the said hundred court and not elsewhere. Also that neither our same burgesses nor their successors should henceforth be sent before our court of great sessions for cutting greenwood or for other offences or transgressions of whatever kind, except in the cases noted above, unless they are caught with stolen goods. And if it should happen that any of them are caught or arrested with stolen goods, then let an investigation be conducted upon them as much by residents of the same town as by those from outside. And we grant that all those who are convicted there should be fined by the constable of the castle and the portreeve of the town. We also grant to the said burgesses and their successors a lease of the hundred court of the same town, paying […] sterling16 for it every year to us and to our heirs by the hand of the portreeve of the said borough at the ends of Hockeday and Michelmas17 in equal instalments. And whenever the said court and hundred court should exceed the said sum of […] that they should be liable for payment to us and our heirs as much from the said excess as from the sum of the stated rent.

Also that the same burgesses and their successors may freely have their merchandise of every kind within our dominion of Neetheslond without paying rent or valuations to us or to our heirs. And likewise that they may be tried by suit of mill in the said hundred court, paying to us and our heirs the toll that is owed and accustomed from of old.

We grant likewise to the said burgesses and their successors that they may have a fair in their borough starting on the vigil of the feast of Corpus Christi18 with the three days that follow. And that all the men who come to the fair should be free to buy and sell without paying any toll. And that the same burgesses may henceforth have one market, that is to say the Monday in any week, the customary payments and tolls arising from which being reserved to us and our heirs.

But we the said Thomas Despenser do by these presents forever ratify and confirm all the said freedoms for ourselves and our heirs, both those newly granted and those given formerly by our said ancestors to our said burgesses and their successors. In witness whereof, we have caused the seal of our chancery of Cardiff to be fixed to this our present charter of new gift and confirmation. Witnesses: John de St. John, our sheriff of Glamorgan for the time being; Laurence Berkrols and William Stradling, knights; dom. Thomas de Orewell, archdeacon of Llandaff; dom.

John Cors, master Roger Croke and master Henry Ware, clerks and canons of the church of Llandaff; John Basset and Robert Walsche esquires, and many others. Given at Cardiff, the twentieth day of February in the twentieth year of the reign of King Richard the Second after the conquest [1397].

2. The Charter of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester to Neath Borough, 1421

Richard Beauchamp Earl of Worcester Lord Despenser and of Abergavenny to all faithful people to whom the present writing may come, greeting. We have inspected the confirmation of Thomas Despenser Lord of Glamorgan and Morgan, father of Isabella our consort which he made for our burgesses of Neath in these words.

Here follows verbatim a complete recitation of the text of the charter of Thomas Despenser, 1397, given above.

And we therefore Richard de Beauchamp, by our special grace, have granted to our same burgesses, their heirs and successors living within our said borough, that if an action is brought against them or any one of them in the county court or in any one of our courts of our lordship of Glamorgan and Morgan that the burgesses themselves, their heirs and successors and any one of them should be able to be transferred to our hundred court of Neath and tried and determined there for all future time. Or if any of them should henceforth be accused or indicted for felony in the county court or in any of our courts in our lordship of Glamorgan and Morgan, then they may be transferred to our hundred court of Netheslond, and it must be tried and determined there by the burgesses of our borough aforesaid and not by outsiders.

And furthermore by these presents we ratify and confirm for us and our heirs forever all the said liberties, both those newly granted by us and those given previously by our said ancestors to our said burgesses and their successors. In witness of which matter we have placed the seal of our chancery of Cardiff on this present writing. With these witnesses: the venerable William, Abbot of Margam and Lleisan, Abbot of Neath; John Stradlyng, then our Sheriff of Glamorgan, John de

St John, Oliver de St John, Gilbert Denys and Edward Stradelyng, knights; John Laurence, Walter Moreton and Robert Walsshe, esquires and others. Witness myself, at Cardiff, the first day of May in the ninth year of the reign of King Henry the fifth after the conquest of England.

3. The Charter of Isabella, Countess of Worcester to Neath Borough, 1423

Isabella Countess of Worcester, Lady Despenser of Glamorgan and Morgannwg, to all faithful people to whom the present writing may come, greeting. We have inspected the confirmation of our father Thomas Despenser, Lord of Glamorgan and Morgan, which he made for our burgesses of Neath in these words.

Here follows verbatim a complete recitation of the text of the charter of Thomas Despenser, 1397, given above.

And we therefore Isabella Countess of Worcester, by our special grace, have granted to our same burgesses, their heirs and successors living within our said borough, that if an action is brought against them or any one of them in the county court or in any one of our courts of our lordship of Glamorgan and Morgan that the burgesses themselves, their heirs and successors and any one of them should be able to be transferred to our hundred court of Neath, tried and determined there for all future time. Or if any of them should henceforth be accused or indicted for felony in the county court or in any of our courts in our lordship of Glamorgan and Morgan, then they may be transferred to our hundred court of Netheslond, and it must be tried and determined there by the burgesses of our borough aforesaid and not by outsiders.

And furthermore by these presents we ratify and confirm for us and our heirs forever all the said liberties, both those newly granted by us and those given previously by our said ancestors to

our said burgesses and their successors. In witness of which matter we have placed the seal of our chancery of Cardiff on this present writing, with these witnesses: the venerable William, Abbot of Margam and Lleisan, Abbot of Neath; John Stradlyng, then our Sheriff of Glamorgan, John de St John, Oliver de St John and Edward Stradlyng, knights; John Merbery, John Russell, Robert Andrewe, John Laurence and Robert Walsshe, esquires and others. Witness myself, at Cardiff, the fourth day of April in the first year of the reign of King Henry the sixth after the conquest. …………………………………………..

Andrew Dulley Assistant County Archivist …………………………………………..

Archives The facsimiles at West Glamorgan Archives are B/N 9A/1-4.

The original charters at Glamorgan Archives are CL/BRA/236/159-161.

Notes 1. The feast of St Margaret the Virgin is 20 July, so the fair established by this charter ran from 19-21 July.

2. The text of the original gives the date as 1380, but this is clearly a scribal error, as Gilbert de Clare was Earl of Gloucester and Hertford from 1262 to 1295, making a date of 1280 more likely.

3. Estovers are rights to collect supplies necessary for maintenance.

4. Housebote: the right to collect materials for house building and maintenance; haybote: the right to repair fences and hedges; firebote: the right to gather fuel for fires.

5. Advowry: rent paid for protection for new settlers on the lord’s land.

6. Portreeve: the head of a borough, an office often later replaced by that of mayor.

7. Potwalling: having a hearth for cooking, a tangible demonstration of permanent residence.

8. Lot and scot: payments levied by the borough on the people who live there.

9. Distraint: the seizing of goods to cover the value of a debt.

10. Homesocken: housebreaking with assault.

11. Piepoudres (also called Piepowder): from the French for ‘dusty feet’, the name for a special court with powers to regulate the activities of a market or fair.

12. A list of taxes levied on townsfolk for particular purposes. Murage was levied to pay for the repair or construction of town walls; pontage was for repairs to a bridge, pavage for the paving of streets and quayage for repairs to the quay. Pickage was a toll paid at fairs for ground broken to make booths.

13. The Hayward was an official appointed to oversee harvesting.

14. Pelterer: a dealer in animal skins 15. Forestalling: a term meaning manipulation of the market and market prices to make them dearer to the fair trader.

16. The sum payable has been erased from the document. It is also absent from the confirmation charters of the Earl and Countess of Worcester.

17. Hockeday and Michaelmas: historically, rents fell due on Hockday, which was the second Tuesday after Easter, and on the feast of St Michael the Archangel (Michaelmas), which is 29 September. As Hockday depends on the date of Easter, its date varies from year to year. It later fell out of use as a rent day in favour of Lady Day, 25 March.

18. Corpus Christi is another moveable feast in the church calendar whose timing depends on the date of Easter. It is the Thursday after Trinity Sunday and falls in late May to early June.

The art of the illuminated address

During 2020, West Glamorgan Archive Service acquired a collection of illuminated addresses presented to Henry Hussey Vivian (1821-1894), also known as Sir Hussey Vivian and Lord Swansea. He was son of the famous industrialist and founder of the Hafod copperworks, John Henry Vivian, a successful entrepreneur and a politician. The addresses are highly decorative historical documents that reflect the important role Henry played in Swansea’s history. Here archivist Emma Laycock describes four of them and their origins.

Henry Hussey Vivian was the eldest son of John Henry Vivian. Born in Singleton Abbey, Henry was named after his soldier uncle Sir Richard Hussey Vivian, hero of the Battle of Waterloo and first Baron Vivian. Henry was educated at Eton, going on to study metallurgy in Germany and France before entering Trinity College, Cambridge.

Aged 21, Henry became manager of the Vivian and Sons’ Liverpool Copper smelting works founded by his grandfather. Three years later, he became a partner in the firm and moved to Swansea to manage the Hafod Copper works. He carried out his duties with enthusiasm and commitment. With his knowledge of metallurgy, he obtained several patents for the smelting of non-ferrous metals other than copper: namely zinc, gold, nickel and cobalt.1 He developed a new method of smelting copper in 1869, reducing the amount of smoke released into the atmosphere whilst simultaneously distilling it into chemical by-products (sulphuric acid, fertiliser and pesticides)

and as a result helping develop Swansea’s chemical industry.2 In 1871, he established a new works at White Rock and later registered it as a separate business of his own: H. H. Vivian and Co. Ltd.3 As well as his skill in the advancement of the industrial life of West Glamorgan, he was also prominent in the political world, representing Truro as a Liberal MP in 1852, Glamorganshire from 1857 and Swansea District from 1885.

When Glamorgan County Council was created in 1889, he was elected its first chairman and remained in post until his death in 1894.4 He was knighted in 1882 and ennobled in 1893 as the first Baron Swansea.

Illuminated addresses were once a popular way to thank prominent individuals for their contributions to society. They were decorative and lavish in praise of the individual concerned.

They have all but vanished as an art form, but in the mid to late 19th Century, they were a popular way to express gratitude.

Beautifully preserved, the addresses that have come into our collection were presented by various organisations and institutions, reflecting Henry Hussey Vivian’s career, interests and philanthropy.

This Illuminated Address (D/D Z 1104/2, above) is from members of the congregation of the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist Swansea in 1882 to congratulate Henry Hussey Vivian upon “the honour of a Baronetcy conferred upon you by Command of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen”. At the top of the address is the Vivian family crest with the motto “Vive Revicturus” meaning ‘live as one about to live hereafter’. The address was illustrated and signed by P. A. Kent of Swansea.

The officers and members of the Royal Sir Hussey Vivian Lodge of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows Friendly Society Swansea District gave an address (D/D Z 1104/3, illustrated top of article) to Henry Hussey Vivian in 1883. It was presented to thank him for a “beautiful banner” and for his “many marked labours bestowed upon the Lodge”. It is highly decorated with the Odd Fellows emblem prominently at the top featuring Faith, Hope and Charity, again illustrated by P. A. Kent. The Odd Fellows are a fraternity with a long history of activity and membership in the United Kingdom. They played an important part in the welfare of the nation before the introduction of universal healthcare.

In 1893, Swansea Borough Council (D/D Z 1104/6, left) resolved under their powers “the Honorary Freedom of the Borough of Swansea be conferred upon the Right Honourable Lord Swansea on his elevation to the peerage, and in recognition of his Services rendered to the Borough during nearly half a century”.

The address features the emblem and seal of the Corporation of Swansea, along with the signature of the Town Clerk and Mayor.

Another address was presented to Sir Hussey in 1893 by the Board of Management of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Miners Permanent Provident Society (D/D Z 1104/7, next page). It states “we were authorised and directed to tender you...very hearty congratulations on the occasion of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen having been pleased to confer upon you the dignity of a Peerage; it was also to thank Hussey for serving as trustee of the Hartley Surplus fund, established after the Hartley Colliery disaster in Northumberland in 1862, giving £3,400 over to the Society to “meet the distress arising from accidents in mines”. The Miners Provident Society was founded in 1881 and had 60,000 members employed in coalfields. They dealt with 100,000 cases of disablement with 591 widows and 1,106 children on its books.

These addresses, beautifully decorated and full of praise, tell us how well-regarded Henry Hussey Vivian was amongst the people of Swansea, the work he undertook and the charities he supported.

Henry Hussey Vivian died at Singleton Abbey in 1894 and is buried in St. Paul’s Church, Sketty. …………………………………………..

Emma Laycock Archivist …………………………………………..

Archives West Glamorgan Archive Service collections in County Hall, Swansea D/D Z 1104 Footnotes 1.

Ralph A. Griffiths, Singleton Abbey and the Vivians of Swansea, p.42 2.

Ibid.

3.

Ibid.

4.

Ibid.

Jessie Donaldson and some aspects of Swansea’s role in the anti-slavery movement

The Fisk Jubilee Singers performed Abolitionist songs, spirituals and gospel music at Craddock Street Music Hall in Swansea on Friday 6th March 1874.

Swansea Council will shortly be unveiling a blue plaque to Jessie Donaldson, a nineteenth century Abolitionist campaigner, who lived for much of her life in Swansea. In our first guest article this year, Jen Wilson, founder of Jazz Heritage Wales based at the University of Wales Trinity St David, narrates Jessie’s life story and places it in the context of other aspects of Swansea’s antislavery campaigning. You can read more about this fascinating subject in her book Freedom Music: Wales, Emancipation and Jazz 1850-1950 (2019: University of Wales Press) Jessie Heineken was born in 1799, daughter of Samuel and Jannet Heineken. There is a baptism record from a chapel in the town of Ware in Hertfordshire, which may be where she was born. If so, at some point the family moved to Swansea and set up home in Dynevor Place on the edge of the town. As a young woman, Jessie Heineken, set up a Preparatory School for Young Gentlemen with her sister Mary Ann. Jessie and the Heineken family were part of a strong anti slavery movement in Swansea, represented by the largest and most committed anti-slavery society in Wales. In 1824 Thomas Clarkson, the prominent Abolitionist, undertook a tour of Wales to ascertain the level of support for

the campaign here. Clarkson had shocked society in 1789 when his survey of a slave ship was published, detailing how its human cargo (known as ‘black cattle’) was stowed in chains.

Clarkson’s diary of the time reads: “Proceeded onto Swansea. Met 24 of the committee and friends at the Town Hall. Received £24 in hand and a promised £25 or £50.” Swansea was the only town on his tour to have collected money in advance of Clarkson’s arrival.

Further evidence of the revulsion of (at least some of) the population of Swansea to slavery and in particular its long continuation in the United States is evidenced by the lectures given by runaway American slaves in Swansea. Henry ‘Box’ Brown who had escaped from slavery in Virginia by packing himself into a box and shipping himself 275 miles to the abolitionist James McKim in Philadelphia, lectured on ‘The American Fugitive Slave’ at Swansea’s Goat Street Schoolroom in March 1855, and returned in November 1863 presenting ‘A Panorama of Slavery’ at the Eisteddfod Pavilion in Swansea. Ellen and William Craft lectured on ‘The Life of the Fugitive Slave’ at Mount Pleasant Chapel Swansea in October 1863. Ellen was the daughter of a plantation owner and slave mother. She was able to pass for white and dressed as a male and walked in front of William who acted as her slave; William was in fact her husband and they had married on the plantation.

In 1840 when Jessie was 41, she married her cousin Francis Donaldson who had come over from Cincinnati, and they set up home in Grove Place. The Cincinnati Donaldsons were running two safe houses, ‘Frandon’ and ‘Penmaen’, for runaway slaves on the banks of the Ohio River, across from the slave holding state of Kentucky.

After 16 years of a quiet marriage, in 1854 Jessie and Francis emigrated to Cincinnati and stayed with Francis’ brother at ‘Penmaen’ with a view of the Ohio River. Jessie’s house ‘Clermont’ would become the third Welsh safe house on this Underground Railroad and Jessie was henceforth plunged into a life of politics and subterfuge. It was very dangerous to help slaves escape. When the Donaldson family financially supported James G. Birney, publisher of The Philanthropist, the Anti-Slavery newspaper, ABOLITIONISTS BEWARE posters appeared around Cincinnati. In 1836 an angry mob of 30-40 men opposed to the Abolitionists, including “the worthy Mayor, Judges and men of the cloth”, had smashed The Philanthropist’s press and rampaged on to Anna Margaretta Donaldson’s house searching for slaves. Anna Margaretta challenged the mob to search her house. They backed off but fired their guns at the homes of black people in Church Alley.

Jessie’s friends were William Lloyd Garrison, the fiery Anti-Slaver and Abolitionist; Frederick Douglass, a freed slave, Abolitionist and campaigner for women’s rights; Elin and William Craft, fugitive slaves who eventually visited Swansea in 1863 and gave a lecture on their life and times at Mount Pleasant Chapel; and Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Also living in Cincinnati at the same time was Stephen Collins Foster, composer of many plantation songs such as ‘Old Folks At Home’, and ‘Oh Susannah’ which Jessie would have heard as Stephen Collins Foster sang them on street corners before he became famous.

Jessie worked for the anti-slavery campaign throughout the American Civil War. We don’t know how many runaway slaves she sheltered in that time. Jessie eventually returned home to Swansea in 1866. In 1874 the Fisk Jubilee Singers, freed slaves from Fisk University, Tennessee, on a fund-raising tour for their campus buildings, performed at Craddock St. Music Hall on Friday 6th March. Jessie was by that time 75 years old and may well have gone to see them. The choir were a sensation. They returned to perform in Swansea in 1875, 1882, and 1889, the year Jessie died, aged nearly 91.

Jessie lived her final years at Ael-y-Bryn in Sketty. The house no longer stands. The Jubilee Singers returned as a trio for their last performance in Swansea. This was a fundraiser “for the poor of Swansea” to thank the town for the support they had given to the choir for over 40 years.

Jessie Donaldson’s long forgotten story will now be remembered for future generations by the unveiling in June of this very timely plaque by Swansea Council. …………………………………………..

Honorary Professor Jen Wilson, UWTSD Founder of Jazz Heritage Wales …………………………………………..

Lloyd ‘Kid’ Davis, Swansea’s Black Marvel

Swansea Local Studies Librarian Gwilym Games has collated the article below using biographical information supplied by Steve Jones, descendant of Lloyd Davis. They are our second guest authors this year.

Britain’s multi-ethnic history and Swansea’s place in it has been drawing increased attention over the last year with Swansea Council drawing up a report examining existing monuments for difficult connections to the slave trade. A significant part of the report was examining the historical record for interesting and forgotten figures with a black heritage as a way of commemorating Swansea’s multi-ethnic heritage. In Swansea Libraries’ Local Studies section we had already drawn up some interesting connections.

One name which came up was Lloyd ”Kid” Davis (1884-1928), a black American boxer who settled in Swansea during the first quarter of the 20th century. Listing his name in the report led to one of Kid’s descendants, Steve Jones, coming forward with valuable additional information on the Kid’s history including a copy of a unique 28 page Swansea published pamphlet, The life story of Kid Davis, the Coloured Marvel by Don Que, a pseudonym for an unknown writer (see picture left) Kid Davis was quite a notable name in his time in UK boxing circles, and was well known locally in Swansea, featuring frequently in the local press and being a regular fixture at local boxing venues.

Kid was not afraid to take on anyone whatever their size. In his prime, he stood at five foot four

and a half inches, black skin, black eyes and curly hair, with a tattoo of his wife’s name (“Lizzie”) on his right forearm. He fought primarily at featherweight class but often switched weights. Apart from Kid Davis, Lloyd was also known as The Coloured Wonder and The Black Marvel, and the records show he fought featherweights, lightweights, welterweights, middleweights, and even heavyweights! He often billed himself as the champion of South Wales and the West of England.

Kid Davis was born in Denver, Colorado, USA on 22nd January 1884. There is no readily available information about his USA family background, but DNA analysis of his descendants indicate his ethnicity is linked to West Africa (specifically Nigeria, Mali, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Senegal).

His ancestors almost certainly arrived in the USA as a result of the slave trade.

After his schooling in Little Rock, Arkansas he returned to Denver and became a masseur (“massager”) for Denver Wheels Cycle Club. This led to engagements in Louisville (Kentucky), and Indianapolis (Indiana) – travelling at no cost by “freight train hopping” to reach his destinations. He became a racing cyclist himself based in Louisville and won the Louisville championship, with many suggesting he was the fastest black rider in the USA at the time, barring the world record breaking famous Black cyclist Major Taylor (1878-1932). Despite this success, he left cycling and moved to Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), then back to Louisville and on to Little Rock where he worked in a cotton-processing mill. It was here the managers saw him fight another employee after a disagreement, and they thought Kid could make it as a boxer. And so his boxing career began whilst still in his teens.

Kid was sent to train in the Ouachita Mountains at Hot Springs, Arkansas, and this was the first time for him even to see boxing gloves. His boxing career in the USA lasted just two years, but his record was very impressive, although these results come mainly from his biographical pamphlet and are not verified. USA known record 1901-1902: 43 fights - 37 wins (including at least 15 K.Os), 3 draws and just 3 losses.

Among his stated wins were bouts against the state champions of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and the New York State amateur champion. He also knocked out Harry Lemons - a boxer who in a previous bout had lost to Frank Erne (the lightweight champion of the World).

Among the places he fought were Little Rock, Denver, Newcastle (Pennsylvania), Windber (Pennsylvania), Johnsonburg (New York), Buffalo (New York), Youngstown (Ohio), and Louisville.

During these years the Kid’s manager was Jack McKeever, a boxing trainer and promoter based in Windber Pennsylvania. When Kid left for Europe, McKeever admitted that he had taken advantage of him and had made a huge profit on his fights and advised him to henceforth “never sign a contact unless you get the biggest end of the money.”

As a result of his successes, Kid set sail for the UK for an agreed engagement of five fights, and he arrived on November 8th, 1902 – still only 18 years old. He was brought over by the famous boxing promoter William Ecclestone “Jolly Jumbo” well known for his plump figure as well as support for upcoming fighters. He was set to return to the USA after these fights, but before he did so, took up an opportunity for some exhibition boxing at Seaforth Fair (Liverpool) – fighting 40 opponents on the first day and 31 on the second day before deciding (not surprisingly) that he had had enough. A theatre offered Kid work in a travelling play as a Zulu warrior in North West England, so he did this for a number of weeks. After this, he decided to try his luck in Birmingham, and was soon back in training as a boxer.

On October 24th 1903 he had his first boxing match in Swansea matched against none other than an upcoming future champion Peerless Jim Discoll from Cardiff. George Dixon the former world featherweight champion was unable to make the contest so Davis became his stand-in. The match was fought to No Decision after 10 rounds though Driscoll was ahead on points. Kid Davis was to return to Swansea for many other matches and he clearly became deeply attached to the place, extolling it as a location for training.

Swansea was quite notable for boxing at the time. At this point boxing was a frequent popular amateur pastime and a significant attraction were boxing booths found at fairs, and during the summer months near Swansea and Mumbles promenades. The most notable of these locally was the one run by local legend William ‘Billy’ Samuels, the flamboyant former heavyweight champion of Wales. Kid Davis was to feature in a number of these booths and to run them over the years. Welsh boxing historian Lawrence Davies has explored the fascinating world of these early fighters in a number of books.

Kid Davis’s UK and European boxing career was extensive amassing at least 118 formal bouts between 1902 and 1914.

There are discrepancies between the fight details in the Kid Davis booklet and those documented on the historical boxing website BoxRec.com and the latter figures are discussed here.

(Some fights are missing, but an additional 19 are documented within the booklet – of which only two were losses.). You can really appreciate how wide-ranging his career was when you examine the number, the dates and locations of his boxing contests.

UK and Europe Record 118 fights – 63 wins (including 36 K.Os), 17 draws and 27 losses, with 10 No decision bouts between 1902 and 1914. Losses include 2 disqualifications – one for a low blow and the other for biting an opponent’s ear.

Besides Jim Driscoll some of his most notable boxing opponents included Jack Matthews (father of Sir Stanley the famous footballer) [lost], Australian champion Tibby Watson [win], and London champion Boss Edwards [two wins]. His fights were in England, Wales, the Channel Isles, Belgium, France, Ireland, and Scotland. During this time, he also acted as a boxing promoter organising events where he often topped the bill of bouts. He was also employed as a boxing trainer towards the end of his fighting career.

His time as a trainer began during a successful series of fights in France. After defeating the amateur champion of France Henry Piet in 1909, Kid Davis was hired to train him. This led to another notable contest against Adolphe Cocu, another French champion at the Folies Bergere in Paris in which Kid had financial backing from a fellow American black heavyweight boxer Sam McVea (see picture left). Kid Davis then beat Cocu twice. This led Kid to become a trainer for McVea at the time he became World Colored Heavyweight Champion just after Jack Johnson relinquished the title. He also trained another noted black American, "Battling" Jim Johnson who was also in France. Another notable future champion Kid Davis trained at this point was the famous French heavyweight Georges Carpentier then at the start of his career.

Black boxers were not uncommon figures in US or Europe at this time, but they famously faced a particular discrimination, especially in America. Although White boxers frequently fought Black boxers during their career and might win or lose to them, most refused to fight them when they became champions, in case they lost. George Dixon, the Canadian who became the first Black champion in any sport in 1890 had evaded the bar and bit by bit it was chipped away. The biggest controversy came when Jack Johnson fought a White champion and gained the heavyweight championship in 1908. While he was champion Johnson almost came to Swansea in 1914 for an exhibition bout, but Swansea Watch Committee controversially wished to stop him coming on grounds of morality as Johnson had been convicted in America of "transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes". Johnson famously had relationships with White women to the horror of many Americans and the circumstances of his conviction made it seem it was dubious.

One letter to a Swansea paper in Jackson’s defence in 1914 said: “I believe I am “quite right” in saying Jack Johnson's first “grave objection” is that he is black; the second, and serious, crime is that he whipped Jeffries, the white pugilist.” The debate at the time also mentioned that Black boxers were well known in Swansea and widely accepted, a clear reference to Kid Davis and other visiting boxers. Interestingly, the subject of race was only infrequently made an issue in contemporary press reports about Davis despite racial prejudice being common at the time.

Though some press reports obviously favour Davis’ White opponents, most make no issue of Davis’ colour. His biographical booklet focuses on his career in general with little mention of race.

Davis would undoubtedly have faced an element of prejudice during his career, but what is interesting is how he, like many other Black people in Wales in this period, were well integrated into their community, being able to put down roots and raise families.

Apart from his travels for boxing, Kid mostly resided in Swansea until his death. His surname of Davis was often also listed as Davies and the majority of his descendants took the latter as their surname. Kid Davis had his own brushes with the law. He was arrested in 1905 for unlawfully wounding a man with a stone in Bridgend (breaking his cheekbone), and in court he claimed provocation and that he was attacked with a stick, expressed remorse and asked for mercy.

Newspaper reports revealed the incident was over a disagreement over an offer of a lift in a horse and cart in which Kid Davis was racially abused. He was bound over for the sum of £10 and promised good behaviour for the following six months.

Like many before him (and since), he fell for a Swansea lady and he put down permanent roots in Swansea. He married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Mort from Landore. It is thought that they married in 1906, probably in Swansea. Kid and Lizzie had ten children, and a number of his direct descendants reside in Swansea.

There is also a large pocket of his descendants in Birmingham.

One trip to France for boxing in 1913-14 led to his arrest on his return to Swansea in February 1914, and he was charged with leaving his wife and family chargeable to the Swansea Guardians (with no visible means of support). In court, Kid claimed he had only been away for four months and had been sending money back and returned as soon as he heard the family was short of money. After paying some of the money owed to the Guardians, his arrest warrant was withdrawn.

Kid’s official boxing career ended in 1914, but it seems he carried out a few fights into the war years in 1915 and 1916. With the coming of the war Kid was keen to do his bit for the war effort, but his American citizenship and American neutrality until 1917 prevented him from joining the British Army. Instead he joined the Admiralty Trawlers (many commandeered and converted to act as minesweepers). He also got work at the munitions factory in Pembrey where he had an accident resulting in a broken arm (as reported in the local press in 1916) – this injury may also have had an impact on his decision to retire. When the USA finally joined the war, Kid was in Port Said (Egypt) on a British ship heading to India. He was released and made his way mostly overland to Tours, France where he joined the US Red Cross as a driver and interpreter. After the war he was awarded the British Mercantile Marine Medal and Ribbon (issued to him in 1923). The British Mercantile Marine War Medal was to reward the war service of the officers and men of the Mercantile Marine who, while only trained as peacetime mariners, continued to serve while running the risk of being attacked at sea during the war. The award criteria were one or more voyages through a danger zone during the war.

Kid applied for continuation of his USA citizenship in 1913, 1914 and 1917 (the latter with indication that he had last left the USA in January 1915 and that some of his children resided in Pittsburgh! I suspect that this may have been to justify his application). He declared that he would return to the USA after the war ended, and that his temporary address was at 211 Carmarthen Road, Swansea. However, Kid returned to his wife and family in Swansea after the war and worked as a motor mechanic (skills he gained while living in France). The booklet discussing his boxing career was published sometime soon after the war, presumably to mark his retirement. He died in 1928 at the age of just 43 with cause of death stated as dropsy and heart disease, leaving his widow Lizzie and ten children. His final resting place is in Cwmgelli Cemetery, Treboeth, where Lizzie was buried twenty years later.

Kid Davis’ story is a fascinating example of the cosmopolitan nature of Swansea over a century ago and a testimony to a varied and exciting life. The booklet of his life ended with a quote from Kid which seems appropriate here: “I did not have cold feet, but I knew when to quit”. …………………………………………..

Gwilym Games, Swansea Local Studies Librarian, and Steve Jones, descendant of Kid Davis …………………………………………..

A Felindre cemetery murder stone

Detail of the two murder stones at Nebo Chapel graveyard, Felindre with daubed red paint (photo courtesy Aled Richard of Llansamlet) Murder stones are engraved stones found at or near the location of a particularly infamous murder, a means by which an enraged local community could both commemorate the victim and also provide a warning to others of the consequences of such an act. Often the perpetrator of the crime was unknown, or suspected locally but uncharged by the authorities.

They were most popular around the 1820s and are found right across Britain, but with only a handful in Wales. Here our third guest author, former Mawr councillor and keen amateur local historian Ioan Richard, brings together some research on a murder stone to be found in the graveyard of Nebo chapel in Felindre.

The late poet Nigel Jenkins, who died too early, wrote of the Nebo Murder stone in his unfinished book Real Gower in describing his two day trek of the Gower Way. The book was published missing its two final chapters by Seren Books in 20141. He wrote as follows: 1832 TO RECORD A MURDER This stone was erected by general subscription over the body of ELEANOR WILLIAMS, aged 29, a native of Carmarthenshire living in this hamlet in the parish of Llangyfelach. With marks of violence upon her person, she was found dead in a well by Llwyngwenno farmhouse, then in the occupation of Thomas Thomas, on the morning of Sunday December 9th1832. Although the savage murderer may escape for a season the detection of man, yet doubtless God hath left his mark upon him either for time or eternity, and the cry of blood will assuredly pursue him to a terrible and righteous judgement 1

Real Gower, by Nigel Jenkins (2014: Seren Books) ISBN-13: 9781781722190

“It concludes with a quotation in Welsh from the Book of Romans, which translates as, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord’.

“Unnamed informants inundated The Cambrian with suggestions as to the identity of ‘the foul assassin’, but in the absence of hard facts the newspaper could report only that, ‘On the 9th inst., the corpse of a young woman named Eleanor Williams was discovered in a well of a farmyard…with her skull fractured, and other marks of violence, and the jury at the inquest…returned a verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown.’’

“Eleanor’s was not the only life cut short that day, for the young maid-servant was pregnant. She was apparently on her way to her parents’ home in Carmarthenshire to inform them of the pregnancy, when she was attacked – although the ‘savage murderer’ was to escape for all time ‘the detection of man’, despite the evident intention of the murder stone to prick consciences and raise new witnesses. In front of Eleanor’s memorial, the villagers placed a stubby triangular stone to ensure that her unborn baby would not be forgotten. From time to time since then, persons unknown have daubed the baby’s stone with red paint, presumably to signify living memory of foul play, and when one particular family holds a marriage, red paint is still daubed on walls in the village on the eve of the wedding. After nearly two centuries, this mysterious murder still has the power to disturb.”

In February of this year, Alan Richards wrote to me as follows, “With regards to the photo of the murder stone with red paint daubed upon it, you may be interested in a newspaper report that appeared in The Cambrian on 15 June 1849 where a certain Robert Thomas of Llwyngweno Farm Felindre and described as 'a most singular character' was fined for vandalising Eleanor Williams' gravestone. Eleanor Williams was in the service of Thomas Thomas of Llwyngwenno Farm when she was murdered in 1832.

“I presume the motive behind Robert's attack on the gravestone was that it had been freshly painted red. But why would this enrage him? Robert Thomas died on 19 March 1851. His widow, Hannah, then kept the Farmers Arms (located near Felindre village hall) until her death in 1892.

Both are buried at Salem Chapel. I believe I have found the grave but Robert's name has flaked off. Since I took this photo the stone has deteriorated even further and is now totally illegible. The gravestone is next to Thomas and Elizabeth Thomas of Llwyngwenno, presumably Robert's parents.

Gravestone of Hannah & Robert Thomas at Capel Salem Graveyard (Photo courtesy Alan Richards of Pontarddulais)

“Geoff Brookes included the murder stone in his book 'Stories in Welsh Stone’ (2008) (pp84-90).

He also added more information on his blog a year later https://www.geoffbrookes.co.uk/?p=147” The Cambrian, 15 June 1849 LLANGYFELACH PETTY SESSIONS DESTROYING THE MONUMENT ERECTED AT VELINDRE CHAPEL YARD, TO THE MEMORY OF ELEANOR WILLIAMS, WHO WAS BASELY MURDERED IN 1832, IN THAT NEIGHBOURHOOD Robt. (Robert) Thomas,of Llwyngweno, farmer, a most singular character, was summoned to answer a charge of maliciously damaging the above monument, which charge was clearly brought home by the following circumstantial evidence: P.S. Price deposed that on Saturday the 12 May last, I visited the yard of a Dissenting Meeting house, at Velindre, in the parish of Llangyfelach, in which yard a monument had been erected in memory of one Eleanor Williams, who had been murdered, near Velindre, in 1832. I found that the top of the monument had been broken off, and the part knocked off had been broken into several pieces. The monument had been recently fresh painted. (This, it appears, is actually done by the inhabitants of the place, with red paint, in commemoration of the bloody deed.) I observed fresh prints of foot marks near the monument as if a person had jumped down from a wall near the monument, and I took the measure of them – the length and width of them. I then fitted a shoe which I had taken off Robert Thomas’ foot a few minutes before with the foot marks. It corresponded exactly with the print of the foot marks in the yard. There is a peculiarity in the heel of the shoe which enables me to state that I am confident that foot marks in the yard were made with that shoe. The shoe which I so compared with the left one and I observed on the right shoe a spot of red paint of the same colour as that on the monument. I also found in the back kitchen of the defendant’s house, under an old settle, the hatchet which I now produce, and on which there are marks of a similar description of red paint. When I found it, the marks of red paint appeared to be fresh. I picked up some pieces of iron rust on top of the monument which fit exactly with same spars on part of the hatchet from which rust had been knocked off. I then returned to the defendant’s house and told him that I was quite satisfied that he it was who had broken the monument. After some conversation with him, defendant said he was innocent, but that he knew who did it. I said “It was the hatchet that did it”, and he replied “I don’t deny that”. Defendant made other admissions which placed the matter in a still clearer light as to his being the right party. The defendant was therefore convicted under the statute 7 & 8 Gen. 4th, cap.29, see 30, in the penalty of 15s which was adjudged to be a reasonable compensation for the damage and injury so done, and ordered to pay costs, amounting to £1 8s which was accordingly paid.

There seemed to have been a vendetta against Robert Thomas as reported in The Cambrian in 1844 when his cattle were attacked and mutilated on more than one occasion.

The Cambrian, 24 August 1844 Diabolical Act – during last week since miscreants cut off the tails of cows belonging Mr Robert Thomas, of Llwyngwenno, Llangyfelach. No doubt it was done by the same brute who cut off the tails of four cows in the same parish some weeks ago.

The Cambrian, 21 September 1844 During the night of Saturday last some wretch stabbed, and otherwise mutilated a cow belonging to Mr Robert Thomas of Llwyngweno, in the parish of Llangyfelach, so severely that the poor animal died from the effects of the wound. This is the second or third incidence where animals belonging to this individual have been injured. We regret to witness the growing prevalency in Glamorganshire and the adjoining counties, of this method of gratifying malicious feelings, believing that any person who could exercise so much brutality on a dumb animal, would not shrink from perpetrating a similar diabolical deed on any human being who might, perchance, form an obstacle in the way of his carrying out his evil designs.

In recent times, when a TV company wanted to feature Eleanor Williams' murder stone in a programme known as ‘Talking Stones’ the deacons of Nebo Chapel, according to a local resident, refused permission stating that it would - in his words 'agor hen grach' (open old scabs) It is interesting to note that the Farmers Arms is named as Penrhiw in the 1871 Census (see below). I believe a property of that name (not the original perhaps) exists on top the hill above the village hall.

1841 Census: Llwyngweno –Llangafelach / Llandeilotalybont Robert Thomas, 30, Farmer, born Llangyfelach Hannah Thomas, 20, wife, born Llangyfelach Elisabeth Thomas, 5 mths, daughter, born Llangyfelach Rachel Williams, 20, Female servant, born Llangyfelach Margaret Thomas, 15, Female servant, born Llangyfelach William Thomas, 10, Agricultural labourer, born Llangyfelach 1851 Census: Farmers Arms – Llangyfelach / Llandilotalybont Hannah Thomas, 32, widow, Victual House [keeper], born Llangyfelach Elizabeth Thomas, 10, daughter, born Llangyfelach Sarah Thomas, 7, daughter, born Llangyfelach 1861 Census: Farmers Arms –Llangyfelach / Llandeilotalybont Hannah Thomas, 40, widow, publican, born Llangyfelach Elizabeth Thomas, 19, daughter, born Llangyfelach Sarah Thomas, 17, daughter, born Llangyfelach 1871 Census: Penrhiw: Llangyfelach / Llandeilotalybont Hannah Thomas, 50, widow, house and 1 acre of land, born Llansamlet Elizabeth Lewis, 16, Domestic servant, born Carmarthenshire 1881 Census : Farmers Arms: Llangyfelach Hannah Thomas, 61, widow Landlady, born Llansamlet Mary A. Rowlands, 47, Head, washerwoman, born Swansea William Rowlands, 19, son Farmer’s servant, born Llangyfelach 1891 Census : Velindre – Penderry Hannah Thomas, 70, widow, Retired publican, born Llansamlet …………………………………………..

Ioan Richard Local historian, former Swansea councillor and Lord Mayor of Swansea 2011/12 …………………………………………..

Postscript: The Cadoxton murder stone

Murder stone in the parish graveyard of Cadoxton-juxta-Neath (photograph by Don Rodgers) As mentioned in Ioan Richard’s article above, only a small handful of murder stones exist in Wales and one of the best known of these is on the other side of our county area in the graveyard of St Catwg’s parish church, Cadoxton-juxta-Neath.

Margaret Williams was pregnant when she was murdered and it was widely believed that the son of a local farmer was the father of the unborn child and the perpetrator of the crime. He was never brought to justice but the stone states ominously: ALTHOUGH THE SAVAGE MURDERER ESCAPE FOR A SEASON THE DETECTION OF MAN YET GOD HATH SET HIS MARK UPON HIM EITHER FOR TIME OR ETERNITY AND THE CRY OF BLOOD WILL ASSUREDLY PURSUE HIM TO CERTAIN AND TERRIBLE BUT RIGHTEOUS

JUDGMENT

Appendix 1: Depositors and Donors The Archive Service is grateful to the following individuals and organisations who have placed local and historical records in its care during the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

Ms S Bagley; Cllr P Black; Mrs S Best; A Davies; D C Dews; Revd F Eccleston; P Hall; E Harris; Mrs E Hart; J Hayward; L John; W John; J R Jones; J Knight; Mrs S Lever; M Lewis; A Liddell; T Lloyd; M Lovelock; J Mallon; Ms S Miller; Revd A Morgan; Y Parchg J Morris; Mrs J Morris; Ms A Morse Thomas; J Parkhouse; T Price; I Richard; G Richards; Ms S Robinson; S Rogers; P Sambrook; K Sawyers; Ms C Stevens; Mrs J Totney; K Tucker; G Warren Ashley Davies Architects Ltd; Eglwys y Pant-teg; Glamorgan Archives; Killay Community Council; Llanrhidian Higher Community Council; Neath Antiquarian Society; Parish of Loughor; Society of Cirplanologists; Yndeb Bedyddwyr Cymru

Appendix 2: Accessions of Archives, 2020-2021 The archives listed below have been received by gift, deposit, transfer, purchase or bequest during the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. Not all items are available for consultation immediately and certain items are held on restricted access.

RECORDS OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND PREDECESSOR AUTHORITIES UNITARY AUTHORITIES City and County of Swansea Electoral Registration Section: Swansea electoral registers, 2020-2021 (CC/S RE 48-51) Lord Mayor's Office: Visitors' book recording visitors to the Mansion House, Swansea in connection with 50th anniversary celebrations of the grant of city status to Swansea, May 2019-Mar. 2020 (CC/S LM 1/1) Neath Port Talbot County Borough Papers of Mr K. Sawyers relating to his time as Chief Executive of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, 1995-2009 (CB/NPT CE 10/1-17) COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCILS Swansea County Borough Plans prepared for the Local Government Board regarding proposed extensions to Swansea County Borough, 1915, 1918 (D/D Z 1099/1-2) CIVIL PARISH/COMMUNITY AND TOWN COUNCILS Killay Community Council: Minutes, 2011-2019 (P/307/8-16) Llanrhidian Higher Community Council: Minutes, 2020-2021 (P/111/45)

EDUCATION RECORDS Alltwen School: Photographs of pupils, staff and school activities, 1960s (E/W 1/2/1-14) Dynevor School: The Dy'vorian (Dynevor School magazine), Winter 2019 (E/Dyn Sec X 2/11) Swansea Training College: Notebooks of Phyllis James, student teacher, 1931-1932 (D/D Z 1105/13) University of Wales Song Book, 1951 (D/D Z 319/21)

ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH

Loughor: Registers of services and banns, 1976-2018 (P/112/CW/154-157) Sketty: Commemorative card in connection with a mission at Sketty parish church, 1908 (P/316/CW/284) Swansea, St Luke: architect’s survey of pews, organ and heating system, 2021 (P/321/CW/73)

NONCONFORMIST Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru: 'Y Negesydd' quarterly newsletter and annual report (Welsh and English versions), 2020-2021 (D/D UBC) Capel Pant-teg, Ystalyfera (Independent): Minutes, accounts, membership records, annual reports, photographs, correspondence, plans and ephemera, 1890s-2000s (D/D Ind 9/1/2-9/12/2) Port Talbot Methodist Circuit: Circuit plans, 1964-1967 (D/D Wes/CP 63-71) Swansea Gospel Mission: 60th and 70th anniversary booklets, and napkin from the celebration of the Queen's silver jubilee, 1925-1977 (D/D FC 9/1/1-3)

ESTATE, FAMILY AND LEGAL RECORDS Ynyscedwyn Estate: Title deeds of properties in the parishes of Cilybebyll, Llangiwg, Ystradgynlais and Defynog relating to the acquisition and management of the estate, and deeds and documents relating to industrial concerns in Ystalyfera and Ystradgynlais, 1507-1927 (D/D TDW 1/1-30/8) Sir Henry Hussey Vivian personal papers: Collection of illuminated addresses presented to Sir Henry Hussey Vivian, 19th century Records relating to attempts to secure the estate of Walter Thomas and previous lawsuits in connection with it, including copy wills and correspondence, 19th-20th century, minutes of the Thomas Family Claimants Society, 1860s-1950s.

Bills and receipts from the estates of Mr George Looker, coal merchant of Bryn Newydd, Penyrheol, Gorseinon and Mr John Looker of Gwel-y-Don, 29 Penyrheol Road, Gorseinon, 1910-1933

SOCIETIES, ASSOCIATIONS AND THE ARTS Swansea Astronomical Society and Penllergaer Observatory: Records relating to Swansea Astronomical Society and Penllergaer Observatory, Mid 20th Century (D/D SAS) Programmes and photographs of performances of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, 1960s1970s (D/D Z 1096/1-4)

FILM AND SOUND Peter Hall Video Collection: three videos: two showing Hunter and Dominie aircraft at Fairwood Airport, c. 2003, and one entitled 'Isandlwana to Northern Ireland 150 years of 23rd 24th 41st Foot - The Welsh Infantry Soldier'. By Peter Hall, 2003-2020; six videos: refurbishment of jets; interviews with Ted Solomon, Betty Pope, Alun Richards, John Hayman, Eric Williams, Idris Edwards and Les

King regarding flying and RAF Fairwood Common, c. 2019; 'Inspector Gwilym Williams of Swansea, a WW2 Spy', 2020; video on two Australian soldiers who died in the First World War and are buried in Swansea cemeteries, 2020; film about Arthur Owens of Pontardawe, double agent in the Second World War, 2020; films regarding Harry Grindell Matthews, inventor of the "death ray", and C. R. M. Talbot, owner of the Penrice and Margam Estates, 2020; film entitled 'Amy Dillwyn: world's first female industrialist' by Peter Hall, 2020; film regarding the work of Mary Dillwyn as a photographer, 2020; films relating to the lives and work of John Dillwyn Llewelyn and Henry Hussey Vivian, 2020; film regarding the life and military career of Hussey Vivian, first Baron Vivian, 2020; film concerning the rebuilding of St Mary's Church, Swansea, following destruction in the Three Nights' Blitz of Swansea, 21 Feb. 1941, 2020; film entitled 'A brief history of Clyne Castle and Gardens', 2020; films entitled 'Francis Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell' and 'Private 2609 Robert William Nickolls Australian Imperial Force Buried St Teilo's Church Bishopston', 2020; film telling the story of Sigurd Wathne, a Norwegian national, who died in Swansea Hospital in 1942 and is buried in Danygraig Cemetery, 2020; film entitled 'Private 1868 Owen Owen Welsh Regiment Danygraig Cemetery Port Tennant Swansea', 2020; film entitled 'Lewis John Wynford Vaughan-Thomas CBE, born Swansea 15 August 1908: journalist, radio and television broadcaster', 2020; film entitled 'The Women of Mumbles Head', 2020; film entitled 'Edward George Taffy Bowen', 2020; film of a recitation of a poem called 'Passing Seasons' by John The Poet From Swansea, 2020; three films: 'Ann of Swansea', 'Morfydd Llwyn Owen' and 'Sergeant William Charles Fuller VC Welsh Regiment', 2020; film on the life and work of Alfred Ernest Jones of Gowerton, Psychoanalyst, 2021; biographical film about Algernon Walker-Heneage-Vivian of Clyne Castle, 2021 (D/D Z 717/67-101)

LOCAL HISTORY BOOKS AND UNPUBLISHED WORKS Port Talbot Memories by Tess Phillips; A Gallery of Past Personalities vols 2 and 3 by Brian Jones, n.d.

Collected writings of Ioan M. Richard relating to the history of Craigcefnparc, Cwm Clydach, Felindre and the community of Mawr, 2016-2020 Hanes Cymunedau Mawr - History of the communities of Mawr by Ioan M. Richard, 2020 Middleton Park, a history by Alex Liddell, 2020 (regarding the Earls of Jersey) Swansea, Mumbles and the Gower Coast (official guide), 1956

PICTORIAL MATERIAL Photograph album relating to the civic career of William Jenkins, Mayor of Swansea 1947-1949 and MP for Breconshire and Radnorshire 1922-1924, 1921-1966 (D/D Z 1098/1) Photograph of Sketty Fire Brigade, 1913; photograph of Sketty Garage, 1934, 1913-1934 (P/PR/42ii/3/43 and P/PR/42ii/4/15) Postcards showing the Mumbles Train, girls at work at the Swansea and South Wales Institution for the Blind, and the visit of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to Swansea, 1904, 1904-1930 (P/PR/21ii/1/2; P/PR/2/4/37; P/PR/2/3/20; P/PR/7/3/23) Postcard portrait of David Brynmor Jones, 1851-1921, barrister, historian and Liberal MP for Swansea District, 1895-1914, born in Swansea, c. 1890s (P/PR/117/2/4)

FIRST AND SECOND WORLD WARS Collection of letters to and from Ben Noot of Neath, who served in the First World War. Also inlcudes a diary of Ted Phillips of Glyn-neath, who served in the Second World War, 1913-1945 (D/D Z 1102/1-15) Photographs of soldiers of 248 Battery stationed at Blackpill during the Second World War, 1941 (D/D Z 1075/2-8) Photographs of Ernest Hayward during his time in the Swansea Home Guard. One photograph of Mumbles Train, 1940s (D/D Z 1103/1-7) 'Memories of wartime food 1939-45: a few scattered random thoughts' by Prys Morgan, n.d., c.

2000s (D/D Z 1097/1) 'Memories of World War Two' by Les Rogers (father of the donor), n.d., late 20th century (D/D Z 1095/1) Two booklets of memories of Mike Lewis formerly of Port Tennant regarding the Three Nights' Blitz of Swansea, 2000s Edward Harris collection: Plans showing bomb damage in Swansea Docks, 1940s (D/D EH)

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 Sir Abertawe a Bwrdeistref Sirol Castell-nedd Port Talbot.

Ein cenhadaeth yw cadw a datblygu ein casgliadau o archifau, diogelu ein treftadaeth ddogfennol a chaniatáu ymchwil er mwyn 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 Back cover: Abertawe Detail from an illustrated address to Sir Henry Hussey Vivian SA1 3SN by the Monmouthshire and South Wales Miners Provident Society, 1893 (D/D Z 1104/7)  01792 636589

archifau@abertawe.gov.uk www.abertawe.gov.uk/archifaugorllewinmorgannwg

@archifgorllmor

Gwasanaeth ar y cyd ar gyfer Cynghorau Abertawe a Castell-Nedd Port Talbot A joint service for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot Councils