POI Trelewis – Treharris District

The Shingrig

Before 1864 work began on Shingrig House on Efail Shingrig, it was built on the site of a former Blacksmith’s cottage, part of numbers one, two and three Efail Shingrig, the two remaining cottages are still there to this day. The Blacksmith who originally lived there raised enough money to build the larger property whilst leaving the remaining cottages for his strikers, the boys that gave the heavy blows with sledgehammers when doing a big job otherwise they did bits and pieces around the workshop.

The front garden if the house used to be the living room for number 1 of the cottages, former owners dug the garden down finding the flagstones and 1 little leather shoe they left it as it was and put chippings in a design on top not to damage it. The house has a cellar it’s accessed from inside the house, it is under what they have as a kitchen now it was used as a dining room for Christmas and when looking at the house it’s the room on the left, it used to flood to about 3 feet deep, really lovely clean water and the cellar is a nice cold place. They stopped the water by putting a pump in and every time it reached a certain level it switches on and pumps it out One wall in the house is 4 foot wide and the gap between the outer and inner wall you can walk down it on your side the gap is so wide.

One of the oldest buildings in the District is on the Border of Trelewis and Nelson on the road to Gelligaer…Efail Shingrig the home of the Blacksmith.

1936

300 Year Old Forge Landmark disused blacksmith ‘s shop on Shingrig Hill, Nelson. For nearly three hundred years the smithy has been one of the landmarks of Glamorgan. For 200 years of that time the forge was tended by members of a family named Evans. – The old smithy.at Nelson, Glam, Nelson, Glam, South Wales.” (thanks to Jeremy Swattridge for this)

The Pandy quarry and fields

The Pandy quarry was located between lower Trelewis and Pentwyn, Quakers Yard. It can be traced back to the beginning of the last Century…I can remember it in the 1970’s, it was a small lake in those days with the top of a rusty old crane visible, lost in the middle of the pond.

A view of the area 2012 with the quarry all filled in

Many of the youngsters took the risk of swimming in the deepish water during the summer months, whilst others used to fish there, the most I ever caught were toddlers like minnows and sticklebacks.

During the early seventies thousands of tons of waste coal and slag was dumped into the pond, eventually turning it into a large hilly areas which remain Today. There is still the small stream that runs happily through the Pandy, winding its way down to the Mill road and joining the Taff Bargoed river from Bedlinog before hitting the whirl pool at Quakers Yard and joining the main River Taff.

Some below from Autumn 2015 off David Morgan

The Pandy could be a dangerous place but it was also a place of many happy memories for the people of our district.Next year I will get some better up to date photographs of the Pandy area to add to these ones.

The Pandy lake has frozen over donated from his fathers’ collection by Paul Howard

John Watkins with a mate over the old pandy

Above we see a family at the Pandy

John Morgan of Gelligaer road fishing at the pandy

His Brother Jimmy also trying to catch fish at the pandy

The Pandy cottages have provided homes for many families over the years but thanks to Irene James we have this information about some of the former inhabitants

William Humphrey born 1797 ish, married Ann Williams born 1798 in May 1820.

1841 Census William, now 40, is a wool weaver and lives in Pandy, Gelligaer, with his wife Ann, now 40, and their children

William as a wool weaver, owning home and land in Gelligaer, ‘Pandy House’ a cottage and mill by the fast flowing Nany Caiach stream

David aged 15 and also a weaver

Ann 15

Thomas 14

Sarah 12

Samuel 9

Margaret 6

Elizabeth 4

Benjamin 2

1851 Census William and Ann are still in Pandy with their children

Samuel

Margaret

Elizabeth

Benjamin

Alfred, a new addition since the census ten years earlier, aged seven.

Their daughter Sarah mentioned in the 1841 census is still at home but now with a husband Williams Williams, born 1825 in Carmarthenshire, and is a cordwainer. They moved to Nantgarw about 1855. By this time William Humphrey has died and his wife Ann has also moved to Nantgarw to be near Sarah and the son-in-law William.

1861 Census and Ann has moved to Brecon Road, Merthyr Tydfil with three of her sons. David, 38, Benjamin 21, and Alfred 17 and the boys are all weavers. Ann is listed as a flannel manufacturer and has two servants.

1871 Census Ann is still in Brecon Road and is a Draper. her son David lives with her. Next door to their home is a woollen manufacture it is possible, David still a weaver worked there.

Ann died aged 82 yrs in April 1881.

Trelewis War Memorial

Sunday May 31 st 1925 was a proud day for the people of Trelewis. As many as 3,000 people stood in silent admiration, when the union Jack was unfurled to reveal a majestic and beautiful monument; the little mining town’s tribute and memorial to 45 gallant men of Trelewis who laid down their lives in the Great War.

The Trelewis War Memorial was erected by public subscription, its original location was chosen as a peaceful place away from the industrial mining of the valley.

By 1999, the memorial had become isolated, due to the closure of the mines and the re-shaping of the landscape, it was also suffering some vandalism and generally it was starting to look unkempt and neglected.

The “Soldier” photo courtesy of Lynda Collins at the original site

Above we see the former site (photo Paul Hotskiss)

The Ladies section of the Trelewis British legion proposed that the Trelewis War Memorial should be re-sited from its original Captains Hill site to a different area of the village where it could be better appreciated.

Thanks to fund-raising of volunteers, the project was successfully concluded following a three year campaign led by Trelewis going for green chairperson Shirley Bufton

A team of Royal Monmouthshire Engineers stepped in to move the statue to its new home near the Ffladcaiach Inn.

The following newspaper clips and photos are courtesy of Carol Smith and her son Kevin who allowed us to reproduce them here

Programme below with a lovely poem written by Brian Jones, R.I.P. so sadly missed by so many in the village

Reminder of the original location

Resiting of the War Memorial by the Ffald Bridge – 2002

The successful climax was the Parish of Trelewis rededication of their War memorial on Sunday 23 rd June 2002, which followed a march of war veterans through the village( photo by Janice Lane)

Standing proudly at new location close to the old Ffald Bridge

A plaque was placed in the garden next to the re sited Trelewis memorial statue. It is a memorial to Cled Johnson, a very well respected person in Trelewis. Cled was associated with the British legion Ex -Servicemen’s club in the village and for his hard work in aid of the British legion

R.I.P. Cled

Trelewis Royal British legion marching down to pay their respects at the war memorial on the Captains hill. Led by Bill Holton and Daphne Gunning

Pictured left to right

Bob( Aberfan standard bearer) Daphne Gunning, Bill Holton, Islyn Carlick, David Jones,Brian Jones, Joe Kabut.

Daphne still flag bearer many years later

Paying respects at the memorial

Ffaldcaiach railway Bridge (Ffald Bridge)

Two photos from 1997 Carol Smith

The following photographs are taken before and after the Ffald bridge was demolished in the middle of January, 2000…some are taken on top of the bridge…there is another bridge across the road these days, it is part of the Taff Trail cycle track, this runs along the old railway track.The older pictures were lent to the site by Robert Amos of Nelson…the newer ones were taken May 28th 2009…to show the difference nine years have made.