THE NEWTONIAN Volume 8 Spring 2002 THE JOURNAL OF NEWTOWN LOCAL HISTORY GROUP A memorable man - see page 10.
.CONTENTS Newtown Textile Museum - Eva Bredsdorff 2. Worrall on the Wall of Death - David Pugh 8. Through the mists, brightly - Richard Churchill 10. The Newtown Co-operative Society and its Branches 18. The Dinky Blues - Blaze Away 24. Readers’ Letters 27. Old Publication 30. The Newtonian Quiz 31. Volume 8 Quiz answers 32.
THE NEWTONIAN 1 With this issue the Newtonian completes its second year of publication. When we started we had no idea who would want to read our journal, or indeed how many copies we could sell. The latter point is important, for having taken the decision not to carry advertising or seek sponsorship, the Newtonian is entirely dependent on its sales income for survival. Over the past two years our sales have built up and we now sell over 600 copies of each issue. Its difficult to be precise, because unexpectedly, we have a buoyant market for back numbers. Even Volume 1 is still selling well. What was also clear from the outset was that our volunteer editorial committee of three people could not research and write enough material to fill each issue on their own. Contributions from outside sources are an essential element of our content. Here again we have been fortunate in the number of people who have volunteered to write for us. This edition is no exception; we introduce three contributors who have not written for the Newtonian before. We are always keen to consider articles written for publication, but prospective writers should bear a number of points in mind. We have a wide readership; articles should be of interest to, and understandable by, as many as possible. We are not a newspaper. Stories concerning current events are not appropriate unless they relate directly to Newtown’s history and its recording. Our sales of back numbers suggests that our readers expect our content to be of interest long after publication. We have found that Newtonian articles fall into two broad categories. There are those that set out past events as they are recalled by someone who was there. The importance of such recollections cannot be over emphasised. Unless they are put on permanent record now, they will be lost to future generations. On the other hand, there are articles which are the result of the study of historical documents (“primary sources” in historians’ jargon), such as newspapers, documents, letters etc. Such research is not always as easy as it might seem. It is disappointing, and infuriating, to discover just how much of real historical interest has been destroyed. This is just as true for the twentieth century as for earlier times. For example, Bennett Rowlands, in his History of Newtown of 1914 (reviewed on page 30) mentions that he had access to the minutes of Newtown Local Board. Those minutes are now lost, as are those of the Board’s successor body, Newtown & Llanllwchaiarn Urban District Council, who conducted the affairs of the town until 1974. Another loss of important documents is occurring because solicitors are handing the deeds of properties back to their owners for disposal as there is no longer a legal need for them to be kept. May we appeal to solicitors and property owners alike, don’t throw your deeds away. If you don’t want them, let us know. We will be happy to advise as to how they may kept as a permanent historical record. The Newtonian has produced a set of notes for writers who may be considering submitting an article. Copies of the notes are available on request from the address given on the inside back cover.
2 THE NEWTOWN TEXTILE MUSEUM Eva Bredsdorff HISTORY OF BUILDING AND MUSEUM Numbers 5-7, Commercial Street are a typical example of an early 19th cen- tury weaving shop with six back-to-back cottages on the ground and first floors and two large rooms on the second and third floors running the full length of the building. The six cottages would have housed a family each of whom would have worked in the weaving shop on the two floors above, either as handloom weavers or with associated work. The owner of the building was the employer as well as the landlord and may also have owned a 'Tommy shop' where the employees were forced to buy their groceries with the tokens paid out as wages. At a later date the six cottages were converted into three and they are currently empty. In 1962 a committee under the chairmanship of the late Major Peter Lewis was formed with the aim of preserving one of the handloom factories in Newtown and accommodating a museum, which would provide a record of the town's industrial past. The building, 5-7 Commercial Street, was purchased and the two upper floors were cleared and repaired. Exhibits were acquired from vari- ous sources and the museum was first opened to the public in October 1967. In 1990 members of the Museum Charity felt that they could no longer carry on the responsibility for the collections. The museum charity was transferred to Powys County Council and the professional care of the museum to the curator of Powysland Museum in Welshpool. At that time it was found that the muse- um had a substantial number of structural, environmental and cosmetic prob- lems, while the collection was in need of conservation, accessioning and prop- er interpretation. In 1995 additional funding made it possible to carry out restoration, renovation and refurbishing works on the museum. Structural work included recovering the roof with Welsh slates; repairing and re-pointing outside brickwork of the two top floors; repairing of all windows to their original design and fixed with leaded glass; insulating the top floor ceiling with material placed between the woodwork leaving the beams exposed; repairing and painting the third floor ceiling and strengthening it with cast iron columns, approved by Cadw, to sup- port the load on the top floor; decorating and general repairs carried out to all inside stairs. Work inside the building included the refurbishment of the galleries and pro- vided an opportunity to focus the interpretation of the artifacts towards the aim of the museum. The result was a museum exhibition concentrating on the his- tory of the woollen and flannel industry in Newtown and including displays on the qualities of Welsh wool; the weaving shop phase from 1790 to the 1830s, the Chartist movement; the introduction of mail order by Pryce Jones; the peri- od of the power loom factories; the building of the canal and the railway and other industries related to the woollen production, including tanning and clog- making.
3 The 1995 development resulted in a venue, which met the national standards of a modern museum in terms of environment, care of collection and interpreta- tion. However, despite this work there were still a number of un-addressed prob- The museum prior to the restoration work of 1995
4 lems, most importantly the entrance to the museum being placed at the back of the building and the lack of access for visitors with physical disabilities. It was therefore decided to continue pursuing outside funding in order to carry on the development of the venue. Informal discussions with Cadw took place, estab- lishing Cadw's criteria and restrictions. Powys County Council Architecture and Property Consultancy produced a feasibility study and finally an applica- tion was submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in 1997. In March 1999 a grant of £40,000 was awarded for external repairs. With the HLF grant of £40,000 and a contribution from Powys County Coun- cil, it was possible to carry out and complete the restoration and refurbishment programme for the exterior of the building. Work included: external repairs; re- pointing of the building not previously treated; restoration and replacement of windows and doors; improvements to the courtyard and rear access to the mu- seum; the formation of toilet facilities for staff and visitors (disabled users as well) and relaying of pavement in courtyard. The result is now a structurally sound building, a repaired and cleaned exterior and a venue which is looking very attractive. THE 2001 SEASON The Museum opened in 2001 on Tuesday the 1st of May, coinciding with the national festival of Museums Month. Prior to opening, staff from Powysland Museum had spent a busy day cleaning the displays and the galleries, making the museum welcoming and fresh-looking for the visitors. Advertising and interviewing for a new attendant had also taken place and Caroline, a student at Aberystwyth University with experience from the Oriel Gallery, was the muse- um’s new attendant. The season was busier than previous years with almost four hundred visitors compared to about two hundred and fifty the year before and circa two hundred and twenty five the year earlier. This increase was mainly due to a growing number of schools making use of the museum and the reason for this interest was due to the efforts of the two Education & Access Officers who were em- ployed by the curator in November 2000. The two officers are job-sharing and their post is funded by a 90% grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. According to their job description they are “responsible for the expansion of the education resources within museums in Montgomeryshire and are to strengthen the existing ties between the museum sector and the education services. They are to assist in improving the intellec- tual access to the museums and to work with local schools, access groups and community organizations to produce relevant educational material, create a "heritage and cultural" trail of the area and develop facilities and activities to attract a wider audience.” In June three school classes visited the museum. On one of these occasions the Education & Access Officers had arranged for a local spinner to demonstrate her craft to the children and answer their questions. The Officers had also pro- duced worksheets relating to the museum displays and to the National Curricu-
5 lum. In July one of the Officers held a “History Detective” workshop at the museum where children could come and work on the 1891 census, finding out about their own home or other houses in Newtown. Another school visit in September proved the museum’s potential as an important educational facility. On the initiative of the new attendant a selection of the “Newtown Crier” was placed on display during most of the season. The newspapers mostly dated from the 1970’s and visitors were allowed to browse through them. This initia- tive proved most popular and is likely to be repeated as long as the effect of the handling is not considered detrimental to the condition of the papers. This is an example of a typical problem for the professional curator, who must find the balance between the condition of the artifacts, especially those as vulnerable as newspapers, and the public access to them. As usual the museum was closed for the season by the end of September. How- ever, this closure does not mean that the museum is forgotten about. On the contrary the Education & Access Officers continue to develop education facili- ties for the building and the displays, which can be promoted to the schools and used next year. Also the curator in conjunction with senior officers from Powys County Council has been preparing another application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the further development of the museum. The work involved in the preparation and execution of an HLF-application is both extensive and time-consuming but it has been a major priority for the curator during the last three months and by the time this article is being printed and read, the applica- The second floor of the museum building showing the columns inserted to support the floor above.
6 tion will be safely in the hands of HLF. However, from then on the timetable is very much dependent on the amount of other applications and the pressure of work at HLF and all the curator can do is reply to additional requests as quick- ly as possible. The main objectives of the application presented to HLF will be to create a welcoming and more prominent museum entrance directly off Commercial Street, a building which is accessible to all visitors including the disabled and an improved and enhanced visitor experience. Embracing the whole building will give the museum an opportunity to create a comprehensive picture of the living and working conditions for woollen factory workers in the first decades of the 19th century. NEW PLANS As described earlier a new application to HLF has been submitted. In March 2001 a Pre-Application Enquiry Form was sent to HLF containing the proposal and a positive response was received back, focusing on "the sensitive repair and renovation of the cottages" and the introduction of "public access". Cadw has already given Listed Building Consent for the architectural plans and the changes to the building. With such positive vibes it is hoped that it is only a matter of time before the development at the museum can be completed and Newtown can have the Textile Museum it so rightly deserves. While the existing exhibition focuses on the technical and industrial side of the history of the woollen manufacture in Newtown, the proposed new displays will concentrate on the social and economic aspects of the same history. The museum displays will start by focusing on a recreated family leaving Newtown at around 1840 and with a description of the depression at that time including the social unrest caused by poverty and importance of the Chartist movement. The recreated family will be off to Carmarthenshire, which will give the muse- um an opportunity to link up with The Museum of Welsh Woollen Industry there. The rooms of number 7, facing Commercial Street will be recreated as a weav- er's cottage with the living room on the ground floor and the bedroom on the first floor. The interiors will be viewed through glass walls. There will be a further interpretation of the building, emphasizing the idea of the back-to-back, one-up-one down housing and the architectural and possible social reasons for the first floor rooms of no.7 being bigger than in the other cottages, using con- temporary sources and a model of the building at the time of use. The re- created weaver's cottage in no. 7, together with the existing looms on the sec- ond floor will give a comprehensive picture of the private and working life of a flannel worker's family at the beginning of the 19th century and will put the museum exhibition into a social historical context within Newtown, Wales and Great Britain as a whole. On the top floor the exhibition will mostly remain the same, although the dis- play furniture will be rearranged due to the structural changes i.e. the new stairs and subsequently altered visitor flow. The displays will include: the re- vival of the industry in the 1870's; the town's new-found prosperity with new buildings and churches; the separation of workplace from the home, the canal and the railway as well as the development of other industries. On this floor
7 there will also be room for temporary exhibitions on topics relating to the theme of the museum, such as: the life and times of Pryce Jones; education and schools; alcohol and the temper- ance societies and 20th century Newtown and tourism. The temporary exhibition area will give the muse- um an opportunity to make use of its own re- serve collection as well as borrowing artifacts from other bodies includ- ing Powysland Museum in Welshpool, Llanidloes Mu- seum and the private collections of Kay & Co (formerly Pryce Jones), the Rob- ert Owen Museum and W.H.Smith, in order to expand on topics of the perma- nent displays. At the conclusion of the proposed development Newtown Textile Museum with its unique building and displays will give a full and extensive account of the history of the woollen industry and the town from 1790 to 1900. It will form a natural link with the other specialist museums and collections in New- town, as mentioned above. While on a county scale the museum will comple- ment Powysland Museum in Welshpool and Llanidloes Museum in telling the varied and fascinating history of Montgomeryshire. And finally on a national scale the museum will play an important part in recounting the industrial herit- age of Wales. The refurbished steps and doors at the front of the building.
8 WORRALL ON THE WALL OF DEATH David Pugh There’s no doubt that Fred Worrall was mad about motorbikes. Between the First and Second World wars he became a familiar sight (and sound) to the people of Newtown as he took his latest bike on a test run. But he didn’t confine his riding to the public highways; he was also a notable competitive rider. One of his early successes was in 1934 at Newtown Football Club’s Sports on the Recreation Ground on Pool Road. As well as the usual foot and field events there was motorcycle grass track racing organised by the Powysland Motor Club. By a narrow margin he won the “unlimited expert” race after some exciting riding in the heats. He was not so lucky in the “350cc expert” race. After easily winning his heat, the final developed into a tussle between Worrall and his great rival Norman Kirkham. In the second lap Worrall attempted to take the lead by overtaking Kirkham. They came into contact and Worrall came off. Although he remounted, he finished the race nearly a lap behind the leaders. The following year Freddie Worrall joined two other local riders, Mair and Edwin Corfield in the Oswestry and District Motor Club twenty-four hours’ reliability trial. Miss Corfield finished to win the silver cup for the best performance by a woman rider. The two boys were disqualified for taking the wrong route, having been “misdirected by some youths”. In 1937 Fred won the 350cc race at the Oswestry Good Friday races and may have gone on to further victories had not the meeting been abandoned on account of a snowstorm. He was now ready to compete at a higher level and in 1938 he entered the Ulster Grand Prix in Belfast and came second in the 350cc handicap race. It was a remarkable performance considering the setbacks he encountered. He came off his six year old machine in the first lap but
remounted and returned to the pits for repairs. Back in the race, he was further troubled by a broken valve spring, cracked front forks and a broken front spring all of which was reckoned to have reduced his average speed by about 10mph to 76mph. Earlier in the race he had managed to get up to 98mph. The outbreak of the Second World War brought an end to these exploits as Fred, along with most other young men of his generation, went into the armed forces, serving in France and Palestine. In his career as a racing motorcylist he had established himself as a fearless and determined rider, but perhaps the most unusual of his exploits on a motorbike was that reported by the Montgomeryshire Express of 6th June, 1933. Studt’s Funfair had come to the town and had set up on the field at the top of Park Street where the County Library now stands. One of the main attractions was the “Wall of Death”. This was a large vertical cylinder round the inside of which a professional rider would roar on a motorcycle, held to the wall by centrifugal force. Outside the cylinder was a staircase leading to a gallery around the top where the audience would pay to go to see the exploits of the circling rider below. The owner of the attraction would occasionally invite local lads to dare to have a go on the wall. John Evans, a post office messenger boy, went the first, narrowly avoiding going “over the top”. The following day Jack Griffiths of Llandinam volunteered, and managed a couple of circuits. Then it was Fred Worrall’s turn. He was already known locally as a motorcycle enthusiast and was greeted with loud applause. He was soon on the wall and going all out to ride as fast and as high as possible. “The machine wobbled considerably and its progress was a series of dives down and leaps up the wall which thrilled and terrified some of the spectators. Every moment one expected the machine to fall like a stone or leap madly over the edge of the wall, but the driver gradually steadied up and drove round evenly for a time. The end was spectacular. The machine suddenly wobbled, lost speed and height, dropped to the bottom of the wall, ran onto the ground at the base and collided with a small racing car used by the professional rider. There was a large crowd of spectators and they called for another chance for Worrall, but the proprietor declined.” 9
10 THROUGH THE MISTS, BRIGHTLY Richard Churchill The smallest of towns, but the best to remember: that’s how it is for me. Of course, there have been other views: I report one such from an unrecorded day in the 1890s. My father, who came to Newtown in 1891 to be local solici- tor Martin Woosnam’s clerk, once told me that he was walking along Broad Street with a friend, whose swaggering gait indicated that he owned the town. A mill girl - and there must have been many in those days - shrilly called out: ‘Look at him, thinks he owns the town’. His quick reply was: ‘If I did, I’d burn the damned place down’. Newtown was never like that for me: it was a place of security. . . and. . . , I don’t know the words. . . it was home, it was my roots. Though I had been born in Llandrindod and until after the War. . . I mean the Second World War. . . I had lived mostly in London, I always thought of myself as being a native of Newtown. Words are the tools which grown-ups use; what words does a child of ten use? At the time very few. . . he speaks in actions. So what I write now is from the mind of a child, filtered and somewhat befogged by more than eighty years of the world. I shall try to tell of the small world which I then knew and now remember with constant gratitude, but, dear reader, please remember that my town was not everyone’s town. I can not tell of the many feuds and jealousies, of brutish- ness and hopeless poverty, the hatred and exploitation; they were there, but form no part of my story. Also please remember, I was a fairly privileged child, not living in luxury but certainly in very remarkable comfort. My earliest memory is of an aeroplane on the sports/cricket ground down Pool Road. . . 1912? 1913? After that I go to the 4th August 1914; my two elder sisters and I were standing outside Powell the Butchers shop at the bottom of High Street: someone came from Francis the Ironmongers and told us that Eng- land was at war with Germany: with us was our ‘mother’s help’. . . Fräulein Vogel. Such things are not forgotten: but what a strange thing is memory: I long believed that it was Major Francis (Montgomeryshire Yeomanry, presum- ably) who told us the news: some years ago someone proved to me that it could not have been him. Ah well . . . no matter. I am moithered for the best way to tell what I remember: it will not be very factual - it is too far back in the mists of memory, but Granny was then and for the following years a large part of the wall of serenity and happiness for which a child, and still more a man should be eternally grateful. She had an indefina- ble presence, neither domineering nor humble, not forceful and certainly not weak: perhaps she just knew what was right and, without arrogance, held to it. Her dress was always black, down to the ground, neck up to the chin and fin- ishing with a narrow white ruffle. I never knew my grandfather, Richard Edward George, father of Dicky George the solicitor: he was a watchmaker in the town and died in 1881 at the age of twenty nine, leaving Granny a widow for forty five years: she must have
11 known hard times with two small children: it probably explains why I heard my mother say, ‘I don’t like poverty’. Granny and my short-lived grandfather now lie in Llanllwchaiarn. Of course, I do not know when I first knew her (or perhaps when she first knew me) but certainly as a baby in 1908-1909, when she ran the Cross Temperance Hotel, then over Maurice Powell the butcher’s. How long before that she had had the Cross I do not know, but doubtless from 1891 when my father first arrived in the town and stayed at the Cross. She gave it up in 1911, when her son Richard (Dicky George, the lawyer) was probably sufficiently established to warrant the change. Now I must try to tell of life at Granny’s House, the Laurels in High Street: a few of the best remembered things will, I hope, convey the sense of a world so different from today: no wireless, no telephone; that did not arrive until the TSB took over the house in the late 1960s. The loudest noise was the knocker on the front door: a house lighted by gas and that not on the top floor: who today remembers gas mantles so easily shattered: gas lamps which had an air adjustment to turn a spluttering red and yellow flame to an incandescent white: lamp which said a big plop as it was lighted and small plop plop plops if not properly adjusted. And who remembers Isaac McQuade, Maurice Powell’s handyman and slaughterer, who allowed me to ‘help’ him, by oil lamp light to salt the bacon on a slate slab in the cellar? There remains a cobble-stoned floor, a cold dampness, the smell of the oil lamp, salt and bacon: good bacon to eat. . . little flecks of salt floating in the runny fat. High Street in the early years of the twentieth century. The large house on the right is The Laurels. It would appear that a number of local loafers are in their traditional position against Barclay’s Bank.
12 And Isaac had another great virtue: on market days farmers’ wives brought eggs to the house: they ended up in a small outhouse in the back yard where Isaac checked them against the bull’s-eye of an oil lamp before packing them into a large crate - its colour was bright yellow. . . again I was allowed to help. Granny then sold the crates to Mr Yewdall: his son Tom is to be seen most days in Bunner’s of Montgomery. You can buy almost anything there, but I doubt a crate of eggs. And when did a half decent water supply come to Newtown? It was not there when I was ten: then if there was heavy rain in Mochdre the water from the tap was a swirling dark brown and smelt abominably. Did not the Green Brook then flood and come down Park Street? And New Road? And the Frolic and New Church Street? It is strange how I now see the inside of the house as in winter’s darkness more than in summer sunlight: not of the sad gloom of short days, rather of snug warmth: a slight hiss of incandescent mantles, candle light and bright fires. A small boy loves lighting his own candle from a rush taper. Do you know a rush taper? . . . formed of a rush stripped of its outer sheath to leave just pith, dipped in grease: a small and flickering light and a memory filling smell. They live in a jar on the shelf above the ledge, as do the candlesticks. . . and they are polished brass. . . Annie Owen polishes them. My Welsh family came from Red House farm, Highgate: Granny, and Uncle Will, who farmed Bryn-airy just past the Dingle and turn left along the hedge- lined track or over the fields past Cefn-aire then up the steep bank and you run down it as you come back. Uncle Will has a moustache and a gruff voice, which made him a bit fierce: why not. . . life is hard on a small farm in the hills, had been ever since the last decade of the nineteenth century and was so until the Second War. I think they lived on the smell of the wind: two sons went to Canada, Cousin Jack Hughes farmed Penstrowed as did his son: Nin owned an outfitters in Short Bridge Street. . . after working at the haberdashers (what’s a haberdasher?) London House where the Milk Bar now is. And in the New Road next to the lane up to Morgan & Morgan (Severn Valley Mill) is Auntie Lizzie, as talkative and loving a character as ever made a child wel- come: she was married to Uncle William. Between them they kept a small shop - the shop window is still there - I think they sold only biscuits, so how they made a living I do not know. Uncle William is tall and thin and his hands are care-worn and he sings in the Crescent Chapel: he is a Lewis and he comes from Aberbechan Mill. And there is Uncle Tom, Granny’s brother, sometimes grumpy but mostly kind and gentle: he knew where to find the best hazel nuts up the Dolfor Road and how, with his hooked walking stick, to bring down the branches for a small boy to pull the nuts off. Sadly, he was what was called simple. . . I add to that a gift for making children happy. Can it be true? Was there no one in Newtown who did not make children happy? Ah yes. . . and here’s a mystery. . . they ran a toy shop in Market Street and their name was Jenkins - man and wife. Many say they were not kind -
13 may it not be that the child had no money and was a nuisance? People have driven out candle light, that kind small flickering friend leading up the oak treaded staircase to my bed, passing on the first landing the bath- room where, when a cold threatened, I was immersed in a steaming mustard bath. . . no wonder that I still love mustard on my bacon. There is only one sound in the bedroom. . . rooks which flourished in the trees of Newtown Hall. Are they still there, since the wood was thinned to take the Council Offices? No. . . I’m wrong, there is another sound. . . Sarah Brisco tolling out the pass- ing time: yet somehow I hear the sound more from High Street than from in- side the house. So let’s go out into High Street. Strangely, the clearest memory of that is of it at night time. . . grey, all colour drained away because gas-light is too expensive to be wasted on the few peo- ple out after dark and up to no good. . . always an empty street. Uncle Dick opens the front door and looks out to check on Sarah Brisco. . . no one in the street, or so I remember it: may be it’s just that I go to bed before the pubs get going: are there not five of them in High Street? But the town is silent: gaslight and ghosts who pass the wool warehouse, Morris the builder’s house, the Buck Inn, Morris Marshall and Poole painted green, Francis the ironmonger’s, Dicky George’s office over the bank, Eddie Swain’s, another pub and Aston’s the furnishers. Motor traffic is almost completely absent from my memory: only one me- chanical vehicle exists: “Deppie” Williams’ motorbike and side-car parked in High Street and he wears a strange cap for the Deputy Chief Constable of Montgomeryshire: not the wide topped flat cap of today, but a straight sided cap, a kepi, of the modern French police. True? Who knows? Dicky George must have had a car, probably government supplied. After a short, and I’m sure most inglorious time in the Army Service Corps at Alder- shot (no Royal then) he was appointed Wool Controller for Mid Wales. His duties obviously included travel since he had a driver, also government sup- plied, called Ulmann - no doubt of German descent, and considered safe enough to avoid internment. There is no memory of the car he drove - no cars in Broad Street, Back Lane or New Road, Park Street or Frolic or New Church Street, Crescent or Milford Road or Commercial Street: today these streets have not changed their shapes, their lengths, their widths: every other particle of their nature has gone away, lost, save in the memories of a few old men and women. Who now knows Codman’s, or Peg Leg Carter: Ned George Toddy or Burtie Swift: Jones Giant or Jo Williams of Parliament House: Gilbert (?) Davies of the Greyhound or Dadge the baker of Commercial Street. Some would remem- ber Eddie Swain who was there before Ron Humphreys, but who will remem- ber the tinsmith who made kettles in a dark room down a dark passage at the back of Francis the ironmonger, or Arthur Phillips who worked there and was the brother of the Director of Education. Fair-days, though they only occupied a few days, break through the mists as wonderful, mind filling events: days which started with new sounds, new
14 sights and many smells. Life on the farm was not unknown to me but to start the day in a world full of sheep and cows, pigs, hors- es and chickens - now that’s exciting. Even the pavements where I walk freely are now full of peo- ple; farmers’ wives with baskets on their arms: farmers in groups blocking a small boy’s way and eve- rywhere poultry in crates, or so it seems. The memory filling sound of many voic- es, drovers shouting and the call of sheep and cattle remain: deafness cannot silence them. But how did all this noise get into town? Were the roads and lanes alive in the small hours of the previous night with the sounds of stock driven in from Kerry and Dolfor, Bettws and Abermule and even fur- ther? In those last days of the war, surely there were not lorries enough to have charged the town with such abundant life: Broad Street full of cows. . . pigs and poultry in Back Lane. . . sheep in High Street: but best of all the New Road where horses and hill ponies were shown off by their sprinting owners. No pens there, but everywhere else the stock is penned: often the sadness of lost sheep-dogs. . . how could even the best of dogs keep close in such a crowd. The picture is clear for the departure of stock and humans at the end of Fair day. There were - are there still? - loading bays up at the station and memory tells of stock being loaded there into cattle trucks: the humans leave by traps, some parked in High Street and Back Lane or in the Greyhound yard, where horses are stabled. Or some on horseback: and the space behind the seats of the traps now filled with purchases, where fowls and ducks and butter had come in to market. I wonder how the town was cleaned and did the tarmac extend to the out-of- town part of Milford Road: there I see Peg Leg Carter standing up in his small four wheeled cart, swishing his whip and shouting at small boys shouting at him. . . my friends the Nash boys from Hendidley, Ernest Phillips who later Richard E (Dicky) George, solicitor.
15 went into the National Provincial, Peter (?) Croft whose father owned the shoe shop, and the two Phillips boys, grandsons of “W P”. They were my friends and out of school time I see them as my constant companions. My father often spoke of the freedom he had had as a boy to roam the countryside around Warminster, I speak of the same freedom which I had in Newtown: we went over any land we wanted to. . . all along the Milford Road and beside the river. . . I cannot remember ever questioning whether one could go into a field. . . I am sure it was not a matter of our rights or farmers’ rights: just a different soci- ety from today? Who would now give us freedom to play on the big woolsacks in Morgan & Morgan’s red brick warehouses between the New Road and the railway line: hessian sacks as big as mountains packed tight with sharp smell- ing wool: and the same in Barrett’s warehouse in High Street. Did not the Bar- retts live on Milford Road and did they not have a daughter called Ottaline? And what would “Health and Safety” have said to the owners? Thank God they did not exist to take so much simple fun out of life. Staying on Milford Road, I think I just remember Burtie Swift the brewer, who lived in the big house on the corner of the Crescent opposite the Crescent Chapel: he was a very small man, short in the leg. I have heard a story, from whom I cannot say, of a wag loafing around the Cross when Burtie Swift came along: “Burtie, has’ti got a pair of trousers that’ee could let me have?”: “Well yes, but they would not fit you”: “Oh no, they’re not for me, they’re for my little boy”. Another small, but very important man in his own estimation was Jones Giant: I remember him: what he lacked in height, he made up in girth: he was a successful wool merchant, I believe, and a lay preacher. . . very fervent. The story goes that in one of his sermons his peroration was, “Come down O Lord, come down; come down through this roof and I’ll pay for another”. I cannot vouch for its truth but I believe it fits Jones Giant’s character. I do not tell these two little stories because I believe them to be particularly funny, which they are not, but rather because they illustrate an attitude of so- cial irreverence towards successful and pompous citizens; I believe to have been prevalent in my father’s time in Newtown and probably until the end of the war: then many changes came about in our town. So many names tumble over the days; Marget-y-waun who brought eggs to Granny on Tuesdays and was her friend: who lived at Pentre-rhedyn, and why is Tyn-y-bitfel still remembered? Unanswered questions, so many posed, so many unanswered. Only they are in the Red House area: no doubt names often mentioned by the family and now deep in my subconscious, but not beyond recall. And Mrs Dan Evans Fish. . . she wore wonderful hats and was Granny’s friend. . . but how do I remember her as “Fish” not “Corn”? Today, who remembers Ned George Toddy. . . or Mrs Ned George Toddy? I don’t know if they kept pigs or just collected pig-swill to sell, but they were often seen with a yoke across their shoulders which carried two buckets of stinking swill. Their lives must have been hard. . . “Toddy” because they were often drunk. Why not? Dicky George wondered if they were relations. . . why not. . . we were all Georges.
16 Codman’s. . . Codman’s, the name of the cinema in Park Street where films flickered silently and jerkily to the accompaniment of a thin mean-minded piano, strummed by a Mr Parks. . . is he Parks the newsagent of Broad Street? The seats are hard but the price is low. . . tuppence, I think. And talking of tuppence. . . that was the weekly cost of my mother’s education at Peny- gloddfa School, I suppose in the late 1880s. Parliament House. . . now that’s a place to remember. . . a very small room in a very small house in Crown Street, where Jo Williams the cobbler worked and presided. My memories of it are more recent than the recollections which started this. . . this? . . I don’t know. . . what it is. . . a grave robber’s lullaby? However when I lived the year 1918/1919 in Newtown I was too young to be interested in Radical talk: my visits to Jo were probably during the holidays in the mid 1920s. Do cobblers have a reputation for Radicalism, as did the W H Burton Swift during his term of office as High Sheriff of Mont- gomeryshire in 1912. The judge, Mr Justice Lush, had been the guest of Mr Swift at Crescent House prior to conducting the Summer Assizes in the Public Hall (now the Regent Centre).
17 clockmakers of the Juras? I have a feeling they do: they are, or, since there are so few left today, shall I say were, individuals with lonely time to develop individual ways of thought. Only the spirit of the talk remains, liberal, radical, discerning. . . Chartists to a man! Parliament has no more than four or five sitting on settles against the wall and facing Jo, who has a clear space for his last and knee-high bench and piles of footwear waiting and done and sheets of leather leaning against the wall in the corner next to the fire: soles and heels marked and cut with a curved sharp knife from close held sheets and Jo’s glasses slip down his nose: small nails and tap tap of hammer: dye from a pot roughly daubed to a finished repair and hot wax rubbed on the edge of a sole. There, it is not allowed at home, Dicky George smokes shag in a clay pipe: smoke and good talk and the smell of leather and sharp dye and wax. . . ah, Parliament House. If one should come and claim a better memory or should produce an old newspaper to prove me wrong, that’s fine. There is little truth in the mists of memory and what there is lies at the bottom of a very deep well.
18 THE NEWTOWN CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY AND ITS BRANCHES H Nixon Oliver In the Autumn of 1875 a deputation of working men from the Cambrian Mills persuaded a few of the “industrious, thinking inhabitants of Newtown to convene a meeting to discuss the establishment of a co-operative society”. This statement appears in a piece written in 1901 to mark the 25th anniversary of Newtown Co-operative Society and later incorporated into an unpublished paper on the Jubilee Celebrations of the Society in 1926 compiled by W Jen- kins. The origin of the Co-operative movement is rooted in the principles of co- operation promoted, amongst others, by our townsman Robert Owen. The aim of the early societies was to provide financial support to members in difficult times. In the nineteenth century there was a number of such mutual benefit societies in the town (see Maurice Richards, A History of Newtown, 1993, pp34-38). The earliest known attempt to run a co-operative shop in Newtown, in the 1870s, failed when the subscriptions totalling £75 were lost. In 1875 another attempt was made under the chairmanship of Mr James Hall. After having failed to buy premises in Short Bridge Street the pioneers opened for business at No.2 Ladywell Street. From the commencement of trading the Committee members decided to obtain their goods from the Co-operative Wholesale Soci- ety (CWS), Manchester, but also, as far as possible to buy butter, flour etc from local traders. At their first quarterly report, of June 1876, it was stated that the Committee had £34 at its disposal and that it could pay a dividend of two shil- lings in the pound to members. The venture was clearly a success. In 1872, the English Congregational Church had moved into their new premises on the corner of Park Street and New Church Street. Their old church, which stood diagonally across the road on the corner of Market Street and Salt Warehouse Street was put up for sale. Newtown Co-operative Society, after some competitive bidding, bought it for £470. On October 18th 1879 plans and specifications by architect Edward Jones of Severn Place were adopted for the conversion of the old chapel and a tender from Messrs Morgan Morris & Sons, builders, was accepted, representing an outlay of £513. Business commenced in the new premises in May 1880. In 1891 land at the rear of the shop was bought to build a bakehouse with four ovens. By 1894 the membership stood at 375 with quarterly sales of £1,279 and a dividend of 2/- in the £ was again paid. In about 1901 the committee purchased eight houses at the bottom of Llan- fair Road and the gardens behind them. The houses were back-to-back and were converted into four larger houses and later an extra one was added at ei- ther end (now 1-6 Llanfair Road). The conversions were carried out by Messrs Evan Phillips & Sons.
19 In the Autumn of 1901 a savings bank was opened to promote thrift among the members’ children. In the first year there were 88 depositors and by 1926 there were 800. Also at this time the Education Committee offered four schol- arships for members’ children at Newtown County Intermediate School. Shop sales now reached £10,961 and the dividend reached a high-water mark of 3s 6d in the pound. The first Co-op Children’s Gala was held on July 5th 1902 at the Dingle and was a great success. The following Saturday the new railings around Robert Owen’s tomb in the Old Churchyard were unveiled by George Jacob Holy- oake. Co-operators from many parts of the UK were present. That same year the memorial stones of the new Free Library were laid, the local society having played a large part in the scheme. April 1906 saw the death of the Society’s Treasurer, Mr Thomas Syers. He had held the post since the Society’s inception. As a tribute they erected a monument over his grave in Llanllwchaiarn Churchyard. The Co-op also sup- ported local charities including the Montgomeryshire Infirmary and the New- town Nurse Fund. Also in this year the Society bought the property at the rear of its premises right through to High Street. This took in Meirion House, now McBean’s, and the Laurels, later the home of solicitor R E George and now Lloyd’s TSB. In the early years of the twentieth century it became customary for Co-op Market Street in the 1950s, with the Co-op on the left. The office on the extreme left has gone, but the rest of the building remains much the same.
20 staff and members to have summer outings, often taking Newtown Silver Band with them. Sometimes they went to Aberystwyth and on other occasions they hired brakes from William Hamer & Son, New Road, and went to Llanbadarn Fynydd. They also went to the Co-op headquarters at Balloon Street, Manches- ter. In 1911, the membership having reached almost a thousand, a Climax Cheque system was installed. With this, customers’ payments were put in cap- sules and sucked by vacuum along a pipe to the cash office. Change and re- ceipts were returned in the same way. The following year the Committee members admitted that they had made a grievous mistake. They had sold Meirion House and The Laurels thereby los- ing the chance to extend their retail frontage into High Street. Instead they had three new shops built adjoining the grocery department along Market Street at a cost of £1,710. They housed the drapery, footwear and furnishing depart- ments. The extensions were opened by Newtown Co-op President George Jones and the General Manager, F Charles Evans who were presented with gold keys as mementos. At the outbreak of the First World War most of the staff, who up to then were almost entirely male, were called up for military service and replaced by young women, a change that was taking place all over the country. One hundred and seventy-five Newtown people lost their lives in that war and afterwards the Co- op made a donation of 24 guineas towards the erection of the Cenotaph in Clif- ton Park. In 1920 their first motor delivery van was purchased. Before that time goods were either delivered by horses and drays or errand boys on bicycles. One such errand boy, Jack Morris, was eventually to become the Co-op’s manager, tak- ing the Society through the difficult years of the Second World War, when many of the staff were again called up. In 1953 the Society celebrated its 75th anniversary and was still a successful business. Membership was approaching 4,000 and nearly £10,000 a year was being paid out in dividend. On the strength of this further development plans The Market Street premises in about 1914.
21 were drawn up by the Committee. Land belonging to the Society at the rear of its premises was cleared, the old Salt Warehouse demolished, and work began on the erection of an extension to house the furniture department. The Empori- um was opened in September 1957 by Mr Douglas Whittaker. Despite these successes, the co-operative movement nationally was becom- ing subject to increasing competition from the rise of supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s. Comparatively small local societies were not in a position to com- pete with these fast-growing giants. And so, in June 1963, Newtown Co- operative Society handed its assets to the nationally organised Co-operative Retail Services. Thus ended 90 years of local co-operative enterprise in New- town. The Co-op is still in the town, of course, with stores in the Ladywell Centre and Pioneer on Pool Road, and close links are maintained with the co- operative movement nationally through the Robert Owen Museum. NEWTOWN CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY BRANCHES KERRY No.1 BRANCH During the winter of 1911 publicity meetings were held in Kerry with a view to opening a branch there. It became known that the old business run by Mr Edward Hughes and his family was to be relinquished. The Co-op Committee approached Mr A Anderson, agent for Mr J B Willans of the Dolforgan Estate, with a view to purchasing the property. The premises were eventually rented Three Co-op stalwarts of the 1950s. Harry Smout (bakery), Ivor Jones (bakery) and Bert Bevan (gents’ outfitting) on the steps of the Co-op office.
and even before the branch opened on June 12th 1912 over fifty members had been enrolled. The double fronted house, garden, outbuildings and field were renovated by the Estate staff and re-fitted by Jones & Leach of Newtown. At the opening Mr Willans presented a golden key to the President, Mr George Jones. The new manager was Mr J Williams and Mr Charles Evans, Newtown manager assisted. Sample goods were distributed. In the evening Mr L W Richards of Blaina gave an address on the values of co-operation. CAERSWS No. 2 BRANCH At the April quarterly meeting of 1925 in Newtown Mr Evan Pryce of Pont- dolgoch moved that “the Management Committee be empowered to purchase property at Caersws”. The property in mind was in the centre of the village and as early as 1903 was known as the Central Boot Store, owned by Mr Meirion Evans. The front room of the attached house, Hyfrydle was rented to Barclay’s Bank to transact business on Friday afternoons, the local market day. The Co-op paid £1,600 to buy the premises which were opened on Saturday 12th September 1925. There was a considerable crowd, many having travelled from Newtown by charabanc. The manager was Mr F C Evans from the New- town shop. Gifts were presented to the local Poor Law Institute (Llys Maldwyn). Sample parcels were sold at one shilling each. The local press re- ported “a wild rush”. The chief speaker was Mr Arthur Pickup, a director of CWS Manchester who was introduced by Mr Pryce Owen, the Newtown Presi- dent, and the Secretary, Mr W Jenkins. Mr Owen reported a total membership of 1828, and it was hoped to reach 2000 by the year’s end. MONTGOMERY No.3 BRANCH 22 The Kerry branch in the 1920s.
23 The Montgomery branch opened in 1929 in a double fronted shop named Tanycastell in Broad Street. The following year the AGM reported “that results so far fully justified such action”. The branch did not remain on those premises for long. A year or so later the Co-op was moved about a hundred yards to a new location in Castle Street. It was managed for many years by Mr Arthur Davies. In 1959 it was transferred to the Co-operative Retail Service. In 1972 the branch was sold to be run as a private (Spar) shop by Mr Lambert. It was sold again in 1979 and converted into a private house named Penygrisiau.. Ex- amination of the frontage reveals evidence of where the larger shop windows were on either side of the door. BISHOP’S CASTLE N0.4 BRANCH A fourth branch was opened in High Street, Bishop’s Castle on 8th July, 1931. In March 1946 it was relocated at the Square. It closed down at the time of the CRS take-over. OTHER BRANCHES A branch was opened in Llandrindod in 1948, but it was not a success and closed about a year later. Finally, after the Second World War two further branches were opened within Newtown itself. There had been a shop at 14, Lower Canal Road since soon after the Canal arrived in Newtown in 1819. From 1868 until 1917 it was run by the Rees fam- ily, firstly by William, and later by his son Thomas Rees. It was then taken over by Mr Hedges. In 1950 the tenancy of the shop was acquired by the Co-op and opened as a branch in September of that year. This branch was retained by the CRS following their takeover, but closed following the death of the manag- er, Mr G T Jones, in 1974. It then ceased to be a shop and was converted to a private house. Early in 1953 a branch was opened in one of the newly built shops on the Garth Owen Estate. In 1965 it became a privately run shop when its tenancy was taken by Mr J H Rowlands, former manager of the Canal Road Branch.
24 DINKY BLUES - BLAZE AWAY Gaynor Jones Do you remember Mr & Mrs Bailey? If the answer is yes, what probably comes to mind is Bailey's fish and chip shop in Broad Street which was next to Tegwyn Lloyd's shop. It was a place of bubbling fat, steaming warmth and delicious smells. Our memories centre more upon Mrs Bailey, she who made our childhood years much richer when she revived the second wave of the dancing troupe, The Dinky Blues in the 1950s. Children, or rather girls, from all parts of the town congregated weekly at the old Llanllwchaiarn Church School, now the Powys Theatre, in Canal Road. There we were moulded into a troupe of dancing girls.We were cajoled, bul- lied in the nicest possible way, and drilled into marching in step around the hall as our introduction to more complicated things to come. Marching evolved into skipping, stepping, kicking, forming lines and figures-of-eight. Slowly but surely the Dinky Blues were reborn. Edie Jones was the accompanist, banging away on an old piano at the front of the hall. She didn't have the lightest touch but we were left in no uncertain terms as to what beat we were supposed to be marching to, especially under the eagle eye of Mrs Bailey, cigarette dangling, ready to pounce on anyone out of step or time. Our leader was Megan Humphreys, she led us through all our routines. Start- ing with Megan the girls were lined up in order of size from the tallest to the shortest. Memories are of Sylvia Jenkins, Jean Lloyd, Betty Morgan and Kath Jones near the front. . . her sister Bobbie remembers that each year she dropped nearer to the end of the line. Slowly we knitted together as a team, and simple marching became steps and kicks. One of the high kicking numbers involved a march in which each girl in line had her left hand stretched out to touch the shoulder of the girl in front, while frantically trying to remember what the right arm was supposed to do. Are there any old Dinky Blues out there who remem- ber Out, Out, Knee, Shoulder, Up Down? Once the line had reached and turned to face the audience the high kicking routine began. One that comes to mind is Toe, Heel, Toe, Up, Back, Together. Our costumes were made by Molly Davies, Mrs Natty Corfield and Mrs Humphrey Lewis. Fitting sessions were held above the fish shop. Mr Bailey must have been very long suffering, or very supportive to put up with all the comings and goings of giggling girls being pinned, measured, tucked and stitched into their new costumes. He was probably out in his red sports car, gone fishing. Besides the line dances, we were also taught morris dancing, the whole se- quence done with high skips. In each hand we held a colourful shalaylee, which was made from a piece of wood with coloured crepe paper streamers bunched at each end, and on our footwear bells were attached. And so we prac- tised, perfected and performed. One of the highlights of our calendar was Newtown Carnival, organised by Newtown Football Club, held in the Town Hall Grounds. The Carnival proces-
25 sion would be led by Newtown Prize Silver Band, smartly dressed with gleam- ing instruments, led by leader Natty Corfield. No carnival would have been complete without the band to herald the arrival of the parade and keep us all in time. Sometimes near the back would be a kazoo band to entertain the crowds and keep the tail-enders in time. The centre of attention was the Carnival Queen elect. She was followed by the retiring queen and the carnival queens of Welshpool, Llanidoes and Rhayader with their retinues. Behind them came the decorated vehicles vying for the most topical, decorative or original. Kids next in fancy dress or pushing their decorated bicycles. Slowly the line of lorries, children, animals, dancing troupes and charity collectors would weave its way down Broad Street People lined the route throwing coins onto the lorries and enjoying the antics of Bryan Rees and Jack Blayney, often dressed in drag, shaking their collection tins. And how we wondered at Mr H M Williams on his stilts. Our practising had paid off. There we were, marching smartly behind Megan in our colourful costumes, Mrs Bailey giving instructions from the sidelines. Some of us had not been endowed with natural curls and had our hair turned under with curling tongs. The tongs were heated in the fire and clamped onto the straight ends then turned under to produce a curl and sometimes also the dread smell of singeing. On our feet we wore what were then called "pumps". They had been meticulously whitened the night before. Sometimes the whiten- er was put on too enthusiastically and cracks would appear as we set off. Our two dance numbers would be part of the carnival programme, listed as "Mrs
26 Bailey's Dancing Troupe". We marched and performed in wind and rain as the weather was not always kind, but the memory is kinder and there were sun- shine, blue skies and dazzling pumps bursting the bubbles of the hot tar as we marched. Mrs Bailey also took us to outlying carnivals to perform; Oswestry, Llanid- loes, Aberdovey. . . Great fun was had on the bus as we clutched our tomato sandwiches and Vimtos, peering out of the window to pray for patches of blue in the skies. Sometimes we competed against other dance troupes from as far afield as Liverpool. They always seemed so much more sophisticated than us; their routines more intricate and their costumes more elaborate, but we held our own against them. We used to sing:- Do you know that we're the Dinkie Blues We come from Newtown for you to amuse We like to win, but we don't mind if we lose Because we leave it to the judge to choose Have you seen us in our lido blue We think we're smart, now don't you too With pill box hats and shiny ankle straps We call our mascot "the Dinkie Do" Besides the summer carnival circuit Mrs Bailey also put on variety concerts and pantomimes with the help of her daughters, Mrs Clark and Mrs Shaw. The first variety concert I recall was at Montgomery Town Hall. The opening cho- rus started with Powder Your Face With Sunshine followed by Donald Tudor singing Lili Marlene, the Rainbow Dancers and lots more. The pantomimes we performed in the 1950s were Cinderella, Sleeping Beau- ty and Babes in the Wood. They kept us busy at the year end. Tap dancing shoes were bought, steps learned and routines memorised. We sang, danced and performed solos. Who remembers Happy Days are Here Again and Ten pretty girls? The excitement we all felt as show time approached filled our minds, especially our rehearsal on the Regent stage with Georgie Black keep- ing an eagle eye on us. Today kids have computers, videos, TVs, discos, raves, but we had the Dinky Blues. It brightened our lives and made us feel special. 36
27 Dear Newtonian, I was very interested in the article by Eileen Collins on the Newtown career of her great-grandfather who subscribed so much to Newtown’s education. My father also took a keen interest in many local organisations during his 37 years in Newtown. He was originally a native of Suffolk and on leaving school was accepted on the staff of the Ministry of Health. On the outbreak of the first World War he joined the Shropshire Light Infantry as a Lieutenant and after the war qualified for attendance at Christ’s College, Cambridge. Later he joined the staff of the County Education Department in Newtown as Finance Officer. During his career he became much involved with Newtown’s activities - a secretary of Newtown Football Club, the British Legion, and the Newtown Domino League, and also served on the Rose Queen Carnival Committee. On the outbreak of the second World War, Dad joined the army and was posted to France where he served as a Captain. After the Dunkirk evacuation he escorted 50 men to the Lancastria at St Nazaire. The ship was excessively loaded with army and RAF personnel - estimated as 6,000. The Lancastria was bombed and sunk on 17th June 1940. Three of his men were killed in the explo- sions but the rest were among some 2,000 survivors. Dad spent some 4 hours in the water thick with oil, debris and dead bodies and was rescued by a French tug. The crew were gallant and transferred survivors to SS Ulster Prince which brought them to Falmouth. After organising defences against the German inva- sion in the North he volunteered for service in the Middle East and was pro- moted to Staff Captain. On returning to civilian life he was appointed Treasurer in the Finance De- partment of the County Education Office in Welshpool. He was instrumental in forming the first branch of the National Association of Local Government Of- ficers. He became President of the North Wales Financial Council for many years, treasurer of the Ancient Order of Buffaloes and of the District Conserva- tive Association. Dad was a keen gardener and a member for many years of All Saints Church. He died in 1972 and the Vicar of Llanllwchaiarn, Canon Cledwyn Owen, offi- ciated at the funeral. Members of the Ancient Order of Buffaloes were present and the Last Post was played in his honour by the British Legion trumpeter. Their flag was placed at the altar and his coffin draped with the Union Flag. Yours sincerely, Roy Stott, Cheltenham. READERS’ LETTERS
28 Dear Newtonian, Having just seem volume 7 I was pleased to see the photograph of my uncle, Colour Sergeant Harry Thomas, which prompted me to write about my father Percy Morgan who also worked full-time for the Territorial Army at the same time. He was with the Transport Division. At various times I have been taken to school on the back of a dispatch-rider’s motor-bike, army lorry, and once even a bren gun carrier. Dad and Reg Owen were the official buglers and played the Last Post every year at the Cenotaph on November 11th. They also had to sound a fanfare when the Circuit Judge went to church before presiding at the Assize Court which was held in The Regent Cinema. Reg Owen was also the Goat Major. Billy the mascot was kept on the Canal Road in between pa- rades. He used to look magnificent marching in front of the band, with his hooves and horns painted gold, the band in their red coats with the famous black flashes and red and white epaulettes. My father played the flute and I can remember Ossie Hannan on the drum. When they went to Aberystwyth for the fortnight’s camp they used to “Beat Retreat” down Aber Prom. I used to be so proud watching them. A few weeks before war broke out a change of uniform was decided on. They all used to wear puttees and it was decided to abolish them. My mother, Dolly Morgan, and Tommy Poulton the tailor had the job of sewing in all the trousers to make the wearing of puttees obsolete. Our house was awash with khaki. I wonder can any of your readers remember the Peace Pageant held some- time in the 1930s. Everyone was dressed in traditional costumes and rode floats through the town to the Pavilion, where we all went on stage. Dad and Reg played a fanfare. I was dressed as a black boy, my sister Gwyneth as a Russian and Mrs Winnie Gray in a kimono as a Japanese. Two page boys in gold breeches and lace frilled tunics were on either side of me. One was Cyril Davies, who in years to come married my cousin Olwen, and the other was Martin Owen, who married another cousin, Betty. What a co-incidence. It would be interesting to know if others can remember it in more detail. Keep the Newtonian coming. It’s nice to hear of the old home town. Lennie Matthews (née Morgan), Brownhills. Dear Newtonian, I am writing in response to Mrs Ann Pugh's letter in the sixth issue to say that I, together with many other Newtonians, knew her Dad, Bill Rees, very well; an unforgettable character to say the least. My first recollection of Bill was his diminutive figure on crutches when he lived in Dinam Terrace and I vaguely remember that he may have recently undergone an operation on his 'gammy' leg, although I could be wrong as I was probably only five or six at the time. His place of work in the Health Office in Broad Street was adjacent to the Education Office where I worked. Bill was regarded by me and other Education Office staff employees as the 'fount of all
29 knowledge', especially in the world of local football. As Chairman, and I sus- pect 'general factotum', of Newtown Football Club he was a frequent visitor to our office bringing us the latest information of the team to be fielded on the following Saturday. This was in the early fifties prior to the build up to New- town's win of the Welsh Amateur Cup. We eagerly awaited Bill's visits and he never failed to keep us abreast of all the latest developments, knowing full well that we were all ardent supporters. He wore so many different caps apart from those mentioned by Ann. He was, I remember, Secretary and Chairman of Montgomery Branch of NALGO for many years, Church Deacon, Registrar plus many others too numerous to mention. He was indeed a very popular Newtown character, highly respected in the community, knowledgeable in the town's affairs and an untiring worker in all its sporting and other activities.Yes, I was priviledged to know Bill and his sudden and untimely death was a great shock to me and to his many friends and a very great loss to Newtown. Les Stott, Newtown NEWTOWN CARNIVAL The main feature in the next issue of the Newtonian will be the history of Newtown Carnival. As a part of this project we are hoping to add as many photographs of Newtown’s Carnival Queens to our archive, and publish as many as we can. If you are able to lend us pictures of past Queens we would be very pleased to hear from you. Any pictures submitted will be copied and sent back by return of post. If you would rather not post them please let us know and we will, if possible, collect and re- turn them by hand. For technical reasons we much prefer to work from original photographs rather than photocopies or prints from computer scanned photos. If your pictures are al- ready in digital form you can either send them in JPEG format to us by e-mail or on floppy disk. Any other pictures of carnival activities would of course also be useful to us and will be copied and returned in the same way. Nadia Rowlands, the 2001 Queen.
30 HISTORY OF NEWTOWN B BENNETT ROWLANDS Published in 1914, this was the first published history of Newtown. Benjamin Bennett Rowlands, a native of Llan- dinam, was an estate agent in Newtown for many years. Outside his professional life his two great interests were the church, particularly the Old Church of St Mary’s, and the Pryce family of New- town Hall. Indeed, although the title “History of Newtown” appears on the front cover, the title page proclaims “A Brief History of the Ancient Church and Town, The Pryces of Newtown Hall, and the Present Church and Modern Town of Newtown, Montgomeryshire”. As a work of local history the book has its shortcomings. It is compiled from a mixture of written and anecdotal sources and sometimes the author’s strongly held opinions colour the narrative. But to be fair to Bennett Rowlands, he made no great claim to historical exacti- tude. In the introduction to the book he says, “The compilation of these brief historical records and folk lore has been to me, as I have said, a work of unal- loyed pleasure, but I cannot undertake to state that they are in all cases entirely historical”. The final section on “Modern Newtown” is now, of course, a piece of histori- cal writing in itself, although again not without occasional errors. Nevertheless, this book is an essential for the library of any local historian in Newtown, but be warned, good copies of this book are now changing hands for over £100. The book is illustrated with a number of photographs of Newtown, Sir Pryce and Lady Pryce-Jones and members of the Brisco family. Bennett Rowlands’s manuscript for the book, together with the original photographs, recently came to light in Newtown Rectory. They have now been deposited in the National Library of Wales. History of Newtown, B Bennett Rowlands, 1914, Phillips & Son, Newtown OLD PUBLICATION
31 THE NEWTONIAN QUIZ 1. The name David Edwards appears a number of times on Newtown Station; where and why? 2. Where is Park Pool? 3. What links Plasybryn and the Humber Motor Company? 4. Only one school in Newtown has occupied its present site for more than fifty years. Which? 5. Who once swam across the river fully clothed because his grandfather had done the same thing? 6. What Newtown link is there with Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Walford Davies and Sir Henry Wood. 7. What Newtown edifice is said to be the same height as the Dingle Falls? 8. What building has at one time or another been named after a ladder, a substi- tute ruler and particles of salt? 9. What is the oldest established musical organisation in Newtown? 10. Control Techniques started life as KTK. Where did that original name come from? PUZZLE PICTURE Where in Newtown can you find this bold cavalryman? Answers to the Quiz and Puzzle Picture in the next edition of the Newtonian.
32 VOLUME 7 QUIZ ANSWERS 1. The Roman Road from Forden to Caersws ran though what is now part of the town. What was its route? Through the Lion Works, the Smithfield, Kerry Road, Station Approach, Sta- tion Yard,, Llanidloes Road. 2. The Pony Dancers were formed in 1933. They were later reformed with a different name. What was it? The Dinky Blues. 3. The present Post Office was built in 1937. Where was it before then? In the Public Rooms, now Crystals. 4. How many public footpaths are there within the town boundary? Eighty. 5. What is the Latin name of the River Severn? Sabrina. 6. In 1922 the Montgomeryshire Express described a new building as "an or- nate fronted building which arrests attention and commands the unreserved admiration of everyone. Cookson's, now Humphreys, garage. 7. In 1930 a correspondent to the Mont Express, who had been away for forty years, said it was still possible to tell the difference between people from Peny- gloddfa and those from the Brickfield. How? By their accent. 8. Where would you have found "The Destructor." At the gasworks. 9. Until 1948 the Summer Assizes were held in Newtown. Where? The Public Rooms. 10. Who was the first member of the Royal Family to make an official visit to the town. The Duke of Edinburgh in 1958. 11. The first woman member of the Town Council was Mrs Elizabeth Williams in 1922. She was also known as Mrs Deputy Williams. Why? Her husband was Deputy Chief Constable. 12. A few years ago the Robert Owen statue was borrowed and copied. Where does that copy now stand? Outside the HQ of the Co-operative Bank, 1Balloon Street, Manchester. PUZZLE PICTURE The Picture was of the old lamp standard at the bottom of the original drive to the Infirmary on Llanfair Road.
NEWTOWN LOCAL HISTORY GROUP Newtown Local History Group meets in the Bell Hotel, Commercial Street, Newtown, usually on the first Monday of each month. The meetings are open to anyone who has an interest in the history of Newtown. THE NEWTONIAN Copies of THE NEWTONIAN can be obtained in the following ways:- • From members of Newtown Local History Group, price £1.50 • From Mrs Ann Morgan at Mid Wales Motorways in the Robert Owen Museum, Broad Street, Newtown • From Brenda’s Travel, 31 Short Bridge Street, Newtown • By post, price £2.00 in the UK and £3.00 overseas from Rhoswen, Bryn Street, Newtown, Powys, SY16 2HW. Please make cheques payable to “Newtown Local History Group”. Back numbers are available at the same rates. HOW TO CONTACT US: BY POST: The Newtonian, Rhoswen, Bryn Street, Newtown, Powys, SY16 2HW BY E-MAIL: david_pugh@lycos.co.uk TELEPHONE: 07814 089726 (mobile) CONTRIBUTIONS: We welcome contributions on any subject concerning Newtown and its histo- ry. They can be submitted either in writing or in typescript, or on 31/2 floppy disk using either MS-Word or MS-Works. Photographs or documents submit- ted will be computer scanned and sent back to the sender by return of post. COPYRIGHT: Copyright in The Newtonian is held by its publisher, Newtown Local History Group. No part of The Newtonian may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys- tem, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, mag- netic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permis- sion in writing from the publisher.
Published by Newtown Local History Group, Rhoswen, Bryn Street, New- town, Powys, SY16 2HW. E-mail: david_pugh@lycos.co.uk Printed by Parchment (Oxford) Ltd, Printworks, Crescent Road, Cowley, Oxford, OX4 2PB. E-mail parch2000@cs.com www.PrintUK.com OUR CONTRIBUTORS EVA BREDSDORFF was born in Copenhagen. She went to Copenhagen University where she gained a BA in English, a BA in Art History and an MA in History. In 1987 she became curator of the Powysland Museum in Welshpool. She took over responsibility for Newtown Textile Museum in 1990 and Llanidloes Museum in 1996. She is now Senior Museum Curator (Montgomeryshire) for Powys County County Council. RICHARD CHURCHILL was born in Llandrindod and removed by his parents to London six months later, no doubt screaming in protest. Except for one year in Newtown, 1918-19, and five years in the Army, 1939-44, he remained in London and practised as a solicitor in the family firm in the City. Disillusioned with the Concrete Jungle, he left and lived in Wiltshire, Hampshire and Sussex. In 1969 he moved to Carno, serving for a while as Clerk to Carno Community Council. He now lives in Garthmyl but has never lost touch with Newtown. GAYNOR JONES was born in Newtown and educated locally. She started employment with a local insurance firm. In 1970 she joined the staff of the then Montgomeryshire County Library. On local government reorganisation in 1974 she transferred to Powys County Council’s Architect’s Department at the Park Offices, Newtown. She is now retired and enjoys music, playing sport, and the countryside. NIXON OLIVER, born in Newtown and educated at Penygloddfa and Newtown County School, joined Montgomeryshire County Library where he was mobile librarian for 38 years. He is now retired and spends his time researching Newtown history. His book on Llanllwchaiarn Church and Parish was recently published. DAVID PUGH was born in Newtown and educated at local schools. After 20 years away from the town, working in telecommunications and broadcasting, he returned to become technical manager of Theatr Hafren. He is now retired and spends most of his time studying local history.