Before the modern settlement
of Aberaman developed with the industrialisation of the Cynon
Valley, Aberaman was best known as the seat of the local gentry,
the Mathew Family. A branch of a landowning family with interests
throughout Glamorgan the family rose to prominence in the Seventeenth
century when three members served as High Sheriff of Glamorgan.
The family lived at Aberaman Isha, which was later better known
as Aberaman House and still exists in a much-modified form
today. When the last male heir Edward Mathew died in 1788 Aberaman
Estate was divided between his three daughters and their husbands,
ending 200 years of influence in the locality. In 1806 the
Merthyr Ironmaster Anthony
Bacon bought Aberaman House and following his death the
property came into the possession of Crawshay Bailey, the owner
of Nant-y-Glo and Beaufort Ironworks.
This drawing of Aberaman dated August 16th 1827 by one of the Bacon
sisters Emma and Lucy who were the granddaughters of Anthony Bacon
the ironmaster depicts the rural tranquility of the area. They produced
many drawings of the Cynon Valley during the period 1820-1830
It is a consequence of Crawshay Bailey's desire
to exploit the mineral resources of the Estate that the settlement
of Aberaman developed in the second half of the Nineteenth
Century. By 1845 Crawshay Bailey had acquired all of the Estate
and, after constructing the Aberdare Railway in partnership
with J J Guest, he opened the Aberaman Ironworks and associated
collieries. Along with Blaengwawr Colliery that David
Davis had opened in 1843, these new industrial concerns
were the catalyst for the development of Aberaman, to satisfy
the need for housing and services that the influx of new workers
created.
Above: Lewis Street c 1890
The initial development in the 1840's took the
form of a ribbon settlement that spread southwards from Aberdare
along Cardiff Road. During the 1850's the settlement began
to spread outwards from Cardiff Road as Curre Street, Holford
Street, Gwawr Street and Lewis Street, amongst others were
constructed. Settlements also tended to grow in the vicinity
of the collieries: Incline Row and Bell Place around Aberaman
Colliery; Blaengwawr Row and Blaengwawr Cottages to the North
at Blaengwawr Colliery.
Two contemporary accounts give a vivid description of the conditions prevailing
in Aberdare as the area struggled to cope with the population explosion.
The Vicar of Aberdare, Reverend John Griffith,
writing to the inspectors compiling the Report on the State
of Education in Wales in 1847 states that although the settlement
had only been in existence 18 months its population was already
1200. The population was expected to rise to 4800 within a
year. 80 masons and 50 carpenters were working at that time
to provide housing.
Thomas Rammell in his 1853
Report to the General Board of Health describes the poor condition
of the dwellings built in these years. He singles out Aberaman Road and
Treaman in particular as being built in unsuitable locations with poor
drainage leaving them liable to flooding and damp. In turn the inhabitants
were more susceptible to disease. Aberaman also suffered because it did
not have a local water source so it's inhabitants had to travel at least
a quarter of a mile to the nearest water source at Blaengwawr. Consequently:
"There is much waiting at the spouts; three hours for
a turn is no uncommon time. People have been known to go for
water immediately after their dinner at twelve o'clock and
return at six o'clock without any, their turn not having come
round. They get up at two or three o'clock in the morning to
go for water. A hundred jugs in a row are at times seen at
the spouts. There is much immorality at the spouts, from people
waiting there and having nothing to do."
Aberaman Hall and Institute
In the later Nineteenth century Aberaman continued to grow southwards until
by the time Godreaman was developed in the early years of the Twentieth
Century Aberaman and Cwmaman had
become joined. By the beginning of the Twentieth Century Lewis Street had
evolved into an important commercial centre and when the imposing Aberaman
Hall and Institute was opened in 1910 it was clear evidence of the strong
civic pride held by the inhabitants of Aberaman.
The movement to build
a Public Hall and Institute in Aberaman began with a public
meeting at Saron Chapel in 1892. However, following a number
of setbacks, it was fully fifteen years later on 2nd October
1907 that the ceremony to lay the foundation stone took
place. And it was not until 14th June 1909 that the hall
was officially opened by Keir Hardie MP.
The architect of the hall was Thomas Roderick of Aberdare
and the builders John Morgan and Son. The hall was built
at 171 Cardiff Road, a site previously occupied by the
Aberaman Reading Institute, because of its proximity to
the commercial centre of Aberaman at Lewis Street. When
opened the hall could boast of an impressive list of facilities,
including: 2 Billiards Rooms, 2 Games Rooms, Baths and
a Swimming Pool in the basement; a Committee Room, Lending
Library, Reference Room and Lecture Hall on the Ground
Floor; and a main auditorium with seating for 1,800 people
plus gallery on the first floor.
Those who campaigned to have the hall built hoped it would act as a social
and cultural centre for Aberaman. It is obvious from the vast number of activities
that took place in the Hall during its history that it satisfied this role.
When the Hall was destroyed by fire in November 1994 it left a significant
gap in the lives of the people of Aberaman.
Aberaman Cyclists
During the 1880's and 1890's, following the invention of the chain driven
safety bicycle, the sport of cycling became extremely popular with people
from all walks of life. The sport was as popular in the Cynon Valley
as elsewhere, in 1884 the Aberdare Bicycle Club was formed and by 1890
it had developed into a racing club.
Extraordinarily, during this golden age of cycling
Aberaman produced no less than four world class cyclists: the
Linton Brothers Arthur, Tom and Samuel; and Jimmy Michael.
Of these four Arthur Linton and Jimmy Michael became World
Champions.
Arthur Linton began to race locally and by 1892 was well known throughout
South Wales. During the 1893 season he began to establish himself nationally
and he was signed as a professional to ride a 'Gladiator' cycle under the
tutelage of the trainer 'Choppy' Warburton. In 1894 Arthur defeated Dubois,
the French Champion, in Paris and was narrowly defeated by the Italian
Champion Bonnic, who thereafter refused to race him again. He was given
the title of 'Champion Cyclist of the World' and when he returned to Aberaman
in December he was given a hero's welcome, a public banquet was held in
the Lamb and Flag public house and he was presented with an illuminated
address
Above: Arthur Linton pictured with just some of the prizes he won during
his short but successful career of 3 years as a professional cyclist
Above: Jimmy Michael with his trainer 'Choppy' Warburton
1895 was a less successful year for Arthur. He
suffered a knee injury and split from his trainer 'Choppy'
Warburton. However, it was during the 1896 season that Arthur
won his greatest race, the Bordeaux to Paris Race in which
he defeated Riviere. Tragically, it seems that this race took
too much of a toll on his body and Arthur Linton died of Typhoid
Fever in June 1896, only some six weeks after the race. He
was just 24 years old when he died.
A protégé of Arthur Linton, Jimmy Michael came to public
attention in 1894 when he won the Herne Hill race in record time. He too
was signed by 'Gladiator' and taken under the wing of 'Choppy' Warburton.
In 1895 he continued his run of success, beating the French champion Lesna
and later tied with Arthur Linton's record for 50km. At the end of the
year he became the World Middle Distance Champion at Cologne. As a result
of Jimmy's meteoric rise and the poor year suffered by Arthur Linton, an
element of rivalry appeared between Jimmy and the Linton's, especially
Tom.
Shortly after Arthur's death, Jimmy split from
'Choppy' Warburton and then decided to chance his arm in America,
where he enjoyed a successful career, breaking many records
and amassing a sizeable fortune. Jimmy retired from cycling
for a while and instead became a jockey and racing stable owner,
though when this venture failed Jimmy returned to cycling in
1902. Unfortunately, he was not the same rider on his return
and did not recapture his earlier record breaking form. He
died, aged only 29, in November 1904 on the liner 'Savoie'
whilst travelling back to New York. The cause of death was
an attack of delirium tremens, probably brought on through
heavy drinking.
Tom Linton continued to enjoy a successful racing career although he never
enjoyed the same level of recognition as either Arthur or Jimmy. He died
in 1914 of Typhoid Fever, the same disease that had killed his brother
18 years before.
Samuel Linton had returned to work in the local collieries and died in
1935.
Aberaman Ironworks
Aberaman Ironworks were the last of the four
ironworks in the Cynon Valley to be built. Founded by Crawshay
Bailey in 1845 the first iron was puddled at Aberaman Colliery
in May 1847. In 1848 the works had one working blast furnace,
three engines, a forge, rolling and boring mills, brickworks
and limekilns.
The works did not, however, prove successful in the long term. By 1854
they were out of blast although they were started again in 1855. A first
attempt had been made to sell the works in 1862 for £250,000, but
this appears to have been unsuccesful as the works were again put up for
sale in 1864 following the retirement of Crawshay Bailey. The works were
bought by the Aberaman Iron Company, although this company was wound up
in 1867 when the whole concern was bought by the Powell Duffryn Company.
The works had stopped in 1866 and were never again put into blast. Click
here for a more detailed map
Aberaman Coal Industry
During the second half of the Nineteenth Century, the Aberaman area developed
as one of the most important centres of the coal industry in the Cynon
Valley. With the development of the Aberaman Ironworks by Crawshay Bailey
acting as a catalyst, by 1850 four major collieries had developed in
the vicinity.
Aberaman Colliery was opened by Crawshay Bailey
in 1845 and was taken over by the Powell
Duffryn Steam Coal Company in 1866 when they bought the Aberaman Estate. The first
Mines Rescue Station in South Wales was opened at this colliery
in 1909, when over a thousand men were employed there. Powell
Duffryn retained control of the colliery until nationalisation
in 1947 when ownership was transferred to the National Coal
Board. The colliery was closed in 1965.
Left: Aberaman Mines Rescue Team c1914
Blaengwawr Colliery was opened in 1843 by David
Davis. Following his death in 1866 control passed to his sons
until the colliery was closed in 1885. The colliery did not
reopen until the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company bought it
in 1914. The colliery was closed for good in 1926.
Abergwawr Colliery (Plough Pit, Powell's Pit) was the shortest lived of
these early collieries. Opened in 1849 by Powell and Protheroe it too was
bought by the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company in 1864 although following
a legal dispute the colliery was closed in 1875.
Right: Blaengwawr Level c1910
Treaman Colliery (Nici-Naci) was sunk by David
Williams by 1850. By 1866 the colliery had come under the control
of Crawshay Bailey so ownership passed to the Powell Duffryn
Steam Coal Company following his death in 1866. The colliery
was closed in 1912. The nickname Nici-Naci came from the noise
the rope made travelling over the headgear that could be heard
throughout the village.
Other collieries and levels sunk later in the area included the Meadow
Pit (1864 - c. 1910), Level Fach (1869 - c. 1914) and the Blaengwawr Levels
(1903 - 1935)
The 1910 "Block Strike"
By 1910 the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company was the predominant force
in the coal industry of Aberaman. This was an era of growing industrial
discontent in the industry as the increasingly radicalised miners came
into conflict with the powerful colliery combines over a number of issues.
At the end of 1910 events came to a head and two strikes erupted as miners
attempted to defend their working rights and customs from the changes
being wrought by the combines in a process of 'rationalisation'.
In the Rhondda Fawr the Cambrian Combine dispute would eventually lead
to the Tonypandy Riots, whilst in the Cynon Valley the 'Block' strike led
to civil unrest in Aberaman that had a significant impact on the community.
The spark that ignited the 'Block' dispute was the withdrawal by the management
at Lower Duffryn Colliery of the miner's right to take home scrap wood
for firewood, a custom that had been in operation for at least 40 years.
On the 20th October 1910 when the night shift came up and heard of this
policy they marched to Lletty Shenkin Colliery and brought out the colliers
there, unrest then spread to five other Powell Duffryn Collieries.
Above: Cwmbach Relief Committee during
the 1910 Strike
At a mass meeting held at Aberdare on 21st October
a list of 18 grievances were drawn up, which put the issue
of firewood and the use of machinery to the fore. Another important
issue was the payment for abnormal places where a collier may
encounter difficult working conditions.
The relationship between Charles Stanton, the Miner's Agent, and the Powell
Duffryn Management became increasingly strained and by 30th October negotiations
had broken down. On 31st October only four collieries were still working
in the Aberdare Valley and as hardship began to bite tension inevitably
increased.
On 2nd November the first violent incidents occurred at Aberaman when a
train carrying labourers who were still working was attacked at Tonllwyd
Crossing and the houses of colliery officials were stoned.
On
8th November the violence took a dramatic turn when a
large crowd attacked the Powell Duffryn Power Station and
Washery at Cwmbach. Following a meeting at Aberaman Public
Hall and Institute a large crowd of about 2,000 people assembled.
A diversionary attack by 500 on Aberaman Colliery was repulsed
using fire hoses but the remainder of the crowd marched to
the Power Station. The attacks by the crowd were beaten back
by 29 police officers who used the extraordinary tactics
of electrifying the perimeter fence and spraying hot water
from the boilers on to the crowd. When the crowd had been
disorientated the police charged, pushing the crowd before
them down the railway line and on to the canal bank. Some
of the demonstrators were actually forced into the canal
by the jostling crowd. In all some 60 demonstrators were
injured, including one man who was badly burned by the electric
fence.
Above: Middle Duffryn Washery and Power
Station c1920. Attacked by rioters on 8th November 1910
Violence continued to simmer in Aberaman throughout
November. Windows of shops were smashed and colliery officials
were targeted. One man was surrounded by a crowd of 1,500 on
Aberaman Station and assaulted. A chapel service was interrupted
by the congregation for a colliery official to be ejected from
the building. In one incident a crowd composed mostly of women
and children that had congregated outside Aberaman Hall was
charged by mounted police. This incident caused a great deal
of anger in the area and calls for an enquiry.
Left: Children and wives of
Aberdare Miners taking home coal from the tips during
the 1910 "Block" Strike
Ultimately, however, the hardship began to tell
on the miners and they were forced back to work on 2nd January
1911. Initially only half of the men employed by Powell Duffryn
were given jobs but after repairs had been carried out this
number increased. By the end of 1911 some 1,000 miners were
still out of work and on lock-out pay, as the Powell Duffryn
management took the opportunity to close one colliery and a
number of unproductive headings.
