What was it like living around Henllys Vale area?

Lessons 8 & 9

A map to show the surrounding towns and villages that people would have lived in

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Population size• Every 10 years a census was taken of the

surrounding areas.• Wales was divided up into parishes and it was

one persons responsibility to find out who lived in the area and their occupation.

• People that worked at Henllys Vale would have come from 2 different parishes:  Ystradgynlais (Powys) and Llangadock (Carmarthenshire).

• To give you an idea of how the population grew between 1841 and 1901 we will look at the Ystradgynlais census information.  This parish included the following villages:Abercrave, Caehopkin, Caerbont, Caer-lan, Cefn-byrle, Cwmtwrch, Coelbren, Cwmgiedd, Craig-y-nos, Gurnos, Penrhos, Pen-y-cae, Pant-y-cwrt and Ystradgynlais

Year Population

1841 26851851 37581861 43451871 41211881 41141891 43261901 5758

Draw a bar chart using the figures and describe what it is showing.

Think about why the population grew so quickly.

The reason for the decrease in population between 1861 and 1871 could be due to the cholera outbreak in the area in 1866. This mainly affected the community of Ystalyfera.

Limestone quarrying• The demand for limestone increased during the

19th Century, so a quarry was set up by a John Hay at Blaen Llynfell on the Black Mountain. He owned Black Mountain Anthracite Co.

• There were no houses near the quarry, so workmen lived in tents during the summer months but during the winter, when the conditions were so bad, they went back down the valley to their houses.

• Originally lime was carried by horses in baskets (paniers) to the kilns which was approximately 3 miles away.

• Later on, an incline was constructed from the quarry to the kilns. A steam engine at the top of the incline pulled the trucks back and forth between the quarry and the lime kilns.

Evidence of John HaysIncline from the quarry to the Henllys limekilns

•Once the lime reached the kilns it was burnt for making iron or to put on the land.•Silica was also collected by men and girls and taken down to the kilns. Women rarely worked here. They were paid 1 shilling per journey. The tram line took over this work in 1884.

Make a list of all the jobs that had to be done to get the lime from the quarry to the kilns.

Do you think it would be difficult?Imagine you doing this when it is cold, wet and windy. They had no waterproof clothes.

Work in the Colliery• Men and children went underground to dig

out the coal. Conditions were difficult. Small spaces, little light and air.

• A steam engine was constructed to haul the coal up to the surface.

• A tram would carry the coal to the top of the screen wall where the coal was poured down a chute on to a conveyor belt.

• Water power from the Twrch was used to operate the belt where the coal was sorted.

• Once the coal was sorted it was taken by tram to the tramline to be taken down the valley.

A picture of the remains of the tramway down the valley

Tramway

Lime kilns John Hays incline to Blaenllynfell

Tramline down the valley

Mine

• In 1842 a Royal Commission looked into the employment of children and the end result showed that some sort of reform of working conditions needed to take place.

• Boys aged 7 had to be at the pits by 6 in the morning and would work through until 6 in the evening.

• They worked 6 days a week and went to church on the 7th day.

• It is recorded that boys would get paid roughly 3 ½ pence per day.

• Girls were not allowed to work underground but they would work on the surface.

• Girls that did not work at the mine or the kilns helped out around the house, cooking, washing or child minding.

• They worked to supplement the families income.

General pictures of what it was like working in aMine during the 1800’s

'Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre <www.cmhrc.co.uk>

'Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre <www.cmhrc.co.uk>

'Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre <www.cmhrc.co.uk>

'Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre <www.cmhrc.co.uk>

'Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre <www.cmhrc.co.uk>

• Think about what your life was like when you were 7 years old?

• What do you think the conditions were like underground?Think of as many adjectives as you can, that would describe what the conditions were like.

• Do you think it was easier on the surface? If so why?

• Do you think it was dangerous?• Why do you think people kept working there?

General information about life in the Cwmtwrch area

Water supplyIn 1889 there were just a few workmens houses. They got their water for washing and drinking from the Twrch or from local wells. There was never a short supply of water.

When the collieries opened up they dumped the waste (human, coal, lime etc) into the river, which killed all life in the water but also the water became contaminated and unsafe to use.

Church & ChapelsGoing to church was an integral part of life in the valley. One of the earliest chapels built in the area was at Cwmllynfell in 1701. In 1796 the Baptists built a place of worship at Pen-y-cae. 1806 the Yorath Chapel was built at Cwmgiedd. And around 1834 Beuluah Chapel was built in Cwmtwrch.

Schools• School was not compulsory and in many areas there were

no schools to attend, apart from Sunday schools. • Some boys and girls could not read or write but some did

go to Sunday school where they learnt either English or Welsh.

• There were two societies that helped with educating children from a poorer background. The National Society which centred on religion and the British Society which did not.

• 1870 Education Act set up a system where children from poorer families had an opportunity to go to school.

• Some colliery proprietors set up schools in the area for instance Cwmllynfell and Cwmtwrch schools were set up this way.

• Attendance was poor because either the pupils were working or they had a long way to walk to get to school.

• Pupils were disciplined by teachers using the cane on the children’s hands.

Entertainment• When children had time they had several games to

play: Football – the ball being made out of pigs bladder

blown up with air. Conkers

SkippingLeap frogI spy

• Men liked to go to the pub, sing, play rugby and it has been thought that cock fighting also took place in some villages.

Food• Food was very basic and a lot less than we eat

today.• The meal of the day would be meat and potatoes

or Cawl (meat and vegetable soup)

Housing• Houses normally consisted of 2 or 3 rooms and in

some areas this would mean 10 people sleeping in one room.

• Toilets were outside and were shared with other households. There was no sewage system so diseases spread quickly.