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My grandfather, R. W. Jones(1875-1944), was a teacher in the Rhondda valley first in Porth and later as Head of Treherbert Boys Secondary School. He was a very active man and as well as his educational duties managed to be a poultry breeder, composer, organist, choir master, adjudicator, and even wrote several books for John Southall, (publisher of Newport Gwent), one of which is credited with being the first Nature Study book for Welsh Elementary schools. While mainly being written in Welsh the books include an English Vocabulary. Many readers may question why a book published in 1911 is credited as being the FIRST first Nature Study book for Welsh Elementary schools, but a look at a summary of the history of the Welsh language will provide an explanation. My Grandfather and John Southall and their colleagues were indeed pioneers.
Born: 2nd January 1875 at Llanddeiniolen, (Dinorwig) Caernarfon
BA in Welsh and English at Aberystwyth. Fellow Royal Horticultural Society. Licentiate of the Tonic Sol-Fa College.
While at Aberystwyth met Margaret Davies from Llanrystud Cardiganshire
School master in Porth School c 1900
Married Margaret Davies in Porth on July 25th 1900
Astudiaeth Anian. (Nature Study) Published 1911
LLyfr Darllen (Rhif lll) (Reading Book - Number 3!) 1913 Published 1924
(A bookcase was presented to him by Bethlehem Church, Porth 1925)
Moved to Treherbert and took up Headmastership of Dunraven School (Treherbert school) on the 1st September 1925
A clock was presented to him by the school.
1932 he conducted the 'Treherbert Celebrity Concert'
Appointed an elder at Horeb church 1938.
Died
October 1944
Headmaster, Church organist, Choirmaster and adjudicator, Author.
R. W Jones was very well qualified by 1900 when he got married and started work as school master at Porth School. By the time he moved to Treherbert in 1925 he had published at least 2 books and impressed the local church enough that they gave him a beautiful book case which is still in the family. He and his wife had also produced 7 children, all of whom grew up to have very successful careers in Education, Medicine and Government Service.
Due to the coal industry, Treherbert had grown very rapidly in the 70 years before R. W. Jones arrived from Porth. Coal prices reached their peak in 1920, but by 1925 the price had fallen by 60% and continued to fall for the next 6 years. The General Strike was in 1926 and The Great Depression followed. These were very difficult times for a coal mining town as the coal caves still evident in the hillside above Dunraven Street show. These were dug by hand by the families of unemployed miner's, desperate to find fuel to keep warm and to sell. When this income failed they turned to the soup kitchens. These too, were difficult times for schools, with poverty induced illness and family breakdown. The churches became vital supports, and the choirs, bands and Eisteddfodau essential distractions. This is what shaped the rest of his career. (To get an idea of the importance of music in the area look at the history section of the wonderful Treorchy Male Voice Choir website.)
So what was he like? I was born 7 years after his death and lived on the other side of the Bristol Channel, but the impression I have is of a quiet, gentle, charismatic man, with twinkling eyes who would always have the right phrase to calm a family argument. My father told me that being a pupil at a school where his father was head was not always easy. The least sign of trouble and my Dad always seemed to be the one who was made an example of, but nevertheless he always spoke of R.W. with a deep sense of affection as did all R.W's children. And the children all grew up confident, competent, happy and generous adults. No one in the world had nicer aunts and uncles then me - and, of course my brothers and cousins.
Apart
from his teaching duties and his music, he was also a keen gardener (probably an
essential skill at the time), and kept a
prized flock of chickens. Family legend has it that he supplied breeding stock
to a local company that became one of the biggest egg producers in the UK, with
the implication that it was R.W's understanding of genetics that was
responsible. He also instilled a keen sense of civic duty into his
children who all had extracurricular posts in education, religion, music,
drama or politics.
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Click here for Word file showing selected pages. (When file appears click 'View' button on your browser/Word toolbar and zoom in to 200% for best results.)
Astudiaeth Anian. (Nature Study) Published 1911
Astudiaeth Anian includes chapters on spring (gwanwyn), primroses (briallu), the 0ak (dderwen) the song-thrush (bronfraith), hawthorn (ddraenen wen), wild hyacinth (clychau'r eos), hedge sparrow (gwas y grog), crab (y cranc), birch (fedwyn), dandelion (dant y llew) etc.
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LLyfr Darllen (Rhif lll) (Reading Book - Number 3!) 1913 Published 1924.
[Similar books of another Southall series written by a 'certificated teacher' (who was that?) are currently available from several internet bookshops.]
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On Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th of February 1932 he conducted the 'Treherbert Celebrity Concert', really a two day festival, and the following information comes from an extensive report in the Glamorgan Free Press and Rhondda Leader of he 27th February.
The Concert took place in the Bethany Chapel, as the Horeb* was not big enough. The choir, though was the Horeb Choral Society and numbered 160 voices.
Soloists were Kate Winter (Soprano), Lizzie Davis (Contralto), Evan Lewis (tenor), and Kenneth Ellis (bass). Kate Winter and Kenneth Ellis being 'wireless stars'.
The artistes sang a miscellaneous selection including
Soprano: Solveig's song (Greig), Alleluia (Mozart),
Contralto: Suo Gan, Gweddi'r Pechadur
Tenor: Dafydd y Garreg Wen, Arafa Don, Three Green Bonnets
Bass: The Erl King, I may tell you here and now,
Choir: 'A chorus or two from the Messiah' and A song of Destiny (Brahms)
The Messiah
" Mr. R. W. Jones is to be congratulated for his pioneer work. He tackled courageously a work simply bristling with difficulties, and without using unnecessary flattery, he emerged triumphantly. .......A comfortably filled hall greeted Mr. Evan Lewis when he rose to open the performance of the "Messiah". Half the audience possessed copies of the "Messiah", and why not? If the artistes and choristers know their work - as they should do - there should be no criticism. ..... "Hallelujah" followed (with the audience on their feet) sung with great spiritual fervour, and in a manor that only a Welsh choir can achieve. "Worthy is the Lamb", a beautiful and fitting climax, was inspiring, and it is a tribute to the choristers that when "Amen" was completed not a single listener moved from a seat, as if each one was held in a spell. Two great concerts - performances to be remembered."
Kate Winter. If you want to hear her sing you can. She was recorded by the BBC and that recording has just been released in a boxed set by Europadisc (EMI Classics 2175752) 'Composers in Person' for about £50. CD 15 of the set is Stravinsky's Les Noces in which she performs the soprano part with Linda Seymour Contralto, Parry Jones, Tenor, Roy Henderson Baritone the BBC Chorus and Berkeley Mason, Leslie Heward, Ernest Lush, and Edwin Benbow on Piano. The conductor is Igor Stravinsky himself! # I have also found a reference to a Queens Hall Promenade Concert 18 September 1928: Kate Winter and Franklyn Kelsey (vocal) and C. Warwick-Evans (cello). # Also Christopher Howse writing for the Daily Telegraph recalls that Kate Winter was known as “the silver-voiced soprano of the air”.
Kenneth Ellis. I have found references to Kenneth Ellis singing in Lehar's Gypsy Love with Webster Booth, the BBC theatre Chorus and Orchestra etc in 1939 # Also a concert organised by Dame Myra Hess at The National Gallery 3 January 1940: London Madrigal Group (Margaret Field-Hyde, Doris Lock, Eileen Pilcher, Alfred Hepworth, Harold Child and Kenneth Ellis), directed by T. B. Lawrence with Jean Norris (piano). '# And the Kenneth Ellis Cup for Basses was class 244 at the Plymouth Festival of Music and Drama in 2009.
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Information on Llandeiniolen where R. W. Jones was born in 1875
Rural village between the Menai Straights and Snowdonia
The following websites are useful sources of information about Llanddeiniolen
An area which was owned partly by the Vaynol estate, partly by the Glascoed estate. It was enclosed by the late eighteenth century, possibly much earlier. The Vaynol estate is now famous as the original home of Britain's rarest breed of cattle.
http://www.heneb.co.uk/arfonnorth/arfon24.html
LLANDDEINIOLEN, a parish in the hundred of Is-Gorfai, county Carnarvon, 4 miles N.E. of Carnarvon, its post town, and 6 from Bangor. It is situated at the head of the vale of the Cegid to the N.W. of Snowdon, and E. of the Menai Straits. The parish, which is very populous, includes the villages of Clwt-y-Bont, Ebeneza, and Penisarwain. The old Roman road passes through it. Near the church are some ancient yew trees, one of which is nearly 30 feet in girth, and a little to the N.E. is the famous camp of Dinas Dinorwig, supposed to be of Roman origin, and the largest fortified post in Carnarvonshire. It is surrounded by a double entrenchment, with a lofty bank between the ditches, and is of an oval shape.
The waste lands (fit only for forestry) were enclosed under an act of parliament obtained in 1806, explained and amended by another obtained in 1808. In the upper part of the parish are some of the most extensive slate quarries in the principality,
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CAE/Llanddeiniolen/Gaz1868.html
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A small village on Cardigan Bay between Aberaeron and Aberystwyth. Occupations are mainly agricultural. Hill Fort nearby.
The Parish church is very impressive and well maintained. Gravestones of the Davies and Jennings families are to the South East of the Church. These indicate that members of the family lived at both Lluest (Camp) and LluestHen farms a couple of miles South East of the village.
The Penderi Cliffs wildlife reserve is just north of the village.
Seems popular with sea anglers.
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The Tabernacle, Porth - English Baptist
In
1872 the few English Baptists at Porth attended Wesleyan services, the language
barrier making it impossible for them to join the Welsh Baptist services. By
1874, with the increase in their numbers they were able to form their own
English Baptist Church that met at the Llanwonno Board schoolroom. A vestry was
built later in Hannah Street and formally opened in July 1875,a new chapel later
being opened in 1877. In the 1890's new churches were inaugurated at Bethany,
Ynyshir and Penuel, Trehafod. The chapel was enlarged, and a new wing added in
1903 at a cost of £1,800.
This information extracted from http://www.porthnewydd.org/history.htm which gives a comprehensive picture of religious activity in the Rhondda in the late 19th and early 20th century. It also explains how the churches and chapels served the peoples political, social, and welfare needs then.
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Information is given under the heading Pugh Memorial Chapel in the following link http://www.porthnewydd.org/history.htm .
Bethlehem chapel appears to have been near or on the Porth School campus
(see http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk/heritagetrail/rhondda/porth/porth.htm )
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Small town at the top of the Rhondda Fawr Valley
In 1800 only 540 people lived in the whole of the Rhondda, but within 100 years its population had risen to over 113,000. The reason was coal. The first mine in Treherbert was opened in 1851, and the first houses we would recognise now were built in 1854. The railway reached Ystrad in the following year and the mineral service was extended to Treherbert in 1855. (Trams did not reach the town until 1908.) The water supply was being worked on in 1910, but 50 years later struggled to provide constant water pressure to the higher houses. As late as 1944 the electric power was supplied by a single line over the mountains, which was vulnerable to winter gales.
Some of the local mines were Abergorchi, Bute, Fern Hill, Glen Rhondda, Lady Margaret, Ynysfeio and Ty Draw. Many of the tunnels created were later used by the Tower Colliery, just over the Rhigos at Hirwaun, which became the last deep mine in Wales. Fern Hill colliery also worked the seams previously worked by Dunraven colliery which supported the foundation of Dunraven (Treherbert) School
The town's fortunes town can be judged by the frequency of Royal Visits in 1900, 1910, 1912, 2002, 2003. The earlier visits were in honour of the main producers of coal for the Empire, and the latter in support of community regeneration after the demise of the industry.
| Date | Population of Treherbert | Note |
| 1800 | Population of Rhondda is 542. | |
| 1845 | 218 | Agreement for Lord Bute to purchase of Cwmsaerbren for £9,000. |
| 1851 | Bute Merthyr Colliery (Treherbert), steam coal seams, is opened. Owned by the Marquees of Bute. | |
| 1854 | Fifty copies of building ground plans for Treherbert Cwmsaerbren are issued. Historically, this is the first use of 'Treherbert' noted. | |
| 1854 | The first rows of houses are built. These are Bute Street (Treherbert), Dumfries Street (Treherbert) and Baglan Street (Penyrenglyn). | |
| 1854 | Ynysfeio Colliery (Penyrenglyn), bituminous seams, opens. Owners are Thomas, Cope and Lewis. | |
| 1855 | First wagons of coal are transported to Cardiff Gelligaled now known as Ystrad. They were hauled from Cwmsaerbren (Treherbert) to Gelligaled by carts. | |
| 1856 | Treherbert Mineral Service commences on the Taff Vale Railway Line. | |
| 1867 | 1300 | St Mary the Virgin Church is erected in Treherbert. (this probably marks the completion of the construction of Church Street where R.W. Jones lived from 1925 and was still owned by his daughter in 1990 |
| 1867 | The Rhondda Valley and Hirwaun Junction Railway is opened. | |
| 1871 | Treorchy Cemetery opens. | |
| 1880 | 8,415 | Education becomes compulsory. |
| 1883 | Blaenrhondda School is built for 153 children and 160 infants. | |
| 1893 | The Welsh language is accepted as a class subject in schools. | |
| 1894 | Parc and Dare Workmen's Institute (Treorchy) opens. | |
| 1894 | The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway Line opens at Blaencwm. | |
| 1895 | Treorchy Eisteddfod. | |
| 1897 | 10,016 | Treherbert Band was formed. |
| 1899 | The Rhondda Leader newspaper is first published. | |
| 1901 | Population of Rhondda is 113,735. | |
| 1908 | Extension of the tram service from Llwynypia to Treherbert. | |
| 1910 | Blaenrhondda to Llyn Reservoir tunnel is officially opened. | |
| 1912 | King George V and Queen Mary visit Treherbert while on a visit to Rhondda. | |
| 1920 | A war memorial is erected in Clyngwyn Road in Blaenrhondda. | |
| 1920 | Owing to poor attendance All Saints Church (Mary Street, Penyrenglyn) begins conducting their Evening Song in English. Morning Service remains in Welsh. | |
| 1921 | Treherbert A.F.C. are in the Welsh League | |
| 1927 | Foundations are laid for Treherbert Cottage Hospital. | |
| 1927 | Ynysfeio Railway Bridge crossing Baglan Street (Penyrenglyn) is officially opened by Councillor Rhys Morgan. | |
| 1928 | Ebenezer Chapel (Tynewydd) is rebuilt. | |
| 1936 | Treherbert Open-Air Swimming Pool opens. | |
| 1939 | Outbreak of World War II. | |
| 1944 | Treherbert and surrounding areas are plunged into darkness for seven hours following the main electric wire installation being damaged by a gale | |
| 1944 | Carmel Chapel Augmented Ladies' Choir is formed by Mr Arthur Morgan. | |
| 1944 | Allied invasion of Normandy. | |
| 2008 | 6000 |
The following websites are useful sources of information about Treherbert.
http://www.treherbert.info/ , and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treherbert , and http://www.francisfrith.com/treherbert/ amd http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk/heritagetrail/rhondda/treherbert/treherbert.htm and http://wiki.rhonddacynontaffonline.co.uk/Treherbert and http://www.therhondda.co.uk/place_names/treherbert.html and
The rapid expansion of the towns due to the 'coal rush' meant that people in the valley needed as much distraction as they could get. An idea of the importance of these distractions can be obtained by looking at the historical section of the Treorchy Male Voice Choir website. (Thanks to Frederick O'Brien and Dean Powell for this link) The Treorchy website is huge and wonderful, and is worth spending some time over. Can I recommend that you also look at http://www.treorchymalechoir.com/history/musical.htm ?
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*The Horeb chapel is now, sadly, closed.
Horeb Picture
Situated at the junction between Dunraven Street and Hill Street in Treherbert.
I once attended a service there with my Aunt. I was about 8 years old. The service was in Welsh, and during the children's address the Minister asked us for quotations from the Bible. I got an elbow in my ribs, 'Go on' said Aunty Susie, 'I can't think of one' I said. 'You must know something' ' All right', I replied 'The Lord is my Shepherd, but I don't know the Welsh.' 'Doesn't matter', she said, 'up you go.'
And so, I piped up 'The Lord is my Shepherd - in English!' From then on the rest of the service was in English!
Can you imagine that happening anywhere else in the world? Don't forget that Horeb could muster a choir of 160 proud Welsh voices, and the congregation were much happier speaking Welsh then English.
Back to Celebrity Concerts Back to Biography
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Following the Welsh Intermediate Schools Act of 1889, The Rhondda Intermediate School was built at Porth, where both boys and girls received advanced education 'fitting them to take degree courses at any university'.
This was built on three acres of land above Mount Pleasant given free by Colonel Picton Turberville and was opened on September 22nd 1896, later evolving into Porth County School.
(Extracted from http://www.therhondda.co.uk/misc/porth_education.html )
(The information above explains why the house the family moved to in Church Street, Treherbert, was also called Mount Pleasant)
The link with Bethlehem Church (which presented R.W. Jones with a book case) is explained in a bit more detail in Rhondda Cynon Taf Library service website http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk/heritagetrail/rhondda/porth/porth.htm
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The School was , I believe, the one established in Dunraven Street in Treherbert as a mine school. Miners would contribute a proportion of their wages to fund the building of the school which was built in 1863. This was a 'National' School.
The composer Harry Parr-Davies was a pupil there, at this time, and he went on to study with Walford Davies, Eric Coates and Edward German, and later became Gracie Fields accompanist and composed the song 'Sing as we go' for her film Shipyard Sally. Other works included 'Wish me luck as you Wave Me Goodbye' and for 'Smile when you say goodbye' he was paid an advance of £1,000, a record payment for the time. He also composed music for George Formby.
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Ordnance Survey publishes the first complete maps of Wales.
David Davies Llandinam is elected treasurer of the University of Wales.
Major eisteddfod held at Pwllheli. Future archdruid Rowland Williams (Hwfa Môn) is a leading adjudicator.
Robert Griffiths becomes the first secretary of the tonic solfa college.
Sir Lewis Casson, (Born) artist (died 1969)
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SOUTHALL , JOHN EDWARD ( 1855 - 1928 ), printer, publisher, author; a member of the Society of Friends ; b. at Leominster , Herefords. , the son of John Tertius Southall and Elizabeth ( Trusted ) . He was educated at Weston-super-Mare and at the Society of Friends’ school at Bootham , Yorks. He started to learn Welsh when he was quite young and became fairly proficient in the use of the language. He settled as a printer at Newport, Mon. , in 1879 , and continued to print and publish books there until about the beginning of the third decade of the 20th cent. Many of his publications were textbooks for use in the schools of Wales and England . He wrote much about the Quaker way of life, e.g. Quakerism as a Factor in the World's History , Quakerism as a Universal Religion , etc. He made a special study, both as individual and publisher, of the problem of the teaching of the Welsh language in both Welsh -speaking and English -speaking districts of the Principality, starting by submitting a memorandum on this subject (‘ Bilingual teaching in Welsh elementary schools … ’) to a royal commission which sat in 1886 and 1887 . Amongst his publications of Welsh interest are Wales and her Language considered from a historical, educational, and social standpoint , 1892 (2nd ed. 1893 ); The Welsh Language Census of 1891 … and remarks on the future of the language , 1895 ; Preserving and teaching the Welsh Language in English speaking districts , 1899 ; The Welsh Language Census of 1901 , 1904 ; he also published a series of bilingual readers for use in schools in Wales . He retired from business c. 1924 and d. in Caswell Terrace , Leominster , 13 Nov. 1928 . His wife was Ann Berry .
This article pasted from http://yba.llgc.org.uk/en/s-SOUT-EDW-1855.html Welsh Biography Online
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A good history of tonic sol fa can be found on the following website.
http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/education/music-ed/curwen-method/curwen.php
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It is not surprising that such a dedicated teacher should inspire his children to become teachers, and all his five daughters became heads of departments or head teachers in their turn. (His eldest son, Davy, worked at Bletchley Park during the war, and his youngest son - my father - became a doctor.) In a Welsh speaking family with so many teachers it is not surprising that we have accumulated a large number of Welsh books.
Sadly most (60%, in case my properly educated cousins are looking!) of the surviving members of the family were educated over the border at a time when it was not fashionable to pass our language on to us, and although we try, we have to bow to the inevitable and admit that we are unlikely to read many of the 300 wonderful books in the collection. We have decided therefore to dispose of the collection, and I will list books below as they become available.
At a time when just a few languages are set to dominate the world, may I put in a plea, from my own experience, for the continued use of minor languages, whether it be the language of remote Amazonian tribes, or the Celtic languages of Breton, Cornish, Irish or Scots Gaelic or Welsh. The language connects us to our families, our communities, our culture, and via place names to our landscape and history. For me, struggling to relearn my language after a gap of over 50 years, each tiny advance also helps me to understand myself.
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