I’ve been saving this postcard to try and collect all the separate photos. I haven’t had much luck so here’s a look at the only Tongwynlais multiview postcard in my collection.

This card was posted on 30th August 1957 and features four scenes from the village, each with a view of Castell Coch.

The sender of the card refers to, “winning all the money at The Drive’s”. I wonder if this is a reference to whist drives, that were popular in the 1950s?

Peal Photo Postcards

The postcard is an example of a Real Photo Postcard, often referred to as a “RPPC”. This technique prints a continuous-tone image on postcard stock rather than using lithography to mass produce cards.

If you look closely at a lithographic image, it’s made up of individual dots and generally produces a lower quality result. RPPCs are more sought after due their superior detail.

Photographers often took photos of towns and villages, which were then used to produce a small quantity of postcards that were sold locally.

L. G. Railton Ltd

The view of St Michael’s Church is from another postcard I’ve covered before. In the comments, Kevin Power added some more information about the publisher.

I think that L. G. Railton of Pontypridd, may have been the one and same, or connected to a Mr + Mrs Railton, newsagents and stationers, Park Street, Treforest (now a florists). They also had a sweet shop in the same street (now the Pink Shop). They lived in the Llantwit Road area of Treforest. Both premises were sold as going concerns towards the end of the 1970s.

Mill Road and Castle Farm

I’ve cropped the photo so you see this view of Mill Road, Castle Farm and Castell Coch in more detail. I love this image for the clear view it shows of this part of the village. There are far fewer trees than today and you can see the farm buildings that are now large houses.

The building on the bottom left is 44 Mill Road and bottom right is 46 Mill Road. Both houses have extensions today.

Another postcard from the 1950s shows 44 Mill Road from the front and you can see the facade is quite different.

The Square

The image of the square can be viewed in more detail thanks to Carol Spackman’s photo on our history page.

Bennett’s garage was a fixture in the village for over 30 years. I recently shared a photo of the business from the late 1980s.

The Lewis Arms looks very different in this photo. The pub was recently added to Cardiff Council’s Draft Local Heritage List consultation. I posted a series of photos of the Lewis Arms from 1900 to 2016 last month.