The Tongwynlais, Taff’s Well and Nantgarw Picture Album is a series of books first published by Roger L Brown in 1988.

I discovered these books over 13 years ago and eventually managed to acquire a copy of each volume. My collection also includes Roger’s local history books.

I’m astounded by the work involved in producing these albums and researching his other books, which are an invaluable resource for me and others interested in local history. Roger got in touch a few years ago and told me he really enjoys this site, which was very flattering and lovely to hear.

Roger was the vicar in Tongwynlais from 1979 to 1993 and is now enjoying his retirement in Welshpool.

There are four volumes covering the three villages that contain lots of fascinating photos and information. I won’t share any images as I don’t have permission from the original owners. If I have my own copy of the photo or postcard, I’ll include it and link to the relevant blog post.

I will include some of the interesting facts that Roger discovered during the research and creation of these books.

Volume 1

The first volume was published in 1988 and has 120 images. Proceeds from the sale of this book were put towards the restoration of St Mary and St James’ Church in Taff’s Well. The image on the cover shows Colonel Lewis’ coachman, Mr Price, outside Greenmeadow House.

I’m going to cover numbers 13 – 32 in this first instalment.

13 and 14 – Two prints by John Hassell featuring Castell Coch. The second print from 1817 features an inn that’s now the Lewis Arms. I found a tithe map from 1841 where it was called the “Wynham Arms Inn & Cottage”. Roger states that this inn appears on an 1802 map and an innkeeper from Tongwynlais took part in a noted cock fighting match at Twlc yr Hwch in 1763.

15 – “A Party of Welsh Damsels” by Julius Caesar Ibbetson (1790s). This is a very well known 18th century painting that shows the ruins of Castell Coch and a lime kiln.

16 – “Lower Taff Valley, Rocks and an Ivy Clad Ruin, once the residence of Ivor Bach” by Thomas Horner (1819).

17 and 18 – Two photos of Castell Coch in ruins. I have copies of these photos and a couple more. I shared them in a post about the Cambrian Archaeological Association’s visit to the castle in 1912.

19 – A view of Castell Coch from the iron bridge. I’ve taken hundreds of photos of this view over the years and I have dozens of postcards featuring the scene. Roger describes it as, “a fascinating study in the picturesque”. The photo looks identical to this one from the James Valentine Collection, hosted by the University of St Andrews.

20 – A 1906 drawing of the vineyard at Castell Coch. I’ve published two articles documenting the history of the vineyard.

21 – The village seen from Castell Coch around 1925. Roger notes that, “The Cardiff Railway and the canal are clearly seen, and on the right is Gelynys, a farmhouse built, it is thought, by Hugh Lambert, a Kentish ironmaster, during the 1570s.” This is a fantastic photo and a unique view that I’ve never managed to find a good copy of.

22 – A photo of the village with St Michael’s and the village hall in the foreground overlooked by Castell Coch. I’ve got a great postcard from 1961 featuring this image.

23 – The Glamorganshire canal. Roger explains, “The canal was built in 1794 to link the industrial areas of Merthyr with the sea-port of Cardiff. The buildings on the right were demolished to make way for the Cardiff Railway, so the picture is dated before 1902. The houses in the distance were demolished to make way for the A470 dual carriageway in 1969.” I have a postcard with a similar view from a few years later.

24 – A similar view after the construction of the railway bridge. A reader shared a fascinating story of Bridge House, which is shown in this photo.

25 – A view of the village from Llwynmalt field showing Bethesda Chapel, the Lewis Arms and “Eagle Stack”. The Eagle Stack is a brick chimney at the Pentyrch Iron and Tinplate works that appears to have an eagle design at the very top. Postcards from Tongwynlais – Part 17 features a similar view. This photo from the University of St Andrews is one from the James Valentine Collection.

26 – Lawn Terrace (Merthyr Road). This is one of only a few photos of the main street through the village. It’s from a postcard sent in 1917 and shows the old Bethesda Chapel, several shops and quite a few villagers looking at the photographer. Roger notes that the gentleman with the bike is Owain Jones, the first vicar of Tongwynlais. The photo can be viewed on the Tongwynlais Historical Society’s website.

There are some photos of Merthyr Road on the history page that were shared with me by Steve Nicholas.

27 – Photo of Merthyr Road from 1891. This is one of the earliest photos of the village.

28 – Ivy House Farm in the 1950s. This photo shows the iconic listed building before it fell into ruin. It was recently restored and looks fantastic. Roger notes that at this time, “access to it lay across a bridge over the canal.” He adds that the building was, “probably an Elizabethan farmhouse, it was long associated with the Price family, the owners of the Pentyrch forge.”

29 and 30 – The Square. I have a multiview postcard that includes the photo of the square with Bennett’s Garage. Carol Spackman very kindly shared her copies of both these photos with me.

Roger notes that Bennett’s garage was established in 1942 and the building was previously a smithy.

These are fantastic photos that show how the square has changed over the years. They also show what the Lewis Arms looked like with its central door. I shared more photos of the Lewis when it was added to the Local Heritage List.

31 – St Michael’s Church. I have a copy of this photo on a postcard that was sent in 1957. I’ve shared newspaper reports about the Bazaar that was held at Cardiff Town Hall to raise funds for the building of the church and the laying of the foundation stone in 1875.

32 – The church choir in 1910. The photo shows the curate, J Evans-Davies and two churchwardens. They were Mr Smith, the schoolmaster, and Mr Arthur, the Taffs Well ironmonger.

Conclusion

It was really interesting looking through the album for this article and noting which images are in my own collection. I’ve been collecting memorabilia for over 13 years so I have quite a lot but there are so many unique images in these books.

Researching and publishing local history nearly 40 years after this book was published is so different. I can digitally restore photos that have been damaged or faded over time, buy postcards from around the world, search internet archives and publish my research online instantly.

I still rely on making connections though, meeting people and listening to their stories. And there’s still something about sitting down with a physical book.

Thanks again to Roger and everyone who’s shared their photos and memories. I’ll cover images 33 to 58 in part 2.

Sources

• Castle Coch by John Hassell from the People’s Collection Wales
• A Party of Damsels – Museum Wales
• Tongwynlais 1891 – Cardiff County Library Collection
• Ivy House Farm – Steve Nicholas
• The Square, Tongwynlais – Carol Spackman
• Photos from the James Valentine Collection – University of St Andrews
• The ruins of Castell Coch – castellcoch.com