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Evans Quarries Ltd

I picked up this photo of two vintage lorries belonging to “Evans Quarries Ltd” a few years ago. Underneath the company name it says, “Tongwynlais” and “Taffs Well 40”. The load beds also have the text, “Use Cefn Garw Stone” on the side so I had a few topics to research. The vehicles are tippers … more…

Tongwynlais by Samuel Coupe Fox

Two ladies walking along tow path. A small child sat on the edge of the canal. A barge being pulled by a horse.

Samuel Coupe Fox was born Sutton in Ashfield in 1864. He married Alice Chaney and they had a son, William, in 1889. Samuel moved to Cardiff in 1890, where he lived until his death in 1953. He started his career as a printer’s apprentice and became a journalist after his move to Cardiff. Samuel’s interest … more…

Villa Cardiff – Part 3

This series was inspired by an article from John&Jane that explored the design of a modern flag for Cardiff. In the first part I looked into the history of Cardiff and found some examples of the “Cardiff Arms”. In the second part I discovered some of the history of the arms and shared more examples … more…

Postcards from Tongwynlais – Part 20

Welcome to the 20th instalment of my flagship series! This is one of my favourite images and shows the village at the beginning of the 1900s. I’ve seen a few poor quality examples of this photo. I was really pleased to find this excellent copy posted in 1907 with a very sweet message. It was … more…

The Lewis’ of Greenmeadow

Roger L Brown published “The Lewis’ of Greenmeadow” in 1984. He was the vicar of St Michael’s Church from 1979 to 1993 and a keen historian. I wrote about his previous book, “Turn of the Century Ton“, earlier in the year. Roger purchased a second hand lithographic printer to produce various books and pamphlets. They … more…

Tongwynlais Church Building Fund

Extract from an old newspaper article

The foundation stone for St Michael’s Church was laid in a ceremony that took place on 10th June 1875. The total cost was about £2,000, which is approximately £194,000 today. £1,300 had already been raised before the work began. The Cardiff Times reported on 10th October 1874 that a Bazaar was held at Cardiff Town … more…