Chapter 10
THE HISTORY OF RELIGION — CULTURE — EDUCATION.

1. Religion

(a) For many centuries the only place of worship in Aberdare was the ancient parish church of St. John the Baptist, built about 1189 A.D. This stands in the centre of the Cynon valley.

From 1348 the then Lords of Glamorgan, the Despenser family gave the revenues of the parish of Llantrisant, of which Aberdare was then a part, to the Abbot of Tewkesbury. In 1540 at the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII gave the revenues of Aberdare to the new see of Gloucester, where they remained until the disestablishment of the Church in Wales.

(b) Beginnings of Dissent.

In later Elizabethan times there began to develop in north Glamorgan a faction of Puritans, which ultimately became a group of dissenters from the Church of England.

These upland dissenters met at Blaincanaid Farm, over the mountain from Aberdare in Merthyr. Then they met at Cwmglo, Merthyr, in a little chapel. After 1702 they met at Ynysygau and Cefn Coed in the Merthyr valley. In 1751 the dissenters of the Aberdare valley broke away and formed their own congregation, building a chapel at Trecynon, Aberdare, named Hen Dŷ Cwrdd, (The Old Meeting House). Thus, in the whole of the Aberdare valley these two places of worship continued side by side for many years.

(c) State of Religion in the Industrial Period.

In 1801 the Aberdare valley had a population of about 1,500; in 1851 it had a population of nearly 20,000 people. The only Church of England church was the little parish one of St. John the Baptist with only 200 seats. But by that time the Nonconformists both English and Welsh had 16 chapels; the Mormons had a large following; the Roman Catholics were strong and met in a public house.

2. History of Culture in the Aberdare Valley.

(a) Literary tradition goes back to the 1400s to Ieuan Ddu ap Dafydd ap Owain (1440–1480) poet and patron of the Glamorgan poets: John Jones of the Dyffryn in Mountain Ash, in 1717 High Sheriff of Glamorgan, was also a poet.

Eisteddfodau were probably held throughout the centuries in the houses of the gentry and the farms of the Aberdare valley, but exact records are missing. In the early 1800s the first recorded eisteddfod was held in the old Swan Inn, in Greenfach, central Aberdare. These continued during the years 1820–30. In these, one of the keenest participants was the young coalowner Mr. David Williams of Ynyscynon, Aberdare, whose bardic name was Alaw Goch.

Throughout the 1840s and 1850s local eisteddfodau, i.e., contests in poetry, singing, harp playing, literary composition were held in local inns, chief of which was Y Carw Coch Inn, (The Red Stag), the owner of which was William Williams, leading Unitarian and Chartist.

(b) The Chapels and Eisteddfodau.

The first chapel eisteddfod was held at Siloa in Aberdare in 1850. In the succeeding decades the chapels of the district held numerous eisteddfodau of excellent qualities. They were the custodians of the literary life of the Welsh people in the industrial revolution, and offered an alternative to the crudities of the public houses and inns.

In 1861 the first Welsh National Eisteddfod was held at Aberdare. Prominent industrialists and politicians were chairmen of the concerts etc.

1st day — President. H. Austin Bruce, M.P.

2nd day — President. H. Hussey Vivian, M.P.

3rd day — President. Crawshay Bailey.

Around 1861 two local musicians, Evan James and his son James James wrote and composed the national anthem of Wales: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers).

Throughout the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, the eisteddfodau continued to be held in the local halls and chapels in the Aberdare valley.

The National Eisteddfod returned to Aberdare in 1885, and went to Mountain Ash in 1905 and 1946, and again to Aberdare in 1956.

Thus, all through the years the cultural events were patronized by rich and poor alike.

(Rev. Ivor Parry, Notes on the History of Aberdare, 1964).

3. Literary and Publishing History of Aberdare.

From 1850 to 1914, Aberdare was undoubtedly the printing and publishing capital of Wales.

The first newspaper published in Aberdare was the “Welsh Hero” (Gwron Cymraeg) at 2½d. Published 1854–1860, by the Rev. Josiah Jones. He also published dictionaries and a biographical dictionary of Welsh notabilities.

Other newspapers and magazines published were: — “The Worker” (Y Gweithwr) at ld. (1858–60). “The Patriot” (Y Gwladgarwr). It had a circulation of 10,000 weekly. “The Aberdare Times”. “The Watchman”. “The Vineyard”. “The Tower”. “The Leader”. “The Young Gleaner”. “The Welsh Orchard”. “The Sower”. “The Youth of Wales”. “Aberdare Banner of Faith”. “The Aberdare Dawn of Day”. “Sparks”. “The Aberdare Leader”. “The Aberdare Weekly Post”. “Y Darian”. All these were published between 1854 and 1967; some of these papers are still being published.

There was also a considerable output of contemporary ballads on topical themes and these were sold at the markets and fairs of Wales.

During this period 1854–1914, there were about twelve printers and publishers operating in the Aberdare valley for a population that varied from 20,000 to 98,000.

(Rev. Ivor Parry, Notes on History Aberdare, 1964).

4. Musical History of the Aberdare Valley.

All through the centuries in Wales and the Aberdare valley were people who earned their living or part of it, from music in the houses of the rich, the farms and inns, and the churches and chapels in the district.

Edward Evans of Ton Coch (Mountain Ash) was a musician and bard.

Thomas Rees and brother John Rees taught music in Penderyn, Aberdare and the Rhondda in 1754–92. Others were David John James and Dick John James who were harpists. Blind Thomas Lewis (1829–1902) of the We1sh Harp Inn, Trecynon, Aberdare, was the official harpist of the rich Williams family of Aberpergwm House in the Vale of Neath, the home of Jane Williams the great collector of Welsh folk tunes and poetry. Lewis was also the harpist of The Lords of Aberdare at the Dyffryn House.

(b) Other Music.

At Aberdare in 1859 the minister of Bethania chapel was the Rev. John Roberts, whose bardic name was Ieuan Gwyllt (Wild Ieuan). He was a well-known compiler of hymn anthologies. He had the idea of holding religious services that were entirely devoted to the singing of hymns. In Welsh these are called Cymanfa Ganu (Singing Meeting) and the first was held in Bethania, Aberdare in 1859.

(c) Gruffydd Rhys Jones (Caradog) and the Côr Mawr.

In 1858, Gruffydd Rhys Jones (1834–97) was appointed leader of the Aberdare United Choir. A blacksmith by trade he was sent by a musical father to learn the violin, and he became a brilliant violinist. He was an even better conductor. At nineteen he led his first choir to success.

In 1872 there was a great international choir contest in the Crystal Palace, London. A choir of 456 voices was formed at Aberdare. It won the contest. Its quality was so good that it became world famous and sang before royalty. A fine bronze statue put up in 1920 of Caradog by Sir William Goscombe John, R.A., stands in the centre of Aberdare. It commemorates the memory of one of the great musicians of Wales.

(d) Bands and Orchestras.

In 1859 the Aberdare Philharmonic Society was formed. Mozart’s 12th Mass was performed at the first concert.

In the 1870s, brass and silver bands were formed in Aberaman, Cwmbach, Llwydcoed, Hirwaun, Cwmaman, Mountain Ash and central Aberdare. Most of them attained distinction in the band world, and five of them are still in existence with the addition of one new one called the Mardy House Band.

(e) Other Musical Activities.

Throughout the 1880s and the l900s there was continuous musical activity, with promenade concerts by the band of the Aberdare Volunteer Militia. There were also visits by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.

The Aberdare Choral Union in 1873, and the Cwmaman Choral Union in 1900, performed annually from those dates the great oratorios and cantatas that made these unions nationally famous. Every chapel and church had its annual concert. In addition there were groups of men and women who banded themselves together to form such groups as the Cynon Serenaders, Côr y Glyn, Darian Singers, the Cwmbach Male Voice Choir, all of whom have sung far and wide in Britain and overseas.

In the lower end of the Aberdare valley at Mountain Ash, there was an equally vigorous musical life. In 1900 there were eight musical societies in the town, not counting the chapel choral unions.

(f) Operatic and Dramatic Societies.

There were amateur dramatic and operatic societies before 1900 in the Aberdare valley, but there has been an unbroken development of operatic performance in the valley since 1907 by the Aberaman Operatic Society. The first Little Theatre in Wales opened in Aberdare in 1931 by an amateur company formed in 1912.

There are at present thirteen musical and drama societies in the upper part of the Aberdare valley. In 1956 the National Eisteddfod of Wales came to Aberdare for the third time in 100 years. Thus, a century after its first coming the cultural life of the Aberdare valley continues with greater vigour than ever before.

5. History of Education in the Aberdare Valley.

(a) First Schools.

The first schools in the Aberdare valley were set up in 1738. These were the famous “Gruffydd Jones Circulating Schools”. These schools were situated as follows: —

(b) Nineteenth Century Schools.

With the development of industry, the following schools were set up:—

(c) The Schools of Aberdare following the Education Report of 1844.

After the shock of the Report of the State of Education in Wales in 1844, the leading people of the Aberdare valley joined together for action to remedy the situation and the following schools were set up:—

These schools were built by the British and Foreign Schools Society.

(d) The Education Act of 1870 and the Aberdare Valley.

With the passing of the Education Act of 1870 new schools were built by the School Board, which later took over the British Schools. In 1886 the School Board opened the Aberdare Higher Grade School. In 1896 the Glamorgan County Council opened the Aberdare Intermediate School for boys and girls in Trecynon. In 1908 a County Intermediate School was opened in Mountain Ash, and in 1913 a new one for girls in Plasdraw, Aberdare. In 1966 there are 28 schools in the valley. Three Grammar Schools and one College of Further Education.

(History of Education, W.W. Price. 1948).