1

Houses and Homes in Tredegar

during the 19th Century

A Key Stage 2

Educational Resource Pack

Part 1—Introduction

2

Contents

Part 1—Introduction

What changes took place at Tredegar during the 19th century?

What did houses look like in Tredegar during the 19th century? ………...……………

Part 2—Food, Lighting & Sleeping

What did people eat in the 19th century?

Where and how was food cooked? …………………………………………………………..

Where were meals eaten?

How were homes lit during the 19th century?

Where did people sleep in the 19th century? …………...…………………………………

Part 3—Using the Census

What changes in people’s lives took place in the 19th century and how can we find

out more about them? …………………………………………………………………………..

1911 census of Carpenter’s Yard, Tredegar

1881 census of Carpenter’s Yard, Tredegar

1851 census of Carpenter’s Yard, Tredegar ……………………………………………….

Did the population of Tredegar change during the 19th century?

Part 4—Living Conditions during the 19th Century

Why did people move from the countryside to Tredegar during the 19th century?

4

5

18

29

30

32

37

39

41

44

45

47

68

76

83

86

87

3

Contents (continued)

Can we find out more about Tredegar’s housing conditions in the 19th century?

Part 5—Clothes and looking after them

How did people wash clothes in the 19th century?

How were clothes dried in the 19th century? ……………………………………………...

How were clothes ironed in the 19th century?

What clothes did people wear in the 19th century?

Part 6—Keeping yourself clean ………………………..…….……………………………….

How did people wash or bathe in the 19th century?

How did people go to the toilet in the 19th century?

Part 7—Health & Diseases …………………………………………………………………….

What was cholera and how did it spread?

Did cholera affect the people of Tredegar?

Bedwellty Parish Burials 1821 to 1841

Part 8—A woman’s story & household spending from 1841 ……………………………

A day in the life of Aunt Lizzie

How were workers’ wages spent in 1841?

Part 9—Teachers’ Notes, Further Activities & Sources …………………………………

Part 10—Museum Activity Pack

103

112

113

120

122

126

132

133

140

141

142

144

160

168

169

177

181

190

4

Introduction

Key question: What changes took place in people’s lives at Tredegar

during the 19th century? Write down your ideas.

Think about:

What was Tredegar like before the start of the 19th century (before the

year 1800)?

What were houses like in Tredegar before 1800?

How did the local environment appear by the end of the 19th

century or year 1900?

What were people’s homes like by 1900?

5

What changes took place at Tredegar

during the 19th century?

What did Tredegar’s environment look like 200 years ago?

In order to see what changes have taken place over the last 200 years,

we need to compare maps of the area made at different times.

We need to look at a map made before the year 1800 and a map made

after 1800.

OK, let’s start with an earlier map of Tredegar from the year 1768.

6

Here’s a map of Tredegar in 1768.

The lines shown on the map could be

either hedges or roads or rivers,

which may also be named.

The black rectangles are buildings.

Some of the spellings of names are

different to those we use today.

Make a list of the names of the

buildings on the map.

Make a list of the names of the

streams and rivers.

Make a list of any other names.

What might you expect to see on this

map but is missing?

7

Here’s a map of Tredegar, made 58

years later, in 1826.

The longer black rectangles are

rows of buildings or streets.

Make a list of all the names shown

on this 1826 map.

Compare this list to the lists of

names for the older 1768 map.

What is new on the 1826 map?

When was Tredegar built?

What works and mines are shown on

the 1826 map?

What jobs might the people living in

Tredegar be doing in 1826?

Tredegar

town

8

‘Previous to the present century the district was inhabited by farmers

and their shepherds, the hills clothed with trees on each side, ferns and

flowers, in rich profusion, were growing everywhere. Farmhouses and

pretty little orchards dotted the surface … “Nature, in all her primitive

grandeur,” reigned supreme.’ Evan Powell, 1884

‘Mi dreuliais lawer diwrnod

Ar lan Sirhowy wiwglod

I dynu cnau ar frigau’r fro,

A thwyllo y brithyllod’

Right: The Ebbw Valley at

Abercarn in 1815 before

the arrival of industry.

9

‘The present appearance of Tredegar and the locality conveys no idea

of its appearance in the past; the beauty, variety, and picturesque

sceneries which the district possessed being entirely destroyed by

large heaps of mine, coal and iron refuse; the hills on both sides wear a

rugged appearance, being “patched,” or excavated, for ironstone and

coal; the large heaps, or “tips,” of rubbish from pits and levels covering

fields …’ Evan Powell, 1884

Right: 19th century ‘patch’

workings for coal and iron

ore near Ebbw Vale.

10

‘the beautiful stream called Sirhowy river, leaping and gurgling through

the valley, forming in its course miniature cascades, and deep still pools

abounding with fish ... has now been enclosed by large heaps of cinder,

which give the stream an appearance in many places of running

through a deep ravine; these tips having cooled and consolidated, hun-

dreds of dwelling houses have been built on them.’ Evan Powell, 1884

Right: View

from Tredegar

looking south

about 100 years

ago.

11

Right: Samuel

Homfray in

1790—he was

one of the

ironmasters

who began

the Tredegar

Ironworks in

1800.

12

As the ironworks grew larger, more people were needed to run the

works. But where would they live? There weren’t enough houses, only

scattered cottages and farms like Blaen-y-cwm farm shown above.

13

A sketch of Tredegar Ironworks made in 1809 by the son of the iron-

master, Richard Fothergill. Look carefully at the short rows of houses.

Houses Houses

14

The rows or short streets of houses seen in the drawing were built soon

after 1800 to provide homes for workers at the Tredegar Ironworks.

15

Between 1810 and 1820, a new town

was planned and laid out as shown in

the map to the right. It is believed that

the ironmaster, Samuel Homfray, was

responsible for making this happen.

‘with the progress of the

works the population in-

creased, and a scarcity of

houses was experienced.

Houses were built, which

gave more work to masons,

carpenters and plasterers,

the district was full of life

and activity, and the town

grew like a mushroom.’

Evan Powell, 1884

16

The grid pattern of streets

set out by Samuel Homfray

200 years ago, is still visible

in the layout of Tredegar.

Look carefully at the bottom

half of this photograph

taken from a plane.

From the circle where the

clock tower now stands,

there are 4 streets radiating

out, set at 90 degrees apart.

There are 2 streets either

side and parallel to Morgan

Street and Castle Street.

Compare this photo with the

map on the previous page.

Castle

Street

Clock

tower

Morgan

Street

Bedwellty

Park

Commercial

Street

17

Right: Samuel Lewis’

Topographical

Dictionary of

England & Wales,

1831

18

What did houses look like during the 19th

century in Tredegar?

Right: Inside a cottage at

Merthyr Tydfil at the end

of the 19th century

19

Site of Carpenter’s

Yard today

We are going to take a

closer look at a street

of workers’ houses

that were built close

to Tredegar ironworks

around the year 1807.

This street was called

Carpenter’s Yard.

It was knocked down

in 1936 and now there

is nothing at all to see.

It once stood between

St George’s Church

and where the Gwent

shopping centre is

today.

Tesco Store

Gwent shopping

centre

By-pass

Road

By-pass

Road

20

Each

house

number

is

marked

on the

photo

21

Each

house

number

is

marked

on the

photo

22

We don’t know what the houses in Carpenter’s Yard looked like inside

because we don’t have any photos. However, we can use evidence from

similar houses in Tredegar to imagine how they may have appeared.

23

The photos were taken just before these houses were knocked down.

24

All of these other houses that once stood in Tredegar were built around

the same time as those at Carpenter’s Yard.

25

These houses were also built for workers in the ironworks and mines.

26

Intercommunicating bedrooms are bedrooms that can only be reached

by going though another bedroom instead of stairs or a landing area.

27

It is also possible to visit places where workers’ cottages from the 19th

century have been recreated—this is at the Blaenafon Ironworks.

28

Many workers’ cottages had only one room downstairs. From what you

see in the last 2 pictures, what activities were carried out in this room?