THE FUNERAL OF THE LATE:        Mrs Gwenllian (Gwenda) North of Cory Street, Resolven

WILL BE HELD ON:                         Friday 1^st March 2019

SERVICE AT:             Margam Crematorium at 9:30a.m.

Family flowers only.  Donations in lieu if so desired please to:

Guide Dogs for the Blind C/o:  The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
Hillfields, Burghfield Common, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 3YG

Further enquiries please to:  Mr. Nicholas Maggs of Resolven Funeral Home, 21a, Commercial Road, Resolven, SA11 4HF

Telephone: 01639 710222

I was recently invited to Sardis Vestry to talk about the Miners Welfare restoration scheme. It was a Thursday afternoon and it was the weekly ‘Tea with the King’ gathering.  Sardis has a loose connection to the Miners Welfare as it was built by the local mine owners of the past , the Cory brothers, who also built the streets to house their workers and twice in my lifetime Sardis have generously donated to the Miners Welfare – during the miners’ strike in the 80s and to the present restoration scheme.

Chapel is so much more than hymns sermons and worship – there is a social side too. My visit there  this invoked so many memories from my childhood and many of them centre around Marlene Jervis – or to anyone my age her full title would be ‘Aunty’ Marlene As a child I went to children’s meeting in the vestry with her daughter Sharon on a Tuesday and the highlight for me was watching Aunty Marlene play the piano accordian which she even carried around the village for the annual Christmas carolling. In fact, I thought she lived there as whenever I went there or passed there Marlene and her husband John along with Sharon’s grandparents were always there or thereabouts . I cannot imagine Sardis without Marlene .

Whitsun was always a big event when we were kids too and although I marched with the Salvation Army I would wave to Sharon marching with Sardis. Whitsun teas were always open to all with sports down the park field afterwards that saw the most competitive rounders matches I ever witnessed .

As I grew up, Sardis became a chapel that held weddings and christenings and Christmas nativity plays but the older I get the more I see and hear and realise Sardis is not a Sunday only place but it has a social side that is varied and busy. Apart from Sunday services there are meets that are based on social inclusion and interaction that invariably involve refreshments where everyone is welcome.  Children’s meeting of my era has  now evolved into ‘time out’ on a Friday that’s now held in the Sardis community hall which locals  will know as the Apostolic Chapel situated opposite the park where board games have been replaced by computer consoles and table tennis but still have the ever faithful crafts table and  tuck shop. Marlene is still as busy as ever but now I see a new ‘aunty ‘follow in her footsteps. Many will know Linda from the dinnertime play in Ynysfach Primary – Linda Morgan.

Over the years the vestry has had many uses not only worship. I remember going to baby clinic there when my brother was born and for many years its been an election voting booth and its even been used to give flu injections.

These days, it’s still very much multi functional and Mondays its Rainbow Tots for pre school playtime with tea and toast and a place for young mothers to meet and get to know each other .

Thursdays its ‘Tea with the King’ where there are tea and cakes;  giving a place for people to meet and chat about what’s going on locally and in the world. This is an opportunity that’s also used to raise money for charity – there is no charge for refreshments it’s merely a voluntary collection that’s given to a charity suggested from the floor. It has to be said that some of the cakes on offer wouldn’t be out of place in the Great British Bake Off.

Some years ago Sardis were fortunate to have been given a large sum of money   from Ystradgynlais Baptist Chapel who were closing and with this they built an extension to the vestry in order to house a fully fitted kitchen. Four years ago they were lucky to be presented with a bigger, better, newer kitchen by the Neath Borough Council that has enabled them to provide even more opportunities.

In the autumn during the evangelistic weekend the kitchen is in full use for the women of the congregation to cook the men breakfast and in return the men cook the women dinner. Sounds a fair trade off to me.

At Christmas the vestry provides a Christmas Day lunch with all the trimmings to people in the area who might be lonely or maybe having a hard time for one reason or another that is organized by a friend of the chapel called Carol. That’s rounded off with the Queen’s Speech and has been visited by the actor Michael Sheen who must have heard what good cooks we have in Resolven .

Side Entrance to Vestry

Can you see a pattern forming? It might be said that God is a comfort but it seems food comes a close second  at Sardis ranging from tea and toast to full English breakfast and sumptuous Sunday lunches.

You can’t talk about Sardis without mentioning the men especially John Jervis who if he isn’t seen with a sweeping brush in hand he is behind a steering wheel ferrying those  people, whose mobility isn’t what it once was, back and forth to Sardis and he is not alone doing this but again he is another constant of my memories of Sardis and the present pastor Fortunato Santos,  has made his mark on Resolven during his 17 years living here. In true Resolven fashion he is still classed as ‘new’ even after 17 years but if ever there has been someone ‘new’ who has integrated and become so active and well known as he is I have yet to meet them. As is normal in the village, his name is shortened to “Fort” by many which shows how he has been adopted by the village.

Fortunato with Fireman Sam at Sardis Summer Fete

I was pleasantly surprised how a simple visit for a cuppa and a chat brought so many memories flooding back.

REPORT by DIANE SIMS ( RDN Team)

The skies were overcast; fortunately I had a window space for around ten minutes.

The moon was approx 2238.000  miles from earth,. The next super moon will be visible weather permitting March 21 2019

Photo by RDN photographer-MIKE DAVIES

How many Resolven residents have heard of Iestyn ap Gwrgan?

This month’s speaker was Mr. Steve David of Neath who gave a very illuminating talk on the role of the Resolfen area in Welsh history. He began his talk by lamenting the current state of the teaching of Welsh history in schools and the fact that exposure was very limited.

He began by stating that the conformist view of how the Normans had conquered south Wales by the actions of “Twelve Knights”, was factually incorrect. The process of breaking the grip of the local lords was a more drawn out and complicated process. It also drew on the varied geography of the area in that some areas were Norman controlled and others under the control of the Welsh.  Chepstow castle was the first Norman fortification to be completed in 1067, only one year after the Conquest and before the Tower of London. In 1093, the last unified Prince of South Wales, Rhys ap Tewdur,  was defeated and the Normans pushed as far as the Ogmore river. A line of castles was built across south Wales as far as this point, which meant that the Normans controlled what is now the Vale of Glamorgan, the “bro”, but the Welsh still had absolute control of the upland areas, the “blaenau”. (a scrutiny of place names in Glamorgan shows this clearly Ed. ) Unfortunately the uplands suffered from poor soil, had a transhumance economy (see the place names  Hafod and Hendre Ed.) and bred horses.

The local lord, Iestyn ap Gwrgan, resided in the area between Resolfen and Glyncorrwg. He fought the English at Cefn y Sais (literally the English ridge Ed) above Tonmawr . The Neath valley around the area of Resolfen was an important bridging point and meant that passage could be made between the Swansea and Aman valleys to those of eastern Glamorgan ( Gwynsyllwg) . Iestyn’s son, Hywel maintained a Welsh lordship in this area known as “Tir Iarll”, and it is estimated that it had a population of between 10-12,000. The area was famous for the processing of skins and its accompanying reek from the leather production. In 1129, Hywel managed to kill a Norman marcher lord, Roger Armor from Devon and 120 of his soldiers and then took control of a new Welsh lordship in  the borough of Aberafan. Such was his control that it was he who gave the land to the Cistercian Order to found a monastery in Neath with 175 acres of accompanying assart land. Such was his prestige that he married Marged the daughter of Lord Rhys of Deheubarth, the most powerful Welsh lord. Money also came to establish St Illtyd’s church in Neath from an area known as “Roussilion”, which is a probable transliteration from the Welsh “parsel soflan”, which gives us the name of the mountain Mynydd Resolfen.

In 1172, the grandson of Iestyn, Morgan  rebels against the Norman lord of Glamorgan and takes Bridgend castle with a subsequent conflict rumbling on for four years. Morgan’s cousin Careithin is incarcerated in Cardiff castle as a hostage. However, following a resumption of hostilities in which Morgan burns Miskin and the site of what was to become the castle at Caerphilly, Robert  the Earl of Gloucester blinded Careithin leading to his death. Ultimately, Morgan was forced to become a vassal of and surrenders 100 acres of the area around Resolfen to become a grange of Margam Abbey. Morgan retained the right to appoint the Vicar who incidentally was instructed to conduct mass both in Resolfen and at Glyncorrwg on the Sabbath. The right to appoint eventually came down to the Bishop of Llandaff and continued until the coming of the railways in 1851.

Following the insurrection, the ap Gwrgan family, took a Normanised name of de Avine, and Morgan’s grandson Leyshon adopted Norman ways. He married the highly attractive Marged”Llygad Glas” (Margaret of the blue eyes) and assumed a more elevated cultural existence.  They probably resided at Mynydd y Ddinas in Baglan.

However, this is not the end of the story since at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314 a notable casualty was Gilbert de Clare the Duke of Gloucester, so prompting another rebellion by the Welsh lords. This time the combatants were Llewelyn Bren and Dafydd Gam. Leyshon joined the fray. The rebellion was successful at first with Neath sacked , Bridgend burned and Cowbridge (the original Norman market town) also sacked.  However, in 1316, Llewelyn was caught and horribly executed in Bristol. Luckily, for Leyshon, the de Avine family made amends with the king and were forgiven, taking the title of the Constable of Neath castle . In 1349 however, the de Avine family sold this right to the Despenser family and moved to an estate in Somerset, taking away the last vestige of local Welsh control.

Following a lengthy question and answer session, Trefor Jones deputising for Chairman Gwyn Thomas thanked Steve David for a memorable talk and it is good to report that he will be returning next year to speak on the Bute family.

REPORT by TREFOR JONES

How many Resolven residents have heard of Iestyn ap Gwrgan?

This month’s speaker was Mr. Steve David of Neath who gave a very illuminating talk on the role of the Resolfen area in Welsh history. He began his talk by lamenting the current state of the teaching of Welsh history in schools and the fact that exposure was very limited.

He began by stating that the conformist view of how the Normans had conquered south Wales by the actions of “Twelve Knights”, was factually incorrect. The process of breaking the grip of the local lords was a more drawn out and complicated process. It also drew on the varied geography of the area in that some areas were Norman controlled and others under the control of the Welsh.  Chepstow castle was the first Norman fortification to be completed in 1067, only one year after the Conquest and before the Tower of London. In 1093, the last unified Prince of South Wales, Rhys ap Tewdur,  was defeated and the Normans pushed as far as the Ogmore river. A line of castles was built across south Wales as far as this point, which meant that the Normans controlled what is now the Vale of Glamorgan, the “bro”, but the Welsh still had absolute control of the upland areas, the “blaenau”. (a scrutiny of place names in Glamorgan shows this clearly Ed. ) Unfortunately the uplands suffered from poor soil, had a transhumance economy (see the place names  Hafod and Hendre Ed.) and bred horses.

The local lord, Iestyn ap Gwrgan, resided in the area between Resolfen and Glyncorrwg. He fought the English at Cefn y Sais (literally the English ridge Ed) above Tonmawr . The Neath valley around the area of Resolfen was an important bridging point and meant that passage could be made between the Swansea and Aman valleys to those of eastern Glamorgan ( Gwynsyllwg) . Iestyn’s son, Hywel maintained a Welsh lordship in this area known as “Tir Iarll”, and it is estimated that it had a population of between 10-12,000. The area was famous for the processing of skins and its accompanying reek from the leather production. In 1129, Hywel managed to kill a Norman marcher lord, Roger Armor from Devon and 120 of his soldiers and then took control of a new Welsh lordship in  the borough of Aberafan. Such was his control that it was he who gave the land to the Cistercian Order to found a monastery in Neath with 175 acres of accompanying assart land. Such was his prestige that he married Marged the daughter of Lord Rhys of Deheubarth, the most powerful Welsh lord. Money also came to establish St Illtyd’s church in Neath from an area known as “Roussilion”, which is a probable transliteration from the Welsh “parsel soflan”, which gives us the name of the mountain Mynydd Resolfen.

In 1172, the grandson of Iestyn, Morgan  rebels against the Norman lord of Glamorgan and takes Bridgend castle with a subsequent conflict rumbling on for four years. Morgan’s cousin Careithin is incarcerated in Cardiff castle as a hostage. However, following a resumption of hostilities in which Morgan burns Miskin and the site of what was to become the castle at Caerphilly, Robert  the Earl of Gloucester blinded Careithin leading to his death. Ultimately, Morgan was forced to become a vassal of and surrenders 100 acres of the area around Resolfen to become a grange of Margam Abbey. Morgan retained the right to appoint the Vicar who incidentally was instructed to conduct mass both in Resolfen and at Glyncorrwg on the Sabbath. The right to appoint eventually came down to the Bishop of Llandaff and continued until the coming of the railways in 1851.

Following the insurrection, the ap Gwrgan family, took a Normanised name of de Avine, and Morgan’s grandson Leyshon adopted Norman ways. He married the highly attractive Marged”Llygad Glas” (Margaret of the blue eyes) and assumed a more elevated cultural existence.  They probably resided at Mynydd y Ddinas in Baglan.

However, this is not the end of the story since at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314 a notable casualty was Gilbert de Clare the Duke of Gloucester, so prompting another rebellion by the Welsh lords. This time the combatants were Llewelyn Bren and Dafydd Gam. Leyshon joined the fray. The rebellion was successful at first with Neath sacked , Bridgend burned and Cowbridge (the original Norman market town) also sacked.  However, in 1316, Llewelyn was caught and horribly executed in Bristol. Luckily, for Leyshon, the de Avine family made amends with the king and were forgiven, taking the title of the Constable of Neath castle . In 1349 however, the de Avine family sold this right to the Despenser family and moved to an estate in Somerset, taking away the last vestige of local Welsh control.

Following a lengthy question and answer session, Trefor Jones deputising for Chairman Gwyn Thomas thanked Steve David for a memorable talk and it is good to report that he will be returning next year to speak on the Bute family.

Eric Powell, now of Florida but a Resolven boy ( John Street), has shared his memories with us before and we were delighted to hear from him again this week.

Dear Anita,

I’m still getting  enjoyment from  receiving the Resolven District News. Also my continual appearance in each edition, through the Resolven School photographs section, where I appear with my school mates near the end of our time attending the Boys School. I can recall most of the names in that photo and thought it may be of interest to your current readers to see what their grand (or great grand) fathers looked like and dressed in the years 1944/1945.

Resolven Boys’ School, Standard 7, Teacher, Arthur Morris (who probably took the photo); Date, 1944 or 1945.

Back row, left to right;
Unknown; Darrel Price, Neath Road; Joseph Lock, Abergarwed; Bernard Thorne, Rheola Avenue; Ken Lewis, Nant-Y-Gleisiad; Terry Norton, Glyn Neath Road; Roy Maddox, Glyn Neath Road.

Middle row, left to right;
Ken Davies, John Street; Wally Regan, John Street; Levi Evans, Company Street; Eric Powell, John Street; Evan Bevan, Cory Street; Donald Fearn, Yeo Street.

Front row, left to right;
Meirion Stock, Yeo Street; Sid Thomas, Maes-Y-Tyra; Jim Orrels, Maes-Y-Tyra; Bryn Morgan, Glyn Neath Road; Roy Harris, Abergarwed; Des Lewis, Nant-Y-Gleisiad; Mansel Johns, Cory Street

We all look very well despite four/five years of wartime rationing. Changing from short pants to long trousers, as now we are going on for fourteen, soon to leave school and start work (as did Joe Cookson in his autobiography). Arthur Morris took hundreds of photos of us boys as we passed through the Boys’ School, despite being busy as senior officer of the Resolven Home Guard. It was the job of us boys to run messages for him, to the homes of the men when they were needed to be on duty, or if an emergency occured, such as German pilots wandering the mountains, following being shot down! We also delivered the “Home News”, gathered from news of the village and edited by Dan Herbert, our Standard five/six teacher. Evan Jenkins, headmaster, put in his share serving on the committee of the Comforts Fund (but still had sufficient time to whack us with his bamboo cane when discipline was required!

With best wishes to all in Resolven and District,

Kindest regards,

Eric Powell,
Saint Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A.