Notes edited by Allen Blethyn May.2012
From les Evans Cwmavon Then & Now.

A CWMAVON CALENDAR

1801    The population of Michaelston Lower was 137. It rose to 793 in 1831 and 2132 in 1841.
1802 On February 28th a sentence of excommunication was read out in St Michael's upon one Ann Price, who had refused to do penance for her involvement with others in digging up the coffin of a base child in the churchyard in 1800, the body being subsequently hung on a yew tree. The reasons behind this macabre incident are obscure.*

c.1780 Waunlas coal level for domestic use only.but later coal transported by ponies for works outside of Cwmavon.

1812    Wern Level was opened up.

1819 The Zion Independents' cause was founded in the old Express House . on the boundary of the Copper Miners' Tinplate Works. A commemorative plaque was set up there in 1937.

1820    Vigur's blast furnace began production.

1824    A tramroad to Aberavon was laid along the parish road.

1827 The Report of the Education Enquiry of 1835 states that a day school was built in this year, obviously by Vigurs.

1832 Cholera raged in the area for the first time. Vigurs obtained a lease from the Aberavon Portreeve to build furnaces, etc, for a copper works to be set up on the burrows. He abandoned the project and chose the Cwmavon site instead in 1835.

1835 On June 8th, St Michael's small spire was shattered by lightning shortly after it had been built by John Vigurs. Damage was also done to furniture and laths and plaster were stripped from the roof. The incident was recorded in a church register on June 15th.

1839 On June 25th, John Griffiths of the Rock and Fountain Inn, Pwllyglaw, sought the Bishop's permission to build a chapel for the Independents using the inn. His petition was successful and the first Rock Chapel opened in August 1840. The present one was built in 1931-32.
* See article by R L Brown, Transactions Port Talbot Historical Society, 1990. 62

1840 Oakwood and Argoed Iron and Coal Co blew in their first furnace at Pontrhydyfen, its wheel being described as "perhaps the most powerful in Britain".

1842 The Report on the Employment of Children in the Mines reveals grim details concerning Cwmavon children. John Hoare, the Cwmavon Works cashier, stated that English only was taught in the schools, the prejudiced and superstitious workers paying 3d a month for their children's fees. Some boys worked in "early and laborious employment, and mere infants open and shut the air-doors" to allow trams to pass*. Children also provided their own testimony, one Owen Jones, 12, declaring that he was a greaser, being allowed 15 minutes dinner-time, when he usually had meat and "taters". He worked 14 hours a day. Margaret Nicholas, 13, had worked in the tinworks as a duster for two years, earning only 20s a month, whilst David Evans began at 10, pushing slags to the furnaces. He said that he was sent to school but used to mitch, being classified in the report as a very ignorant boy. David Jones, 12, an ash wheeler, worked 12 hours a day and started work aged 7, whilst David Russell, 15, a cold roller, began when he was 12; he received 30 shillings monthly. Some lads suffered from hernia or from slag burns when they fell asleep during the 'long watch' at week-ends. Dr H LI Prichard deposed that owing to the Foel culvert children at the Taibach Copper Works suffered more from chest complaints than those employed at Cwmavon.
1843 The Cwmavon coppermen went on strike in August over a reduction in their wages. A new vicarage was built in this year.

1844 An explosion took place at the old Wern Level in December, four men being killed. They were Thomas Williams, John Thomas, William Gregory and William Jones. In February, Dr Prichard was called to the New Inn as a result of a stabbing affray.
1845 The Tithe Map for Michaelston Lower was produced, showing interesting field names, one being called Cae Groes, the site of a medieval cross where

* Mabon, MP, was a doorboy in a local colliery when he was 9. 63
pilgrims rested to offer up a prayer. Others ha\ been noted in the area from Baglan to Pyl, Another field, belonging to Ty Maen Farm, wz Parc y Gwyn (The Field of Sorrow or Lamentation The name suggests that the site was associated wii some long forgotten calamity, but no traditior relating to it have survived. According to the Titt¬Map, St Michael's owned 15 acres of glebe, ar elsewhere in the parish 63 acres belonged 7. Llangeinor Church and 16 to Briton Ferry Church.

1847 On March 4th, the Cwmavon Works Schools were visited by a commissioner appointed to inspect the for an inquiry relating to the state of education . Wales. This resulted in the publication of the 'B:;. Books' which incensed people throughout Wales. T. commissioner noted that the schools were built . 1845 (by Charles Lane) and had 283 pupils; althoue the Boys' School was overcrowded, the headmas=e
William Davies, had it 'well in hand'. On insistence of Mr Guppy, the works' manager, no b,
could be employed by him unless he had certificate testifying that he could read and write On the whole, both schools had a favourable repor The commissioner also visited the Oakwood Schoa opened in 1844, the headmaster being a WilLai Roberts. He complained that his greatest prob:ei arose from the fact that the children spoke WI e_A With the influx of many English workers, howe-.ea English he said was spreading rapidly through I district.*

1848 In June a works' locomotive named Redruth t journey of rails from the works for unloading at new Port Talbot Docks, but for some reason whole journey slithered down a 12 ft slope and man called William Garrett, a rollerman riding it, was killed. In the February, the Swansea H reported that the Cwmavon company had shi 1000 tons of bar iron to London and Liver Other vessels carried a further 1200 tons to . York and Boston. Two years later, a barque Port Talbot with Cwmavon rails for Valparaiso,
* For details see Transactions Afan and Margam Historical Society, 1931. 64
doubt returning with copper ore. John Vigurs died at Madron, Cornwall, during the year.

1849 This was the year of a great religious revival and many people joined the churches. Rock Chapel could not cater for its swollen membership, with the result that a daughter church, Bethania, was built on Waun Tymaen in 1850-51, several of the Rock members joining it. Cholera struck for the second time during the year and many died. People lived in terror, and not surprisingly hundreds sought refuge in religion for the first time. Dr Prichard, who practised in Cwmavon and Taibach, attended the victims without respite, setting up make-shift hospitals to isolate them. As a result of the Revival and the epidemic, scores of people were baptised in the River Avon by the Revs David Thomas and Enoch Williams of Penuel, formerly ministers at Ebenezer, Aberavon. Later outbreaks of cholera occurred in 1855 and 1866, at least 19 people dying of the disease at Cwmavon in the latter year. Mormons, who had been active locally for some time, were ejected from their meeting-house in Tymaen Street by John Biddulph, following a public protest against their activities. 13 had held services there under the oversight of a Thomas Pugh, and 15 more had established services in Bryn.
1850 To increase the number of sittings, a north aisle was built at St Michael's, the chancel also being extended. The altar tomb may have been placed there at this time.
1851 As noted previously, this was the year when the 63 ft long rail was exhibited at the Great Exhibition held at Crystal Palace. Among the persons living in Cwmavon, and noted in the Census were Anne Roblin of Pwll y Glaw grist mill and her son Benjamin, born in Crinow, Pembrokshire, John Webbe, groom, born in Whitchurch, and David Michael, nailer, born in Llanddarog. Almost all the Cwmavonites of age came from widely scattered places, several being of Irish origin.
1852    The Annual Eisteddfod was held in Zion Chapel.
1853    The numbers on roll at the schools were: Cwmavon, 455; Oakwood, 162; and Bryn, 90. A Cwmavon choir,
conducted by "Asaph", (? Isaac Evans), won i
prize at the Llangynwyd Eisteddfod. William B,,:-.
was the first post-master. During the year, Tho Davies (Trithyd), a musician and composer repute, settled in Cwmavon, establishing a s there. Many local people owed much to the tuition he provided. At this time, the E Copper Co employed four policemen, and -¬were 36 coke ovens and 13 collieries. To satis--. thirst of the workers, there were no less tha-: beer houses in the area. The Copper Comb: leased Mynydd Bychan Colliery for 27 years. addition to others in Margam*. Two men were ki "in a colliery near Pwll y Glaw" on October 1 - .
1855 All Saints Church, conspicuous by its lofty spire. built to serve as a chapel-of-ease to St Micha services there-being conducted in English. I¬
consecrated on 10 June, 1856. Tymaen Infants opened on November 12th, it being reported --_
Sunday School "for larger children" would be there. In this year, an 83 ft rail was made in -~._ Rail Mill, which stood on the site of the A e-"] Field. This was sent to the Paris Intern¬---,-Exhibition some months later, evoking much
1856    Several workers left for Risca without giving
The remaining employees were warned: "\ will be applied for in order that such offender; be sent to prison." On May 24th a fr::--i explosion occurred in the 9 ft seam in Ynys Daf Pit, reputed to be the first pit sunk .¬Cwmavon area. David Thomas, the pit mana;e¬a notable mining engineer, organised --5 operations with the help of Dr Prichard =¬Russell of Cwmavon, both of whom were -A praised for their courage and exertions. Twel•_ were found to have died, but another subsec succumbed to his injuries. As a result of explosion, the worst in Cwmavon's history, ' Gilbertson issued stringent regulations regardiL use of all safety lamps.
The new Penuel Baptist Chapel opened in June
* Margam MSS 2984-5.
1857 On July 27th notices were displayed warning all miners of the common practice of riding on coal trams, two men having been killed for doing so in the previous month. In future those who transgressed would receive no sick benefit for any injury, and nothing would be paid from the fund if they were killed. In this year the annual eisteddfod was held in Bethania Chapel.
1859 Faced with the threat of a possible French invasion, the Government formed the old Volunteer Force. Griffith Llewellyn of Baglan Hall raised the Cwmavon unit, known as the 9th Volunteer Rifle Corps, but he resigned in 1860 as its commandant, being succeeded by W P Struve, the new Cwmavon Works' manager. By then the corps was comprised of 120 men, there being three officers and five sergeants. Initially two of the officers were Lieutenants F B Gilbertson and James, Sergeants James Alford and Wright being the Drill Instructors. Many of the men became highly proficient with the rifle, among those who excelled in open competition being Sergeants John Webbe and Mock and Private T Penhorwood. In 1866 Captain Russell was in command of the Corps. All Volunteer units were disbanded in 1908, being replaced by the old Yeomanry. 1859 also saw the opening of Providence, the Bible Christian Chapel in Pelly Street.
1860 William Gilbertson left for Pontardawe where he established a successful Iron and Steel concern, having bought William Parsons' local tinplate works. He married a daughter of the famous inventor Joseph Bramah, being succeeded by his son Arthur Gilbertson, who was born in Coed Parc. William Price Struve followed him at Cwmavon. A brilliant engineer and inventor, he produced a successful mine ventilator and safety lamp, his stay in Cwmavon being marked by years of prosperity. His accountant, Robert Dunlop, invented an ingenious calculator in 1862. A member of Cwmavon's first cricket team, Dunlop was secretary of the Cwmavon Gardening Society in 1858, and of the local Penny Reading Society. During the year, a circulating library was established.
A 90 ft rail made in Cwmavon was exhibited at the
International Exhibition of this year.
1863 William Davies, headmaster of the Cwmavon Works Boys' School, died. He took over the school in 1844. following a Mr Rosser. His successors were Thomas Davies, Griffith Rees, William Heasman, J John, A¬Hartshorn and Rhys Nicholas. The old Ty Round School, which existed at the beginning of the 19th century, evidently formed part of the Boys' School. The late John Thomas of Lady Jane Street. Aberavon, who died in 1954, aged 99, informed me that it was a thatched building which closed it 1878. He went there as a pupil in 1868, his father also being taught there from 1832 to 1842 when Mr Rosser was the headmaster.
1867    The Boys' School was enlarged and completed by November 4th.
1868 The "Cwmavon", an 80 ton schooner, was built at Appledore for the English Copper Co, Captain Penhorwood being given command of her. The
"C.A.", another schooner was also built for the company at Llanelly in 1872. Vigurs & Co owned the "Stanton" (155 tons) and other vessels.
1870 W P Struve, the manager, left, being told that he had displayed "a want of energy". In a letter dated July 12th, he defended himself, stating that the Governor, Sir H Stephenson, had praised his efforts in the running of the works, and that he had refused to close the iron mills in 1866-67 in defiance of the directors' wishes. As a result, they had made a profit of £12,721, thus offsetting heavy losses incurred by other parts of the works, saving Cwmavon from "something like positive ruin". He also pointed out that the company had bought £73,000 worth of copper ore in the past year "without the slightest reference to my opinion". He did not deem it wise to manufacture steel rails, or that the puddling furnaces should be converted to the Siemen's process because of the heavy costs entailed. In spite of his protestations, he was force to leave. He was succeeded during 1870 by Edwar Pritchard Martin of Dowlais. Owing to the state o the iron trade, the Oakwood blast furnaces were
closed in 1865, the smelting of iron being confined to Cwmavon. Statistics issued in 1870 show that only 10 people in Michaelston Lower had a parliamentary vote.
1871    The Great Western Mill restarted after a long period of idleness.
1874 Edward Martin left for Blaenavon, the works having done fairly well under his direction. He was immediately succeeded by Thomas Barkworth. The third Tabernacle Chapel was erected by the Calvinistic Methodists in this year, replacing an earlier chapel set up in 1854. Their original chapel, built in 1837, was converted to the use of Cwmavon families, being ultimately demolished in 1954.
1875 Mary Owen, a noted Welsh hymn writer, died. She lived in Cwmavon during the period 1834 to 1840 when her husband, Robert Owen, was the minister of Zion.
1876 This year proved to be a most unfortunate one for Cwmavon, for by this time steel was being increas¬ingly manufactured in other works, rendering the puddling process used at Cwmavon obsolete. Further¬more, prices fell alarmingly and an acute depression hit the iron trade, with the result that the English Copper Company, which had been associated with Port Talbot (in Taibach and Cwmavon) for over a century, went into liquidation. All of its assets in the area were sold off, a decision which must have chilled the heart of every Cwmavonite. Rhys Jenkins, who became a well-known figure in the tinplate industry, visited the works on April 13th, recording his impressions in a number of letters now in my possession. He toured the Chemical Works, visiting the vitriol and charcoal departments, and noted that the acid was conveyed to the tinworks by, underground lead pipes, being subsequently used in the pickling process. In the Iron Works he saw four furnaces, the newest of these being the only one which impressed him. He found the puddling and balling departments ruinous, so that they must have been out of commission for some time. The Engineering Depot, which was still in operation, was the longest he had seen. There were ".... three
cupolas, one air furnace and two stoves. There is a Root's blower here also .... They are now making three engines here of peculiar shape, cylinder and jacket cast in the same piece, and two valves." The Tinplate Works and Brickworks did not impress him, but the Express Mill had the finest blowing engine he had seen. During 1876 the 395 ton iron barque "Emily A Davies" was built for James Davies, father-in-law of Moses Thomas and mayor of Aberavon in 1880-81. He was a prosperous Cwmavon draper who had a branch in Aberavon.
1877 On April 20th James Shaw, an Aberdonian, took over the entire Cwmavon works and collieries, later being partnered by James Spence and Captain John Dixon, the latter being responsible for the transport-ation of the famous Cleopatra's Needle to London. Shaw, who was Sheriff of London in 1874, lived at Coed Parc, and after four months' residence he wrote a letter to the "Times", indicating that he was completely confounded by the social patterns existing in Cwmavon. The people, he said, were genial, intelligent, sober, and there was always "some¬thing going on, either a lecture, or a singing class, or a prayer meeting." There had not been a public meeting whilst he was there and crimes were rare, the only occupants of the police station being the police sergeant and his assistant. Yet the inhabitants were unambitious in some ways and perfectly content, being unwilling to accept any form of self¬government. He had urged them to manage their own paving, lighting, gas, water , and sanitary arrangements, but had had no response. They were contented with the fiat of the company and he was powerless to escape from the responsibilities created by his predecessors. Obviously, he found his position too onerous, with the result that the works' complex was split up, the tinworks being subsequently acquired in August by Messrs Flower, Leach & Co, trading as the Copper Miners' Tinplate Co.
1878-9    W P Struve died at Neath on April 9th 1878. Ynysygwas Reservoir was built.
1879    Another horrific colliery disaster took place on June 24th, when six colliers were killed at the Meadow
(Cornish) Pit, which was sunk in 1838. As they descended the 552 ft shaft, the wire rope of the cage snapped about half-way down, all six being killed on impact. They were Evan Parker, 62, William Lewis, Thomas Jones, David Williams, Hugh Bennett, 16, and Benjamin Roblin, a 13 year old boy. Cwmavon was in mourning for weeks, and even now there are occasional echoes of the grim tragedy.
1881 The tinworkers, threatened with a reduction in wages, went on strike. The copper works were idle for some time, but the workers took heart again when Shaw had a furnace relined for continued production.
1882 At a function held in the Boys' School in January, Shaw was presented with a marble bust of himself. In a speech made on this occasion, his House Agent, William Lewis, declared that he deprecated trade unions and was glad that their influence in Cwmavon was minimal. In the same month the relined furnace was kindled to the accompaniment of cannon firing. The workers' joy, however, was short-lived for Shaw found he could not compete with the new developments in the steel industry, having to surrender all the holdings of his Cwmavon Estate & Works Co into the hands of liquidators in June. He left in the following March, evidently a sick man, for he died in May 1883. 90 Cwmavon widows were particularly sad to see him leave as each had received Christmas gifts of tea, bread and butter as a result of his generosity. Although the copper works was to remain closed until 1884, social activities in the village were still maintained. A concert in the Boys' School in January 1882 was a notable event as the famous Welsh composer, Dr Joseph Parry, took part, being supported by the Zion Choir conducted by Jason Richards and the Cwmavon Brass Band, led by A Hall. The Cwmavon Debating and Literary Society was revived after a lapse of twenty years. Regular features of the day were the hooters in the works and the occasional clanging of the fire bell, then hung in the Depot. William Gilbertson died aged 72 during the year and in March W R Potts, Samuel Jones, William Lewis and David Michael were appointed as overseers Michaelston Lower.
1883    The Aberavon Corporation convened a meeting in November where it was proposed that Cwmavon should be included in the borough. This idea was turned down, being bitterly opposed by Cwmavon people, their feelings being summed up in a letter which appeared in the press. Signed by "Cwmavonite", it scathingly ran: "What do we want ... with a municipality attended by its elaborate and complex machinery, red tapeism, extravagance, numerous functionaries and obsolete customs?" Horse-drawn brakes were then plying between Cwmavon and Aberavon, superseding a single coach run on the railway. In March, the United Choir of Cwmavon, conducted by William Evans, won the chief choral competition at a Swansea eisteddfod. T D Daniel, six times mayor of Aberavon, bought the Western Bar Mill, forming the Jersey Iron Co. He ran it until he died in 1886. 1884 also saw the arrival of the Rio Tinto Copper Co in Cwmavon, giving further hope to the workers. After nearly two years of inactivity, the copper works were extended and adapted to the needs of the new company, copper ore from its mines in Huelva in Spain being smelted and refined in Cwmavon. Copper Sulphate was also produced for
the spraying of Mediterranean vineyards. In the same year, the blast furnaces and collieries were taken over by a new company styled the Cwmavon Works Proprietors, controlled by a Mr Dalton whose manager, Samuel Danks, erected a steel works near the blast furnaces, steel and pig iron being produced there in succeeding years. At this time, the schools were being run by the parish priest and a Mr Stanley, and the workers, with the Biddulph episode still etched in their minds, bitterly resented their interference. Members of Zion were incensed when these "self-appointed managers" refused them the use of a schoolroom.
1885    William Abraham (Mabon), born in Copper Row,
became MP for the Rhondda. In 1911 he was made
a Privy Councillor. He was a popular miners' agent
and when they were granted the first Monday of every month as a rest day it was called Mabon's Day in tribute to him. On this day, organised trips were made by miners' families to Aberavon, Porthcawl and Barry, some of whom had never seen the sea before. Cwmavon then had its own bilingual newspaper - 'Yr Ymwelydd' or the 'Cwmavon Visitor'. On June 25th, passenger traffic was introduced on the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway's branch from Aberavon to Pontrhydyfen.
1887 An eisteddfod was held in the Boys' School on Easter Monday, the presidents being James Davies, JP, and P W Flower, one of the surprising items being a timber trimming competition held in the Depot. All Saints Choir, competing against those of Penuel, Zion, Bethania and Tabernacle Chapels, won the choral competition and Afanfryn Hill won the tenor solo. Annual eisteddfodau were also organised by the United Avon Valley Societies. During August the Cwmavon Annual Flower Show and Sports Festival was held.
1889 The Cwmavon Works Proprietors sold their steel¬works to Wright, Butler & Co, and two years later the new owners closed down all the furnaces so that iron ore smelting ceased in Cwmavon in 1891. The coke ovens, however, continued to operate. A new development of this year was the building of the Express Steelworks by the Copper Miners Tinplate Co in conjunction with Messrs Byass, who worked Tewgoed Colliery and owned the Mansel Tinplate Works near Aberavon. Built in the area of the old Lower Forge, the Express Works produced steel bars for the tinplate industry until they were dismantled in 1903. Another eisteddfod was held in Cwmavon at Christmas, when David Evans won a prize for his book on Avon Valley place names. In it he notes that 580 men produced 14,000 tons of coal monthly in the Wright and Butler's local collieries, and that 190 were employed in their steelworks. Flower's works produced 13,000 boxes a month. The author points out that the registers of St Michael's dated from 1550; if this were so, those for the ensuing two centuries have been tragically lost. He estimated the number of houses in Cwmavon as 1000.
1891 Tragically, two young lads, one only six years old, were killed in March when high winds blew down a chimney stack at the Rolling Mill.
1893 Alarmed at the continued effects of the noxious copper fumes, the local landowners and farmer: began to protest, asserting that their sheep had been severely affected, a claim that was supported by Miss Emily Charlotte Talbot, the wealthy owner of the Margam Estate. Realising that the copper -works were under threat, its employees close: ranks, issuing a booklet called "A Cry For Bread “ which high-lighted their predicament. The issue dragged on until it was resolved at the Swansea Assizes in 1895, the case against the company being dismissed. 3000 people had signed a petit supporting the Rio Tinto directors, a fact which must have had a considerable impact upon the jury. Naturally, there were scenes of great jubilation -¬Cwmavon when the result was announced.
1894    The first Parish Council in Cwmavon was formed as a result of an Act passed in this year, its members being given limited powers in the community.Its first chairman was the Rev Daniel Evans, minister of Zion and the father of the former Archdruid of Wales, Wil Ifan, who died in 1968. In June 1894  the Tinplate Workers' Institute was opened, its billard table becoming immensely popular with the younger_¬members, many of them becoming skilful players.
    In the previous month, the Cwmavon branch of Independent Labour Party was founded in the Boys School, Henry Davies being appointed as its secretary and John Jones as its chairman. At this ¬period, Cwmavon was regarded as a Liberal strong- hold, David Lloyd George, MP, being generally venerated in the community. When he addressed the voters who filled Penuel Chapel on November 9th of this year, he was given a rapturous welcome.  Among those present were the Rev Daniel E,, Llewellyn Griffiths and Moses Thomas.
1895 The winter of this year was the coldest in living memory, all the rivers and the docks being frozen over. Wil Ifan, writing in the Western Mail March 30th 1954, recalled this period, he then being a schoolboy in Cwmavon. He says, "Shall I ever forget the long unofficial holiday ... and the days spent on the River Avon's solid ice?" Only Rhys Nicholas, his headmaster, had a pair of skates, performing "wonders on the ice, even vaulting the gates of the railway crossing within a few yards of the school gate." In his biography of Afan Thomas, the same writer recalled the maypole and fives court in the school yard, noting also that Welsh was the language of play, and that all the children could read Sol-fa. Policemen, he says, carried canes to chastise children misbehaving in the streets.
1897 Pontrhydyfen Viaduct was built by the Port Talbot Railway & Docks Co. The Constitutional Club opened on New Year's Day in the old office of Messrs Wright and Butler. The club was completely modernised in 1967.
1898    A branch of the YMCA opened in the Tinplaters' Institute.
1899    The old Girls' School was gutted by fire in December.
1900    The Oakwood colliers were on strike from August to December.
1901    There was a diphtheria epidemic, 50 cases being notified in Cwmavon.
1902 Baldwin's Ltd bought the steelworks; they dismantled it but retained the coke ovens. Local Roman Catholics began to hold services in the school.
1903 When the old Mabsant festivals died out locally, a customary feast known as the Medd a Phasti became popular, the ancient drink called mead being provided for the participants until supplies of honey needed to make it were cut off when copper smoke destroyed much of the local flora. The custom lingered in Cwmavon as late as 1903, when it was reported that a Medd a Phasti had been held in the Miners' Arms Inn lying on the old Bwlch Road to Neath, known locally as Tafarn y Bwlch. Until it was destroyed by fire in 1928 it was particularly popular when the Neath Fairs were held. On those days a kind of mini-fair was held close by, this being called Ffair Bach y Mynydd.
1904    William Thomas Rees (Alaw Ddu), born in Pwll y Glaw, died on March 15th. Widely known as a musician, conductor and a successful eisteddfodwr, he composed many popular hymns, notably "Glanrhondda". 1904-5 saw the revival initiated by Evan Roberts, when the chapels were filled with religious euphoria, as many as 90 people being baptised in Penuel on one Sunday.
1906 The Rio Tinto Co left Cwmavon, setting up a refinery at the Port Talbot docks. This operated until 1945. 1906 also saw the passing of Mary Thomas of Rose Cottage, Pontrhydyfen, at 105, and the building of Cwmavon police station, now a nursing home.
1909 The Avon burst its banks, flooding the area around London Row; one poor man was drowned at Glyncorrwg'