TIN TOWN 

 

 

Cholera was rife in the industrial valleys

in the 19th century.The chief causes were

overcrowding and a lack of clean water

and sanitation. Abertillery, then the second

largest town in Monmouthshire, was

no exception. Helen Morgan reports:

 

                                                                                                         

                                                                 Image Helen Morgan : Site of Tin Town school

reached by footbridge.

                                                  

Clean fresh water was the solution, but the nearest source was more than 30 miles away in the Black Mountains. Acts of Parliament and funding were needed to build a reservoir and pipeline through Coity mountain. Above all, access to Blaen-y-Cwm at the head of the Grwyne Fawr valley was essential. In 1910 no road led to this remote spot. The only way to reach it was on foot or horseback from Capel y Ffin via the Ffawddwg ridge. Finally, in 1912 a railway was built from Llanvihangel Crucorney and the first sod was cut. Families lived in huts covered with corrugated tin. Tin also covered the stores, canteen, hospital and school — hence the nickname Tin Town. A circular doss house with a stove in the middle and beds arranged with their feet to the stove provided additional accommodation as the demand for workers grew. A police constable was appointed, as was a doctor. Dr Hincks, however, lived in Hay-in-Wye, a 10-mile ride away. He demanded — and obtained — a public telephone for the village as well as a nurse/midwife. In 1915 a hospital opened with two wards, surgery, consulting room and living quarters for the nurse.  He then headed for Flanders, as work at Tin Town ceased because of the war. After the Armistice, Dr Hincks and the workers returned and he visited weekly, travelling to “Fiveways” by a car driven by a French war widow. By now the canteen with its two bars and billiard table were the heart of male village life. Women, however, were not allowed in either bar. Instead, they had a “jug & bottle” annexe.

Most workers came from the Western Valleys and were known for their drinking. On Sundays, the Canteen, being in Breconshire, was “dry” but the Half Moon pub in Llanthony was in Monmouthshire. Although in Wales, it was administered as part of England. Every weekend the men walked over the mountain— until 28th March 1928 when the pipeline to Abertillery was finally finished. Soon Tin Town was no more. 

Simon Wragg’s talk on Tin Town on January 15th starts at 7.30pm. It is available via Zoom to ALHS members as well as live at the Melville Theatre. To book your seat please send an email to alhsmelvillebooking@icloud.com asap before 14th January. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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