Introduction:
Maes Gwyn was part of the Williams family of Aberpergwm estate. It is said the Williams family moved to the area in around 1560, and over the following centuries improved the Aberpergym farmhouse into the manor house we remember.
Maes Gwyn is part of the Aberpergwm estate and lies about 1/4 of a mile in the direction of Glynneath from the hamlet of Pentreclwydau . Maes Gwyn is the largest demesne (Ed note: a piece of land attached to a Manor and retained by the owner for their own use) of the Aberpergwm estate at 108 acres.
Like Aberpergwm Manor House, it was originally a large farmhouse, but we don’t know when it was originally built. Unlike Aberpergwn which was built higher up the valley side from the river Neath, Maes Gwyn was built on the valley floor only a few feet above the river bed, this position was to cause many damp problems over the coming years.
The Avan Vallia Rent Roll records confirm that Maes Gwyn was in existence in 1601 and most probably existed a century or two earlier than this. The Rent Roll record for Maes Gwyn shows the following:
Year Owner/Tenant Rent
1601 Jenkin Williams 6d
1611 William Williams 6d
1630 not recorded
1728 George Williams, gent, pays for 6d, annual value with “Y Warden” £6.
1745 George Williams, gent.
The name Maes Gwyn translated into English, could either mean White Meadow, or, according to D. Rhys Philips (Philips, Page 28) it could refer to Gwyn ap Nudd known in the area as the King of the Fairies.
In the Black Book of Carmarthen Gwyn ap Nudd say’s:
“I am called the enchanter. I am Gwyn son of Nudd, the lover of Creuddilad, daughter of Lludd. This my horse is Carngrwn, the terror of the field, he will not let me parley with you; when bridled he is restless; he is impatient to go to Drum, my house on the Tawe”.
Up until the opening of the Neath canal in1795 and then the building of the Vale of Neath railway in 1851, agriculture was by far the main activity in the Vale of Neath with only a small amount of industry (coal and iron ore). This was to be completely reversed after the opening of the canal and railway when industry, particularly, the iron and coal industry started to take over.
In 1769 it is stated that 80 tons of coal per annum had to be transported to Neath from the Aberpergwm estate (by horse), this increased dramatically in the mid 19th century when 8,000 tons per annum were transported by canal down the valley from the Aberpergwm estate, it then reached it’s peak in 1910, when in total from all collieries, the canal transported 200,000 tons per annum to the docks at Giants Grave and Port Tennant.
This does not include the amount of coal transported on the Vale of Neath railway line.
History of Maes Gwyn:
Whereas Aberpergwm House history is well documented, (see, About Aberpergwm, by Elizabeth F. Belcham) the history of Maes Gwyn is not so thoroughly documented, and therefore needs to be compiled from a number of different sources. (See, References and Resources, below)
I have set out the history of Maes Gwyn in chronological order below in order to better understand the history of the building and the people. It does get a bit complex, especially with three people named Rees William’s mentioned. To help understand who is who. I have shown their dates of birth and death below.
Name Birth Death
George Williams the younger unknown 29th October 1774
William Williams 7th December 1788 17th March 1855
Rees Williams Snr, 1755 25th September 1812
Rees Williams Jnr. 12th November 1792 11th June 1849
Rees Williams 31st July 1838 9th November 1863
If we start at the first known date, which is the Avan Vallia Rent Roll call (as shown above), we can see Maes Gwyn existed in 1601 owned by a Jenkin Williams, one of the Williams family of the Aberpergwm Estate, whose land Maes Gwyn sat on.
The Old Farm itself:
Farming at that time was predominantly rural agriculture and self sufficient. They would have grown enough grain and fruit and vegetables and bred enough animals, and fished and shot game for their needs, any surplus would have been sold to their workers or local people.
The “old farmhouse” as seen in the map attached below is made up of four buildings, with what looks like a courtyard in the middle. It would have been made up of the farmhouse and various outbuildings which would have been essential for the efficient running of the farm. (The “new” Maes Gwyn building can be seen in red)
Incorporated in the farm buildings would have been, barns for the storage of hay, stables for horses, cows and poultry and possibly storage for fruit and vegetables to take them through the winter months. There was also a corn mill integral to the buildings and apparently you can still see evidence of this in the ruined barns today (2022). Between the back of the house and the canal bank stands two pleasure boat buildings.
The corn mill was driven by a leat (water channel) which can be seen on the map. This leat can be seen coming from the canal to the farm, this then drives the mill stone in the building. Prior to the canal being built the water running in the leat was probably taken from a stream which runs close by. The buildings also contained a kitchen which was to become a cause célèbre in 1803, but more on that later.
In close proximity to the farm are 3 lime kilns within a distance of no more than a quarter of a mile. One on the opposite bank of the canal from Maes Gwyn, another at the next lock down the valley, and a third at the end of Cnel Bach, a tributary to the Neath canal built to take Coal and Iron from the Protheroe collieries above Cwmgwrach, and later Iron pigs from the Venallt Ironworks of Jevons and Wood.
(Ed note: Lime was an important element for farming and domestic use. It was used to condition the soil in the fields and neutralise the effect of acids from fertilisers, buildings were also whitewashed with lime to keep out damp and it was also used for sanitation uses.)
As the farm lies on the valley floor the fields are very fertile and therefore productive. The Blaengwrach Tithe map of 1846 shows that the fields are mainly turned over to pasture.
On the left of the farmhouse runs the parish road, while at the top end of the field runs the old turnpike road which used to run behind Aberpergwm House before it was superseded in 1821 (Philips p.323) by the new turnpike road, the A465, which was the main road running through the valley before the coming of the dual carriageway.
George Williams (the younger) leases Maes Gwyn:
In 1769 George Williams the younger of Aberpergwm House decided to let Maes Gwyn to a Rosser Jenkins, alias Thomas, a yeoman (Ed note: a person who owns and cultivates a small farm) from Glyncorrwg for 31 years. Included in the lease was a meadow of short hay, called Gwain Rhyddallt. The lease also had a clause that he had to supply horses to carry 80 tons of coal yearly to Neath, the transport rate at the time being 7s 6d per ton. Another clause in the lease stated that he was responsible, along with other’s, to share the task of keeping the river Neath to it’s course.
Rees Williams Snr. (1755 – 1812) Moves into Maes Gwyn:
There is some uncertainty in the parentage of Rees Williams, he could be an illegitimate son of George Williams (the younger), or he was a sawyer who was taken under the wing of Reverend James Gough Aubery and his wife Eleanor of Aberpergwm House when they took over control of Aberpergwm House after the death of George Williams (the younger) in 1774.
Rees Williams Snr. would marry Anne Jenkins, one of the two daughters of Evan Jenkins of the ancient family of Ystradfellte, and the heiress of the Forest -Tyleones of Ystradfellte, who had been taken in, along with her sister, by Reverend Aubrey’s and Eleanor at Aberpergwm House.
They married on the 7th April 1788 and their first daughter was due in the December of that year. This meant that Rees and Anne needed somewhere to live and they had Maes Gwyn in mind.
To enable them to move into Maes Gwyn meant that in 1788 Rosser Jenkins, who if you remember had leased Maes Gwyn in 1769 for 31 years, turned over the lease of Maes Gwyn to Rees Williams after only 19 years of the term of the lease.
This allowed Rees Snr. to set up home with his new wife Anne and their new born baby William born in the December of 1788 at Maes Gwyn. Whilst living in Maes Gwyn they had a further four children:
Rees Jnr. in 1792,
Thomas in 1793,
Elizabeth Anne in 1794 and
Maria Jane (Llinos) in 1795.
The last three named were all to live together in Ynys Las in Blaengwrach in later life.
Bidding Wedding story of 1798:
In a notebook of a visitor to Aberpergwm House now held in the National Library of Wales, the writer who signed himself I. B. of Bath, relates the following story.
On the 5th April 1798 whilst returning to Aberpergwm House after visiting the “beauties” of the area accompanied by Rees Williams of Maes Gwyn, they heard the distant sound of bagpipes playing. Rees explained to his visitor that this was a signal for an upcoming wedding.
They rode towards the sound and arrived at a spot called Pontyclun (Clun y Bont perhaps?), where they found the bagpipe player playing Cor Wenllian a famous Welsh song, to announce the wedding of the owner of the house daughter a Sarah Jenkins wedding to a gentleman from Ynysgwmbwll (Ed note: farm is in Pontneddvechan) named Twm Richard Morgan on the following day.
The story goes on the explain in detail the account of the “Bidding Wedding” and it makes great reading explaining the culture at the time. I have created a separate article to give a full account of the wedding. The original notebook the story comes from is held at The Library of Wales under the Aberpergwm mms.
If you would like to read the full transcript of the story which was transcribed from the Neath Antiquarians Society Transactions book for 1977 , the particular chapter being written by George Eaton. (the old school headmaster at Glynneath school), then please click here
Turbulent Years at Aberpergwm House:
The next few years were a little turbulent for the family, with Reverend Aubery dying in the July of 1796 followed by his wife in Eleanor in 1800. This meant that James Lewis, Eleanor’s cousin from Pontypool, inherited Aberpergwm House on her death.
He inherited the House, furniture, estates and income for the term of his life. Rees was to inherit the collieries at Llanwonno and Aberpergwm which he had previously had to lease.
Rees Williams Snr. inherits Aberpergwm House, (Maes Gwyn becomes empty):
But in 1802 Rees Williams inherits Aberpergwm House, it is not clear if James Lewis dies or if he stands aside for Rees to take over. The result of Rees inheriting Aberpergwm House was that Maes Gwyn became empty and therefore free to be leased.
Below is a explanation of the extraordinary events that took place when Robert Southey a famous English poet and author tried to lease Maes Gwyn.
“A dispute over a kitchen in Wales seems a curious cause to have had an effect upon the history English poetry.”
The story of the house now takes an unusual turn which if it had been successful maybe would have meant the Neath Valley being the residence of a future famous Poet Laureate (1813 – 1843) and all that may have entailed, had it happened. An opportunity missed perhaps.
In the autumn of 1802 a Robert Southey (writer of the story of the Three Bears and many other works, see here for more information) and a well respected Poet was interested in leasing the house, he had heard about it from his friend and work colleague Owen Pugh.
In his earlier life he had looked at setting up a Pantisocracy in South America but realising this was not possible considered setting this up in Wales. (Pantisocracy ~ a form of utopian social organization in which all are equal in social position and responsibility.)
He heard that Maes Gwyn was free from his friend Owen Pugh, a partner in his publishing firm of Longman’s in Paternoster Row, London. Owen through his friend William Gronnow organise for Southey to visit Grennow at Cwrt Herbert, Neath and from there he visited Maes Gwyn, together with Gronnow and few other acquaintances visited the house to see if it was suitable. He had a favourable opinion of the house, favouring it’s tranquility, position and the scenery around the house, and met with Rees Williams and his agent and financial advisor William Gwyn to negotiate the lease.
Unfortunately negotiations did not go well, there have been a few reasons given on why he did not lease the house. The first and mostly reported reason given was that Southey had asked for a new kitchen to be installed which was in turn refused by Rees.
Other reasons have been put forward as to why the negotiations failed, one reason given was that Rees’s agent and financial advisor William Gwyn, a staunch Tory, thought he was unable to pay the £25 per annum rent, another reason given was that Rees did not like his politics as in his earlier days he had been an advocate of Republicanism, although by 1803 he was a Tory like Rees and his agent.
Whatever is the truth we will probably never know, perhaps it was a combination of the three reasons, but the bottom line was Robert Southey did not lease Maes Gwyn. What an opportunity missed for the valley. Southey went on to live in the Lake District at Keswick where his friend Coleridge also lived. There he created a hub for Poets around him which put Keswick on the map, and still to today creates tourism in the area.
Rees Williams was heavily criticised for his decision as for the sake of a rent of £25 per annum the valley lost what may have been one of it’s greater assets.
Gronnow wrote a few years after the event: That the real cause of the trouble was that Southey couldn’t provide assurance to pay the rent, and that Rees Williams had dragged the honour of all Welshmen into the dust by refusing Maes Gwyn to such a man of letters, and for such a paltry reason.
Southey went on to form a school of poets in the Lake District called the ”Lake Poets”, and attracted many famous visitors from the literary world.
If you would like to read more about this story, click here:
William Williams inherits Aberpergwm House:
On the 25th September 1812 aged 57, Rees Williams Snr, passes away at Fulham in London. His first son William Williams inherits Aberpergwm House. William had been living in London for a number of years and it is not known if he returned to Wales after his father’s death or whether he continued his social activities in London. With the wealth and resources of Aberpergwm estate behind him he was well placed for the high life in London society.
After the Battle of Waterloo and the defeat of Napoleon, William was free to visit the countries and cities of Europe which he did from c.1815 to c1829. This left his brother Rees Williams Jnr. to pick up the running of the Aberpergwm estate. William was to return to Aberpergwm by 1828.
Rees Williams Jnr. living at Maes Gwyn:
Rees Williams Jnr. the second son of Rees Williams Snr. lived at Maes Gwyn and was regarded as a progressive farmer, when farming methods at that time were changing.
He was also regarded as a good landlord to his farm workers and miners, taking a special interest in their housing. In the early 19th century there was much poverty in the area, and in the Aberpergwm mss it can be seen that (in one dated year) he had provided shoes and a quantity of flannel, during a cold spell, for 50 people.
Letters from Rees Williams Jnr
The condition of Maes Gwyn, by then at least a 200 year old farmhouse, was always a problem and was in need of constant maintenance.
In 1811 letters to his parents Rees William Snr. and Anne and brother William, who were all living in London, from Rees Williams Jnr. contained the latest news of the Aberpergwm Estate. In the letters along with all the other news, he explained the condition of the building and surrounding area of Maes Gwyn farmhouse. The letters explain that the house was in need of “new water troughs as they are rotten and the water was penetrating the walls, and that Thomas Tyler was mending a little on the roof”. (Belcham, About Aberpergwm, page 185)
On top of that, he also went on to explain, that recent heavy rains had caused the river to change course through Penrose field from the scouring bridge to a little below Llyna Lock, and was now moving in a direct line against Maes Gwyn fields with the potential of causing more damage if a weir was not built to deflect the river back to it’s true course. The letters also mention that the Penrose bridge across the river had been washed away.
Rees Williams Jnr. (1792 – 1849) decides to rebuild Maes Gwyn:
In 1838 Rees Williams Jnr. decides to rebuild and enlarge the old farmhouse Maes Gwyn as a Gentlemen’s Residence, even though it was William his older brother who owned the property and the the lands he was farming. William was an absent landlord, as mentioned above, he was on his Grand Tour of Europe.
Rees employed a London Architect a Mr. P. R. Robinson (1778 – 1858) who provided him with plans for the new residence, but the architect never actually visited the house. The design of the house was a similar style to Singleton Abbey in Swansea which Robinson had also worked on. The plans for the ground floor included rooms for the servants, a hall, a kitchen and pantry, a dining room, a brewery, and various other sitting rooms. The second floor comprised of bedrooms.
The stone used for the walls came from Cwar Mawr quarry at Ynysarwed c, 1830 – 1840, Bath stone from the Box quarry was used for the window mouldings, and the wood used was to be treated by the Kyans wood preservation process. The top floor of the building featured some very ornate turrets, as can be seen in the photos below.
The architect advised Rees to use professional people to build the house, but it fell on deaf ears and Rees used subcontractors, and even his own estate workers to carry out some of the work. This decision was to prove a problem in the following years, when the Archilies Heal of the building, namely damp, was to become a continual problem.
The foundation for the house were completed by October 1838, but by the September of 1839 the building work was still not nearly completed and the architect wrote to remind Rees to get the building “roofed in before any bad weather comes”. The failing health of the architect meant he retired in 1838 and he moved abroad shortly after still having never visiting the area.
On the 9th November 1863 Rees Williams Jnr. died at the young age of 57.
Maes Gwyn inherited by the brother and sister of Rees William Jnr.:
Rees Williams Jnr. died on the 9th November 1863 and Maes Gwyn was inherited by his brother and sisters, Thomas, Elizabeth Anne and Maria Jane. They quickly realised that the house was a bit of a white elephant. They employed a surveyor by the name of Egbert Wrexham to survey the building, and he outlined a number of faults caused by damp.
The brother and sister who were at this time living quite comfortable in Ynys Las, realised that Maes Gwyn was too big and too costly to run and decided to stay at Ynys Las and not to move into Maes Gwyn.
It is not clear if anyone was living in Maes Gwyn after the death of Rees Williams Jnr.
Although it is recorded that more repairs to the house were required in the February of 1877, again due to water ingress and damp. This was followed in June of 1879 when further work was required so that the full rent of £100 per annum could be charged to the tenant Mr. Jones.
William Williams of Aberpergwm House dies in 1855:
There is not much written evidence of Maes Gwyn for who lived there or not, until Maes Gwyn was leased in 1927 by Sir. D. R. Llewellyn for use as an office for his collieries in the area. Previous to this in 1920, he had bought the Aberpergwm coal properties of Aberpergwm and Pwllfaron. He was also the owner the Rock, Patch, and Gnappnog levels above Glynneath.
The final chapter for Maes Gwyn was written in 1960 when the house succumbed to damp and was beyond repair and had to be pulled down. By coincidence the demolishing of Maes Gwyn coincided with the building of Cwmgwrach RFC clubhouse and the rubble from Maes Gwyn was used for the footings of the clubhouse. (Ed note: It is not quite clear on when Maes Gwyn was demolished, you can see various dates in different books, Jennifer Bulman remembers it was still standing in 1963, when by that time the building had been damaged by fire, but was still intact. Jennifer also mentioned that Jim Redmond rented the field for years after that.)
Like all old Manor houses, they should have their resident ghost, and Maes Gwyn is no exception to this rule. It is believed a video exists of some spooky goings on in the house. If I find out any more I will let you know.
A front view of the building probably when it was owned by the NCB. Austin 8 cars shown in front of the house.
References and Resourses:
The History of the Vale of Neath by D. Rhys Philips ~ Facsimile edition 1994. (pages 28, 312, 367, 568)
About Aberpergwm by Elizabeth F. Belcham ~ ISBN 0 9520491 0 4, (pages 24,26,34,37-39, 53, 77-79, 90, 93, 122, 157, 167, 180, 181, 185)
Neath Antiquarian Society, Transactions 1980 – 81, (pages 176) Avan Vallia Rent roll.
Neath Antiquarian Society, Transactions 1979, (pages19 – 37, by George Eaton)
National Library of Wales journal / Cyf. 15, rh. 4 / 1968 ~ Robert Southey at Maes Gwyn
Neath and District, a Symposium ~ (page 179)
Links:
https://journals.library.wales/view/1277425/1283437/74#?xywh=-3398%2C-306%2C9948%2C4621
Newspaper Clips:
