Casgliadau Arlein

Flannel skirt. The material possibly came from the woollen mill beneath the Hengoed Railway viaduct, but certainly woven in the Gelligaer/Ystrad Mynach area.

Letter accompanying skirt from donor, dated 24th November 2004: The material in this skirt came to me from my grandmother Ann Price of the post office Ystrad Mynach, Mid Glam. She lived 1869-1952, was born in nearby Gelligaer and before marrying she trained as a dressmaker in Nelson. Ann was then living with her parents in Ystrad Mynach. I understood that the material had originally been made as a skirt belonging to Ann’s mother, Mary Richards. Mary, nee Davies lived 1831-1891 and was born at Penpedairheol near Gelligaer. She lived during her married life, at 33 Penallta Road, Ystrad Mynach, a house built by her collier husband. Widowed when she was quite young, she made a living by acting as a midwife where needed, on local farms. Staying with household for several weeks to also carry out household tasks. Later she took in a lodger, a solicitor, who opened an office in her front room and following that, she used the room as a small shop. Goods for sale included paraffin and her home made toffees. Subsequently her daughter Ann and son-in-law William Price built a shop/house next door and transferred the business, also making it into a post office. Mary Davies was accustomed to a frugal living. Her patchwork quilts sewn on a frame in her middle room had inside padding made of old blankets. Her gratitude to Lloyd George for providing a 10 shilling weekly pension from the government was enormous. The one photo I have of her, wearing a large Victorian hat, seems to contradict the image, passed on to me by my mother, of a quite industrious woman who wasted neither words nor materials. No doubt in the photo, Mary is wearing her best Sunday clothes for attending the services at Hengoed Welsh Baptist Chapel. It is probable that Mary, or daughter Ann, originally made up the material into a skirt. It could well have come from the woollen mill beneath the Hengoed Railway Viaduct, but certainly woven in the Gelligaer/Ystrad Mynach area. If it is of any particular interest, I would like the Woollen Museum at Felindre to keep the skirt as a record of Welsh weaving. The skirt, which I made in the 1970s, can be unpicked if desired, in order to have the material in one piece.