News

CONTENTS

ARCHIVE NEWS

In preparation for our move to new premises we have begun a project to make sure all the records are properly cleaned and packaged.

Around 25,000 volumes will be packed into individual boxes made by the Office’s latest piece of ‘kit’, a Kasemake box machine which was purchased with the help of a grant from Cymal. The machine cuts flat sheets of cardboard following dimensions fed into it via a computer program to make boxes of any size or shape.

The project is off to a flying start, and the conservation team are producing over 300 boxes each week.

The book is measured using a simple device

Volumes are measured and the information fed into a computer

The box is produced and is labelled automatically ready to be re-shelved

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This photograph of shelves containing volumes, shows the ‘before and after’ effect of the box machine

Shelves showing the before and after effect of the machine

A further deposit from David Morgan Ltd following the closure of their department store in the Hayes, Cardiff, includes some of the firm’s earliest records; a cash book, 1864-1877, for David Morgan’s first shop in Rhymney and a record of daily takings, 1861- 1874 from his second shop at Pontlottyn. There are also account books from the Hayes shop from 1879 onwards, and an album of photographs.

Libanus Welsh Baptist chapel was established in Treherbert by 1848, and although it enjoyed times of great success, by the end of the last century it met the fate of many chapels and churches and was forced to close. The records which have been preserved comprise a membership register, 1890-1952 and marriage registers, 1910-1986.

John Richards was a pharmacist in Cowbridge and also a local historian: he published ‘The Cowbridge Story’ in 1956. His papers relate to his family history in Llanblethian and Cardiff as far back as 1751, and also the history of pharmacy.

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STAFF NEWS

Regular users of the Record Office will notice the lack of a familiar face: Graham Cooksey , strongroom supervisor, retired at the end of April. Graham had been with us just over 4 years, we wish Graham a healthy, happy and golf-filled retirement.

Joanne Jones, Archivist, also left to take up a new post as Records Manager in Caerphilly County Borough Council.
Jo keeps in regular touch with the office regarding ‘Freedom of Information’ enquiries; again we wish her luck in her new job.

David Hail, the new Searchroom Supervisor

Graham’s retirement left the post of Strongroom Supervisor open; the place was filled by David Hail.

David is a martial arts expert, and apparently is very handy with a Samurai sword; searchers need not worry as he usually leaves it at home!

Helen Merrett joins us as a Records Assistant. Helen comes from the Portsmouth area, and studied for her degree in Ancient History and a MSc in ‘Care of Collections’ at Cardiff University.
Helen has used her skills as a volunteer at Cynon Valley Museum, and was happy to take up employment in this area

Helen Merrett, the new records assistant

Finally, the welcome sight of a face that many searchers will recognize. Rosemary Boyns, reappears in the office after a secondment which involved her working on the ‘Gathering the Jewels’ project, The goal of the project was to put the cream of Wales' cultural history, from repositories throughout Wales, on the Internet for people to learn from and enjoy. Rosemary returns bringing many new-found talents. Much of the work she was involved in can be found on the website;
http://www.gtj.org.uk/

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Part of Thomas Harry's letter from Patagonia in 1876, D376

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NEW ACCESSIONS

The list that follows gives brief details of accessions received by gift, deposit or purchase for the period 1 March-31st May 2005 . Please note that not all items shown are available for immediate consultation, and some dates given are approximate. Some items may be on restricted access. Accession numbers are given in brackets.

LOCAL AUTHORITY

Cardiff Borough/City, building control plans, c1880-1988
DCC/S
Photographs of construction work, 1940s-1970
BCPH14

Glamorgan Record Office , article by Madeleine Elsas, county archivist, in Municipal Journal, 1959
DXGC135

Health Authority and hospitals, annual reports, c1977-1986
D357

Llancarfan Community Council, minutes, 1981-1998
P36

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, Planning Department, planning application files,
1978-1983
DCMT

Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan County Councils, prints of amorial bearings, 1970s
D371

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, drawings of highways and bridges, C20
CRCT/ENV

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RELIGION

Church in Wales

Garw Valley (Pontycymmer) and Blaengarw parishes, records, c1878-c1989
P206CW

Llangeinor, photograph of St David’s church, Ogmore Vale, c 1975
P96CW

Non-conformist

Caerphilly Methodist Church, records, 1911-2002
DWESCR657

Cardiff, St Andrew’s Methodist church, Birchgrove, records (additional) 1937-1995
DWESCR20

Pontyclun, Tabernacle Welsh Congregational chapel, marriage register, 1972-1995
DWCONGMARR10

Pontycymmer, Noddfa Baptist chapel, minutes, 1888-1912
DWBAP24

Treherbert, Libanus Welsh Baptist chapel, records, 1890-1986
DBAP56/1-10

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Section through St Theodores Church Pontycymmer, P206CW

Section through St Theodores Church Pontycymmer, P206CW

EDUCATION

Caerphilly, St Martin’s Grammar Technical school, records, 1929-c1974
D375

BUSINESS

Evan Humphreys, Cardiff, papers relating to business interests 1895-2005
D368

David Morgan Ltd., Cardiff, and Morgan family, records and papers (additional), 1863-2005
DDM

Stephenson and Alexander, chartered surveyors, Cardiff, Client files, c1912-1948
DSA12

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FAMILY ESTATE AND PERSONAL

Barry, 124 Holton Road, deeds and other papers, 1895-1991
D369

Franklen Estate, Clemenstone, leases and agreements, 1874-1922
DGG

Gibbs, Hancorne and Malefant families, articles by Ian Meredith, c2005
DX558

Thomas Harry of Patagonia, letter to a friend in Wales, c1876
D376

John Richards, pharmacist and local historian, Cowbridge, papers, C18-20
D367

Councillor John Smith, Cardiff, papers, c1993-2004
D14

Tonyrefail, Mill Street, deeds, 1893-1908
D370

PICTORIAL

Cardiff and district, photographs, c1950s
D361

Kenneth Rowland Harris, photographs as editor of Glamorgan County Magazine, and at the Czechoslovakian club, Cardiff, c1950
D45

Merthyr Mawr, slides of village and residents, C19
D372

Pontlottyn and district, photographs, 1897-1992
D337/15-27

Unidentified Cardiff family, photograph c1915
D363

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Section through St Theodores church, Pontycymmer P206CW

Section through St Theodores Church, Pontycymmer P206CW

An unidentified Cardiff family, can you help? D363

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POLICE

Glamorgan Constabulary, South Wales Constabulary, chief constable’s orders, general orders, photographs, occurrence book, C19-20
DCON

POLITICS

Cardiff West Constituency Labour Party, records c1988-2003
DLPCW

Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Cardiff branch, minutes, correspondence, newscuttings,
1994-2003
D358

SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS

Caeracca Building Club, Dowlais, member’s book and mortgage deed, 1902-1921
D360

Cowbridge Record Society, Newsletter No. 7, April 2005
D130

Friends of Llandaff Cathedral, Annual Report no. 72 2004-2005
D127

Girl Guides, Cardiff and East Glamorgan, Annual Review and Accounts, 2004
DGUIE4/9

Glamorgan Family History Society Journal no. 77, March 2005
D37

Glamorgan Federation of Women’s Institutes, records, c1968-c2000
DXNO

Llandaff Society Newsletter no. 94, 2005-06-17 DLDS/1

Women’s Archive of Wales, Newsletters, February; May 2005; Annual Report 2005; Greenham Common Banner, 1980s
DWAW7, 8

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SPORT

Rugby and Cricket, programmes and fixture card, 1984-2003
D364/1-10

MAPS AND PLANS

Glamorgan steam coal properties, plan, 1885
D362

Ordnance Survey, plans, C19-20
D366

Rhondda valley, Ordnance Survey and hand-drawn plans, c1960s
2005/40

LIBRARY ACCESSIONS

The list that follows gives brief details of selected accessions received into the Glamorgan Record Office library, for the period 1 March 2005—31st May 2005.

Glamorgan Family History Society Indexes

Aberdare: Ebenezer, Nebo, Salem, Hen dy cwrdd, Tabernacle
Neath Valley lay register.
Canton, St John
Clydach, St John and St Mary
Bridgend English Wesleyan circuit
Mountain Ash, Nazareth English Baptist

Memorial Inscriptions

Port Talbot, Church of the Holy Cross
Bedwas parish church
Cefn Coed y Cymmer Jewish Cemetery
Merthyr Tydfil, Williams Memorial Congregational chapel,
Penydarren
Mountain Ash, Aberffrwd cemetery
Pontyclun, St Ann

Also received:

Morgannwg vol. 48, 2004

The Glamorganshire and Aberdare canals, Vol. 2 by Stephen
Rowson and Ian L Wright

The Aberdare Women’s Liberal Association, 1891-1910 edited by Ursula Masson

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The south elevation of St Theodores Church, Pontycymmer P206CW

Glamorgan Record Office
Newsletter Archive

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Archive News	Staff News
New Accessions	Library accessions

ARCHIVE NEWS In preparation for our move to new premises we have begun a project to make sure all the records are properly cleaned and packaged. Around 25,000 volumes will be packed into individual boxes made by the Office’s latest piece of ‘kit’, a Kasemake box machine which was purchased with the help of a grant from Cymal. The machine cuts flat sheets of cardboard following dimensions fed into it via a computer program to make boxes of any size or shape. The project is off to a flying start, and the conservation team are producing over 300 boxes each week.
	Volumes are measured and the information fed into a computer

The box is produced and is labelled automatically ready to be re-shelved Return to Top
This photograph of shelves containing volumes, shows the ‘before and after’ effect of the box machine
A further deposit from David Morgan Ltd following the closure of their department store in the Hayes, Cardiff, includes some of the firm’s earliest records; a cash book, 1864-1877, for David Morgan’s first shop in Rhymney and a record of daily takings, 1861- 1874 from his second shop at Pontlottyn. There are also account books from the Hayes shop from 1879 onwards, and an album of photographs. Libanus Welsh Baptist chapel was established in Treherbert by 1848, and although it enjoyed times of great success, by the end of the last century it met the fate of many chapels and churches and was forced to close. The records which have been preserved comprise a membership register, 1890-1952 and marriage registers, 1910-1986. John Richards was a pharmacist in Cowbridge and also a local historian: he published ‘The Cowbridge Story’ in 1956. His papers relate to his family history in Llanblethian and Cardiff as far back as 1751, and also the history of pharmacy. Return to Top

STAFF NEWS Regular users of the Record Office will notice the lack of a familiar face: Graham Cooksey , strongroom supervisor, retired at the end of April. Graham had been with us just over 4 years, we wish Graham a healthy, happy and golf-filled retirement. Joanne Jones, Archivist, also left to take up a new post as Records Manager in Caerphilly County Borough Council. Jo keeps in regular touch with the office regarding ‘Freedom of Information’ enquiries; again we wish her luck in her new job.
	Graham’s retirement left the post of Strongroom Supervisor open; the place was filled by David Hail. David is a martial arts expert, and apparently is very handy with a Samurai sword; searchers need not worry as he usually leaves it at home!
Helen Merrett joins us as a Records Assistant. Helen comes from the Portsmouth area, and studied for her degree in Ancient History and a MSc in ‘Care of Collections’ at Cardiff University. Helen has used her skills as a volunteer at Cynon Valley Museum, and was happy to take up employment in this area
Finally, the welcome sight of a face that many searchers will recognize. Rosemary Boyns, reappears in the office after a secondment which involved her working on the ‘Gathering the Jewels’ project, The goal of the project was to put the cream of Wales' cultural history, from repositories throughout Wales, on the Internet for people to learn from and enjoy. Rosemary returns bringing many new-found talents. Much of the work she was involved in can be found on the website; http://www.gtj.org.uk/ Return to Top

Part of Thomas Harry's letter from Patagonia in 1876, D376 Return to Top