Victorian Cwmbran - Some extracts from my book

These are some extracts from Victorian Cwmbran and relate to Forge Hammer and the Cwmbran Works which was on the site of the retail park and stretching up through Springvale.

17 May 1856

“On Tuesday week, a lad named David Davies, while engaged near the rolls at Cwmbran Works, was accidentally drawn into a portion of the machinery called 'the box' and received such serious injuries that he died the following morning. An inquest was held on the body Thursday last and a verdict of accidental death returned”

7 May 1859

“An inquest was held on Saturday at the Bridge End Inn before Mr W H Brewer deputy coroner, on the body of Isaac James, age 17 years who came by his death under the following painful circumstances. The deceased was a haulier on the incline tramway between the iron works and the colliery. On Wednesday, the 27^th while bringing down some coal trams, the gradient being heavy and the brakes insufficient, the tram obtained too much momentum which placed the horses in danger. Deceased, in order it is thought, to rescue them, attempted to uncouple their chain from the tram, when he fell across the road the trucks passing on, his legs, body and head were frightfully broken, bruised and lacerated. Surgical skill was of no avail and the unfortunate youth died on Friday. Verdict 'Accidental death'”

8 March 1879

“John Lyons, landlord of the Moon Public House was charged with keeping his house open during prohibited hours on 15^th. A police officer said that he was passing near the house at 11.5 pm and heard some conversation. On going into the premises he saw a man named Crine there. He asked him what he had got under his coat, which he declined to show. He afterwards threw something into the canal which witness believed to be a jar. He asked the landlord what Crine wanted at his house and he replied that he had some beer. Mr David who appeared for the defendant said, Crine was on the premises at work at the time. Crine was then charged with being in the house during illegal hours which he admitted but said he staying to supper after work. The Bench dismissed the case.

15 December 1883

“An inquest on the body of Mr Joseph Williams, a fireman aged 59 years, who was killed on 3^rd December by an explosion of gas at the Cwmbran Colliery, belonging to the Patent Nut and Bolt Company, was held on Monday at the Pontnewydd Inn before Mr Martin Edwards. A verdict of 'Accidental Death by an explosion of gas underground' was given Mr Bain, Government Inspector attended to watch the inquiry”

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Victorian-Cwmbran-Carol-Ann-Lewis/dp/1490970177/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401220382&sr=8-1&keywords=victorian+cwmbran

Paranormal Evening at the Horse & Jockey

     I was invited to go along to a paranormal evening at the Horse and Jockey pub in Pontymoile on 12 May 2014.  I've always wanted to go on a ghost hunt but wasn't sure if I should or whether I'd like it, but this one was different.
     I've already written about the ghostly goings on at the pub in my book Gwent History and Mystery, its the place where my great great grandfather was killed in 1902.  So I decided to go out of curiosity, see if any of the mediums would pick anything up!
     There were about twenty of us at the pub. We sat in the oldest part, what used to be the coaching inn, dating from around the 15th century. We had a meal first, it being only seven o clock and still light outside.  It was planned then to go into the churchyard next door and have a look around once dark enough.  As the night progressed I mentioned to the host that my ancestor had been killed in the area in which we were eating and she suggested I should tell the story to the group before we went out.  I didn't say how he had been killed but at the end of the story one lady said that she had felt the sensation of being hit in the back of the head as she walked through the entrance.  She had described exactly how he was killed, from behind.
     The current landlord also related a spooky experience he had had one night.  He was sat downstairs in the bar with another person and they heard footsteps running upstairs when there was no one up there!
     Once it was dark, about 10 pm, we went out into the churchyard and had a look around, quite a few said they could sense figures but I couldn't see anything.  At the top of the church tower I thought I saw a figure looking down on us, so did a few of the others but on shining a torch up there the windows were boarded up!.
     Back in the pub, the lights were off and we held a group seance.  Plenty of cold spots and a woman close to me describing the feeling of having a very upset stomach.  This made me think of the landlord Isaac Walford who had died in 1862.  One night he had been drinking heavily and had suffered from diarrhoea, weakness and trembling.  He had to be assisted to bed and died a few hours later. The ghost of a vicar with a round hat was mentioned next, the building having been a vicarage in the 17th century. The ghosts of two women also came through.  One was described as being very short and the other as quite large.  I know of three landladies, Martha, Elizabeth Walford, wife of Isaac and Elizabeth Jeremiah who was landlady by 1875. There could of course have been more.
     Around 11ish, seances and and divination was in full swing.  The ghost of a little boy came through to some, dressed in scruffy clothes and dirty, why he was there couldn't be ascertained but maybe the fact the pub was used for the inquest on the body of a baby boy found dumped in the woods in the 1850's might be the answer!
     At 12.30 the evening came to a close.  All in all, a really interesting, sometimes freaky but never scary night!  The Horse and Jockey is a lovely pub, especially the 15th century part which is very cosy with its big fireplace.  I would definitely go on another paranormal evening there, though not alone!




The 15th century part of the pub

The 15th century part with original staircase to the right of the fireplace

The church tower

Scene of the crime !!!

Looking into the newer part of the pub

Read more of Gwent's ghost stories in my book ...



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gwent-History-Mystery-Carol-Lewis/dp/1492171395/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420997432&sr=1-1&keywords=gwent+history+and+mystery

Hanbury Park promotional video

Well, I've been busy today making another video to promote my books.  This time its for my novel Hanbury Park.  I've taken all the photos, except one, myself and unfortunately, for the moment anyway, I don't have any other books to make videos for!  But, I am in the process of writing another one, its still in the research stages at the moment but hopefully I will get it finished soon.  In the meantime here is the link for the video and some of the photos.  Enjoy


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBUZAs92qD0


A very cold winter morning in North Wales

Cwmbran Boating Lake

Blaenavon

 Cwmbran in winter

Tell Them of Us - Press Release

New book commemorates brave Torfaen ancestors

'Tell Them of Us' is a new book by author Carol Ann Lewis.

2014 will see events taking place around the world to commemorate the start of World War One.  'Tell Them of Us' is the story of seven men from Torfaen who left their families to fight in France.

Gripped by the patriotism that swept the land in 1914 in face of the German threat, along with millions of others, they signed up to fight.  They were mostly volunteers - miners, shopkeepers - ordinary people and with the minimum of training they were sent to the trenches of the Western Front.  Instead of being home by Christmas, the war dragged on for four long years and as a result they experienced horrors we can never imagine.  For many, their first experience of battle would be their last.

But from the carnage also stepped heroes - Richard Jones from Pontypool who fought with the South Wales Borderers at the Battle of Gheluvelt, where the battalion stood alone to face the German army and protect the village until reinforcements arrived.  Had the Germans got through, the French ports would have been next.  William Jones, also of Pontypool who tied a page of the Pontypool Free Press to his rifle and stepped out into no mans land on Christmas Day 1914 to try and instigate peace with the Germans and John Hancock of Abersychan who fought at the Somme and was awarded the Military Medal for bravery. 

'Tell Them of Us' is a history book of local interest on a subject that was shared by millions.

Carol Ann Lewis is the author of four local history books and is the secretary of Cwmbran Writers Group.  She can be contacted on 07722300002 or emailed at carolannlewis@ntlworld.com

Her books are available from www.amazon.co.uk  or as a download to Kindle.

New Book - Tell Them of Us

Its been quite a while since I last posted here, but I've been busy writing my new book.  I decided to put this book together to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War One.  I had loads of information from doing family history research so thought,why not.  Its been a great little book to write and now with the war diaries being available online researching ancestors from the Great War has become easier, that's if you can decipher all the army abbreviations!!  The book contains stories of my ancestors experiences, most of them won military medals for bravery in the field, two died, one at the Battle of Gheluvelt, the world war one equivalent of Rorkes Drift  I shall now be out promoting this wherever I can:)

Tell Them of Us is available from www.amazon.co.uk  or as a download to Kindle.

New Book 'Victorian Pontypool'

This book has taken me months to research and write.  It is a compilation of old newspaper articles from papers long extinct and gives a glimpse in to life in Pontypool in Victorian times.  I decided to write it as many of my ancestors lived in Pontypool and surrounding villages.  My 3 x great grandfather, Thomas Lewis, was born in 1834.  He probably lived to see much of what my book includes.  Although only 5 at the time, he may have witnessed the night of the Chartist disturbance, the opening of the railway line and the very first steam engine to travel to Pontypool.  By the time of his marriage in the 1850's he would have lived through the Cholera outbreak, diphtheria outbreak and crippling poverty that the ordinary person lived through every day.  In the year 1890 he would have been 56 and if still around would have witnessed the Llanerch Colliery disaster, where, he may have lost friends and relatives.  But the book isn't just about my family, there are about 190 pages in the book, full of stories and characters, such as poor Mr Rowberry, who had a great trade driving  his carriages to Newport, until the coming of the trains, then he lost everything and was found one morning lying dead in George Street!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Victorian-Pontypool-carol-Ann-lewis/dp/1491296437/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379277609&sr=8-1&keywords=victorian+pontypool

My Next Project

For my next book project I am looking at old newspapers from the 19th century and picking out interesting ones from Cwmbran.  It's a long job, the research is taking far longer than the typing up of the manuscript.  There are hundreds of stories to choose from, ranging from the sad to the gruesome to the funny ones.  In the meantime I've been out in the outer net advertising my other books, interest is rising and that's always a good thing.  In the meantime I have donated a piece of art to a history project going on in Cwmbran.

This is my pictuer of Old Cwmbran around the 1900's.  I believe the dome thing in the centre was a toilet called 'St Pauls'  Gone now though.