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Nantymoel
Nantymoel maps
Historic maps of Nantymoel and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Nantymoel maps
Nantymoel area books
Displaying 1 of 2 books about Nantymoel and the local area. View all books for this area
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Memories of Nantymoel
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memories of Nantymoel.
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I Remember it Well
1947 was the year my parents, sister aged 4 and myself aged 10 moved from living in two rooms in a shared house in Pricetown to a rundown three-storeyed rented house in Llewellyn Street, Nantymoel. It had three bedrooms, without electricity on the top floor, two living rooms and a pantry on the middle floor with electricity which was accessed by the front door from street level, and below ground under the pavement a coal cellar and another pantry which opened onto a further unusuable living room with back door onto the garden. Immediately outside the back door was a toilet, a wooden bench 2ft 6ins wide with a hole. It emptied into a sewer but had no flush, you just emptied a bucket of water down after it was used. The only water tap in the house was a stand pipe just inside the back door so at least you didn't have far to carry the heavy zinc bucket. A zinc bath hung on the outside wall. It was... Read more
SundayTreat
I remember travelling over to Nantymoel in an Austin 7 from the Western Valley. It was very cramped with my mother and father, younger brother and a friend of the family. This was a regular family outing to see my grandparents, William H Thomas and Mary Jane Thomas who lived in 57 Station Road. It was the very last house in the road. It was always a special Sunday treat for the family.
It was always a thrill to reach the top of the Bwlch and see the valley below. We were always treated to a fine meal and afterwards I would play outside with the neighbours' children. I remember that one of the other children was Lynn Davies who later became famous as an athlete.
We would often be joined by relatives who lived locally. The adults would gather in the parlour and my grandmother would play the piano. I remember that the room would get very smoky.
The house was very prone to subsidence caused by the mining.... Read more
Station Road, Nantymoel
My husband and I decided to visit Nantymoel after trying to do some family tree research. We knew my husband's grandfather Dr Melbourne Thomas was born there and we knew where on Station Road he'd lived with his dad Gwilym, mum Rosina and his three brothers. We were just gazing at the houses on the road and wondering why it was called Station Road when there appeared to be no station, when one of the residents and his wife invited us in and gave us, two complete strangers, some tea. We had such a lovely time. Later on they introduced us to a lady with a fantastic memory called Teifiona (sorry if spelt incorrectly) who could actually remember Melbourne and his family. Amazing day, amazing place and amazing welcome ... thank you.
My Grandmother
My first memory is of sheep on the hillside leading up to my grandmother's house, and of a curtain hanging in front of the front door
to protect it from the sun. As I was only about four years old at the time that is all for that age. My next memory is of when I was 18 years
old and in the RAF and came to visit my gran for a weekend, only to discover she had fallen downstairs and injured her hip preparing for my visit, which was cut short when she was taken to hospital. My next visit was to take my wife and children to meet her and then my only other visit was to her funeral. My gran was Jane Thomas,my grandfather was Thomas Moorgan and my father was Evan John who died in 1942.
Sadly I have lost touch with all my father's family but I do visit the family plot, as I will do on the 1st or 2nd August. Such a shame... Read more
Mid Glamorgan memories
Cinema
In the early 50's I used to attend film shows in this building. I seem to remember it was referred to as "The Lymp", that being an abbreviation for "Olympic".
My grandfather, John Richard Dunn, was born in Bryne Street. His mother ran a thriving grocery shop from her front room. He was a master musician (and miner) who conducted many choirs in the area.
During WW11 I attended school in Ogmore having moved from Bournemouth. The teachers and my grandmother had a big job on their hands teaching me to speak without a cockney-type accent. Happily, they won through.
A MEANDER DOWN THAT LANE
The photograph is that of the miner's hall where films were shown. It was also used for pantomimes and other functions. The Lymp referred to in the memory of David Whitney is the Olympia Cinema, owned by Mr Adams. I lived in Pantyraw and went to school, first in Ogmore Vale, then Nantymoel. I left the valley in 1952 aged 15 together with a school friend, Aaron Davies to seek our future in England. I lost touch with Aaron in 1958 when he did his National Service in the RAF then signed on. In 2004 I was in Victoria, Vancouver Island, Canada. I was invited to a Welsh Society funtion where I met Graham Adams. I could not believe the way the conversation developed. This was the son of the Mr Adams who owned the Olympia Cinema. He was a close friend of Aaron Davies, he was in the same class as my sister Daleth at school. What sort of a coincidence is... Read more
Mother's Birthplace
My mother was born in 21 Meadow Street, and many times I spent a lot of happy hours there. She was Doreen Susanah Howells, and had a sister Gwyneth, a sister Megan, a brother Evan, a brother Leslie, and a brother who died in the local colliery in an accident. I remember well watching his funeral going past the house. It was very sad. Often we would get on that little train and go to Barry for the day - what an excursion. I found a lovely friend that lived in Highland Terrace whose name escapes me! Grandfather Howells was a safety officer at the mine. There used to be a shop just up the road from the house where I was allowed to buy fizzy pop. I remember it well. I was often taken to the Co-op shop in the main town to buy clothes. How lucky I was, the money was put in the hand-pull machine shooting across to a money office. We as children spent many happy... Read more
