Out Of The Blue Artifacts A Library of a lifetime of collecting
Blaenau Gwent Infants School – The Crown.
On Tuesday 8th of April 1902, at a monthly meeting of the Aberystruth School Board consisting of the following members – Mr J. P. D Williams (Chairman); Mr R. H. Williams (Vice Chairman); Mr E. J. Williams; Mr T. Drew; Mr C. H. Carter; Mr J. Davies; Rev T. T. Evans; Dr D. C. Muir and Mr I. Aled Jones (Clerk): The Rev T. T. Evans read a report from the school managers, they had inspected two sites for the erection of new schools at Abertillery and they had recommended the purchase of a piece of land on the Crown Estate at Blaenau Gwent for the erection of an infants school and of an acre or more land on the Gelli Grug Estate just below the house of Mr William Stewart J.P. and general manager of the Powell’s Tillery Collieries, for the erection of a boys, girls and infants school. (More on the Crown Estate below).
On Friday 22nd of May 1903, tenders were invited from local builders for the construction of the Blaenau Gwent “Crown” Infants School. Plans and specifications were able to be seen at the office of the boards architect Mr R. L. Roberts of Abercarn. Tenders were to be received by June 8th, 1903.
On Tuesday 9th of June 1903, a meeting of the Aberystruth School Board consisting of the following members – Mr R. H. Williams (Chairman); Rev T. T. Evans; Mr Hugh Williams; Mr W. B. Harrison; Mr J. Davies; Mr W. H. Carter; Mr E. James Williams; J.P. Mr I. Aled Jones (Clerk) and Mr Boycott (Deputy Clerk): The following tenders were opened for the erection of the Blaenau Gwent Infants School – Mr E. C. Jordan of Newport £3,700. 0s. 0d; Mr Davies of Cardiff £4,692. 0s. 0d.; Mr D. W. Richards of Newport £3,635. 0s. 0d.; Mr A. P. Williams of Crickhowell (late Abertillery) £3,615. 0s. 0d.; Mr N. Bagley of Abertillery £3,680. 7s. 3d; Messrs Smith Bros of Newport £3,388. 0s. 0d.; Gaen Bros of Abertillery £3,434. 0s. 0d.; Mr J. Newcombe of Ebbw Vale £3,516. 0s. 0d. and Mr D. Lewis of Llanhilleth £3,597. 0s. 0d. The tender of Messrs Gaen Brothers of Abertillery was accepted at £3,434. 0s. 0d.
The Contractor and Architect.
Messrs Gaen Brothers of Abertillery was given the contract to build the Blaenau Gwent Infants School and the construction began in the summer of 1903. It seems the building and construction work was done by the sub-contractor Mr Richard Tudor of Abertillery.
Mr Richard Tudor.
Mr Richard Tudor (as seen left) 1864-1931 was from Haverfordwest. He came to Abertillery in 1891 as foreman builder to the Gaen Brothers and was living at Alma Street, Abertillery. His first wife was Mary Tudor nee Lewis from Maesteg who sadly died in 1909. They had a son Mr Herbert Tudor, he was sadly killed in the Great War.
Mr Tudor’s second wife was Miss Lizzie Gilligan, the headmistress at the Queen Street Schools. At the time of his death Mr Tudor had become a J.P. and was living in Enfield House, Oak Street, Abertillery.
On Thursday 21st of April 1904, the architect reported that the contract for the Blaenau Gwent Crown School had been executed on Tuesday 14th of July 1903. Nine months had been allowed for the construction of the school. The building would accommodate 300 infants but the site comprised insufficient land to build a mixed school when necessary. The whole of the roof was to be slated during that week, though I cannot find an official opening date.
A Commemorative Mug.
This mug was presented to the pupils in 1991. I cannot remember what the mug and the occasion was to commemorate.
The Crown Infants School closed in the 1990’s and demolished. There are two blocks of two-houses built on the site of the old school and renamed Cwrt Coron? Further down Crown Street where the old dinner hall was, is now a community building called “The Wyndham Vowles Centre”.
A Commemorative Tea Towel.
In 1991 the school also had special commemorative tea towels made (as seen left) the school asked each pupil to draw a self-portrait and the images were printed on the towel, some pupils were asked to draw faces of the teaching and canteen staff and their images were also included.
Points of Interest – The map (as seen right) shows the Crown School (center). To its left was Rees’ Bakery “Wonderloaf”. The large building on Crown Street (to the lower left of the school) was used as the school’s dinner hall and canteen. At the (bottom left) on the image was the Abertillery Technical School, the Intermediate School Annex, later turned into a Court House and now demolished. Also bottom (far right) marked P.H. was the Royal Exchange Inn since demolished and now private housing, four doors up is the Crown Inn, corner of Victoria and Crown Street.
The Crown Estate Query.
The land at Blaenau Gwent was owned by Mr Thomas Brown Esq and was occupied by Mr John Michael Jones as a farmer from at least the 1830’s maybe longer as mentioned above. Sometime after this date portions of the land were acquired by the Crown Estate and later land sales were transacted by the estate’s trustees. The term Crown Estate in relation to the Monarch in this case is a bit unclear, I have personally been in communication with the Crown Estate, I sent scans of and information relating to the sale of land by the trustees and a representative informed me the following – It’s unlikely these refer to The Crown Estate as we know it today, because the organisation was known in the 1900’s as the Commissioners of Woods Forests & Land Revenues. The term ‘Crown Estate’ only became in common use from The Crown Estate Act of 1956, when the name was officially changed to ‘The Crown Estate Commissioners’. There were many estates where the monarch was the “lord of the manor” and it may refer to one of those, although most were dispersed during enclosure acts and copyholds.
However, the book, the “Monmouthshire Medley” by Reginald Nichols, has a list of landowners in Monmouthshire printed, dated February 1876 (as seen left) shows that the Crown Property, Whitehall S.W., owned land in Monmouthshire to the extent of 1,051 acres, with a gross estimated rental of £664. 15/-. So the Crown, whether it being Properties or Estate, did own land in the county of Monmouthshire throughout this period. Enquiries into the exact land ownership are ongoing.
The name Crown Inn, along with Royal Lane, Crown Street, Royal Exchange and the Crown School all named over a period of time seemed to have reference to the Crown Estate in whatever context it referred to, more than probably originated from the land it was situated on, known as the Crown Estate. In 1902 it was reported in the South Wales Gazette that the Abertillery Council agreed to purchase land belonging to the Crown Estate to construct the Blaenau Gwent Infants School, locally known as the “Crown Infants”. In April 1911 it was reported in the same newspaper that “An important series of valuable property being part of the Crown Estate at Blaenau Gwent was being sold at auction by Mr W. H. Hiley at the Station Hotel, Abertillery”. It stated it was “The most important sales which had been conducted in this district for some time past”, the sales of this property were at Spring Bank, Clyn Mawr and Royal Lane.