Mr Horace Farquhar Evelyn Coles. Mr Horace Farquhar Evelyn Coles was born in 1896 at Cardiff, the son of Mr William German Coles and Mrs Edith Haysom Gillett Coles nee Cox of Cardiff, the licensees of the Avondale Hotel, Cardiff. The Bush Hotel, Abertillery. In 1911 the family moved to Abertillery to take the licence of the Bush Hotel, Abertillery. …
Read More »
Mr Brinley Gravenor. Mr Brinley Gravenor was born on Wednesday 5th of May 1909 at Abertillery, Monmouthshire. He lived with his parents Mr James Gravenor, a coal miner and Mrs Maggie Gravenor, along with his elder brother Tom Gravenor at 21 Penybont Terrace, Cwmtillery. Brinley, better known as Bryn became an accomplished billiard and snooker player, he first started playing …
Read More »
The News Chronicle National Newspaper Competition. In 1956, at the height of their success, the Abertillery Liberal Club team (as seen below left) entered a national team competition sponsored by the News Chronicle national newspaper. The prize was the Championship Table from Thurstons Hall, Leicester Square, London. The Abertillery Liberal Club Team. Out of 1,109 team entries, the Abertillery team …
Read More »
The Abertillery Central Club in the Abergavenny and District Snooker League. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, the Abertillery Liberal Club, the Central Club as it was known, featured in the Rhymney Valley and Sirhowy Valley Snooker Leagues. They had been, and still were, very successful winning many competitions and had built a strong reputation. There is currently no record of …
Read More »
The Last Decade. Throughout the 1990’s the Liberal Snooker club, though still successful in the Abergavenny Snooker League, went into decline. Many older members had passed away and the club reached out to the younger generation which only had a minimal effect. Sadly, the Liberal Club’s successful past could never be regained and with the loss of many members, lack …
Read More »
Abertillery Rugby Football Club. There is a consensus that the Abertillery Rugby Football Club was formed in 1883. I have thoroughly searched all newspaper reports from that time but can’t find any information or details of their set-up. The earliest mention of the team in official reports that are available is in 1885 when the Abertillery Rugby Football Team were …
Read More »
Abertillery v Australia Rugby Football Club – December 1908. The Visit by the Wallabies. During the 1907-08 season, the Abertillery Rugby Football Team won the Monmouthshire League with a record of – Played 37 games and won 31, losing six. They amassed a total of 436 points for with only 104 points against. On June 24th, 1908, at a meeting at …
Read More »
The Australian “Wallabies” Rugby Football Tour of the British Isles – The team that played Abertillery in 1908. The Abertillery Team held the Wallabies to a 3-3* draw and set two records at the time. The first team to hold the Aussies to a draw and that it was the first time the Wallabies failed to cross an opponents line. …
Read More »Mr Alfred Prosser Williams 1849-1932. Mr Alfred Prosser Williams – A. P. Williams born on 25th of March 1849, was one of Abertillery’s most renowned building contractors. He constructed the new Market Hall building, the Globe Hotel, the St Michaels Vicarage in Church Street and also re-built St Michaels Church, he built the Co-operative Store in Church Street. He built …
Read More »
The First Reading Rooms at Abertillery in 1856. Long before Mr Thomas Wilde Powell came to the valley, education was at the forefront of the long-term planning for the town’s workforce by the industrialists. One of these who pushed for education was Sir Thomas Phillips, he fought for the Welsh language and worked closely with Messrs T. P. & D. …
Read More »
Out Of The Blue Artifacts A Library of a lifetime of collecting