Out Of The Blue Artifacts A Library of a lifetime of collecting
Cwmtillery Colliery with the Coke Ovens.
During the latter part of the 19th century tramping vagrants would walk the valley’s looking for some sort of employment, a few of them would be too aged, ill and unable to work in heavy industry, often they would be eligible for relief and receive about 8d. per day for food, though many would abuse this welfare and spend it on anything other than meals etc. Younger vagrants who were deemed able for work would receive no help, these men would move from town to town doing what they could to survive.
During their visits to any given town, they would often seek out the nearest coke ovens to reside in and around, to hide, keep warm and have what they believed to be a safe environment. These vagrants would be looked down upon and considered a nuisance to the village, their presence was frowned upon by the people. The collieries owners took a strong stance on keeping them away from the area and the police enforced the law to the limit, any trampers or vagrants caught sleeping out on the company’s grounds, collieries or brick yards etc were severely dealt with.
In June 1890 a tramp from Brynmawr was arrested by the police at Cwmtillery, he had been found sleeping at the Cwmtillery Colliery Coke Ovens (as seen in the featured image above) in the colliery grounds. The prisoner was taken to Abertillery Police Station and sentenced to 14 days hard labour at Usk Prison. The sentence passed down was typical for repeat offenders though the first-time offenders would be offered a fine of 20s. shillings plus costs and if they couldn’t pay, which most prisoners weren’t able to, they would be sent down for 14 days imprisonment. Some able-bodied prisoners were given time to pay though if no payment was forthcoming at the deadline set, they were sent to Usk Prison for a sentence anywhere between 14 days to 2 months.
In September 1901 a tramping stone mason was locked up at Abertillery Police Station for just 1 day, upon his release was ordered to leave the town of Abertillery and its vicinity. This kind of sentence was strictly enforced with any repeat offender who had been given notice to leave town would receive an imminent 2-month prison sentence at Usk Prison.
During my research there were many tramping vagrants losing their lives while hiding out in coke ovens, in some cases they were found suffocated by the fumes and others died from being overcome and burning to death whilst sleeping over the ovens at night. The Cwmtillery Colliery Coke Ovens (as featured in the image above) closed in 1911 and the newly built By-Product Plant and Washery and Coke Ovens at Penybont was opened in 1912. At this new plant the entire building and grounds were well manned by the company police. The problems with tramps and vagrants in Abertillery and Cwmtillery seemed to ease.