Virtual Tour - Daniel Owen Town Walk Victorian times in ... · Virtual Tour - Daniel Owen Town Walk Victorian times in Mold through the eyes of one of its greatest sons. Daniel Owen

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Virtual Tour - Daniel Owen Town Walk

Victorian times in Mold through the eyes of one of its greatest sons.

Daniel Owen (1836 - 1895) tailor, preacher, and politician was the first Chairman of

Mold Urban District Council, established in 1894, and considered to be the first

novelist in the Welsh language. Amongst other literary work he wrote four novels and

a book of short stories. He has been described by some as the Welsh Charles Dickens.

So what was Mold like in his lifetime?

Two main streets with various squares/courts/terraces. An 1812 book guide-book,

written by Rev. J Evans, describes Mold as:

‘consisting primarily of one long and spacious street, comprising 682 houses

and a population of 4235’ In 1835 the provision of food is well catered for, in

that the shops included three bakers, thirteen butchers, twelve grocers & tea

dealers, ten malsters and a multitude of licensed premises. Next to food &

drink, the other basic element residents needed was clothing & footware, and

this was amply catered for by the eight boot & shoe makers, nine linen &

woollen drapers, five milliners & dressmakers, two straw hat makers, ten

tailors and a hat manufacturer.

By the mid1800s, sixteen mining companies had offices in Mold, and over 100 metal

mines were operating in the area, along with coal mines, brickworks and potteries.

One of the largest employers in Mold was the Cotton Mill was destroyed by fire in

1866. The site then housed the Tin Plate works from 1878 until it finally closed in

1936. Site has been occupied since the 1950s by Synthite.

As with the rest of the UK child labour was normal, and the 1842 report on the

‘Employment of children in Mines & Mineral Works’ included the Argoed Colliery. It

detailed children as young as 8 working 12 hour shifts, 6 days a week, and whilst

they claimed to be able to read they often could not write. Despite apparent

prosperity, times were often hard, and an 1847 report lists the presence of paupers,

extreme poverty and widespread drunkenness. Violence and industrial disputes were

never far away as highlighted by the Mold Riots of 1869.

The biggest fear for many poor families, particularly where husbands had died or

deserted their family, was the workhouse, which was located on the outskirts of

Holywell. Conditions were harsh, with children being separated from their mothers,

and brothers and sisters being separated from each other. The philosophy behind the

regime was to make life as hard as possible, so that people would not want to enter. I

read of one case where a child was ill and the mother was allowed to spend one night

comforting him, but because she stayed two nights she was punished by being locked

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in an external cage, in freezing conditions, eating only the left overs of other inmates.

Unmarried mothers faced even bigger problems. Many cases came before the courts

where babies were murdered or abandoned at birth. This would have left the girls

subject to the death penalty, but often magistrates took pity on the girls and declared

them 'insane'. Whether this could be considered 'pity' is hard to answer, as asylums

were a 'living hell' for many of their inmates.

The Clerk to the Quarter Sessions speaks about the problems with the 'totally

ignorant' as one that had been taught to read and write ‘is generally more reasonable

and can be persuaded of his error’. The Justices of the Peace did not see there was a

particular problem although they admitted that as these people lived at a distance

from them they knew little of their habits & customs. The Relieving Officer of the

District stated that there were more widows and children of colliers and miners than

of other labouring men on the books, in consequence of the frequent accidents that

occured.

It is against this background that we are following in the steps of Daniel Owen who,

because of the family background, could well have ended up in Holywell workhouse.

His tailoring apprenticeship was arranged and paid for by the Holywell Poor Law

Union.

Birthplace in Long Row, Maesydre (Marked with a cross). Now demolished

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Birthplace Location (Marked No. 1)

Memorial stone marking the spot

Mother

Sarah or Sally Owen who was left a widow after the death of her husband

and two sons in the colliery accident. She worked as a washer-woman to

support her family

Location of Argoed Colliery

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The Colliery, around 1870

In 1837 his father and two brothers were killed in a flooding disaster at the Argoed

Colliery.

Report of the Disaster

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Disaster Fund

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Although a distress fund was set up, all the funds were lost when the Bank of

Douglas, Smalley and Company went bankrupt leaving his mother to bring up the

family often in abject poverty. This left an indelible mark on Daniel and is reflected

in the words inscribed on his statue outside the Library 'Not for the wise and learned

have I written but for the common people.' The inscription on the statue is written in

Welsh, English and Latin.

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Board School

Built on land donated by Lord Mostyn. Daniel attended this school around 1845/6

following the replacement of the one at Ponterwyl. The Master was paid £60 p.a. plus

free house, garden and fuel while the mistress received £40 p.a. Children paid 2d

weekly or 1d a week if they paid a subscription of 2/6d p.a. The school outbuildings

although new, in 1847 were considered inadequate for such a large school and the

drainage was considered bad. Unlike many teachers at this time, both the master

(25years of age – Master was 21 at the National School) and mistress had undergone

formal training at Battersea Training College and Borough Road Normal School

respectively. The master taught 164 boys and the mistress 149 girls, with the

assistance of eighteen monitors.

The Welsh Language was and continues to be an issue, and the infamous 1847

Education Commissioners’ report concluded that ignorance of English was

synonymous with illiteracy and their conclusion on the Welsh language was

“a barrier to moral progress, pandering to prevarication and perjury, if not worse.”

It is recorded in the school log books that the ‘Welsh Not’ was used. At this time,

more than one third of Welsh Schools used monitors (older pupils) to teach, but the

whole practice and standards were questioned. This school fared considerably better

than some of those inspected.

“The classification of this school is very unequal especially amongst the lower

classses. I found one who was intelligent; the next to him reproved a pupil who

was reading correctly, telling him to read scared for sacred. The same monitor

failed to correct a boy who repeatedly said mistolee instead of mistletoe. Some

questioned their pupils intelligently, others were careless. All the monitors receive

additional instruction for half an hour after school, both day and night.”

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Daniel left school at the age of 12, although his education continued at Capel

Bethesda through the tutoring of the Sunday Schooland the Revd. Roger Edwards.

Bethesda Chapel

Revd. Roger Edwards

The obelisk in the chapel forecourt is in memory of the Rev. Roger Edwards. His and

his wife’s graves were the first in Mold Town Cemetery, the provision of which he

fought long and hard for.

Workshop of Angell Jones – Castle Street (behind Y Pentan – this row was

demolished and it is now the back of the shopping precinct.)

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In 1851 at the age of 14, the Holywell Union apprenticed him to a five year term at a

premium of £4.10s to the tailor Angell Jones who was Deacon at the Bethesda

Chapel. The original workshop was located in Castle Street and he entered a

workshop where he witnessed arguments and debates on both theological and

political matters which had a considerable influence on him in later life. At this time

the craftsmen were responsible for the accommodation, food and clothing of their

apprentices. Daniel Owen was paid a penny a week and his tea was provided every

Saturday afternoon. His wages in the second year were 2s per week. At the age of 19,

after his 5 years apprenticeship, he became a qualified tailor and when Angell Jones

died in 1856, Daniel went to work for Angell's son, John Angell Jones. The business

was relocated to 17 High Street.

Apprentice Agreement

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Workshop colleagues (Daniel far left at the back – Angell Jones 2nd from right

front)

High Street Shop

Located next to George Wynne's town house Ty Mawr (building demolished in the

1970s and now the site of Boots). The shop now houses Costa Coffee.

Richard Wilson Grave at the rear of St. Mary’s Church.

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Daniel’s first printed poem was published at the age of 19, in the May 1856 edition of

Y Methodist. The poem referred to the neglected grave of the artist Richard Wilson,

“Ah, Wilson, and is this your lowly grave? So unadorned it is, in aspect foul.” This is

a translation of the original which was written in Welsh

Bala College

Students including Daniel (at the top) and Rev. Roger Edwards’ son who

eventually became head of the college.

He entered Bala Theological College at the age of 29 but was never ordained

although he continued to preach. When someone that said he could not wait to hear

Daniel Owen preach a visiting minister from Bethesda remarked “Once you have

heard him once you will not want to hear him again.”

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As his brother was getting married, he aborted his studies, and returned to Mold to

take care of his mother. Meanwhile he continued to enhance his reputation as a

novelist, with stories based on a chapel-dominated town at a time of great industrial

and agricultural change and his memory. Encouraged by the Rev Roger Edwards, he

competed in local Eisteddfodau, winning many prizes, and his novels were serialized,

thereby getting round the aversion of Calvinistic Methodists towards non-religious

books as they considered these as not God’s work. His seat at the Bethesda Chapel is

marked with a plaque.

Daniel as young man.

His old shop, New Street

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Tailors in yard (Now roofed as part of Y Pentan)

Daniel used to write in the back room of the shop. Here also he kept canaries in

cages. Breeding canaries was his hobby and he gave them to his friends and

colleagues.

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New Street in 1800s (Cross Keys is now Y Pentan)

The current name of the pub is taken from his book ‘Straeon y Pentan,’ the royalties

of which were given in his will to Ellen Jones who nursed him during his illness. He

opened this business in 1873, when John Angell Jones retired and some of his former

workmates became his employees. The tailoring tradition continued after Daniel

Owen's death, with the last tailor before the building was absorbed into the pub being

Towyn Jones. Daniel was proud of his trade and his advertising material clearly

demonstrated his thoughts regarding quality and personal service. “D. Owen does not

keep any ready-made clothing, therefore the customer runs no risk of catching any of

those malignant fevers sometimes transmitted from the squalid dens of London and

other large towns, where ready-made clothing are made under the sweating system

and at starving prices. No concern with that sort of trade.” “D.O. does not pretend

that the above goods (hats etc,) have been bought for next to nothing, and will be sold

for less. (He can’t afford it, neither can others, however much they swear to it.) No;

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they have been purchased from respectable warehouses in the regular way, and will

be sold at a most reasonable prices.”

Hand writing example

Shop Advert

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Bethesda Clock

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Naughty Wil Bryan (a character in the novel Rhys Lewis)for turning the clock on in

order to leave early !!

1873 Eisteddfod (On the site of the bowling green, Bailey Hill).

He was a tenor and sang in the choir at the Eisteddfod.

Mostyn Arms, Milford Street (Demolished 1980s)

When it was demolished, many people remained unaware of its significance to

Mold’s literary tradition. Local bards, including Daniel Owen and John Blackwell,

met there regularly to perform and criticise their poetry and prose compositions. J.D

Griffiths in a Deesider article of September 1965, provided details of the Eisteddfod

room with its walls painted to imitate choir stalls, where each member of the party

had his name painted over his chair. In 1965, the original furniture was still in use and

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painted on the fresco were the words ‘National Eisteddfod of Wales 1873. Cymru am

byth. England, Wales and Scotland and Ireland. Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr

Wyddgrug 1873. The Literary Committee of the 1873 National Eisteddfod, who also

held their meetings in the room commissioned this fresco. The link with the National

Eisteddfod continues today. The Daniel Owen Memorial Prize (Gwobr Goffa Daniel

Owen) is the highest cash prize and is only awarded if entries are considered of a

high enough standard.

Caer Ffynnon, Denbigh Road.

After the success of Rhys Lewis, he built this house for himself, mother and sister at a

cost of £400 and moved there in 1889. Following the death of his sister Leah, in

March 1890, he went into lodgings, opposite the Bethesda chapel, in New Street until

his death. The house was subsequently purchased by the Williams family, who, along

with the Morgans, were owners of the Alyn Tinplate Works on Denbigh Road (now

Synthite).

Mold Town Board

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Prior to the setting up of Mold Urban District Council, many of the responsibilities

for local government were fulfilled by the Town Board, of which Daniel was a

member.

Assembly Hall

Meetings were held in various hostelries, as well as a first floor room of the

Assembly Hall. The Assembly Hall was built in 1849, on the site of the old leet

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courthouse of the Manor of Mold and which previously had been the site of the

Assizes. The first story housed a Library administered by the Mold Cosmopolitan

Society and an 1876 trade directory describes the building thus; ‘The new Market

hall, which is chiefly used for the sale of Butcher’s meat, is the property of a private

company, and has a very central position. Over the market is a fine assembly room

suitable for entertainments.’

Daniel as an old man

The Town Board was replaced by Mold Urban District Council and Daniel was

elected as its first Chairman

Election Address

In his 1894 election address, he writes about the need for better drainage but because

currently trade is bad, cost will be an issue. He also refers to the practice, he believed

was the right of people keeping pigs at the back of their houses, and criticizes “the

sanitarian who enjoys his bacon for breakfast and smells a pig-stye a mile off.”

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Daniel retained his great concern for the residents, many of whom lived in abject

poverty. He writes to the local MP explaining how much of his own money he has

spent (greater than his income) and of the council organising soup kitchens.

Burial Cards

As may be expected, the funeral of such a significant figure was attended by many

people, shops closed their doors and during the interment at Mold Cemetery, a hymn

was sung at the graveside. He left around £500 in his will, mostly shared between his

two nieces, his brother’s daughters

Grave

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38. Statue (The police station now stands on the original site)

At the unveiling of Daniel Owen’s statue by Lord Kenyon on 31st October 1901

The statue by Goscombe John was originally located in Hall Fields, was paid for by

public subscription and unveiled on 31st October 1901 by Lord Kenyon. It was

moved to Daniel Owen Square in 1974.

David Rowe 25th May 2020

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ATTACHMENT 1

Daniel Owen (1836-1895)

Timeline Date Event

20/10/1836 Born Maesydre, Mold 12/5/1837 Father & 2 brothers killed in the Argoed Colliery Disaster

1842 Attended Ponterwyl National School

1845 Attended Glanrafon British (Board) School 1851 Apprenticed to A. Jones, Tailor

1859 Translation of American novellete 1859 Accepted as a full member of Bethesda Chapel

1864 Commenced preaching

1865 -1867 Attended Bala College 1868 Returned to J.A. Jones workshop

1873 Opened Tailors shop 1873 Attended a Liberal Party meeting and speech complimentary

commented on by W.E. Gladstone’s son.

1873 Member of the Organizing Committee of 1873 Eisteddfod which met in Milford Arms. Member of Eisteddfod Choir.

1876 Serious illness following a fall at Dinas Bran/Published story and sermons in Y Drysorfa

1879 Y Derflan serialized in Y Drysorfa 14/8/1881 Death of his mother

1882-1884 Rhys Lewis serialised in Y Drysorfa 1885 Rhys Lewis Published 1888 Publication of Y Siswern

1889 Elected member of Mold Local Board

1889 Built Cae’r Ffynnon, Maesydre for £400.

31/3/1890 Death of his sister Leah

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1890 Moved into lodgings at 23,New Street 1890-1891 Enoc Huws serialized in Y Cymro

1891 Enoc Huws published 1893-1894 Gwen Tomos serialized in Y Cymro

1894 Gwen Tomos published

1894 A poem Ymson Bore Nadolig written for the annual Christmas Eisteddfod held at Bethesda Chapel

31/12/1894 Elected a member of Mold UDC and first Chairman.

1895 Straeon y Pentan published 22/10/1895 Death 31/10/1901 Unveiling of the Goscombe John statue in Hall Fields by Lord

Kenyon

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ATTACHMENT NO. 2

Family Tree