Brynmawr Experiment
Encyclopedia
Brynmawr
, a small mining town in the South Wales Valleys
suffered from the 1926 General Strike through the Great Depression in the United Kingdom
and World War II
, when much of its traditional heavy industry
disappeared. The economic depression began in 1921 with the closure of several collieries
in the area. A total of 1,700 families in Brynmawr
depended entirely on the employment in these mines and without this work there was a severe economic situation. The mid-1930s saw hunger marches from Brynmawr to County Hall in Newport
. Of the 1,700 families in Brynmawr, many suffered from the industrial collapse; gardens and allotment
s were abandoned for lack of seeds and produce; pets were dispensed with due to lack of food; public services were reduced to a minimum with streets badly lit and unswept and shopkeepers bankrupt owing to the credit allowed to their customers who were unable to pay their bills.
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) formed the 'Coalfields Distress Committee' with the aim of diversifying the economic activity of the area by promoting the development of light industry
as an alternative source of employment.
Called the Brynmawr Experiment, its originators - among them Peter Scott
, William Noble
, John Oxenham
(the mayor of Worthing
) and Sidney Walter, arrived in Brynmawr in 1928 and began to organize relief work among the area's unemployed. The men of the area repaired roads, and a crew of 25 to 50 constructed Brynmawr's open air swimming pool, giving their services in exchange for food relief aid.
By 1934 the Order of Friends had been established. This had two categories of work - voluntary work which was based at the Community House, and industrial work based at a small factory called Gwalia Works.
Seeds and manure were supplied for the allotments, fences and boundaries to fields were repaired. Brynmawr was beginning to take shape again. Children were taken to Worthing to be cared for, where more facilities could be offered away from Brynmawr at that particular time. Children were taken from their families in Brynmawr and temporarily housed in the homes of Worthing families. A few of the more delicate children were put under the care of "Dr Worthing" for six weeks. Soon the Distress and Relief Fund set up to help the people of Brynmawr stood at 1600 pounds sterling.
and Brynmawr Bootmakers Ltd were established as a source of employment for local people and were financed independently. Although at first the company operated under primitive working conditions, before long they began turning out a high quality product. The style of the furniture was in keeping with modern
trends, and orders were taken mostly from private sources. In time "Brynmawr furniture" gained a respectable degree of popularity outside the local area. This lighter industrial work not only provided the chance for those unable to find work at the mines or in linked industry to earn a wage, but also to gain new skills.
With the outbreak of World War II
in September 1939, local men were absorbed into the munitions works and the imposition of food rations meant that the programme of subsistence production was closed down. Another casualty was the furniture business - as the market for high-class furniture stagnated - but the bootmakers continued to flourish as boots were needed for the heavier manufacturing industries supplying the war effort. The bootmakers' factory even gained government contracts and was able to become self-supporting.
Meanwhile the Community House ran a series of clubs for the citizens, and also set up a Citizen's Advice Bureau for the town. These clubs, which provided a range of social and educational activities, helped to encourage the youth of the area, who had grown up through decades when continuous unemployment was a normal state of affairs. An article written after the outbreak of war says that there were 22 clubs for young people.
industry, the Brynmawr
Experiment demonstrated to the community that there were other alternatives to coal mining.
Brynmawrscene
Thomasgenweb
'Utopian designer: Paul Matt and the Brynmawr Experiment', by Roger Smith. In Furniture History vol. 23, p88-94 (1987).
Lindsay Shen, 'Philanthropic Furniture: Gregynog Hall, Powys' by Lindsay Shen. In Furniture History vol. 31, p217-235 (1995).
Brynmawr: A Study of a Distressed Area, Hilda Jennings, Allenson & Co., London, 1934.
Idle Hands: The Experience of Unemployment, 1790-1990, John Burnett, Routledge, 1994.
Utopian England: Community Experiments 1900-1945, Dennis Hardy, Brunner-Routledge, 2000.
Brynmawr
Brynmawr is a market town in Blaenau Gwent, south Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at 1,250 to 1,500 feet above sea level and nestled at the head of the South Wales Valleys...
, a small mining town in the South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
suffered from the 1926 General Strike through the Great Depression in the United Kingdom
Great Depression in the United Kingdom
The Great Depression in the United Kingdom, also known as the Great Slump, was a period of national economic downturn in the 1930s, which had its origins in the global Great Depression...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when much of its traditional heavy industry
Heavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
disappeared. The economic depression began in 1921 with the closure of several collieries
Mining in Wales
Mining in Wales provided a significant source of income to the economy of Wales throughout the nineteenth century and early twentieth century....
in the area. A total of 1,700 families in Brynmawr
Brynmawr
Brynmawr is a market town in Blaenau Gwent, south Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at 1,250 to 1,500 feet above sea level and nestled at the head of the South Wales Valleys...
depended entirely on the employment in these mines and without this work there was a severe economic situation. The mid-1930s saw hunger marches from Brynmawr to County Hall in Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
. Of the 1,700 families in Brynmawr, many suffered from the industrial collapse; gardens and allotment
Allotment (gardening)
An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...
s were abandoned for lack of seeds and produce; pets were dispensed with due to lack of food; public services were reduced to a minimum with streets badly lit and unswept and shopkeepers bankrupt owing to the credit allowed to their customers who were unable to pay their bills.
The Religious Society of friends
The WorthingWorthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) formed the 'Coalfields Distress Committee' with the aim of diversifying the economic activity of the area by promoting the development of light industry
Light industry
Light industry is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented...
as an alternative source of employment.
Called the Brynmawr Experiment, its originators - among them Peter Scott
Peter Scott
Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE, DSC and Bar, MID, FRS, FZS, was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer and sportsman....
, William Noble
William Noble
William Noble may refer to:*William H. Noble , United States Representative from New York*William Noble , steeplechase rider who took part in the 1845 Grand National...
, John Oxenham
John Oxenham
William Arthur Dunkerley was a prolific English journalist, novelist and poet. He was born in Manchester, spent a short time after his marriage in America before moving to Ealing, west London, where he served as deacon and teacher at the Ealing Congregational Church from the 1880s, and he...
(the mayor of Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
) and Sidney Walter, arrived in Brynmawr in 1928 and began to organize relief work among the area's unemployed. The men of the area repaired roads, and a crew of 25 to 50 constructed Brynmawr's open air swimming pool, giving their services in exchange for food relief aid.
By 1934 the Order of Friends had been established. This had two categories of work - voluntary work which was based at the Community House, and industrial work based at a small factory called Gwalia Works.
Seeds and manure were supplied for the allotments, fences and boundaries to fields were repaired. Brynmawr was beginning to take shape again. Children were taken to Worthing to be cared for, where more facilities could be offered away from Brynmawr at that particular time. Children were taken from their families in Brynmawr and temporarily housed in the homes of Worthing families. A few of the more delicate children were put under the care of "Dr Worthing" for six weeks. Soon the Distress and Relief Fund set up to help the people of Brynmawr stood at 1600 pounds sterling.
New industries
At Gwalia Works Brynmawr Furniture Makers LtdBrynmawr Furniture
Brynmawr Furniture Makers Ltd was a furniture manufacturing company in Wales.Brynmawr, with much of the workforce traditionally employed in heavy industry, suffered greatly during the 1920s depression...
and Brynmawr Bootmakers Ltd were established as a source of employment for local people and were financed independently. Although at first the company operated under primitive working conditions, before long they began turning out a high quality product. The style of the furniture was in keeping with modern
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
trends, and orders were taken mostly from private sources. In time "Brynmawr furniture" gained a respectable degree of popularity outside the local area. This lighter industrial work not only provided the chance for those unable to find work at the mines or in linked industry to earn a wage, but also to gain new skills.
With the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in September 1939, local men were absorbed into the munitions works and the imposition of food rations meant that the programme of subsistence production was closed down. Another casualty was the furniture business - as the market for high-class furniture stagnated - but the bootmakers continued to flourish as boots were needed for the heavier manufacturing industries supplying the war effort. The bootmakers' factory even gained government contracts and was able to become self-supporting.
Meanwhile the Community House ran a series of clubs for the citizens, and also set up a Citizen's Advice Bureau for the town. These clubs, which provided a range of social and educational activities, helped to encourage the youth of the area, who had grown up through decades when continuous unemployment was a normal state of affairs. An article written after the outbreak of war says that there were 22 clubs for young people.
Conclusion
Although not entirely successful, the Brynmawr Experiment succeeded in educating people about the need to diversify, and not rely so heavily on coal mining for employment. The program provided not only an economic boost to the town at a time of desperate need, it also provided an equally important psychological boost to a community long battered by unemployment and poverty. . Although Brynmawr would continue to supply workers to the coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
industry, the Brynmawr
Brynmawr
Brynmawr is a market town in Blaenau Gwent, south Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at 1,250 to 1,500 feet above sea level and nestled at the head of the South Wales Valleys...
Experiment demonstrated to the community that there were other alternatives to coal mining.
Sources
Walespast.comBrynmawrscene
Thomasgenweb
Further reading
'Crafts and the Quakers' by Gwen Lloyd Davies. In Planet, vol. 51, p108-111 (July 1985).'Utopian designer: Paul Matt and the Brynmawr Experiment', by Roger Smith. In Furniture History vol. 23, p88-94 (1987).
Lindsay Shen, 'Philanthropic Furniture: Gregynog Hall, Powys' by Lindsay Shen. In Furniture History vol. 31, p217-235 (1995).
Brynmawr: A Study of a Distressed Area, Hilda Jennings, Allenson & Co., London, 1934.
Idle Hands: The Experience of Unemployment, 1790-1990, John Burnett, Routledge, 1994.
Utopian England: Community Experiments 1900-1945, Dennis Hardy, Brunner-Routledge, 2000.