.. An ex Cwmbran lady, now residing in Australia, shares some of her `precious` knowledge ..
.. Jill Coutts and her Mum, Marjorie Honing ..
Majorie Honing (nee Lewis) relates:- I was born at 34 Abbey Road, Cwmbran in March 1917.The premises were originally owned by my Great Grandfather Isaac Cocker (uncle of Harry Cocker whose name was given for Cocker Avenue).
Behind the double fronted shop there were large living premises and then a bakehouse and stables.The horses that pulled the bread carts were grazed in the field behind our shop and we had an entrance from the canal bank where the carts would leave during the day for the deliveries. I remember how my grandfather loved the horses and always had sugar cube treats in his pockets for when he was with them.
The Abbey Hotel was on the one side of our shop and at one stage was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Mr. Jones also had a coal delivery business on the side and people would pop into the pub for a drink and to place their coal order. I remember that Mr. McGuire also owned the Abbey Hotel and emigrated to Canada.
On the other side of our shop was a fish and chip business run by Jonah Lewis. When the shop became vacant after many years Mr. Abbe Jones bought the premises from my mother (Mrs. Maude Lewis) where he opened a jewellery and watch repair business. A gully ran up next to Mr. Jones� shop giving access to two cottages.
Next to Abbe Jones lived the Hoods who originally ran a paper and confectionery business, the business failed, so the shop front was altered to a private home. Next to the Hoods was a shop that originally sold knitting wool and then there was Mr. Claude Haimes, car repair premises and one petrol pump on the edge of the pavement. When Mr. Haimes retired it was bought by Teddy Jackson, one of the Jackson Shoe Shop family in Commercial Street. Between Haimes garage and the start of the row of houses was a large field which ran from the back of our bakery business to Star Street and Belle Vue Road. During the war the field was turned into allotments.
I can remember as a child going to Belle Vue Road with a jug to collect sixpence worth of faggotts and peas � what a treat!! We used to buy our pork dripping from Sydney Thorns. He slaughtered his own pigs � we could hear the pigs screaming as we ran past the shop as children. However, it didn�t stop us from enjoying our bread fried in the pork fat.
Later my aunt Polly Rowland ran the business at 34 Abbey Road. The shop was called S. ROWLAND , and was a Grocery and Drapers shop. On the one side of the shop was sold all sorts of drapers items including Welsh flannel shirts on the other side were grocery items � large blocks of butter, cheeses and whole bacon which Aunty Polly cut by hand. Obviously the items from the bakery would be sold there too, but mainly the bread was home delivered in the horse and cart. The big ovens in the bake house were fuelled by coke.
In the early 1900�s there was no electricity in our valley and my grandfather Sydney Rowland was the first person to bring over electricity from the other valley to run his dough machine in the bakery and then later it was brought into the house. I remember the children in Abbey Road would shuffle into our hallway to have a go at turning the light switch on � it was such a novelty. There was one gas street lamp in Abbey Road at that time and I remember the man arriving as it became dark to turn the gas on.
This business was eventually carried on by my cousin Mostyn Rowland.
In 1926 or 1927 my father, William Henry Lewis bought the premises number 4 Victoria Street Cwmbran, a confectionery tobacconist business which we ran until 1956. I sold the business to Mr Hedley Jones in 1956 when we came to Australia. Next to our business was a premises with two large windows which was a drapers and men�s outfitting business run by Mr. Finn. On the other side was a butcher and Green Grocers shop which eventually became a bank next to that was Miss Lemon�s hairdressing salon which later became Kelly�s Fish and Chip Shop.
There was a lot of poverty in those early days and for some people in Abbey Road bread and dripping was the main meal of the day. I well remember that there were families who were thrown out of their houses and their poor possessions stacked against the fence that enclosed the railway lines opposite to our shop. As children we were allowed to roam where we wished and we made our own fun. I particularly remember playing in the tip on the opposite side of the road from the old Chemical factory. It was a wonderland to us children, I remember we played shops there for hours on end using pieces of broken china as money. Thinking back the tip was probably full of rats but in those days it was hours of endless fun for all.
My childhood was spent at 34 Abbey Road with my grandfather and grandmother, Aunty Polly and my mother and father. I adored my grandfather who had suffered a stroke and remember crawling behind him in bed to prop up his back with mine whilst he was being fed. I thought nothing of cleaning his false teeth for him. When people were sick or dying neighbours would help out and take turns to tend to them during the night.
I turned 90 years old three months ago and have lived in Australia for fifty years but the memories of my life in Cwmbran are vivid and numerous. The images of those early years are always with me. In a heart beat I can recall people�s names, family relationships and where they lived. I still sing the hymns I sang as a child standing in the Ebenezer Baptist Chapel in Two Locks with my parents. I have three children � all born in Wales, eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, I am indeed blessed.
Marjorie's daughter Jill has contributed to the `ex-Pats and Pats` webpage click here to visit.
Date:- June 2007
Allistair Howard responds:-
Referring to the article sent in by Mrs. Marjorie Honing, What a wonderful lady and what a marvellous memory for a 90years old lady.Having been brought up in Abbey Road myself a lot of the memories I can recall but a lot were also before my time.
I remember the shop at 34 Abbey Road but the horse and cart deliveries were before my time, although I can remember double wooden gates down the canal bank next to the Abbey Hotel which I now assume were where the horse was stabled. I also remember the allotments behind Abbey Road before Belle Vue Close was built.
Mrs. Honing talks about the tip, yes as kids we too played there for many a wonderful hour, as I remember the Tip it was situated at the back of the houses in Belle Vue Road, where a stream ran for the full length of the street. I can also recall a load of chicken pens I believe owned by a Mr, Willmot Worsdel and further along the tip a pigeon loft owned I think by a Mr. Williams.
We as kids used the tip as a short cut to meet our mates from Hill Street, which had a shop at the beginning of it called Lawlers, as Mrs. Honing said the tip was probably rat infested but as kids who took any notice.
Thanks Mrs. Honing for the memories, you may recall my Mum & Dad, Ernest & Elsie Howard from No. 8 Abbey Road.