your comments
Kathleen Moore, Barnsley
My grandad worked on this dam as a bricklayer. His name was Ernest James Bray. He married my grandma her name was Sarah Jane Bray. My grandad came from Radnorshire .
Sun Jul 26 20:04:10 2009
jean edwards salford lancs
hello patricia edmonds in bury lancs. only just read your letter on this site 17/07/09.my great grandmother was margaret evens (nee davies.)I have a copy of her marraige cert. dated 17/03/1881. her mother was katherine married to benjamin davies there's more info.I can give you
Thu Jul 16 18:09:23 2009
Chapman, Nottinghamshire
My Great Grandfather Alexander Keeling b1863 Walsall, Burton on Trent, was a blacksmith. The 1901 census states he was living at 13 Elan Village, Llanwrthwl, Brecon, one of his children being born in 1897 at Radnor Rhayader. As he subsequently worked on the Derwent Dam and lived at Birchinlee (Tin Town) on the 1911 census it is possible that he also worked on the Elan Valley dam
Wed Jun 17 09:55:58 2009
Greg Phillips from Birmingham
Im hoping you can help me im researching my family tree and i know that my great great grandfather worked on the elan valley his name was robert paignton.i hope you can help.many thanksGreg
Fri Nov 14 09:17:56 2008
Freda Barrett (nee smith) from London
My great grandfather was the blacksmith during the building of the dams. my great uncles were engineers on the railway. I was born in Caban View in the village my grandmother's home} and lived at No 6 with my parents and two brothers Les and Ken until I was ten when we moved to Builth Wells. When my mum died, the family took her ashes back to the valley which she loved and scattered them below the dams.
Sun Oct 12 16:51:39 2008
Sue Allen from Bungay
One of my husband's ancestors Sydney Cooke Lewis was the engineer involved with the building of the dam. He married Mary Ann Lewis Lloyd of Nantgwyllt House on 6th September 1893 (our own wedding anniversary day in 1969!)I wonder if he helped persuade the family to flood the ruins of the house. Sydney's father was William Bourne Lewis who worked with Brunel.
Tue Jul 22 16:25:34 2008
Hugh Lewis, Llani
I'm tracing my family tree and am wondering if anyone in the Elan Valley has information on Thomas Hughes and Ann Hughes from Trumpeg y Mynydd (Hillgate Inn) they moved to the Severn Arms (Upper Dolhelfa)1861 ish, after the Rebecca riots,I would love to hear from anyone who has some information.
Thu Sep 6 08:59:01 2007
Patricia Edmonds form Bury, Lancashire
I have been doing my family tree..and managed to get some marriage certificates from wales..and found found my grandmother married a local man ..so came on here to look it up...and just found above a relative i didn't know i had..but has the same great grandmother as me...margaret evans...who had three daughters sarah..jessie..elizabeth and jane.Hello Jean Edwards from Salford.
Sat Feb 17 17:47:31 2007
Jackie Coates from middlesbrough
My Great Great grandfather Robert Ellis and his wife Mary Jane lived in Elan Valley before the dam was built. Prior to the dam being built (according to current family) he and a group of men had to exume the bodies from the cemetery of the Nantgwyllt church, which included his own mothers grave. I'm hoping to take a trip to elan in the spring, as ive heard its such a beautiful place. Any info as to where to go, who to see about family history would be much appreciated.
Tue Oct 24 09:29:25 2006
Patricia Turner
My great grandfather was a stone mason on the above reservoir and lived there with his wife and family in 1898 .I have a photograph of the family outside their cabin. Does anyone else have relatives who worked there at this time.
Thu Aug 31 11:16:14 2006
Jean Edwards from Salford, Lancs.
My great grandmother Margaret Evans was moved from one of the farms in the Elan Vally. She was a tennant farmer with four young daughters Shara, Elizabeth, Jane and Jessie. Birmingham Corperation gave her one of the 10 houses built for people whose homes were to be flooded. She and her husband James were married in the Nantwillt Chapel on 17/3/1881. James died about 8 years after they married. This lady then remarried a local man called Roberts purely to
help around the farm and keep a income coming in for the family. She dreaded the thought of "Going on the Parish".
Wed Jul 20 14:06:55 2005
David Holder, Hengoed Nr Caerphilly
My Gt gt Grandfather worked on the building of these dams and I as a small child was taken by my parents to visit the dams with my grandmother his grand daughter. I have returned to the dams last spring again to see what I could remember of my earlier visit as I was probably only around 9/10 years old at that time. My Aunt who is 84 has some original photographs of construction of what I beleive to be Caban Coch some of which she has told me are on Display at the National Museum in Cardiff.
Thu Feb 17 22:32:05 2005
Thomas Davies from Rhayader
My grandparents farmed Llannerchi, situated behind Nantgwyllt church. Of course it's a ruin today. They only spoke Welsh and all the Bethania chapel records of 1904 are written in Welsh. The dam swept away one of Radnorshire's last Welsh speaking communities. Ironically, my father left the farm to work for the Corporation and lived in the village until he died in 1960. He couldn't speak a word of Welsh but I taught myself the language.
Tue Jul 13 13:32:02 2004
John Jones from Llanfadog
My grandmother's family lived in Nantgwyllt and last November, I took a walk around the farm ruins - made possible by the summer's drought. I got rather sentimental, thinking of my great great grandmother who was born in this house and thinking of her childhood and where she used to play. All we have under our feet now is mud and stones
Tue Jul 13 13:30:45 2004
Betty Davies from Rhayader
The village housed about 2000 workers and their families, and although a number of people moved into the area to join the construction teams, the majority of workers were from Radnorshire.
The Corporation managers realised that a contented workforce would work harder and therefore the huts and conditions at the village were excellent. The workforce had it better than the local villages did at that time, with the dam at Nantygro generating water which supplied electricity to the village.
Tue Jul 13 13:28:32 2004
Annie Davies from the Elan village (aged 105)
My father moved into the area to work on the dam and married a local woman - mother. He was a good hard worker. I thought the dam was a beautiful thing
Tue Jul 13 13:27:54 2004
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