Tag Archives: Hescwm

A farmer at Hescwm

Posted on May 19, 2015 by

This is the only photo I have of my great-grandfather, Stephen George, standing alone, in his soft, comfortable, everyday clothes.  The other photos that have survived show him as a ‘pillar of the community‘ or ‘pater familias’ –  his place in the group … Continue reading →

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From Hescwm to London via Swansea

Posted on May 15, 2015 by

This photograph comes from a period of my grandfather’s life that I knew nothing about until recently. I had always assumed that Evan George went straight from Hescwm Farm, Dinas to an apprenticeship on the barque ‘Glance’ at Swansea and then, when … Continue reading →

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The heartbreak of losing sons at sea

Posted on April 7, 2015 by

My great-grandparents, who farmed at Hescwm, Dinas, had ten children – one every two years from 1867 to 1885 – as recorded on the first page of this family bible. Also recorded, at the bottom of the page are the … Continue reading →

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Slate quarrying at Aberbach (How to lose lots of money fast)

Posted on December 16, 2014 by

  The lovely beach at Aberbach gives some clues. There’s slate nearby and the tiny quarries in the Dinas area were probably the earliest attempts to work slate in the region; George Owen, writing in the very early 1600s referred to sites … Continue reading →

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A bill from Mr Thomas, the blacksmith

Posted on August 5, 2014 by

Here is Mr Selwyn Harries, at a local ploughing match, showing us how farming used to be done. Before the age of tractors, the horses on my great-grandfather’s farm at Hescwm worked hard and the proof is in the number … Continue reading →

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