Aunt to Andrew Cummin (a cousin of mine who sent this email)reporuced by permission of
Joan Earwicker nee West
notes.
Mr and Mrs Davies farmed at Cwmyoy(?)Abergavenny. They had 6 children1. William - rector
of Salford2. Albert - vicar of Aldworth (?) Glos. He married Polly Abel and had 2
sonsAlbert a GP in CroydonArthur who worked for Westinghouse in Manchester3. James - ran a
taxi cab service in Brighton. He had one son, Tom.4. Harriet - married Rev Price rector of
Mundham, Chichester They hadone daughter: Rose who married Rev Augustus Outram. Hefollowed
his father-in-law at Mundham. They had two sonsEdmund became rector of MundhamJohn became
vicar of Lake in IoW
5. Alice - ran a guest house in Westcliff on SeaMary-Ann - married William Watkins who ran
the farm at Cwmyoy when Mramd Mrs Davies died. They moved to Trebinshun, Bwlch and had10
children:Tom - died as a young adultWill - worked on the farmDavid farmed at Cwm farm,
Taff's WellHe had 7 children - Alun, Tom, Jack (who took over Cwm Farm), Gwyn(farmed
at Cwmdhu, Abergavenny) Rose, Elsie & Rhoda.Ernest - a pharmacist in Westcliff. He had
two children Beryl and JamesJohn - worked on the farmMaud - died of diabetesPolly - a
district nurse in DartfordGertrude - worked on the farmMabel - a nurseBeatrice - married
Horace West from=============================================Memories of Summer Holidays
at the farm 1915 – 1932===============================================Joan Earwicker (née
West) born 16th August 1914
Trebinshun, Bwlch, Breconshire
A farm of about 250 acres half way between Brecon & Crickhowell. Itwas a mixed farm
raising sheep & Hereford cattle.
The BuildingsThe farmhouse was Elizabethan. The front door led into a large kitchenwith a
flagstone floor. As you entered the door there was a largeWelsh dresser and leaning
against it in the corner were a number ofshotguns used to catch rabbits. The ceiling was
hung with large hams.At the far end was a huge fireplace in which a fire was always
keptalight. All the cooking was done in large pots, pans & kettles whichhung on hooks
over the fire. Pies were cooked in the oven. One side ofthe fire was a large settle and
the other side wooden armchairs. Therug was made of rags of various colours. There was a
large centraltable where the family ate and under the window a long table where theworkmen
sat on benches. Leading off the kitchen was a parlour one sideand the back kitchen on the
other. The parlour had a small iron grate,a large mahogany table, horsehair stuffed sofa
and chairs. The backkitchen had mangles and a dresser where the washing was done in alarge
bowl. Water was fe!
tched from outside where a spring had beenpiped and the hot water had to be carried from
the kitchen fire. In anouthouse was a copper and a swill tub where scraps, whey etc were
putfor the pigs. Steps nearby led to an orchard with a long woodpile andseveral pigstyes.
Opposite the front door steps led to a cobbled yard on which were thebakehouse and dairy.
The bakehouse contained a long oven built intothe stone wall, a large trough for mixing
bread and a cheese press.The dairy contained a churn and slate shelves on which were large
panswhere milk was put so that the cream could be skimmed off, put in jarsand used to make
butter. Stone steps outside the dairy led to a largeroom above the dairy, this was the
granary where grain was storedafter threshing. Periodically sacks of it were taken to the
miller toprovide flour for bread making.The cobbled yard led to a fold bounded on 4 sides
by a large haybarn,stables, milking shed and quarters for the boar and the bull – both
ofuncertain temper.Beyond the barn was a rickyard where there was a Dutch barn andshelters
for the trap, chaff cutter, mowing machine, plough etc.Beyond the fold was a shallow well
fed by a spring which overflowed tofill the duckpond. There were several orchards and
pastures!
and akitchen garden fenced in against marauding animals and growing softfruit, beans,
cabbages, leeks etc.
Near to the dairy was a building containing the cider press – a hugestone wheel pulled
around by a pony. It is now in the Brecon museum.
The farm owned three cottages. One nearby was occupied by Mr & MrsJenkins. He worked
on the farm. The other two cottages were at theextremity of the land (Point Cottages), one
was occupied by a gardenerat the nearby large house and the other by a farm worker.
Day to Day Work
The work was mainly done by my grandmother, Mary Ann Watkins (when not too old),
[Mary Ann Davies born Abt. 1842 Llanddewi Skirrid, Monmouth, Englandwho married William
Henry Watkins born Abt. 1831 Llanfair Kilgeddin
Gertrude E J Watkins Abt. 1875 Bwlch Trewyn, Monmouth, England?? Mabel Watkins Abt. 1882
Bwlch Trewyn, Monmouth, EnglandWilliam (Will) J. Watkins Abt. 1864 Bwlch Trewyn, Monmouth,
EnglandJohn A D Watkins Abt. 1878 Bwlch Trewyn, Monmouth, England ]
Aunty Gertie, Aunty May (later on), Uncle Will, Uncle John, 2 workmenand a young boy who
lived in and came from a miner's family. He mainlywaited on my grandmother, fed
animals and did any odd jobs.
Grandma supervised the dairy where butter was made, everybody taking ahand at churning.
Cheese also was made periodically – a mildCaerphilly type. Bread was made once a week. A
fire was lit in thelong stone oven. It was then raked out and the loaves put in. Afterthat
the oven was cooler and dough cakes were put in. Every day AuntieGerty and the young boy
collected eggs and fed the chickens.The geese were put out into a meadow through which a
stream ran. Eachnight they had to be shut up against the fox. They were quite badtempered.
The chickens and turkeys roosted in trees or on rafters.
Uncle Will's work was mainly scything oats on the higher ground,making and mending
parts of wooden machinery and tending sheep. EverySunday morning his dogs collected the
sheep into the fold and heexamined and treated each one for parasites and foot rot. Once a
yearthe sheep were dipped. A makeshift tank was made by damming a spring.The policeman had
to be there to see that each animal was dipped forthe right time. I think he enjoyed the
job as he got a good farmhousedinner.Uncle John looked after the horses – shires and
ponies. On themountain there were unbroken shire colts which were let down to thepond for
water and were rather terrifyingly wild. He also did themowing and ploughing with help.
Auntie Gert and one of the men milked the cows every morning about 6amand every afternoon
at about 4pm. There were only 12 milking Herefordcows and 1 Jersey cow.
The main work was raising beef cattle.Beer and cider were made regularly and stored in
hogsheads in the house cellar.During harvest the men took with them bottles of drink. They
came homefor a good dinner – summoned by the ringing of a large bell. Tea wastaken to them
in the fields – a can of tea, slice of doughcake andbread & butter.
Only essential work was done on Sunday.Uncle John dressed in a bowler hat and navy blue
suit and Auntie Gertyin a costume & large hat walked to church at Llangasty near
Llangorselake. Grandma drove there in her pony and trap. A man at the ChurchFarm used to
turn her pony into a paddock.At haymaking time extra casual labour was employed. One old
chap,Charlie, used to turn up each year. He slept in the barn and was givenfood which he
ate there. The hay was brought from the fields in agambo. This was like a wagon without
sides which had long poles ateach corner around which ropes were tied to retain the load.
MarketsEach Monday there was a cattle market at Talybont-on-Usk. Men used towalk the
animals on the road a distance of about 4-5 miles. It was agreat meeting place for farmers
who retired for refreshment to the UskHotel.Every Friday was Brecon market. My Grandma
drove there in her pony andtrap (8 miles). There were great preparations beforehand, my
Grandmadressing herself up in her best boots & hat. She took some produce forwhich she
had a permanent order from a shopowner in Merthyr. She tookbutter, cheese and buttermilk
cheeses which were wrapped in cabbageleaves and in great demand. She went to a local hotel
where the groomunharnessed the pony and turned it into a paddock. The trap was leftin the
yard. My grandmother went shopping at the grocer, fishmongerand fruitier and what she
bought was delivered and put in her trap.She then had lunch and drove home at high
speed.On Thursday she went to Abergavenny Market (14 miles) but just to meetfriends and
have lunch.
========================================================0Some memories told me by mother
who was brought up on the farm.Beatrice Alice West, born in 1883 (née Watkins). married
Horace Frederick West
My mother started school at the Church School in Llangasty nearLlangorse Lake. She walked
both ways in all weathers and remembers hervery excellent headmaster – Mr IndWhen she was
about 13 she went as a weekly boarder to Brecon CountyHigh School. The girls lived in
lodgings – 2 or 4 girls and a mistressin each house. She remembers going out after school
on Thursdays tobuy faggots which the butcher was making for the Friday market. Hermother
took her home on Friday after she had been to market. Early onMonday morning one of her
brothers drove her in the pony and trap toTalyllyn station and she had only a short train
journey to Brecon.
When she was 16 she took the Civil Service exam and became a clerk andtelegraphist in the
Post Office. She asked to be posted to Dartford,in Kent, where her sister (Aunt Polly) was
a district nurse. [PollyMegan Watkins]
<< and my Usk granny warned me seriously not to drink the ciderwhen I helped with
the gleaning and the stooks at harvest time late 1940ies
enjoyed that
Hugh W--
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