Overview
Lower Cwmhir is found at the end of Cwmhir Road, opposite Upper Cwmhir. It is situated in between the Glascoed and Little Mill, although it has been a part of Glascoed for as far back as I can trace. The postal code is NP4 0TU.
Its closest neighbouring property is Upper Cwmhir. Both properties have sometimes been written on some older records as “Cwmare.”
Facts and Figures
Year of Construction
Certainly pre-1841. Probably pre-1800.
First Recorded Residents and year
William Powell was assessed for land tax of £ 0-3-10 for the 1829 and 1831 Land tax assessments. He was married to Ann, Jesse Davies's mother at this time.
Residents at time of the 1851 census
Jesse and Eliza Davies and family, including their mother, Ann Powell.
Location
Lower Cwmhir (also known as Lower Cwmare) is at the end of Cwmhir Road, opposite Upper Cwmhir. It is situated in between the Glascoed and Little Mill, although it has been a part of Glascoed for as far back as I can trace.
The postal code is NP4 0TU.
Residents
William and Ann Powell
The house was mostly occupied by the Davies family or their relatives throughout the Census period. A Jesse Davies was in residence with his wife and mother, Ann Powell in 1841, although Ann was the head of the household. More on Jesse soon, although for now we will focus on his mother and explore how she came to be a Powell.
I’m not sure of the Christian name of Jesse’s father, although we imagine that his surname was Davies. We also know that his mother, Ann was a Glascoed girl, from later census records. She must have married a Mr Davies prior to Jesse’s birth in 1808. After the presumed death of Jesse’s father, Ann Davies married a William Powell, on 29th June 1825 at Usk parish church.
The censuses show William and Ann as living apart for decades, so the marriage does not appear to have been a happy one. This is, of course, an assumption that I have made.
From the 1851 census, William Powell was shown to be living with a servant, Elizabeth Hitchins and her son, James Hitchins, aged 5. James adopted the surname Powell by the time of the1861 census, and this was the name that he continued to claim. William claimed on the 1861 and 1871 censuses to be James’ father. William, Elizabeth and James were at houses named Lower Panta (1851), Turff House (1861) and Twyncreen (1871). I believe that these were probably all different names for what is now Cwmsoar. It is reasonable to presume that William Powell lived apart from his wife Ann for decades and that Elizabeth Hitchins and William became a “common-law” husband and wife. This was of course, in the times when divorce was almost impossible for most people to secure.
I am not 100% sure when Ann died. I believe that it was at some point between the 1861 and 1871 censuses, since she disappeared from Glascoed censuses.
The Davies family
Since Ann Powell was a Davies until 1825, and had a son, Jesse, is it fair to assume that Lower Cwmhir had been her residence prior to her husband’s death? I don’t suppose we have enough evidence for this. It is possible of course.
Jesse Davies was born at Glascoed in approximately 1808 and lived there until his death in 1881. Was Jesse born at Lower Cwmhir? It’s hard to be sure.
Jesse Davies was certainly at the farm in 1841, with his mother, Ann Powell, who was listed first as the Head of the household, with her occupation listed as “farmer”. James was a Collier – and had been living at Trevethin for several years prior to the census.
Jesse continued living at Lower Cwmhir until his death in 1881. His widow, Eliza, became the main tenant after Jesse’s death. Their son, Uriah eventually took over the property and was there in 1922, with his eldest son, Jesse. Jesse (junior) was still at Lower Cwmhir in 1929.
Going back to Jesse, his career was varied, since he was a Collier in 1841 and 1851 (“Miner”). By 1861 he was a Gardener and then a labourer in 1871.
Jesse married Eliza Pritchard on 21st Sep 1833 at the Parish church, Trevethin (the bride’s home parish). They had at least 8 children,
- Emmyra (born in 1834 at Abersychan, Trevethin). Emmyra married three times. Her first child, Florence Davies Morgan, was the daughter of Henry Morgan, of Little Wernhir.
- William (born c. 1838 at Glascoed)
- John (born c. 1839 at Trevethin)
- Jabez (born 1841 at Glascoed – presumably at Lower Cwmhir). Jabez sadly died at a stable at “Common, Coed-y-paen in 1897”. I wonder what the story was there.
- Lydia (born c.1843 at Glascoed – presumably at Lower Cwmhir).
- Mary Ann (born c.1847 at Glascoed – presumably at Lower Cwmhir).
- Martha (born c.1851 at Glascoed – presumably at Lower Cwmhir).
- Uriah (born 1854 at Glascoed – presumably at Lower Cwmhir).
Jesse died on 31st December 1880. As stated earlier, Eliza continued at the farm, probably until her death. Their youngest child, Uriah, was the one who stayed on at Lower Cwmhir, with his wife Mary Elliott, a Swansea born girl he had married in 1887 in the Newport area. Uriah was certainly there through all the censuses from 1861 to 1921 and was also found on the 1922 Register of Electors, with his only son, Jesse (born 1890).
Uriah’s occupations through the censuses were:
- 1871 – Engine cleaner
- 1881 – Haulier
- 1891 – Farmer & haulier
- 1901 – Hay cutter
- 1911 – Market gardener.
- 1921 – Market gardener.
Uriah died in on 6th June 1926, at Lower Cwmhir.
Uriah’s son Jesse was a Boiler Stoker in 1911 and was said to be a tinplate worker in 1926 (according to his father’s probate records). Jesse was still at Lower Cwmhir at the time when the 1929 Register of Electors were published.
1939: Another Powell family.
The 1939 National Register shows us that in September 1939, some more Powells were living at Lower Cwmhir. The property was now called “Lower Cwmhir Cottage.” There is no evidence that these Powells were relations of William or Ann Powell.
The elder (presumably the father) was Edward Powell, a Quarryman at the Brick works, who was aged 57. I assume that two of his children made up the rest of the household, although we are not given relationships on the 1939 register. The eldest of these was Margaret J. Powell an unpaid domestic aged 25. We can see that she married a Mr Bullock and a Mr Whitehead later in life. A younger Edward Powell was also in residence, a 21 year old Pipe layer, working for a Gas company.
Records
Censuses (with Heads of Household):
1841 – Ann Powell
1851, 1861, 1871 – Jesse Davies.
1881 – Eliza Davies.
1891, 1901, 1911, 1921 – Uriah Davies.
1939 National Register – Edward Powell.
Registers of Electors:
1832 through to 1866 – William Powell.
1889, 1909 – Uriah Davies.
1922 – Uriah Davies, Jesse Davies.
1929 – Jesse Davies, Jessie Davies (w, denoting “woman”)
Newspaper reports:
Court cases concerning the paternity of Emmyra’s daughter, Florence Davies Morgan can be found in the Pontypool Free Press and Usk Observer in 1862.