{"id":2206,"date":"2015-04-15T03:49:35","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T00:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/?p=2206"},"modified":"2015-03-02T03:55:51","modified_gmt":"2015-03-02T00:55:51","slug":"howell-morgan-of-blaengarw-jewellery-clocks-watches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=2206","title":{"rendered":"Howell Morgan of Blaengarw: Jewellery, Clocks & Watches"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Submitted by David Dimmick.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A little while ago I purchased a book called \u2018Cardiff Clocks\u2019 by William Linnard, which is described as \u2018a comprehensive account of watch and clock makers in Cardiff, the Valleys, and the Vale of Glamorgan\u2019. I had bought the book because my great-great-grandfather appeared in a 19th century census as a Watchmaker and I wanted to find out more about him. I did not find anything more about my ancestor, but I found in the book a facsimile copy of the catalogue and price-list issued by Howell Morgan, \u2018Jeweller of Blaengarw, c.1900\u2019, known apparently for his engagement rings sporting two diamonds. (people were to say later that\u00a0 \u2018A double diamond works wonders!\u2019 but of course the slogan referred to a more liquid type of commodity!)<\/p>\n

Howard Morgan became established in the Garw around 1890,at a time when the coal mines provided a great deal of employment all over the South Wales Valleys, not only in the mines themselves but in all kinds of support services, from butchers to drapers and furniture shops. Adverts such as \u2018We sell everything from telescopes and teapots to tureens and tricycles\u2019 was one quaint advertising slogan, with \u2018prices rarely beaten\u2019 underneath, and a promise to deliver \u2018goods to any part of the United Kingdom with the promptest attention\u2019!<\/p>\n

\"pasted-image\"Howell Morgan\u2019s shop in the Strand, Blaengarw sold not only jewellery but also watches and clocks. One of his \u2018bestsellers\u2019 was a sturdy pocket watch described as \u2018H.Morgan\u2019s workman\u2019s watch, keyless, and made expressly for underground and rough wear- 16\/6 in nickel case, 35\/- in real silver\u2019.<\/p>\n

Pocket watches were often sold with a fob chain in gold or silver, known as an \u2018Albert\u2019, along with the pendant fob. They were the standard time pieces for both men and women before World War 1, but then watches that could be strapped to the wrist became a much more convenient way to tell the time.\u00a0 Sometimes\u00a0 fob watches were encased in leather pouches and straps; lithographs and photographs of Trench action in WW1 show troops waiting for the whistle to come from the officer studying his watch before sending his men \u2018over the top\u2019.\u00a0 Eventually, after the war, manufacturers began to produce purpose-made watches for the military with companies such as Services, founded in 1927, being a popular choice. These types of watches found favour with the public at large, leading to the highly accurate timepieces we have today.<\/p>\n

Howell Morgan also sold a considerable array of clocks, with the ornate mantel clocks fashionable at that time finding homes on many a mantelpiece. These could be bought in white marble with a glass cover at 30\/- or in walnut with an eight-day \u2018cathedral\u2019 gong at 44\/-. Wall clocks and grandfather clocks were also sold, although fewer of these appear in the catalogue; alarm clocks were becoming very popular as so many men had to get up early for their shifts in the mines.<\/p>\n

Other essential items sold at his shop were pieces of cutlery, sometimes sold individually such as when a soup ladle was needed for a special occasion, or by the dozen, such as the tablespoons in Nevada silver, sold at 13\/- per dozen. Miscellaneous items, from barometers to bicycles, organs to opera glasses, were also said to be available!<\/p>\n

Readers or their families might\u00a0 remember Howell Morgan\u2019s shop in the Strand, and they might also like to hear of two other clock and watchmakers in\u00a0 the Garw: Anthony Morgan of Llangeinor, of whom nothing is known other than he was buried on September 18th 1767, and Robert Carne, who was buried in 1887 in Pontycymer, again no further details of his enterprise.\u00a0 One other notable clockmaker, William Harris of Cardiff, was recorded as being in Gaol in 1734, obviously \u2018doing time\u2019 for his misdeeds!<\/p>\n

Howell Morgan and others of his trade who found their way into the Garw Valley have undisputedly brought vibrancy and glamour at a time when everything must have appeared quite the opposite!<\/p>\n

Submitted by David Dimmick.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Submitted by David Dimmick. A little while ago I purchased a book called \u2018Cardiff Clocks\u2019 by William Linnard, which is described as \u2018a comprehensive account of watch and clock makers in Cardiff, the Valleys, and the Vale of Glamorgan\u2019. I had bought the book because my great-great-grandfather appeared in a 19th century census as a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,33,36],"tags":[50,140,142,144,143,141],"class_list":["post-2206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blaengarw","category-local-stories","category-garw-personalities","tag-blaengarw-2","tag-clocks","tag-jewellery","tag-shop","tag-strand","tag-watches"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2206"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2211,"href":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206\/revisions\/2211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garwheritage.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}