Genealogy / Menelaus St. Spolt

[Des Parrot]

Arrgh, can't change title! Splott obviously!

I've taken the opportunity of lock-down to extend my family tree, which basically is 75% Welsh, 25% Durham.

My Welsh roots are very much rural Breconshire, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthanshire, pre-industrial revolution, with a move to the Valleys later.

My family history is a basically a mix of Williams, Thomas, Evans & Price with other assortments throw in. Which makes tracing the tree more difficult! Do you know how many William Thomas & Thomas Williams there are in the valleys!!

Anyway, I digress. The point of my post relates to my limited Cardiff connection. My 25% Durham side stems from my great-grandfather, who moved to Cardiff when the Dowlais Works was opened in the early 1890's. My Gran was born in 63,Moorland Rd Splott (later moving round the corner to Carlisle St). My great-grandfather on my dads side lived in Menelaus St. which no longer exists. I've found out using an historical street map that was where Pacific Road now is, under what is now C2J Architects & South West Wood Products.

Anyone on here know when/why Menelaus St. was flattened & did Pacific Road replace it immediately?

As well as Menelaus St, Layard St, Enid St, Corise St, Elaine St, Cornelia St and that end of Portmanmoor Rd were flattened.

Any feedback or links gratefully received.

[Tuerto]

Arrgh, can't change title! Splott obviously!

I've taken the opportunity of lock-down to extend my family tree, which basically is 75% Welsh, 25% Durham.

My Welsh roots are very much rural Breconshire, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthanshire, pre-industrial revolution, with a move to the Valleys later.

My family history is a basically a mix of Williams, Thomas, Evans & Price with other assortments throw in. Which makes tracing the tree more difficult! Do you know how many William Thomas & Thomas Williams there are in the valleys!!

Anyway, I digress. The point of my post relates to my limited Cardiff connection. My 25% Durham side stems from my great-grandfather, who moved to Cardiff when the Dowlais Works was opened in the early 1890's. My Gran was born in 63,Moorland Rd Splott (later moving round the corner to Carlisle St). My great-grandfather on my dads side lived in Menelaus St. which no longer exists. I've found out using an historical street map that was where Pacific Road now is, under what is now C2J Architects & South West Wood Products.

Anyone on here know when/why Menelaus St. was flattened & did Pacific Road replace it immediately?

As well as Menelaus St, Layard St, Enid St, Corise St, Elaine St, Cornelia St and that end of Portmanmoor Rd were flattened.

Any feedback or links gratefully received.

Cyclops is on the case with my family Tree, and i must say that he's doing a brilliant job.

[xsnaggle]

Arrgh, can't change title! Splott obviously!

I've taken the opportunity of lock-down to extend my family tree, which basically is 75% Welsh, 25% Durham.

My Welsh roots are very much rural Breconshire, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthanshire, pre-industrial revolution, with a move to the Valleys later.

My family history is a basically a mix of Williams, Thomas, Evans & Price with other assortments throw in. Which makes tracing the tree more difficult! Do you know how many William Thomas & Thomas Williams there are in the valleys!!

Anyway, I digress. The point of my post relates to my limited Cardiff connection. My 25% Durham side stems from my great-grandfather, who moved to Cardiff when the Dowlais Works was opened in the early 1890's. My Gran was born in 63,Moorland Rd Splott (later moving round the corner to Carlisle St). My great-grandfather on my dads side lived in Menelaus St. which no longer exists. I've found out using an historical street map that was where Pacific Road now is, under what is now C2J Architects & South West Wood Products.

Anyone on here know when/why Menelaus St. was flattened & did Pacific Road replace it immediately?

As well as Menelaus St, Layard St, Enid St, Corise St, Elaine St, Cornelia St and that end of Portmanmoor Rd were flattened.


Any feedback or links gratefully received.

Well it was definitely still there in 1963

[Des Parrot]

I did find this:
Its swift transition in the 1880s into an impoverished working class community in a network of tightly-packed Victorian housing echoed the nearby expansion of Cardiff’s iron and steel industry which was hungry for workers.

Dowlais Steelworks moved to Cardiff and opened East Moors Steelworks in next door Tremorfa in 1891. After significant growth in the first part of the 20th century – by the 1930s the plant was capable of producing half a million tons of steel a year – the middle of the century saw a long, drawn-out decline for industry in Cardiff. The closure in 1978 of East Moors Steelworks saw thousands of job losses, but an end to hung-out-to-dry washing turning red from pollution.

CHANGE AND CONTINUITY
Parts of Splott have been transformed beyond recognition. In the 1970s, 17 streets of homes were demolished, including streets Enid, Layard, and Menelaus. The successful football club Bridgend Street AFC, founded in 1899, is a reminder of another vanished Splott street, once full of homes, families and memories.

But why was it cleared? I think I know but I'll keep looking

[xsnaggle]

I did find this:
Its swift transition in the 1880s into an impoverished working class community in a network of tightly-packed Victorian housing echoed the nearby expansion of Cardiff’s iron and steel industry which was hungry for workers.

Dowlais Steelworks moved to Cardiff and opened East Moors Steelworks in next door Tremorfa in 1891. After significant growth in the first part of the 20th century – by the 1930s the plant was capable of producing half a million tons of steel a year – the middle of the century saw a long, drawn-out decline for industry in Cardiff. The closure in 1978 of East Moors Steelworks saw thousands of job losses, but an end to hung-out-to-dry washing turning red from pollution.

CHANGE AND CONTINUITY
Parts of Splott have been transformed beyond recognition. In the 1970s, 17 streets of homes were demolished, including streets Enid, Layard, and Menelaus. The successful football club Bridgend Street AFC, founded in 1899, is a reminder of another vanished Splott street, once full of homes, families and memories.

But why was it cleared? I think I know but I'll keep looking

Wasn't it cleared when they were clearing the steel works. The area was considered almost slums by some but in reality there were some very good people living in the area, and there still are in splott.

[xsnaggle]

When I used to loiter in the area as a callow youth the wives were all so house proud the places were immaculate.
When you opened the front door there was always a heavy blanket hanging just inside to stop the dust from the blast furnaces and the scrap yard going into the houses.
And you always knew when they were going to 'drop' a blast furnace because all of sudden all the ladies would be out in the back yard bringing in the washing, almost as if a hooter had gone off. Amazing.

[BLUETIT]

Hope this works

https://www.inksplott.co.uk/a-look-b...ory-of-splott/

[xsnaggle]

Hope this works

https://www.inksplott.co.uk/a-look-b...ory-of-splott/

That's what I was jut looking at. I used to go to the school pictured. lol

[BLUETIT]

Hope this works

https://www.inksplott.co.uk/a-look-b...ory-of-splott/

That's what I was jut looking at. I used to go to the school pictured. lol

Two names I remember from Layard street and Greenhill Street, are Claire Dymock and Margaret Brown


St Albans and the OLD St Illtyd’s for me

St Albans youth club in Tremorfa Park on a Friday night. Great times

[xsnaggle]

St Illtyd's. still attending when they moved. My form was the first class in the new building. We were taken there to help set it up at the end of the last term in splott

[Cyclops]

Cyclops is on the case with my family Tree, and i must say that he's doing a brilliant job.

Also looking at another poster's FH. Up to 54 A4 pages of info on the paternal line and still not finished! And all in Wales!

[Tuerto]

Also looking at another poster's FH. Up to 54 A4 pages of info on the paternal line and still not finished! And all in Wales!

Fantastic. Looking forward to your next installment of Information

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

Also looking at another poster's FH. Up to 54 A4 pages of info on the paternal line and still not finished! And all in Wales!

It's a very interesting topic.

Are there any decent, free websites, that you can use to trace your family tree, or do you really need to pay a subscription to get any decent results?

[jon1959]

Also looking at another poster's FH. Up to 54 A4 pages of info on the paternal line and still not finished! And all in Wales!

My dad (now dead) did a lot of family history research in the late 1970s through to the early 1990s - with visits to Somerset House and tours around parish churches to look at the births, deaths and marriages records. He was following his male line back. It is a fairly unusual name and came from Somerset (great-great grandfather and brothers moved to Cardiff to work in the docks second half 19th century - rest of family from various parts of Wales). He got back as far as a birth in 1630.

I have always read your posts on family history with interest. I wondered if the information now available on the web makes it much easier to put together family trees than it did when my dad was on the case with patchy physical records? I would like to fill in a few gaps and see if it is possible to go further back - but I'm not driven enough to go over the same ground as my dad and spend weeks trailing around West Country churches and graveyards.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Cyclops is on the case with my family Tree, and i must say that he's doing a brilliant job.

He's in his element doing such things. He pulled out all the stops for me too.

[insider]

My mums family were from Wimborne Street they moved in in 1931.
I lived there for 6 months at the end of the 60s.
My nan and bambs were moved out mid 70s for slum clearance.
They moved to a council flat for pentioners off city Road.

[Cyclops]

I have always read your posts on family history with interest. I wondered if the information now available on the web makes it much easier to put together family trees than it did when my dad was on the case with patchy physical records? I would like to fill in a few gaps and see if it is possible to go further back - but I'm not driven enough to go over the same ground as my dad and spend weeks trailing around West Country churches and graveyards.

To answer your question, it can be much easier now to research than even in 2000 when I started. The pay-for sites are wonderful (and could be accessed in local libraries if open) and the searchable sites of newspapers can be incredibly rewarding. Family Search (the Mormons free site) is very good and the Free BMD and parish records sites are excellent.

But you still need to be absolutely sure that the lines you are tracing are the right ones - otherwise you are wasting your time. Marriage and birth certs need to be obtained to confirm information. I had a case where a client's ancestors shared an unusual name with another person and all the published family trees followed the wrong line. Only by getting a cert could the right line be established.

What I will say is that anyone can access the on-line records, but an experienced researcher will access far more information. He/she will also often break down the seemingly impenetrable brickwalls taking research back several generations. I have a check list of things to do for every ancestor so that no stone is left unturned. It is surprising what is revealed. It's this nous and experience that you pay for if you use someone else. People worry about the cost. I do it because I enjoy doing it. There is a cost involved, but its not prohibitive.

Also there is only so much research that can be done on the internet. Libraries and County Archive Record Offices as well as the National Archives MUST be visited. In TBG's case, the answer to his question was only arrived at because 1) I spotted something in a Cardiff paper which was apparently unrelated and 2) I visited Cathays library (the local history section) where the key was found to unlock a mystery. It wouldn't have happened without that. I have to say that unlocking what these Archives have is a specialised science.

I wouldn't rubbish what your Dad did. He would have discovered stuff along the way that you would never get from the internet.

You also have to have serendipity on your shoulder - or call it luck - or call it having the eye. I could give you so many examples of this......

[Cyclops]

It's a very interesting topic.
Are there any decent, free websites, that you can use to trace your family tree, or do you really need to pay a subscription to get any decent results?

Ancestry and Find My Past are MUST have subs imo. They each have many unique records. They are free in Cardiff libraries when open.
If you have Welsh ancestors the National Library of Wales has a wonderful free website with tithe maps, searchable Welsh newspapers and Welsh wills to 1858.
Free BMD is essential and Family Search is free.
Find a Grave is useful.
I'd say successful internet research is roughly down to 75% sites with subs and 25% free sites.

[Tuerto]

He's in his element doing such things. He pulled out all the stops for me too.

It's been fantastic so far-Waiting on a marriage Cert in order to get the ball rolling again.

[Cyclops]

It's been fantastic so far-Waiting on a marriage Cert in order to get the ball rolling again.

Yeah - champing at the bit here. If I'm right about your line, there's a lot of interesting stuff to come out. But we need that cert. The GOV site says certs are sent out 4 days after receipt. We've been waiting almost a month. This is the advice on the site:

Corona.jpg

[Tuerto]

Yeah - champing at the bit here. If I'm right about your line, there's a lot of interesting stuff to come out. But we need that cert. The GOV site says certs are sent out 4 days after receipt. We've been waiting almost a month. This is the advice on the site:

Corona.jpg

Thought as much, not to worry, none of them are going anywhere Really appreciate your work.

[trampie09]

I would never go looking at my family tree way to sad, far to many deaths.

[Cyclops]

I would never go looking at my family tree way to sad, far to many deaths.

I know that's meant to be droll, but I try to remember the happiness that accompanies every birth I record, the hope with every marriage and the grief with each burial. Otherwise tracing family trees is like train-spotting.

[trampie09]

I know that's meant to be droll, but I try to remember the happiness that accompanies every birth I record, the hope with every marriage and the grief with each burial. Otherwise tracing family trees is like train-spotting.

I know it can be taken both ways Cyclops but if somebody suffers lots of tragedies then I can't see why they would want to go there.

[xsnaggle]

I know it can be taken both ways Cyclops but if somebody suffers lots of tragedies then I can't see why they would want to go there.

Everybody dies, it is one of only 2 things certain in life!