Category: Wenvoe History Group

Gertrude Jenner was born in 1835 and was the unmarried daughter of Robert Francis Jenner of Wenvoe Castle. Miss Jenner’s activities were regularly reported in the columns of the Barry Dock News, Western Mail and Cardiff Times. The Evening Express described her as a ‘quaint little old lady with a keen, but not unkindly face.’ Never afraid of a struggle, she was a familiar figure at the High Court of Justice in London, where she appeared year on year, unsuccessfully fighting to prove her claim to part of the Wenvoe Castle Estate. She invariably appeared carrying her signature handbag and a good sized umbrella. On one occasion she occupied three hours of the court time of Mr Justice Grantham, who patiently listened to the ‘talkative little woman bedecked in frills and ribbons.’

Miss Jenner will though be remembered for much more than campaigning on her own behalf. She worked tirelessly to raise money for colliers following mining disasters, carried out voluntary work among women in colliery districts and campaigned ceaselessly for improved wages and living conditions in the mining communities. She successfully petitioned the authorities to reduce the sentences of women convicted of capital offences and was proud of having saved at least 14 women from the gallows.

Gertrude Jenner was ahead of her time in being one of the first suffragists in Wales. She was a formidable and persuasive speaker. On 25 February 1881, she presided over a meeting held in Cardiff Town Hall to ‘consider means of promoting interest in Cardiff’ towards female voting rights. This was a preliminary to a larger

meeting that was held on 9 March, attended by local dignitaries and chaired by the Mayor of Cardiff. Miss Jenner spoke passionately at these meetings, arguing that everyday life proved widows and spinsters, who contributed to the rates and taxes of the country, were too often victims of tyranny and oppression. The vote would help to redress the balance. There was loud applause when Miss Jenner exclaimed that ‘women would make as good a use of their votes as men did.’

This of course, was a small step in the long struggle by the suffragists in which many Welsh men as well as women played a part. The campaign finally came to fruition with the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918, enfranchising all men, as well as all women over the age of 30 who met minimum property qualifications. While this gave the vote to 8.4 million women, it was not until 1928 that the law was extended, granting the vote to all women over 21, on equal terms with men.

One final anecdote sums up Miss Jenner’s determination to fight for women and social justice. In 1896 she wrote a letter to the Home Secretary, bringing attention to the horrific exploitation of a fifteen year old Cardiff girl employed to go up in a balloon parachute at a public entertainment. The unfortunate teen was drowned when the balloon crashed into the Bristol Channel. In her letter, Miss Jenner called for an Act of Parliament to outlaw such ‘dangerous, discreditable and demoralising occupations for children of such tender years, and for the simple but glaring purpose of making money and pandering to the wishes of sensational and idle-minded sightseers.’

Gertude Jenner was buried in our local churchyard and her grave can be found barely 100 yards from her cottage across the street. The Evening News reported ‘Miss Jenner lived at Ty Pica, a cottage on the Wenvoe Estate and it was there she ended her queer, troublous little life.’ Perhaps it takes a former Spice Girl to put this description into context. ‘It’s really important to remember that most people in the public eye are human for a start and a lot of things you read in the media get slightly misconstrued and manipulated.’ (Geri Halliwell)

ST DAVID – WALES AND BEYOND

St David was born in Pembrokeshire around 500 AD to Sant, a prince of Cardigan, and St Non, the daughter of a chieftain. Little is known about his life. He was brought up near Aberaeron and is said to have been baptised by St Elvis of Munster. David was educated at a monastery under St Paulinus who, recognising his great potential to spread the word of Christianity, sent David on pilgrimages around Wales, Cornwall, Britanny, Ireland and Jerusalem.

St David died on March 1st, 589. His remains were buried in St David's Cathedral. Although his shrine was later removed by Vikings, a new shrine was constructed there in the 13th Century.

It is said St David founded 12 monasteries and performed several miracles. Canonised by Pope Callixtus in 1120, St David has been recognised as patron saint of Wales since the 12th century.

St David’s Day is celebrated by Welsh societies around the world. St David’s Day celebrations are still held by the descendants of those who emigrated from Wales to Patagonia in 1865.

• While preaching to a crowd in the West Wales village of Llanddewi Brefi, David is said to have performed his most famous miracle. The crowd were finding it difficult to see and hear the sermon, when a white dove landed on David’s shoulder. As it did, the ground on which he stood is said to have risen up to form a mighty hill, making it possible for the gathering crowd to finally see and hear him. The dove became St David’s emblem, often appearing in his portraits and on stained-glass windows depicting him.

• Monasteries founded by St David were known for their extreme austerity. Monks abstained from worldly pleasures and carried out hard farming duties on a basic diet. Some monks were so fed up of St David’s harsh regime they even tried to poison his bread. Fortunately he survived.

• The 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys noted how Welsh St David’s Day celebrations in London would spark wider counter-celebrations among their English neighbours, with life-sized effigies of Welshmen being symbolically lynched.

Welsh tradition says that during a battle against the Anglo-Saxons, David advised the Welsh warriors to wear a leek in their hats or armour so that the warriors might distinguish themselves from their enemies. Ever since then, the Welsh wear leeks every March 1st in memory.

There was not a lot of entertainment the village, but we made our own fun, and everybody knew everybody, which is not the case today. When I go to the village, if I know two or three people to speak to, I am lucky. We had a dance in the old school about once a month. That was an event and great fun, and always a good night. Another big event was the fete at the Castle. Stalls of all kinds would be put up, and myself and friends, would have baskets with button holes of roses to sell, and we would have to dress for the part. The evening was the highlight – dancing on the green, in the moonlight till midnight.

It was then that all the gardeners were in demand, and we all looked forward to this. Lady Jenner had a cousin who was known to be a little bit eccentric, and she lived in Ty Pica Farm. She dressed like a gypsy, and all the school children were scared of her. Lady Jenner disowned her. Near the pub was a big pond, which is all filled in now, and has nice seats there, but a lot of watercress used to grow there, and Old Julia, as we all called her, would be there cutting the watercress and filling her basket and selling it. The children would shout over the wall "Old Julia" and she would chase them with her knife. We were really scared of her.

The milkman used to come every morning, milk straight from the Garn Farm. It would still be warm when he called. He would ladle it into your jug out of the churn. Quite a lot of people kept their own chickens and pigs. We were no exception, and always had a pig in the sty and bacon hung in the pantry. The pantry is still there and so are the hooks in the ceiling where the bacon used to be hung, but I'm afraid the pig sty was knocked down when my daughter and her husband built their house where it stood.

Trains used to be three up and three down a day. We would have to walk to Wenvoe Station to get a train to Barry and change at Cadoxton, if we were going to Cardiff. I used to work in Canton. I would cycle to Dinas Powys, get the train to Cardiff and then a tram to Canton. I would leave home on a Saturday at 8 o'clock in the morning and catch the 10 o'clock train home at night. My father would meet me at Dinas Powys and many a time he had to carry me on his back through flood waters and we would arrive home at quarter past eleven.

That was a normal Saturday's work. Often on a Christmas Eve, I have been serving a customer at half past one in the morning, and it was heaven help you if you let that customer go without buying something. It would be your cards for you, but through it all, as I say, we were happy.

One of my big enjoyments as a child was to help my brother, who worked on the Burdens Hill Farm. I loved the harvest time. I would ride on top of the loads of hay, and then ride up to the farm on the old horse's back, when the days toil was over, then I would go on the dray to Ely and get the grains for the animals. That was all great fun to me. The dray was a big old horse drawn cart and was the main means of transport in those days in the village of Wenvoe.

The little shop in the village was kept by a Mrs. Thomas and her two daughters, and she was a little bit on the mean side. I have seen her break a sweet in half to make the weight right. The Post Office was kept by a Mrs. Morgan and her daughter. The old lady lived to over 90 and the week before she died, she was delivering telegrams, which again had to be delivered by hand. The old lady was part of Wenvoe. This would be her

attire: man's cap, mans boot's, shawl, long black skirt and canvas apron. If wet, she would have a long gent's mackintosh on. The Post Office was the place to go for all the gossip of the village which was about in those days.

Walston, I remember, to be made up of little cottages, stone floors and stone staircases. These have now long since been knocked down and replaced by far more modern houses.

Once a year Wenvoe would hold a live stock show and ploughing match, for which the farm hands would enter the competition, and it would be the one with the straightest furrow would get the prize. They would then all gather in the Wenvoe Arms that night and beer would flow like water. We once found one of the competitors had slept in our out-house for the night. He thought he was home, so you can tell how many he had had. Toilets in the olden days were always a brick building at the bottom of the garden, and one dark winter's morning, no electric lights then, my mother went to pay a visit to the toilet, and sat down on a gypsy, who had gone in there to shelter from the rain and had fallen asleep. Imagine the fright my mother had.

Another treat for us children would be our yearly trip to Barry Island. Once again, we would travel in a horse drawn brake. We would all be given a bag of sweets, orange and a few nuts, and we would go down on the sands and the mothers would have got togethe r a picnic for us.

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As I have said, my family' were not well off, but I don't think I missed out on many pleasures, and I am happy living in one of the last remaining houses of old Venvoe, which means so much to me and my family, and in the knowledge that Holton Way Cottage will not suffer the same fete as the cottages in Walston. Well, I think that is about all I can remember that took place, so I hope I have given you a little insite as to what Wenvoe was like in my childhood days.