Communities

The Bro Beca Project aims to work with communities in Pembrokeshire to identify their Rebecca heritage. The project aims to encourage communities to research Rebecca activity in their areas to uncover what life was like in the area at the time of the riots, what drove these usually law abiding men to such aggression and the outcome of their actions. The project is also interested in the turnpike roads themselves and we would like to find out about any remaining milestones or other physical features such as remains of toll houses along those routes.

Roads Riots and Rebecca –
Pembrokeshire Community Heritage Meetings

Community heritage meetings took place across Pembrokeshire to uncover the history of the Rebecca Riots across the county.

Mynachlog-ddu
3rd March 2005 & 12th May 2005
The main subject of these meetings was the history of Thomas Rees more commonly known as Twm Carnabwth, the first Rebecca. Through the course of two meetings members of the community provided information on his character, his family, his later involvement with Bethel Baptist Church, information from his gravestone and from his birth certificate. It was discovered that there is a discrepancy between the gravestone and his death certificate as to exactly when he died and what age he was upon his death. His gravestone states that he died on 17th September 1876 age 70, where as his death certificate states that he died on 19th October 1876 age 72. Both accounts differ from the census details of 1851, 1861 and 1871 where he is listed as 43, 54 and 64, which would mean that in 1876 he would have actually been 69. It is difficult to know which account is correct as poor levels of literacy meant that many people didn’t actually know their birthdays or true age. Although it is likely that the census details are more accurate as the information would have been given by Twm himself rather than gathered second hand after his death.

In memory of
Thomas Rees
Resident of this parish
Who died September 17, 1876
‘Twm Carnabwth’

“No one but God knows
What happened that day
Whilst collecting a cabbage for my lunch
Death came to my garden to strike me”

A very interesting story came to light during the meetings. The story ‘Sword in the Wall’ was included in a channel 4 television programme called ‘Revealing Secrets’. A local stone mason had been renovating a house in the area when he discovered a sword buried in the front wall. He took the sword to the museum at Haverfordwest where they established that it was a Victorian Infantry Officers sword and from the detail of the hilt and the pattern could be dated to the years between 1837 and 1845 the same period as the Rebecca Riots. The person who lived in the house at the time was also found to be a stone mason called John Johns. It was decided that the sword had most likely been either taken from the officer or dropped during one of the Rebecca skirmishes and picked up by John Johns and taken home as a trophy. Fearing the sword would link him to the riots the stone mason may have built the sword into the wall so that it would not be found.

Photograph 1 – Twm Carnabwth’s grave Bethel Chapel Mynachlog-ddu
Photograph 2 – Close up of Twm Carnabwth’s Grave

Narberth
9th March 2005, 27th April 2005 & 8th June 2005
Community members in Narberth were interested in uncovering further information about the poor law in particular which was the cause of a number of riots by Rebecca. The people of Narberth had strongly rejected the establishment of the workhouse in the town and had attacked the workhouse even before construction was finished.
The amended Poor Law stigmatised the poor and the sick and was particularly harsh on unmarried mothers and orphans. Workhouses were established and able bodied people were no longer allowed to receive help from the parish in their own homes. Conditions in the workhouses were deliberately harsh in order to dissuade people from entering them. Families who entered the workhouse were separated. Husband and wife were forced to live apart. Under the old system the parish would have supported those families who were going through bad times. They were then able to get back on their feet when work was available. The new system meant that families going through difficult times had to enter the workhouse. They would lose their home if they did not keep paying their rent. It was then more difficult for them to establish themselves again once they left the workhouse.

Fishguard
16th March 2005 & 4th May 2005
The meetings in Fishguard looked at the fact that the Fishguard Trust had been the most notorious of all the turnpike trusts. The mismanagement and corruption was clearly documented during the ‘Commission of Enquiry’ (copy available in Carmarthen Library)
The roads were the worst in the county not a single penny from the toll gates had gone to repair the roads a duty which was still firmly with the Parish. Corruption was rife. One road heading from Fishguard to Cardigan was deliberately taken over a steep hill rather than along the flat ground which would have been easier and cheaper to maintain in the long run. The reason for this was because one of the Trusties wanted the road to go through his land for his own benefit. It was also difficult for the clerk of the trust to handle the finances as no proper records could be found.

Rebecca in Pontyberem Carmarthenshire

This information was sent to Bro Beca by Bethan. It was written by Stephen Rees in 1922. He says of his grandfather, Stephen Evans of Cilcarw Ucha farm nr Pontberem :-

Another member of the family Stephen Gealy of Cilcarw wrote in more detail of those present at the meeting.

Translated it reads:

about 1843.
A Public Meeting was held on Sylen Mountain for the purpose of sending a petition to her Majesty to ask her to alleviate the country’s burdens. There were over four thousand farmers and others present, and in their midst the Revs. Davis Rees, Als Chapel, Llanelli, Joseph Evans, minister of Caersalem chapel and – Richards, Parish Priest of Pontyberem I would think.
The barrister Mr Hugh Williams drew up the petition and proposed it in the meeting and one of the Caersalem members, Mr Stephen Evans, Cilcarw, grandfather of the writer of this history, had the honour of seconding it.

Bethan wrote "Both quotations come from family papers, and while Stephen Rees' is hardly unbiased, it probably reflects the family's attitude!! Poor old Shoni".

Rebecca in Pontarddulais Carmarthenshire

Alan Richards, from Pontarddulais, sent this photograph of a memorial stone erected by the Community Council to commemorate the attack on the Pontarddulais gate in 1843.

The inscription reads

REBECCA

Dinistriwyd Gât Pontarddulais gan Ferched Beca dan eu harweinydd John Hughes (Jac Ty-isha) ar Fedi 6ed 1843.

The Pontarddulais Toll-gate was destroyed on the 6th September 1843 by the daughters of Rebecca led by John Hughes (Jac Ty-isha).

Bro Beca began in 2002 as a joint project between Pembrokeshire Local Action Network for Enterprise and Development (PLANED) and Antur Cwm Taf Tywi (ACTT).

The project aimed to assist communities in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire to uncover and interpret their history in connection with the Rebecca Riots.

Bro Beca has been funded by the Wales Tourist Board, European Union EAGGF Objective 1, and the RSTP Fund.

The Bro Beca Project continues in Pembrokeshire under PLANED's Sense of Place Programme, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government's Rural Community Action Fund.