Biography
Margaret Stewart Taylor
Borough Librarian, Curator of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery, and Local Historian
Mapping Merthyr Through Women’s Histories workshop brought together staff from across the Libraries and Museum service and partner sectors to uncover, honour, and amplify the stories of women who shaped Merthyr. Informed by insights from the valley‑wide Heritage and Herstories community drop‑ins, participants each chose and reflected on a woman’s story that deserves recognition, creating a collective map of Merthyr’s past through diverse female perspectives. This project marks only the beginning — with hopes to continue these workshops and collaborate with more communities across the valley, further enriching and expanding the narrative of local women’s history.
Written by Linsey Barrett, Principal Librarian of Merthyr Tydfil's Libraries Service
Margaret Stewart Taylor was a innovative librarian, curator and historian whose work had a lasting impact on the cultural life of Merthyr Tydfil. Born in Oxford, she came to the town during the Second World War as a wartime appointee to Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. In December 1946, she was appointed permanently as Librarian and Curator of Cyfarthfa due to her outstanding abilities. She remained in post for over twenty years, becoming the first female chief librarian and curator in Wales. She lived in many places around Merthyr, including, 26 Courtland Terrace, Caedraw flats and in a bungalow in Swansea Road.
During her career, Margaret Stewart Taylor transformed library and museum services in the borough. She successfully expanded access to reading by introducing a school library service and establishing a mobile library in 1959. Under her leadership, annual book issues more than doubled to over 500,000. At Cyfarthfa Castle, visitor numbers also increased to around 30,000. She also started the local photographic collection. She was also an author, publishing 23 works, including The Crawshays of Cyfarthfa Castle: A Family History (1967), and contributing to historical journals. She was a notable woman of Merthyr and in March 1990 a chapel in St Tydfil’s Hospital was dedicated to her.
Margaret Stewart Taylor’s story deserves to be told because she represents a woman who achieved remarkable success in a male-dominated environment. As noted by historian Carolyn Jacob in Merthyr Historian Volume 15, she worked within a council culture where women often faced dismissive attitudes, yet she established herself as a respected leader. Her legacy lives on through the services she developed. Her story deserves to be told because it recognises both her professional achievements and her role in shaping opportunities for women within public service and heritage.