Story
Women Workers at Dowlais 1866-1871
The 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 Rhian Diggins, Senior Archivist at Glamorgan Archives:
Heavy industry is generally considered to be the preserve of men. When we think of coal, iron and steel workers, we automatically think of men. But was this truly the case? Were all of Merthyr’s industrial workers men?
This is an extract from a Report on the Employment of Women and Children in the Iron Works of South Wales. It details the number of persons in the employ of the Dowlais Iron Company in May 1866. The figures were supplied by William Menelaus, works manager at Dowlais.
We can see that at this time, a total of 781 women and girls were employed by the Dowlais Iron Company. Some worked in the company schools, in the offices and the library. But 86 were working at the collieries, 241 at other mine works and quarries, 183 at the forges and mills, and 198 at the furnaces.
If we look at the 1871 census returns for Dowlais, we can see two households, at 7 and 8 School Room Row, entirely made up of women. Only the youngest, 4 year old Ellenor Jones, is not working at the pits. Mary Lloyd, Jane Lloyd, Hannah Jones, Margaret Jones, Mariah Jones, Jennet Jones and Susanna Jones are all working as fillers or assistants at the surface of the mines.
The names of many of these women workers have been lost over time. But the work that they accomplished, and their contribution to Merthyr Tydfil’s industrial heritage, cannot go unrecognised, and must be remembered.