Melingriffith Corn (grist) Mill ; iron and tin plate (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Sunday, April 21, 2013, 16:04 (4306 days ago) @ poppy

Hi Poppy, and a belated welcome to the forum, I hadn't realised you were a newcomer, sorry !
Thanks for your kind words, but no "of course" necessary - instead please accept my apologies for my poor choice of wording.... I had assumed by your confident post that you had already researched this subject to some extent, and as this was all new to me I was worried I was stating what you already knew, as the Archives references came up fairly quickly when I searched tinternet last night. I'm particularly pleased you have access to Cardiff etc, we receive posts here from all over the globe.

This subject is all knew to me, but I'll be revisiting it soon: The first web hit I found last night opens with
"When it came to working tin in South Wales, Treforrest was the undisputed King. But if Treforrest was King, further south down in the Vale of Glamorgan above Cardiff, the works at Melingriffith were certainly the Crown Prince."
http://blog.stuartherbert.com/photography/2007/03/28/melingriffith-the-other-tin-works/

Back in the 80s before I was interested in history I studied my mechanical engineering degree at the Poly of Wales near Pontypridd, an area I knew nothing much about beyond coal & steel and..rain.... The Poly had grown from the old Treforest School of Mining, the original building had some interesting old relics# on display.
http://www.powell76.talktalk.net/Schoolofmines.htm
http://profile.glam.ac.uk/about/history/

And now thanks to you I see the area was also a major tin producer, like my father's home town Lydbrook in the Forest, both inextricably linked by the Vaughan family. So all very interesting to me, thanks for highlighting this new line to follow !.

Re the pottery you mention, I presume this was a commemorative or even souvenir item, I don't think the Vaughans were involved in ceramics manufacture ?

Thanks again !

# Talking of old "relics" of Treforest, Tom Jones' first gig was at the Non Political Club in Wood Street. In my student days this was far more important to me, as I love 50s & early 60s rock music and used to joke he was a distant cousin on my dad's Jones side, we toasted his name at the Club's bar. And regarding the "old" joke, he's aged a sight better than I have, still a great performer altho sadly not a Jones at all !
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4373527.stm