The Brynmawr Museum has information on an unusual point of interest:
It was known as "The Brynmawr Experiment."
During the late 1920's a number of crafts and industries were established at Brynmawr in what was then south Brecknockshire, and now Blaenau Gwent. They became known later as the Brynmawr and Clydach Valley Industries and included bookmaking, weaving, stocking-knitting, quilting and agricultural ventures for the benefit of the local people.
By far the most successful venture was the establishment of a furniture workshop that produced thousands of distinctive pieces of furniture during the period 1930-40. Brynmawr furniture became popular throughout Britain and is still held in high esteem when considering the social and artistic history of Wales.
The social context led a group of Quakers to settle in this area and attempt to assist the local people by providing work and practical help to alleviate the problems caused by the 1920's depression.
In 1928, Peter Scott, the Secretary of the Home Service Committee of the Society of Friends visited Brynmawr and the neighbouring valleys with a group of young Quakers. The Friends had already established a handful of small businesses and industries in depressed areas in an effort to alleviate the serious problems caused by unemployment and the resulting poverty witnessed in South Wales. It was Scott and his colleagues, however, who were to establish new ventures in the Brynmawr district, having encountered the effects of poverty on the people of the area. The first practical help came in the form of financial aid, food and clothes from the Friends' Relief Fund. This was seen as the initial step to gain the confidence of the local people to co-operative in a venture that would help restore hope and self respect to the community.
Cardiff Naturalist's Society commissioned a bardic chair from the Brynmawr Furniture Makers fir the Cardiff Eisteddfod in 1938. The chair was to be made from oak grown in Wales and by welsh craftsmen.
A small committee of experts representing the society and the 1938 Eisteddfod worked alongside the Brynmawr Furniture Makers to be responsible for the design.
Made from natural oak, the chair's seat and central splat of the back is from natural hide.
The chair was awarded to Gwilym R Jones for his poem "Rwy'n edrych dros y bryniau pell."
Opening Hours
Thursday 10.00-1.00 & 2.00-4.00
Friday 10.00-1.00 & 2.00-4.00
Saturday 10.00-1.00
Situated in Market Square, Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent, NP23 4AJ
Tel: 01495 313900
http://www.brynmawrmuseum.co.uk
It was known as "The Brynmawr Experiment."
During the late 1920's a number of crafts and industries were established at Brynmawr in what was then south Brecknockshire, and now Blaenau Gwent. They became known later as the Brynmawr and Clydach Valley Industries and included bookmaking, weaving, stocking-knitting, quilting and agricultural ventures for the benefit of the local people.
By far the most successful venture was the establishment of a furniture workshop that produced thousands of distinctive pieces of furniture during the period 1930-40. Brynmawr furniture became popular throughout Britain and is still held in high esteem when considering the social and artistic history of Wales.
The social context led a group of Quakers to settle in this area and attempt to assist the local people by providing work and practical help to alleviate the problems caused by the 1920's depression.
In 1928, Peter Scott, the Secretary of the Home Service Committee of the Society of Friends visited Brynmawr and the neighbouring valleys with a group of young Quakers. The Friends had already established a handful of small businesses and industries in depressed areas in an effort to alleviate the serious problems caused by unemployment and the resulting poverty witnessed in South Wales. It was Scott and his colleagues, however, who were to establish new ventures in the Brynmawr district, having encountered the effects of poverty on the people of the area. The first practical help came in the form of financial aid, food and clothes from the Friends' Relief Fund. This was seen as the initial step to gain the confidence of the local people to co-operative in a venture that would help restore hope and self respect to the community.
Cardiff Naturalist's Society commissioned a bardic chair from the Brynmawr Furniture Makers fir the Cardiff Eisteddfod in 1938. The chair was to be made from oak grown in Wales and by welsh craftsmen.
A small committee of experts representing the society and the 1938 Eisteddfod worked alongside the Brynmawr Furniture Makers to be responsible for the design.
Made from natural oak, the chair's seat and central splat of the back is from natural hide.
The chair was awarded to Gwilym R Jones for his poem "Rwy'n edrych dros y bryniau pell."
Opening Hours
Thursday 10.00-1.00 & 2.00-4.00
Friday 10.00-1.00 & 2.00-4.00
Saturday 10.00-1.00
Situated in Market Square, Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent, NP23 4AJ
Tel: 01495 313900
http://www.brynmawrmuseum.co.uk
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