Llanblethian

Hi Mike,

I read you letter form Mark Newdick, from USA.

and would like to answer some questions for him

Ernie Carder, used to live in Factory House, he then moved into Mark's Uncle's house [before his uncle]

he then built a bungalow across the road in the orchard.

they then moved to "Thimble cottage" where his wife [my father thinks her name was Sissy] later died followed as Mark said by Ernie,

My Father [John Newton] used to go around with his son, Vivian Carder who later become my fathers best man and still keep in touch.

Mark's neighbours at the time would have been,

In "Greystones" the "Watts family", next door again was the "Gowan family", Mary & Keith, with children Richard, Janet and Andrew.

Next up opposite the old post office was my parents, the "Newtons"

The opposite side of the road at "Meadow View "would have had the "Curtis family" Iris and Colin, Julie being the daughter.

Nearly opposite would have been the "Halpin family" living in Longfield"

And next to Mark, would have been "Williams family" the father used to be called "Tom the rates".

The house behind the Malsters/Sunningdale was called the Malthouse and always was and was then converted into two homes.

The village shop was run by Mrs Stone in picadilly

The post office on factory road was run by Mrs Lewis and Mrs Davis, until it closed in the 70's

My Father has lived in Factory Road, since 1942 and is now 76 years strong!

So if he needs any other info or pictures, do let me know.

Regards

Kim Newton-Horne [Daughter]

Mark M Newdick writes from the USA:

My name is Mark Newdick and I used to live in Llanblethian (1972-78) … in a little white cottage belonging to my uncle and aunt (Ken & Muriel Broughton) that they called “Sunningdale”. I believe it has since been renamed, but it faced south on what is now (I believe) Factory Road: the little post office was just 100 feet up the road; the Williams’ farm was 100 feet or so the other way, down the hill; the garden was down a little path to the left, and behind the old Oast House (that was converted to two houses, behind an 8 foot wall). It was a typical cottage you would draw as a kid: three windows upstairs, two down, with a door in the middle. The side door led into the kitchen.

What a stunningly beautiful little village that was … and hopefully, still is! There used to be a little shop in the village, though that disappeared in the early 1970s – my uncle and aunt lived there from about 1960 to 1981 (when they moved to Eastbourne … they’ve both passed away now). I remember so many things about that village, which I used to visit as a child in the 1960s as well: like when my uncle and aunt had their 25 wedding anniversary in the village hall; or learning a few words of Welsh from “Williams the Milk”; or summer strolls around the figure 8 of the village roads; or catching trout in the steam (and grilling them in butter … yummy). I sometimes used to walk from Llanblethian to Llantwit Major on a summers day … heck of a hike, but just wonderful countryside and people.

I moved on, of course, and moved to Saudi Arabia and later Africa. I now live in Connecticut, USA, with my wife and four children … actually, two, as my eldest is married and lives in Pittsburgh; and our second is off to join the US Marine Corps in February.

But, gosh, looking back on those simpler times brings a smile to my face. I worked in Caerphilly back then … a “long commute”, they used to tell me; now I commute 72 miles, one way, to Manhattan! And so we move on.

I remember once meeting the mayor of Cowbridge in a pub in the town … it was the summer of Prince Charles and Lady Diane’s wedding, and I was visiting with my wife (girlfriend at the time). I had a house in the town then, though I lived overseas and my sister actually lived in it. Anyway, I was introduced to this chap and I told him, before he uttered one word, that I would always vote for him and could he remind me of his name … puzzled, he asked why would I vote for someone who didn’t know his name or even what party or platform he stood for? I told him it was irrelevant … the town was beautiful, the people happy and everything worked: “What more do I need to know?”.

But thanks for your website … it was nice seeing the pictures (I wish there were more!). I’ll dig up some of mine from my time there and send them to you.

Thanks for getting back to me … always pleasant to receive correspondence from the last “bastion of civilization”! Although born and raised in Sidcup, in Kent, I love Wales with a passion … I used to sail up on Langorse Lake and ride horses across the Brecons; kayak down the Wye; and go on “navigation exercises” (beer drinking excursions) in the Severn Estuary with the RNR … we were in Cardiff then, though they later moved to Sully.

I’d be interested if any of your website readers remember Ernie Carder … a master plasterer who hailed from Cowbridge, he died in the late 1970s. One of his proudest memories was doing the plaster work at St. Donats castle during its restoration in the 1920s, when it was owned by Randolph Hearst. He was a great friend of my uncle and aunt, as was his wife (whose name escapes me) … he left me a great big leather chair in his will. A grand old chap.