Cylchlythyr Archifdy Ceredigion |
Ceredigion Archives Newsletter |
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Gaeaf 2003 Croeso i gylchlythyr Archifdy Ceredigion sydd wedi cael ei adfywhau unwaith eto! Hoffem ddymuno Nadolig Llawen i bawb, ond wrth i mi ysgrifennu hwn ar y 23ydd o Ragfyr, bydd y cyfarchion yma yn rhy hwyr. Yn hytrach mae staff Archifdy Ceredigion yn dymuno Blwyddyn Newydd Dda yw darllenwyr. Tra fod y cylchlythyr yma wedi bod yn ddistaw, mae llawer o bethau wedi digwydd yn yr Archifdy. I'r rhai ohonoch sy'n darllen fersiwn electronig o'r cylchlythyr byddwch yn ymwybodol yn barod fod gan Archifdy Ceredigion safle we ei hunan, sy'n cynnwys rhestrau o'r holl ddogfennau sydd ar gael yn yr Archifdy ynghyd â gwybodaeth ddefnyddiol ynghylch ein lleoliad, oriau agor, adnau diweddar a.y.y.b. I'r rhai ohonoch sy'n darllen y fersiwn papur efallai yr hoffech edrych ar www.archifdy-ceredigion.org.uk y tro nesaf yr ydych yn pasio cyfrifiadur gyda mynediad i'r we. Gadwch ni wybod beth yr ydych yn feddwl ohono! Newidiadau staff yn y swyddfa: Mae Helen Palmer a Gwyneth Roberts dal yma! Gwnaeth Glenys McBurnie adael ni ym mis Mai i fynd i ysgol Penweddig, lle mae'n gweithio gyda phlant ag anghenion arbennig. Mae'n mwynhau yn fawr iawn. Yn yr Hydref mi groesawom ei olynydd, Anne Martin, sydd newydd ymddeol fel athrawes ysgol gynradd. Anne sydd wedi ysgrifennu yr erthygl ar Nadolig 'Slawer Dydd. Mae nifer ohonoch wedi cwrdd a'r archifydd Mair Humphreys yn barod, mae newydd ddathlu (!) blwyddyn yn Archifdy Ceredigion. Mae Mair wedi cael blwyddyn brysur, yr uchafbwynt i hyn oedd ei phriodas ym mis Awst! Yr ydym wedi dod ymlaen yn dda yn y swyddfa eleni - mae cael aelod ychwanegol o staff wedi gwneud cymaint o wahaniaeth! Yn ychwanegol yr ydym wedi cael cymorth bendigedig oddi wrth ein pum gwirfoddolwr archifyddol Ania, Celia, Kate, Joy a David; oddi wrth ein teipydd ddydd Mawrth Carwyn, gyda help Katrina a Sandra; ac oddi wrth Paul a Ray ein gofalwyr sy'n rhoi sillfau fynu i ni, yn dadlwytho bocsys ac yn gyffredinol yn gwneud yn sïwr fod popeth yn gweithio yn iawn! Yr ydym hefyd yn estyn ein diolchiadau i Nigel am wneud y safle we yma yn bosibl ! Mi wnaethom gau am ddwy wythnos cyntaf mis Rhagfyr er mwyn "archwilio stoc". Cymrom y cyfle i ail focsio a ail drefnu nifer fawr o ddogfennau. Yn ychwanegol i wneud ychydig bach o le yn ein stordy gorlawn, mi wnaethon lwyddo i drefnu rhai rhediadau o gofnodion mewn ffordd well, a gobeithiwn y bydd hyn o fantais i ddarllenwyr gan y byddwn yn medru darganfod pethau yn gynt! Gobeithir y gellir ailadrodd y bythefnos gau flwyddyn nesaf gan ei fod yn gymaint o lwyddiant. Mae Archifdy Ceredigion hefyd wedi etifeddu swyddfa fychan ar lawr cyntaf Swyddfa'r Sir fydd yn cael ei defnyddio fel lle tawel i gatalogio dogfennau, drafftio adroddiadau a gwneud pethau sydd yn cymeryd llawer o waith meddwl. Yr ydym wrth ein boddau i gael lle preifat i weithio, ac yr ydym wedi ceisio gwneud ystafell ddymunol (waliau glas, lluniau hyfryd a soffa fychan) allan o hen storfa lyfrau. Mae Mair a Helen wedi rhoi nifer o sgyrsiau eto eleni. Roedd y rhain i W.I. Llanilar, myfyrwyr archeolegol Llambed, Cymrodoriaeth Ymddeol y Gwasanaeth Sifil, Pensiniwyr Borth, Staff llyfrgell PCA (2 grwp!), Cymdeithas Hanes Borth, Pensiynwyr Aberaeron, Ysgol Cwmpadarn (2 grwp!), Ysgol Llannon, Aberystwyth Darby a Joan, W.I. Capel Seion, Soroptomists Aberystwyth, 2 sesiwn "Edrych ar Ddogfennau" gyda ysgolion lleol, W.I. Pontrhydfendigaid, W.I. Caerwedros, W.I. Llanafan, Merched y Wawr Llanrhystyd, Cymdeithas Rhydlwyd, myfyrwyr adran Daearyddiaeth PCA, Cymdeithas Hwyl a Hamdden, Felinfach, Fforwm Hanes Lleol - seminar ar e-hanes, 'Aberystwyth Inner Wheel', Grwp Defnyddwyr ar-lein Aberystwyth, W.I. Penllwyn a Chymdeithas Archeolegol Aberystwyth ar Cylch. Hoffem ddiolch i bawb am ein gwahodd ni! Mis Medi oedd Mis Ymwybyddiaeth Archifau, a cafom ddiwrnod agored ar ddydd Sadwrn, y 27fed pam y croesawom bobl i gael golwg ar yr archifdy a dysgu mwy am beth yr ydym yn ei wneud yma. Cafom hefyd stondin oedd yn cynnig gwybodaeth a chymorth yn Look up your Genes, digwyddiad a drefnwyd gan 'BBC Wales' yn Aberystwyth (lle gwnaeth Helen wneud cyfweliad radio - y fath gynnwrf), yn Ffair Hanes Lleol y Fforwm Hanes yn Llanbedr Pont Steffan, yn noswaith agored Cymdeithas Hanes Teulu Ceredigion, stondin arall yn Sioe Aberystwyth, ac un yn nydd agored Cymdeithas Hanes Teulu Dyfed yn Aberteifi. Yr ydym wedi cael nifer o adnau a rhoddion gwych eleni - mae gwybodaeth am adnau diweddar sydd heb ei gatalogio ar gael ar ein safle we. Y mae'n nawr ganddom rhestr bocs da o gasgliad yr Hafod (diolch Ania a Kate!), sy'n caniatáu mynediad cyfunedig i'r archif mawr a diddorol yma. Y rhai ohonoch sy'n darllen y fersiwn papur - does na ddim tal am y cylchlythyr yn awr gan y byddai'n gwahaniaethu rhwng y rhai sy'n derbyn y fersiwn ar-lein a'r rhai sy'n derbyn y fersiwn papur. Parhaer i groesawu rhoddion wrth gwrs! Pob dymuniad da i'n darllenwyr - cofiwch gysylltu â ni i ddweud wrthym beth yr hoffech i ni gynnwys yn y cylchlythyr, sut y medrwn wella y swyddfa a.y.y.b. - mi fyddem wir yn hoffi clywed ganddoch! Helen, Mair, Gwyneth a Anne. Nadolig 'Slawer Dydd Wel, mae'r adeg yma o'r flwyddyn unwaith eto, pawb yn rhuthro o gwmpas yn ceisio penderfynu beth i'w brynu - tinsel, goleuadau, coed, Santa, anrhegion costus, partïon niferus a'i gorwneud hi ar fwyd a diod. Beth am oedi a meddwl am Nadolig 'slawer dydd. Sut oedd ein rhieni, teidiau a neiniau a hen deidiau a neiniau yn dathlu'r wyl? Ar ôl bod yn athrawes am 30 mlynedd mi benderfynais ddechrau drwy edrych ar lyfrau log ysgolion lleol i weld sut roedd y plant yn yr ysgol yn dathlu ac mi ddeuthum ar draws nifer o gofnodion diddorol. Gyda'r rhagolwg o bythefnos o wyliau a Santa ar fin cyrraedd mewn nifer o ysgolion lleol roedd y plant erbyn hynny wedi'i cynhyrfu. Ond sut fyddai plant heddi yn dygymod â bywyd blynyddoedd yn ôl? Y cofnod cyntaf i ddal fy llygad oedd Ysgol Frytanaidd Aberayron
Dec. 25th. 1895 No school Felly dim on un diwrnod o wyliau! Roedd y plant a'r staff yn lwcus o'r tywydd, a rhoddodd hanner diwrnod ychwanegol iddynt. Wrth i blant heddiw edrych ymlaen i'w danteithion diwedd tymor - disco, y sinema, trip i'r pantomime neu barti - pa ddanteithion oedd ar gael 'slawer dydd? Beth am gymryd golwg.
Ysgol Penllwyn, Capel Bangor
Ysgol Babanod Peterwell, Llambedr Pont Steffan,
Ysgol Tregaron
Ysgol Tregaron Nadolig adeg rhyfel...
Ysgol Wirfoddol Llandyssul
Ysgol Eglwysfach Wrth edrych drwy'r blynyddoedd mi allwn weld fod pethau wedi newid o un diwrnod o wyliau yn 1895, melysion a orennau yn 1913, consirwyr a ffilmiau yn cyrraedd yn y 1940au a Santa ei hunan yn yr 1980au. Roedd afiechyd yn broblem i nifer o deuluoedd, yn arbennig y rhai tlotaf, ac yn arbennig yn ystod misoedd y gaeaf. Gyda dim Gwasanaeth Iechyd Cenedlaethol, brechiadau na gwrthfiotics ar gael, roedd afiechyd a chlefydau yn lledaenu yn gyflym ac yn aml yn cymryd bywydau y rhai mwyaf gwan. Mae dau gofnod yn Ysgol Frytanaidd Aberayron yn dangos sut roedd addysg y plant yn dioddef oherwydd afiechyd. Dec.23rd. 1896 On morning of this day Dr. Williams, Medical Officer of Health visited the school and ordered “closure of the school” owing to the prevalence of measles. Accordingly the school was closed at 12 o’clock.Feb. 15th. 1897 After 8 weeks closure on account of measles, school opened this morning; there were but 83 present; many of the children not having fully recovered. During the interval of closure also two little children died. Am ddigwyddiad trist ond nid anghyffredin yn anffodus.Beth oedd oedolion a phlant yn eu gwneud ar ddydd Nadolig i ddifyrru eu hunain? Mi ddeuthum ar draws rhai hen bosteri a thicedi o ddigwyddiadau ddydd Nadolig... Os y byddech wedi bod yn fyw yn 1855 gallech fod wedi mynychu darlith yng Nghapel Wesleaidd Treddol am 6 o'r gloch yr hwyr am gost o 6d. Yn 1873 roedd na gyfarfod te a chyngerdd yn yr un lle am swllt ac yn Neuadd Tref Aberystwyth yn 1863 roedd na gyfarfodydd cystadleuol am 2 o'r gloch a 6 o'r gloch. Mi wnaeth ysgol Brynherbert drefnu cyngerdd gan y plant ar nos Nadolig 1931. Byddai na ddim amser am ddigwyddiadau o'r fath nawr, mae'r plant yn rhy brysur yn chwarae ar eu cyfrifiaduron a'i gemau electronig tra bod yr oedolion yn gwylio teledu, fideo neu DVD. Gan nad oedd pobl mor ffodus â chael y gwyliau hir yr ydym ni yn gyfarwydd ag ef a dim ond yn cael wyliau undydd, roedd digwyddiadau pwysig arall yn gorfod cymryd lle ar ddydd Nadolig. Roedd priodasau, bedyddiadau a chladdedigaethau i gyd yn cymryd lle ar y dydd yma. Edward Clocker, bachgen post a Margaret Rees, morwyn a briododd yn eglwys y plwyf Llanbadarn fawr ar ddydd Nadolig 1844. Wrth gwrs roedd yn rhaid i'r ddau fynd nôl i'r gwaith y bore canlynol. Ar ddydd Nadolig 1845, bedyddiwyd Evan mab Jenkin a Hannah Davies yn eglwys Henfynwy. Ar nodyn tristach mae cofnodion plwyf eglwys St. Michael's, Aberystwyth am ddydd Nadolig 1837 yn dangos y claddedigaethau canlynol Wrth i ni fwynhau pleserau y Nadolig unwaith eto eleni gyda'i holl addurniadau a ffyniant efallai y dylem geisio dychmygu sut oedd Nadolig fel flynyddoedd yn ôl a beth y byddem yn ei wneud petaem wedi cael ein geni y pryd hynny. Anne Martin |
Winter 2003 Welcome to the revived Ceredigion Archives Newsletter ! I would love to wish everyone a Happy Christmas, but as I write this on the 23rd December, I fear the sentiments will arrive too late. Instead the staff of Ceredigion Archives wish all readers a very Happy New Year. Whilst the newsletter has been silent, many things have been happening at the Archives. Those of you reading the online version of this newsletter will already be aware that Ceredigion Archives now has its own website, which contains lists of all documents held by the office as well as useful information about the location of the office, opening hours, recent accessions etc. Those of you reading the paper version might like to log on to www.ceredigion-archives.org.uk next time you are passing computer with access to the Internet. Let us know what you think ! Staff changes in the office : Helen Palmer and Gwyneth Roberts are still here ! Glenys McBurnie left us in May for Penweddig school, Aberystwyth, where she is working with pupils with special needs. She is enjoying it very much indeed. In the autumn we welcomed her replacement, Anne Martin, who had just left teaching at a local primary school. Anne has written the article on Christmas past which follows. Many of you will have already met Mair Humphreys, archivist, who has just celebrated (!) a year at Ceredigion Archives. Mair has had a busy year, the highlight of which was getting married last August ! We have been able to make good progress with the office this year ; having an extra member of staff makes so much of a difference ! In addition we have had wonderful help from our five archives' volunteers Ania, Celia, Kate, Joy, and David ; from our Tuesday typist Carwyn, with help from Katrina and Sandra ; and from Paul and Ray our caretakers who put up shelves, unload boxes, and generally make things work properly ! We also extend huge thanks to Nigel who has made this whole web-site thing possible ! We closed for the first two weeks in December for 'stocktaking'. We took the opportunity to re-box and re-arrange a huge number of documents. In addition to making a tiny bit of space in our very crowded strong-rooms, we managed to organise some series of records in a much better way, and we hope researchers will benefit from our being able to find things more quickly ! The closure fortnight was a great success which we hope to repeat on an annual basis. Ceredigion Archives has also acquired a small office on the first floor of the County Offices ( we're obviously going up in the world!) which we are going to use as a quiet place for listing documents, drafting reports and doing things which require great concentration. We are delighted by having a private place to work, and have tried to make a really pleasant room (lovely blue walls, nice pictures and a small sofa ) out of a disused book-store. Mair and Helen have given loads of talks again this year. These were to Llanilar W.I., Lampeter Archaeology students, the Civil Service Retirement Fellowship, Borth Senior Citizens, UWA library staff (2 groups!), Borth Historical Society, Aberaeron Senior Citizens, Ysgol Cwmpadarn ( 2 groups!), Ysgol Llannon, Aberystwyth Darby and Joan, Capel Seion W.I., , Aberystwyth Soroptomists, 2 "Looking at Documents" sessions with local schoolchildren , Pontrhydfendigaid W.I., Aberystwyth Merched y Wawr, Caerwedros W.I., Llanafan W.I., Llanrhystud Merched y Wawr, Cymdeithas Rhydlwyd, UWA geography students, Cymdeithas Hwyla Hamdden, Felinfach, the Local History Forum's e-history seminar event, Aberystwyth Inner Wheel, Aberystwyth Online User Group, Penllwyn W.I., and the Aberystwyth and District Archaeological Society. We would like to thank everyone for inviting us! September was Archives Awareness month, and we had an Open Day of Saturday 27th when we welcomed people to look around the record office and learn more about what we do.We also had a stall, providing information and advice at Look up your Genes, BBC Wales roadshow in Aberystwyth ( where Helen gave a radio interview - such excitement!), at the Local History Forum's Local History fair in Lampeter, at the Cardiganshire Family History Society's Open Evening, another stall at Aberystwyth Show, and one at the Dyfed Family History Society Open Day in Cardigan. We have had some excellent donations and deposits this year - details of recent accessions which have not yet been listed are available on the web-site. We now have a very good box-list of the Hafod Collection ( thanks Ania and Kate!), which allows limited access to this large and interesting archive. Those of you who are reading this in the paper version - please note that we are no longer charging for this newsletter as we feel it discriminates against those of you who prefer not to read it on-line. Donations are still welcome of course! All very best wishes to all our readers - please get in touch and let us know what you would like to read in the newsletter, how we can improve the office etc. - we really would like to hear from you ! Helen, Mair, Gwyneth and Anne. Christmas Past Well it's that time of year again, everyone rushing about wondering what to buy - tinsel, lights, trees, Santa, expensive presents, numerous parties and over indulgence on food and drink. Let's stop and think of Christmas past. How did our parents, grandparents and great grandparents celebrate this festival? Having been a teacher for the past 30 years I decided to start by looking in school log books to see how the children in school celebrated and found some very interesting entries. With the prospect of a fortnight's well deserved holiday and the imminent arrival of Santa at many of our local schools the children by now are getting very excited. But how would today's youngsters cope with life years ago ? The first entry that caught my eye was for Aberayron British School
Dec. 25th. 1895 No school So just one day's holiday! The children and staff at this school were lucky with the weather, which gave them an extra half day. As today's children look forward to their end of term treats - a disco, the cinema, a trip to the pantomime or a party - what treats were available many years ago? Let's take a look.
Penllwyn School, Capel Bangor
Peterwell Infants School Lampeter
Tregaron School
Tregaron School Another war time Christmas...
Llandyssul Voluntary School
Eglwysfach School Looking through the years we can see that things had really changed from the single day's holiday in 1895, sweets and oranges in 1913, the arrival of conjurors and films in the 1940s to Santa himself in the 1980s. Ill health was a big problem for many families, especially the poorer ones, and especially in the winter months. With no National Health Service, vaccinations or antibiotics, disease and illness spread rapidly and often claimed the lives of the most vulnerable. Two entries in the Aberayron British School Log Book show how children's education was affected by illness. Dec.23rd. 1896 On morning of this day Dr. Williams, Medical Officer of Health visited the school and ordered "closure of the school" owing to the prevalence of measles. Accordingly the school was closed at 12 o'clock.Feb. 15th. 1897 After 8 weeks closure on account of measles, school opened this morning; there were but 83 present; many of the children not having fully recovered. During the interval of closure also two little children died. What a sad but unfortunately not a rare occurrence. What did adults and children actually do to entertain themselves on Christmas Day itself? I came across some old posters and tickets from Christmas Day activities... If you had been alive in 1855 you could have gone to a lecture in the Wesleyan Chapel in Treddol at 6 o'clock in the evening for the princely sum of 6d. In 1873 there was a Tea Meeting and a Concert at the same venue for a shilling and in Aberystwyth Town Hall in 1863 there was a competitive gathering at 2 o'clock and another at 6 o'clock. Brynherbert School actually arranged a concert by the children on Christmas night 1931. There would be no time for these activities now, the children would be too busy playing computer and electronic games and the adults would be watching television, a video or a DVD. As people were not fortunate enough to enjoy the longer holiday period that we have now become accustomed to and only had the one day holiday other important things had to take place on Christmas day. Marriages, baptisms and burials all took place on this day. Edward Clocker, postboy and Margaret Rees, servant maid were married in Llanbadarnfawr Parish Church on Christmas Day 1844. No doubt it was back to work the following morning for them both. On Christmas Day 1845 Evan son of Jenkin and Hannah Davies was baptised at Henfynyw Church. On a sadder note the entries for the Parish Register of St. Michael's Church, Aberystwyth for Christmas Day 1837 record the following burials As we enjoy the delights of Christmas again this year with all its trimmings and prosperity perhaps we should try to imagine what Christmas was like all those years ago and what we would have been doing had we been born then. Anne Martin |
-- Archifdy Ceredigion -- gofalu am y gorffenol er lles y dyfodol |
-- Ceredigion Archives -- preserving the past for the future |
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