Anyone with an interest in old pictures of Wales will love this private collection of photographs taken at the Plas Cilybebyll estate between the late nineteenth century and the late twentieth century.
Our holiday cottages are steeped in history as this is a collection of images spanning the last century at Plas Farm shows. Can you spot the different cottages as they were over a hundred years ago?
Y Stabl and Ty Cerbyd circa. 1900
This picture is one of our favourites and shows two estate coachmen outside what is now Y Stabl and Ty Cerbyd holiday cottages . The main man in the picture was known as Blake. The buttons on his waistcoat bore his master’s emblem – a raven.
Bwthyn Y Saer circa. 1900
This is a view of Bwthyn Y Saer holiday cottage from the river bank. You will notice that it was originally two stories and you should also spot the water-wheel that once powered carpenter’s tools and a swede pulper. You may also spot the weeping ash on the river bank looking a lot younger than it does today!
Plas Farm Dairy circa. 1900
This shows members of the Lloyd family of Plas Cilybebyll (there were six daughters in one generation) and some of the estate labourers. It was taken behind the concrete building next to the bridge by Bwthyn Y Saer. The cart is know as a Welsh Gambo. The buidling in the picture was one of the first in Britain to be made of shuttered concrete. Ballast from the coal ships that left Swansea docks was brought by canal from Swansea to Pontardawe before being brought by horse and cart to the farm where the concrete was mixed.
Hay Making at Plas Farm circa. 1900
Making hay on what we call the ‘house field’. The house field is the field to the left of the main Plas Cilybebyll estate house driveway (assuming you are standing on the driveway looking at Plas Farm and the holiday cottages).
Plas Farm Dairy and Milking Parlour circa. 1900
A view of the shuttered concrete building that stands on the bridge. The picture was taken from outside what is now Bwthyn Y Saer holiday cottage.
Plas Farm Dairy and Milking Parlour circa. 1900
Another view of the shuttered concrete building taken from where Plas Farm’s new famhouse now stand
Plas Cilybebyll Estate Gardens circa. 1900
Taken from behind Plas Cilybebyll estate house. It is possible to see the fields of Plas Farm in the backgound alongside which the Plas Farm trail runs.
Plas Cilybebyll Estate Gardens circa. 1900
This shows the landscaped gardens that are now overgrown with varieties of rhododendron, Christmas trees and a small pond.
Plas Cilybebyll Estate Gardens circa. 1900
Taken from behind Plas Cilybebyll estate house. It is possible to see the fields of Plas Farm in the backgound alongside which the Plas Farm trail runs. The buidling in the picture is the old bakery and schoolhouse where maids were taught. It is also said that Adelina Patti, the world famous opera singer, had dresses made here.
The River Clydach at Plas Farm circa. 1900 by The Lloyds of Plas Cilybebyll
The River Clydach and Plas Cilybebyll Summer House. It is possible to walk from your holiday cottage to the exact spot that this picture was taken. All that seems to have changed in the last century is that the trees have grown, one large stone has moved about a metre down stream and the summer house has rotted away to nothing (its thatched roof is just visible on the right of the picture). All that remains today are steps to the river and its foundations.
Plas Cilybebyll taken from Lancaster during World War II by Unknown
This aerial shot of the Plas Cilybebyll estate house and outbuidlings was taken from a Lancaster Bomber who were training in the Swansea Valley for reconaissance missions over Germany. The crew were killed over enemny territory a few weeks after this picture was taken. It is possible to pick out the roof of Ty Cerbyd and Y Stabl, some people standing next to a car outside the main house and some greenhouses and box hedges which have long since vanished.
Aerial photo of Plas Cilybebyll pre 1955 by Unknown
Another aerial shot of the Plas. It is possible to see the double roof – the rear section was demolished in the 1950s.
The Lodge, Cilybebyll circa. 1900 by The Lloyds of Plas Cilybebyll
The lodge at the end of the farm drive was once a thatched cottage in the style of a South African Kraal. Unfortunately, it got burnt down in the 1960s. This may be the oldest picture of it in existence.
Kilybebyll Lodge by J.L. Williams, Gwalia House, Pontardawe
Kilybebyll Lodge by J.L. Williams, Gwalia House, Pontardawe. Date unknown.
The Lodge, Cilybebyll by Unknown
The Lodge, Cilybebyll. Look closely and you can see a repair in the thatch on the roof. Date unknown.
Plas Cilybebyll Weir Big Freeze 1963 by Tony Bowen
The Plas Cilybebyll Weir during the Big Freeze of 1963. David Bowen can be seen stading on one leg at the top. Seconds after this photo was taken, he slipped and fell down the waterfall!
Hafod Y Wennol 1958 by By Tony Bowen
This picture was taken in 1958 from the steps on Bwthyn Y Saer holiday cottage and shows Hafod Y Wennol as it was when it was used as a stable and animal food store. The courtyard was bounded by a wall in those days and there was a road which joined the outbuildings (now the holiday cottages) to the main estate house. The white gates can just be seen on the left of the picture.
Bwthyn Y Saer with water-wheel 1958 by By Tony Bowen
Bwthyn Y Saer taken in 1958 from the bridge over the River Clydach. The water-wheel can be seen along with the over hang trough.
Silage Making at Plas Farm 1960s by By David Bowen
David Bowen making silage in the 1960s using the buck-rake method. This old barn was situated on the river bank opposite Ty Cerbyd and Y Stabl holiday cottages.
Cow hiding from flies at Blaenant in the 1960s by Granville Morgan
This picture was taken from Blaenant farmhouse (on the mountain behind Plas Farm). It shows a cow that was very afraid of flies, hiding between the sheets on the washing line!
David and Tony Bowen outside Ty Cerbyd and Bwthyn Y Saer 1958 by Tony Bowen
David and Tony Bowen messing around with an old Jaguar on the courtyard in front of the holiday cottages in the late 1950s.
Billy and Benji outside Ty Cerbyd 1987 by Richard Bowen
Billy and Benji playing in a pipe outside Ty Cerbyd (the same place that the horse drawn carriage is standing in Picture 1.
David and Tony Bowen outside Ty Cerbyd and Bwthyn Y Saer 1958 by Tony Bowen
David and Tony Bowen messing around with an old Jaguar on the courtyard in front of the holiday cottages in the late 1950s.
David Bowen ploughing the House Field at Plas Farm circa. 1965 by Tony Bowen
David Bowen ploughing the House Field at Plas Farm sometime in the 1960′s. The picture is taken in the same field as Picture 4 – hay making at the turn of the twentieth century.
Y Stabl and Ty Cerbyd late 1960s by By David Bowen
Ty Cerbyd and Y Stabl in the 1960s.
Picnic on Marchywel Mountain by Tony Bowen
A picnic on Mynnydd Marchywel overlooking the Swansea Valley.
