Glamorgan Record Office & Butetown History and Arts Centre

Research resources for Caribbean Studies and the History of Black and Asian Peoples in the UK

CASBAH Survey Report

Introduction
Local Context
Cardiff Bay and the Docks

• Local context

• Cardiff Bay and Docks

In the case of the Leicestershire survey, the aim was to explore an in-land area with a history of prosperity and with this, a history of new residents from all over the world, not least Asians from East African. Not a 'colonial/imperial hotspot', nor a port, the aim of the Leicester survey was to make contemporary links as well as exploring the historical links between the town and the British Caribbean. In the case of collection surveys conducted in Manchester, the aim was to examine the history of a large, urban conurbation with an established Black and Asian presence and clear link, well-documented links to Britain's colonial past. The aim was to explore how historical links and the legacies of these links in contemporary society have been archived and preserved. Similar links were explored during our Glasgow survey, where research has not been extensive. Overshadowed for so long by 'the troubles' of the two white ethnic groups, CASBAH's survey work in Belfast was timely and insightful, allowing us to map out sources in a region with a comparatively recent influx of Black and Asian people where research is only beginning to be published.

The initial reason for choosing Wales was to develop our national remit, and seek out new research resources in our subject areas. What became clear when conducting the preliminary research, however, was the value of conducting research in a region with an established Black and Asian presence. Would it be easier to find relevant collections in Cardiff, then for instance, in Leciestershire? Should we assume that one can more easily find relevant records in port cities such as Liverpool or Cardiff with long histories of a Black and Asian presence? The aim was to conduct investigative work at the local record office, as well as track the processes involved in gathering information from a centre dedicated to the preservation of resources related to the history of the local Black and Asian ethnic groups.

Carol Dixon, CASBAH 's Project Officer, undertook all the arrangements for our visit. One day was spent at the Butetown History and Arts Centre. The primary survey was conducted at the Glamorgan Record Office between 23rd & 27th July 2001. Visits were also made to the Central Cardiff Library and to the Race Equality First, the local branch of the Commission for Racial Equality.

Local context

In 1974 the historic county of Glamorgan was divided into the three counties of Mid, South and West Glamorgan. Although the Glamorgan Record Office serves the authorities of Briegend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taff and the Vale of Glamorgan, our specific focus was in the area of South Glamorgan, covering the Cardiff Docks and Butetown in particular. The South Glamorgan County Council's '1991 Census Minority Ethnic Population Factsheet' published in 1993, provides the following statistics of note:

1. White Ethnic groups make up 95.2% of the population (387,930)
2. The total number of 'non-white' ethnic groups make up 4.8% of the population (19,390)
3. The 4.8% of the population of South Glamorgan is comprised of:
   • 1.5% Black Groups:
     • Black Caribbean - 2,040
     • Black African - 1,360
     • 'Black Other' - 1,920
   • 1.9% South Asian Groups:
     • Indian - 1,050
     • Pakistani - 2,930
     • Bangladeshi - 1,730
   • 1.4% Chinese, 'Chinese Other' and 'Asian Other'
4. The county's 'minority ethnic population' is spread unevenly throughout South Glamorgan, although the vast majority reside in Cardiff (91.8%). Nearly two fifths (39.5%) of Black, South Asian and Chinese groups live in Butetown, closely followed by Riverside South (33.9%). The electoral divisions with the largest number of Black, Asian and Chinese people are as follows:

Cardiff docklands has a rich and unique history - a history that began even before John, 2nd Marquis of Bute, opened the 19.5 acre West Bute Dock in 1839 and launched the Port of Cardiff on its rise to maritime greatness. By the 1890s, Cardiff was Britain's largest coal-exporting port, with exports peaking at over 10 million tons in 1913. The expansion of the port attracted British and international capital, symbolised most prominently in Mount Stuart Square with its famous Coal and Shipping Exchange. These industrialists, merchants and speculators invested in heavy engineering, steelworks, ship-repairing and various other trades.

The growth of Cardiff docklands also attracted a kaleidoscope of immigrants to build the docks, to work aboard the tramp-steamers, and to otherwise service the new industrial and maritime city. More docks had to be built to keep pace with the constantly expanding trade, culminating in 1907 with the opening of the 52 acre Queen Alexandra Dock. (Still in use today, its cranes remain a feature of the Cardiff Bay skyline.) Containerisation and the decline of the coal trade - a mere 229,105 tons were exported in 1964 - brought Cardiff's days as a major port to an end.

But by then, Cardiff docklands, especially the famed community known as Tiger Bay, was a cosmopolitan island. In addition to people from the Welsh valleys, mid-Wales, Ireland, the West Country and Scotland, the area was a magnet for people from at least 50 other nations including:

• Greeks
• Spanish
• Portuguese
• Cape Verdeans
• Italians
• Germans
• French
• Maltese
• Turks
• Cypriots
• Caribbean islanders
• Chinese
• Malays
• Indians
• Somalis
• Arabs
• Jews
• Poles
• Russians
• Baltic peoples
• Ukrainians
• Scandinavians
• Mauritians
• West Africans
• South Africans
• North Americans
• South Americans
• Central Americans
• And a few others, including one Maori and at least one Fijian.

Cardiff Bay, has in recent years undergone substantial redevelopment. A barrage across the joint estuary of the Taff and Ely rivers has been recently completed and has created a large lagoon that will ultimately be fresh water. Much of the heavy industry has gone, to be replaced with new office development and government establishments, including the home of the new Welsh Assembly. The great diversity of the city has not, however, remains unchanged.

• Race Equality First
  • List of selected local organisations
• Cardiff Central Library
  • List of selected Publications (A-E, F-N, PZ)
  • Newsletters, Newspapers articles & clippings
• List of selected Theses

Race Equality First

CASBAH staff visited Shelagh Maher, Information Officer at the Race Equality First on 27 July 2001, to provide information about the CASBAH project and learn more about the activities of the organisation. Race Equality First, a registered charity funded by the Cardiff County Council, the Vale of Glamorgan Council and the Commission for Racial Equality, aims to work towards the elimination of racial discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups. The core areas of work are:

• Race-specific casework
• Policy development
• Education and Community Development

Race Equality First also offer consultancy and advice on issues and provides training in the following areas:

• Race legislation
• Effective equal opportunities development
• Nationality and Immigration
• Recruitment and selection
• Cultural Diversity
• Community Development

Other services include:

• Translation service
• Talks and presentation to schools, and local businesses
• Training and consultancy
• Mobile exhibition
• Public resource library

List of selected local organisations

Association of Muslim Professionals
62 Whitechurch Road, Cardiff, CF14 3LX
Telephone: 029 2022 4466

AWETU Black Mental Health Group
41a Lower Cathdral Road
Riverside, Cardiff
CF11 6LW
Telephone: 029 2039 4141

Bangladesh Association Cardiff
F. Haque, 15 Grisedale Close, Lady Mary Estate, Cardiff, CF2 5NX
Telephone: 029 2061 5669

Bangladesh Welfare Association
S. Rahman, 173 Cowbridge Road East, Canton, Cardiff
Telephone: 029 2034 4770

Barnardos (Multicultural Resource) Centre
7 - 9 Neville Street, Riverside, Cardiff, CF11 6LP

Black Voluntary Sector Network
Baltic House, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff, CF10 5FH
Telephone: O29 2041 5708

Multicultural Crossroads
S. Batros, 1A Maria Street, Butetown, Caridiff, CF1 5HG
Telephone: 029 2048 0300

Pakistan Welfare Assocition for Wales, Cardiff
M. Javed, Celyn Avenue, Lakeside, Cardiff, CF23 6EQ

Somali Advice Centre
Unit 4, 8 West Bute Street, Butetown, Cardiff
Telephone: 029 2025 5527

Sri Lankan Sports and Cultural Association of Wales
S. Sivapalan, 21 Kyle Crescent, Whitechurch, Cardiff
Telephone: 029 2078 5372

Welsh Asian Council
A. Rashid, 82 Waterloo Road, Penylan, Caridiff, CF3 7BH

For further information about local organisations, e-mail race.equality@enablis.co.uk, or telephone (020) 2022 4097.

Cardiff Central Library
St David's Link, Frederick Street, Cardiff

Printed sources in CASBAH's subject areas include the following:

List of selected Publications (A-E, F-N, PZ)

A-E
Bloom, Leonard. The Psychology of Race Relations, (London: Allen & Unwin, 1971). (Includes some discussion of Butetown)Collins, Sydney F. 'A Negro Community in Wales' in Coloured Minorities in Britain, (AUTHOR)(London: Butterworth Press, 1957)
Cordell, Alexander. Tales from Tiger Bay (Abergavenny, Gwent: Blorgenge Books, 1986) (short stories)
Daunton, Maurice J. Coal Metropolis: Cardiff, 1870 - 1914' in Welsh History Review, (vol.9, no.2, 1980.)
Evans, Catherine et al. Below the Bridge: A Photographic Historical Survey of Cardiff's Docklands to 1983, (Cardiff: National Museum of Wales, 1984).
Evans, Neil, 'The South Wales Race Riots of 1919' in Llafur: Journal of the Society for the Study of Welsh labour History (vol.3, no.1, 1980) pp.5 - 29.
Evans, Neil'The South Wales Race Riots of 1919': A Documentary Postscript' in Llafur: Journal of the Society for the Study of Welsh labour History (vol.3, no.4, 1983), pp. 76 - 87.

F-N
Regulating the reserve army: Arabs, black and the local state in Cardiff, 1919 - 1945', Immigrants and Minorities (vol.4 No.2, 1985), pp.68 - 115
Fletcher, Muriel E. Report on an Investigation into the Colour Problem in Liverpool and Other Ports, (Liverpool: Association for the Welfare of Half Caste Children, 1930).
Jordan, Glenn H. 'Images of Tiger Bay: Did Howard Spring tell the Truth?' in Llafur: Journal of the Society for the Study of Welsh labour History (vol.5, no.1, 1988), pp. 53 - 59.
Jordan, Glenn H.& Weedon, Chris, 'Whose History is it anyway' in Cultural Politics: class, gender, race and the post-modern world (Oxford: Blackwell, 1988). pp.112 - 175.
Lee, Brian and BHAC. Images of Wales: Butetown and Cardiff Docks (Gloucester: Tempus Publishing, 1999).
Little, Kenneth, 'Loudoun Square: A Community Survey I in Sociological Review (vol.34, Jan 1942), pp.12 - 33.
Little, Kenneth,'Loudoun Square: A Community Survey II in Sociological Review (vol.34, July 1942), pp.119 - 146.
Little, Kenneth,'The Psychological Background of White-Coloured Contacts in Britain' in Sociological Review (vol.35, Jan 1943), pp 12 - 28.
Little, Kenneth,Negroes in Britain: a study of racial relations in English society (London:Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1948 & 1972).

P-Z
Sherwood, Marika, 'Racism and Resistance: Cardiff in the 1930s and 1940s' in Llafur (vol.5, No.4), pp. 51 - 71.
Wilson, Harriet. A Housing Survey of the Dock Area of Cardiff' in Sociological Review, (vol,42, no.2, 1950), pp.201 - 213

Newsletters, Newspapers article & clippings

Basini Mario, 'Good relations bridge the generation gap' Western Mail, (10/10/85)

'Being Black (a two-day series looking at the problems facing the increasing number of Black people in Wales) Western Mail (28 & 29/7/83)

Little, K.L, 'The Coloured Folk of Cardiff - A challenge to Reconstruction', in The New Statesmen (19.12.42) p.406

Basini Mario, 'Good relations bridge the generation gap' Western Mail, (10/10/85)

Saunders, Roy, 'Islam's faithful at prayer in a Cardiff mosque. The foreign seamen in the city's dockland', in Western Mail (3/20/34), p.7

Tweedale, Ian,' From Tiger Bay to the Inner city: a century of black settlement in Butetown', in Radical Wales (No.14, spring, 1987)

Wilson, Harrier, Letter to the Editor. New Statesmen, May , 1948).

Contact the Library by e-mail: enquiry@libraries.cardiff.gov.uk; by phone 029 2038 2116; or write to Cardiff Libraries & Information Service, Cardiff Central Library, St. David's Link, Frederick Street, Cardiff CF10 2DU

List of selected Theses

Gehrke, Karen, 'Struggling for Cultural Democracy: A Cast Study of Butetown History and Arts Centre. Unpublished BA dissertation, Communication Studies, University of Glamorgan, 1996.

Jones, R.G. Butetown, Caridff: Change in a Dockland Community from the Early Nineteenth Century to the Present ' Unpublished masters thesis, University of Keele, 1980. (Copy at the Cardiff Central Library ref: LC84:301.18)

O'connor, P.J. Butetwon: A case study in Social, Economic and Physical Malaise' unpublished diploma dissertation, Department of Town Planning, Univeristy of Wales Institute of Science and Technology, 1973.

Section Three - Glamorgan Record Office

Overview

Established in 1939, the Glamorgan Record Office collects, preserves, and makes available to the public, documents relating to the historic county of Glamorgan and the ecclesiastical records of parishes in the Diocese of Llandaff. It has over five miles of records in its strongrooms, dating from the twelfth century to the present day.

Administrative History

Authorities Served:
Glamorgan County Council 1939-1974
Mid Glamorgan County Council 1974-1996
South Glamorgan County Council 1974-1996
West Glamorgan County Council 1974-1992

From 1996, Glamorgan Record Office provides a joint service for the following local authorities:

Cardiff County Council
Bridgend County Borough Council
Caerphilly County Borough Council
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
Rhondda-Cynon-Taff County Borough Council
Vale of Glamorgan County Borough Council

The collections

The Glamorgan Record Office does not at present have a comprehensive guide to its collections. The following list gives an indication of the types of records available:

• Glamorgan Quarter Sessions
  
• Petty Sessions
  
• Glamorgan County Council
  
• Mid Glamorgan County Council
  
• South Glamorgan County Council
  
• Urban and Rural District Councils
  
• Boroughs
  
• Local Boards of Health
  
• Burial Boards
  
• Highway Boards
  
• Coroners
  
• Poor Law Unions
  
• Hospitals
  
• Police
  
• Vehicle Licensing
  
• Port of Cardiff Shipping Registers
  
• Crew Agreements (Cardiff registered ships)
  
• Land Tax Assessments
  
• Registers of Electors
  
• Schools and Education (including individual schools, School Boards, Part III Authorities etc.)
  
• Business and Industry (including Iron companies - Dowlais Iron Company, Rhymney Iron Company etc. and records of the South Wales Coalfield)
  
• Estate, families and individuals
  
• Maps and plans (including ordnance Survey, tithe plans and awards, enclosure awards, estate plans, Quarter Sessions Deposited plans, industrial plans and Health and Safety abandoned non-coal mine plans)
  
• Parish records for Glamorgan parishes in the Diocese of Llandaff
  
• Civil Parish
  
• Nonconformist Chapels and Churches
  
• Jewish Synagogues and individuals
  
• Quaker records for Wales
  
• Societies and Associations
  
• Political
  
• Manorial
• Photographs

The main family history resources include:

• Census Returns for Glamorgan, 1841-91 (microfilm and microfiche)
• Census Returns for Monmouthshire (with gaps), 1841-91 (microfiche)
  
• 1881 Census: personal name index for the whole of England and Wales, including National Surname Index (microfiche)
  
• General Register Office Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1837-1992 (microfiche)
  
• General Register Office Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths of British subjects overseas, including armed services, 1796-1994 (microfiche)
  
• Parish Registers (facsimiles and microfilm)
  
• International Genealogical Index (microfiche)
  
• Indexes to Probate Copies of Wills, 1858-1943 (microfiche), 1944-1950 (hard copy)
  
• Indexes compiled by the Glamorgan Family History Society
  
• Directories, Peerages and Other Printed Works

The Glamorgan Record Office Survey

After consultation with Susan Edwards and further background research at the Historical Manuscripts Commission, the following collections were choosen to be surveyed:

1. D/D CAB - Citizens Advice Bureau Records 1960-1990
   
2. D/D ETR 170 / - Colonies Shipping Co Ltd., shipowners Cardiff, Glamorgan 1908-11 : corporate records (NRA 35328 Radcliffe)
   
3. D/D Odd and D/D Xqq/1/112 - Orders of Oddfellows (specifically Independent Order of Oddfellows, Llanstrisant, Bute Lodge, Glamorgan; Independent Order of Oddfellows, Cardiff Lodge, Glamorgan)
   
4. D/D SF - South Wales Society of Friends (NRA 5542)
   
5. D/D Wes/CW23 - London Square English Wesleyan Methodist Church, Cardiff 1859-1977
   
6. D/D Xgc 12/1-845 - Cardiff Sympathetic Society 1812-1846
   
7. D/D Xgc 29 - Photos of Butetown, Cardiff Dock Residents 1890 - 1917
   
8. D/DF F26 - Papers re. Death of Robert Matthews, 1728-1751, Jamaica
   
9. D/DWes/CR - Roath Methodist Circuit, Cardiff (NRA 11989) (RSB)
   
10. D/DX19/1-43 - Angelina Street Mission/Welcome Mission, Cardiff, South Glamorgan , 1907-1984 : papers, photographs and press-cuttings
    
11. NRA 13129 Glamorgan County Council - Local Authority Committee Papers

Thematic Spread

Caribbean Studies

• Associations and societies - religious organisations
• Individuals - plantation owners
• Business Records
  

Black and Asian Studies

• The State - local government
• Business Records - shipping and coal exporting industries
• Church-based and charitable organisations
• Butetown

Survey Data

• List of Archive Collection Descriptions

• Archive Collection Description - extract

Descriptions for the following collections (in some cases, lower level record series) have uploaded to the CASBAH database:

1. D/D ETR 1-172 - Records of Evan Thomas Radcliffe and Company, Dock Chambers, Bute Street, Cardiff Shipowners.
   
2. D/D Xqq/1/112 - Independent Order of Oddfellows, Cardiff Lodge, Glamorgan
   
3. D/D Wes/CW23 - Loudoun Square English Wesleyan Methodist Church, Cardiff
   
4. D/D Xgc 29 - Photographs of Butetown, Cardiff Dock Residents
   
5. D/D X 819/1-43 - Angelina Street Mission/Welcome Mission, Cardiff, South Glamorgan , 1907-1994 : papers, photographs and press-cuttings
   
6. Records of the Cardiff Borough Police Force (Reference D/D Con/C 1-10)
   
7. Family and Estate Papers of the Matthew Family of St. Kew, Cornwall and of the Caribbean Islands
   
8. South Wales Society of Friends
   
9. Plan of the plantation of Abednego Mathew in St. George Basseterre, St. Christopher, 1757, with additions, 1800.

Archive Collection Description - Extract

Angelina Street Mission (Welcome Mission) Butetown, Cardiff (1907- 1994) ref: D/DX819/1-43

Angelina Street Mission was founded in 1906 by Mr James Phillips and became affiliated with the Christian Community, London, in 1909. It was an inter-denominational society preaching in hospitals, open-air, mission halls and social welfare centres. In 1950 the mission split from the Christian Community and became the Welcome Mission led by the three daughters of the founder: Ethel, Constance and Helen Phillips. Services were held in private houses in the Cardiff docks area and at a seamen's lodging house until a new hall was found in Loudoun Place over a garage (c.1953) which became known by mission workers as the 'upper room'. By this time the residents in and around Loudoun Square were predominantly Black. Fire damage in 1959 led to the Mission relocating in vacant shop premises in Bute Street. In 1972 the Welcome Mission rejoined the Christian Community and moved to a new building in Angelina Street. This was sold in 1985 to the New Testament Church and the Angelina Street Mission (now called the Welcome Mission) amalgamated with the Hannah Street Mission and moved to Pomeroy Street, Cardiff. The amalgamated mission dissolved in 1994.

This collection comprises 43 files of papers, booklets and photographs relating to the Angelina Street Mission (later the Welcome Mission) that was founded in 1906 and located in various premises near the dockland area of Cardiff until it was dissolved in 1994. The collection is divided into 3 sections: (1) Miscellaneous records (Reference: D/D X 819/1-9); (2) Photographs (Reference: D/D X 819/11-34); (3) Newscuttings (Reference: D/D X 819/35-43). The miscellaneous records include hand-written letters of correspondence between the founders of the Angelina Street Mission based in both Cardiff and London during 1907, and subsequent typed notes documenting the history of the Mission initially written by its first Superintendent (c.1906-1932) and later completed by a mission worker during the period c.1950-1994. Important information about the numbers of Black people who were members of the Angelina Street/Welcome Mission throughout its history is documented in the collection of photographs. The earliest item is a group photograph of children dressed up for a fancy dress pageant that was held at the Angelina Street Mission Hall during the early 1920s. Of the 22 children in the picture, 7 are of African descent. Other photographs show key festivals and events organised by members of the Mission, such as annual harvest festivals throughout the 1950s and 1960s and photographs taken during the services held to mark the opening of new Mission premises in 1970, 1972 and 1980

Section Four - Butetown History and Arts Centre

Type of Repository	Specialist repostitory
Address	5 Dock Chambers, Bute Street, Cardiff, CF10 5AG, Wales
Telephone Number	029 20256757
Website address	http://www.bhac.org/intro.html
CASBAH's contacts	Molly Maher & Glenn Jordan

Overview - History, Goals, & range of services

The following description of the establishment of the organisation now known as the Butetown History and Arts Centre is in part taken from Karen Gehrke's dissertation entitled 'Struggling for Cultural Democracy: A Cast Study of Butetwon History & Arts Centre, supervisored by BHAC Director Glenn Jordan (1996).

In 1986/87, a community education course on the 'History of Butetown' took place in the Butetown Community Centre. It was run by Ian Tweendale, a postgraduate student studying in Cardiff. By the end of 1987, the 'Butetown Community History Project' was formed with local residents.During these early years, courses covering the history of the men and women of Butetown were held, and community meetings were organised to discuss the best ways of ensuring that the history of the area and its residents was to be preserved. During these weekly meetings, the group developed the goals and objectives of the project which have remained largely unchanged. (see below - goals). The name changed to 'Butetwon History and Arts Project' and finally into 'Butetwon History and Arts Centre'.

BHAC is a grass roots organisation, established for and with the active engagement of local and former residents of Butetown. The idea behind BHAC has from the beginning been the active promotion of cultural democracy, as C. Weedon explains, '... the whole project, even when it was in its early phases of a community history project, was an exercise in cultural democracy... The idea was that people should collect their own hisotry, should interview each other, collect their photographs, achive them...And that every decision that was made and all the objectives, should be discussed by the group and should be a collective thing that went forward, which everyone was involved in, irrespective of their background, education, whatever.(Karen Gehrke, p.24) .

Thus, the Butetown Peoples' history, together with cultural democracy, are the backbone of the BHAC's work. BHAC collects, preserves, copies and utilises oral histories, old photographs and other documents; organises community education courses and works with schools and community groups.

The goals of the BHAC are listed on their website and include the following:

• to ensure that the social and cultural history of Cardiff Docklands, one of Britain's most famous communities, is carefully collected and preserved for posterity
  
• to collect and preserve this history with the active involvement of local residents
  
• to creatively use visual arts and media arts to produce educational materials, exhibitions and programmes based on our archive that are interesting and accessible to a broad audience
  
• to contribute to multi-cultural and multi-racial awareness
• to help people from inner-city Cardiff acquire education and training that will allow them to participate meaningfully in the new Cardiff docklands
• to facilitate positive interaction, based on understanding and respect, between the old and new communities of Cardiff Bay-through courses, exhibitions, publications and other activities
• to create a Bay People's Museum & Arts Centre as a substantial contribution to the regeneration of Cardiff docklands.

Butetown History & Arts Centre offers a range of services:

1. Tours and Site Visits around Cardiff Bay: BHAC's 'Walk & Talk' programme offers schools conducted tours with activities around Cardiff Bay waterfront and the Victorian commercial centre.
2. Slideshows: BHAC can provide slideshow introductions prior to school visits.
3. Digitalised photographs: Discs and CDs can be custom-made with screen resolution photographs of contemporary and historic Cardiff Bay.
4. Education Resource Packs: Worksheets and activities linked with site visits that can be used on site or back in the classroom.
5. For students and lecturers in higher education BHAC has a small research library including a full set of the community newspaper 'Making Waves'.
6. By arrangement, BHAC can offer a variety of work experience and placements for students at schools and colleges.

Further information about the BHAC can be obtained c/o: Butetown History and Arts Centre, 5 Dock Chambers, Bute Street, Cardiff CF10 5AG. Tel: 029 2025 6757. Fax: 029 2025 5887. E-mail: info@bhac.org. Web site: http://www.bhac.org/intro.html

The BHAC Survey

Collections

Survey data

Archive Collection Description - Extract

BHAC Collections

The BHAC collections have grown from community interest and activity over more than a decade. Informal family snaps, proud photos of home and jobs, formal studio portraits and images of celebrated personalities have all been donated to the Centre. From this foundation, the collection has expanded with material from local industries, shipping firms and companies that made their fortunes in Butetown and the Docks. The documentary archive comprise of c5000 photographs of Butetown and its residents from the late 19th century to the present day.

There is a small library of books, reports, theses, BHAC exhibition guides and local history educational materials (see publications). The sound archive contains c1000 hours of audio-taped oral collections from Butetown residents.

The following collections will be uploaded to the CASBAH database:

1. Vera Johnson Collection
2. Catherine Campbell Collection
3. Butetown Oral History Archive
4. Butetown Photographic Archive

Click Here to view CASBAH database entries (Available March 2002)

Archive Collection Extract

Butetown History and Arts Centre: Sound Archive

The sound archive at the Butetown History and Arts Centre contains audiotaped life-history interviews and oral recollections from Butetown's older residents and former residents, primarily recorded during the decade 1979-1989. 150 tapes contain life history interviews from both male and female residents in their 70s and 80s discussing life in Butetown during the early 20th century.

In addition, the collection includes a further 115 audio tapes covering information on the following themes:

• Taped lectures on the history of Butetown, given by Glenn Jordan (academic and director of Butetown History and Arts Centre) and Neil Evans (local historian and author of the book "The Tiger Bay Story", published by Butetown History & Arts Project, 1993)
• 45 tapes specifically focussing on women's lives in Butetown
• Tapes of Butetown Residents' Association Meetings recorded during the 1980s
• Tapes of Butetown housing seminars recorded in 1984 and 1988
• A recording of the opening of a photographic exhibition showing images of "Old Butetown" in 1989
• Taped interviews with Rastafarian residents; recordings of press conferences held by the Butetown History and Arts Project (1989)
• 7 recordings of BBC Wales radio broadcasts featuring information about Butetown 's history and biographies of famous residents.

The main strength of the collection is the series of life-history interviews, entitled "Life Histories from Tiger Bay", of which 61 have been summarised and 23 have been transcribed. A printed catalogue for the life-history interviews provides date of birth details for each interviewee, dates of interviews, number of tapes held and summary/transcription details for each recording.

Appendix - Additional records from Glamorgan Record Office and Aberystwyth National Library of Wales

TABLE ONE

The following table contains the details of records from a pre-survey questionnaire sent to Glamorgan Record Office and a visit by Samantha Collenette in 2000.

Title	Description	Date
Parish Registers: Cardiff St John	Baptism of Joseph Potiphar (a black servant)	30 May 1687
Parish Registers: Swansea St Mary	Baptism of Angelica daughter of a black. Abode not known	7 May 1814
Parish Registers: Swansea St Mary	John Jones - a black Baptism	12 July 1745
Parish Registers: Swansea St Mary	Cato - a black Burial	11 Oct 1774
Parish Registers: Swansea St Mary	A black. Benjamin Argo Baptism aged 12 years	14 June 1783
Parish Registers: Swansea St Mary	Martha Isabella a poor black aged 22 Baptism	13 August 1784
Parish Registers: Swansea St Mary	Baptism Denis Moore a black aged 28 years	1 Feb 1786
Parish Registers: Swansea St Mary	Burial Liz Saunders a black	19 July 1790

 

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TABLE TWO

The following table contains the details of records from a pre-survey questionnaire sent to Aberystwyth National Library of Wales Office and a visit by Samantha Collenette in 2000.

Reference Code	Title	Description	Keywords (found under in subject index card catalogue - index to schedules)	Keywords	Date
BRA 1934 March p 1		Disposal of Goods from Plantations	West Indies	Plantations, Trade
Tred 1 p42	Tredegar Park Muniments	Copy Letter from Sir Henry Morgan	West Indies		1675
Tred 1 p50	Tredegar Park Muniments	State of stock of a joint stock company with interests in Africa and West Indies	West Indies	Investment,	1692
Tred 1 p42	Tredegar Park Muniments	Papers re Tredegar of Newport including account of goods abroad from Barbados and goods delivered in Bristol.	West Indies	Barbados, Trade
Tred IV p1155	Tredegar Park Muniments	Petition of Monmouthshire inhabitants in favour of abolition	Soc: Slavery		1792
Tred V p 1748	Tredegar Park Muniments	Evidence of Lord McCartney etc on Slave Trade before House of Lords	Soc: Slavery		1792
Tred V p1663	Tredegar Park Muniments	References to properties in St Croix	Foreign		1788
Llan b p591		References to lands and plantations in the Indies	West Indies	Plantations	1677
Llwyngw p59		Bond for safe return of ship Mary from Barbados and Nevis	West Indies	Barbados, Nevis	1679
Llywyngw p 59		Party to document	West Indies		1684
Lees p 51		Laws of Jamaica Printed London	West Indies	Law, Jamaica	1684
Slebech p171, 179, 189, 191, 193, 196, 201-3, 207 dep 1948 by	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Slavery in Jamaica 18th century	West Indies; Soc:Slavery	Slavery, Jamaica	1700-1800
Slebech p141, 154, 164-210, 218, 221, 224, 235, 238, 241, 244, 245, 270, 295, 307, 317-9	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Papers re plantation and planters in Jamaica 18th - 20th century. Title deeds and of estates in Jamaica of the Phillips family of Slebech.	West Indies	Plantations, Planters, Jamaica	1700-1918
Slebech p183	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Papers re general state of Tobago	Foreign		1774-1775
Slebech p 235	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Account book relating to Jamaican property tax	Foreign		1807-1813
Slebech p 219	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	French Forces in the West Indies	Foreign		1795
Slebech MSS 541-6	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Valuations of Phillips estates in Jamaica	West Indies		C 1790
Slebech MSS 11515	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Details of Swarton and Phillips family in Jamaica.	West Indies		1738
Slebech MSS 9463	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Act of partnership between N Phillips and James Mailhet, Jamaica	West Indies		1759
Slebech MSS 11485	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Letterbook of N Phillips, Jamaica	West Indies		1759-1778
Slebech MSS 3326	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Probate and will of James Mailhet, Kingston	West Indies		1760
Slebech MSS 8998-9026	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Letters to N Phillips from family and friends	West Indies		1760-1770
Slebech MSS 8902-41	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Documents relating to appointments in Jamaican army	West Indies		1760-1782
Slebech MSS 9022-9046	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Letters from Hilton and Biscoe, London merchants relating to sugar trade and accounts.	West Indies		1760-1767
Slebech MSS 9399	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Account book of Mailhet and Phillips partnership in Jamaica and England	West Indies		1760-1792
Slebech MSS 3327-3333	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Will and Inventory of Richard Swarton of St Thomas in the East, Jamaica	West Indies		1761-1765
Slebech MSS 3334-3336	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Wills of Nathaniel Phillips	West Indies		1763-4
Slebech MSS 3338	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Proposals by Nathaniel Phillips for disposal of estate	West Indies		C 1764
Slebech MSS 9293-9	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Hilton and Brown, merchants correspondence with Phillips family	West Indies		1765-1769
Slebech MSS 3325	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Probate and will of Nathaniel Phillips	West Indies		1763
Slebech MSS 8882-8901	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Vincent Biscoe, merchant letters relating to cargoes from Jamaica	West Indies		1768-1771
Slebech MSS 8829	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Marriage settlement of Lucius Tucker and Fanny Jenkins relating to a plantation in Jamaica	West Indies		1770
Slebech MSS 11685-11791	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Acts between Nathaniel Phillips and Hibbert, Purner and Horton for accounts of sugar	West Indies		1770-1783
Slebech MSS 8942-8950	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Letters to Nathaniel Phillips from John Gray about his trip to England	West Indies		1770-1778
Slebech MSS 9402-9419	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Diaries of Nathaniel Phillips on his voyage to England and life in Jamaica	West Indies		1775-1789
Slebech MSS 8830-8848	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Valuation of Suffolk Park and Phillipsfield estates in Jamaica	West Indies		1782-3
Slebech MSS 9382-4	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Documents listing Black people by parish in Jamaica and detailing the purchase of estates in Grenada	West Indies		1783
Slebech MSS 11524	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Inventory and Valuation of Nathaniel Phillips estates in Jamaica	West Indies		1784
Slebech MSS 9421-62	Baron de Rutzen Slebech Collection	Papers relating to a duel between Nathaniel Phillips and J Cameron, Jamaica	West Indies		1787-1788
Probyn p7		Articles of agreement re sale of a plantation in Barbados	West Indies	Plantations, Barbados	1725
BODR C	Bodryhddan Collection Vol 1	Correspondence with numerous parties including the Dean of St Asaphs, Denbighshire, Lady Stapleton, Ellis Yonge, Denbighshire relating to the management of sugar plantations in St Kitts and Nevis. 149 letters.	West Indies	Sugar, Plantations, St Kitts and Nevis	1755-1802
NLW MS14984A	Thomas Clarkson's Diary	Entries cover his travels through the UK to gain support for the Anti-Slavery Society including visits to London, Glasgow, Manchester, Bath and Wales	West Indies		1823-1824
NLW MS92B Phillipps MSS 20138	Account of the Family of Mawr Rhys (Morris) of Piercefield, Monmouthshire	Various branches of the family and their connections from Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire to Barbados, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Leeward Islands, St Vincent, Grenada, St Kitts, Jamaica. Includes details of battles, marriages and the family's involvement in politics and government.	West Indies	C Taylor, 'A Chapter in Early Welsh Migration' - PhD thesis published?	1651-1779
21834 B	A smuggler's autobiography	William Owen (1717-47), Cardigan details his smuggling exploits in the West Indies	West Indies	NLW Journal 24 (1985-6) 84-92, Glyn Parry
NLW MS 21816 E ff 76-83	Miscellaneous Letters 1801-1849	8 letters from W White and E Warren, Jamaica to T Warren, Camarthen setting up a Methodist Chapel in Kingston and Spanish Town. Also talks generally of Jamaica, Methodist Missions and the Slave Trade	West Indies		1814-1819
MSS 12740C	DE Jenkins Collection	Joseph Harris (1704-1764) mission to West Indies mentioned in correspondence	West Indies		1704-1764
Wigfair MSS, 12422	Letters to John Lloyd, Wigfair	Letter remarking the stagnated market for West Indian produce	West Indies		1810
MS 1367	Picton Collection(?)	'Inhuman Torture! Fairburn's edition of the trial of Sir T Picton, Late Governor of Trinidad (Sir Thomas Picton, Pembrokeshire - active service at St Lucia 1796,	West Indies	See HB Robinson 'Memoirs of Lt Gen Sir Thomas Picton', West Wales Historical Records xii, p133-162; xiii p1-32)
MS 1410	Picton Collection	Letter from Sir Thomas Picton to the Duke of Portland	West Indies		1799
MS 5417	Picton Collection	Annotations by EA Draper	West Indies
1452	MP Watkins Collection	Papers relating to a plantation called Diamond in Grenaga owned by the Griffin sisters, Newton House Monmouthshire			1820
1868 MS 3737 D	Letterbook of a Trinidadian sugar exporter	Letters principally to Messrs Burnett Edwards and Co, London, and to individuals in Greenock and Glasgow, Scotland. Part of an antiquarian's collection (Floyd) used to make notes on genealogy of early Welsh families	West Indies		1858-1860
MS3773	Deeds	Conveyance of property in Jamaica, 1703 and a Nevis debenture 1722	West Indies
	Moccas Court Collection	UNLISTED Acts, correspondence, estimates of expenditure relating to Grenada	West Indies		1780-1900
Picton 19 (Picton Family p7)	Picton Collection	Conveyance in Port of Spain Trinidad and agreement for conveyance of slaves	West Indies		1810
Llewellyn-Taylor Collection		Papers relating to British Guiana, St Vincent, Demerara (Guyana), St Domingo	West Indies
Nassau-Senior Papers E1-194	Family Documents and Deeds	Contains some mostly eighteenth century letters relating to management of estates in Barbados and Dominica	West Indies		1764-1865
Nassau Senior Papers	Family Documents and Deeds	Account of John Mair's travels in the West Indies including his purchase of a plantation in ?	West Indies	ICS lib cat for details of publication	1767-1785
Nassau Senior Papers E711-817	Family Documents and Deeds	Contains deeds and estimates relating to Tobago, Dominica and Barbados	West Indies
Jones DTM III p10-11	DTM Jones Collection Vol 3	Letter from Jamaica	Foreign
Jones DTM p705	DTM Jones Collection	References to investments in Jamaica	Foreign
Jones DTM III p345, 356	DTM Jones Collection vol 3	Deeds relating to Middlesex and Maggotty estates in the West Indies	Foreign		1840-1855
Ast p790	Aston Hall Deeds	Printed chart of West Indies	Foreign		1774
Ast p 1058	Aston Hall Deeds and Documents	Papers relating to visit to Bermuda	Foreign		1841-1842
EEW p426	Eaton, Evans and Williams	References to affairs in Antigua	Foreign		1778
IOM p248, 253-8, 304, 311-314	Iolo Morganwg Letters	Letters from Jamaica	Foreign		1779-1804
IOM p385	Iolo Morganwg Letters	References to letting of a coffee plantation, Jamaica	Foreign
IOM p446	Iolo Morganwg Letters	Notes relating to the slave trade	Soc: Slavery		C 1760- 1800
IOM p55	Iolo Morganwg Letters	References to the 'disposal of negroes' in Jamaica	Foreign		1814
Small p 9, 12-13	Smallwood Deeds and Papers	Deeds relating to property including sugar plantations in Jamaica	Foreign		1780-1790
ESG p 83	Esgair and Pontperthog MSS and Documents	Account of a voyage to Jamaica	Foreign		1781
Welsh Sch p95-6	School of Ancient Britons, Welsh School MSS	Articles of agreement for employment of three minors as bookkeepers in Jamaica	Foreign		1781
Morg Rich p493	Morgan Richardson Deeds and Documents Vols 1-11	Will of Daniel Crokkatt of Jamaica, now Fishguard	Foreign		1811
Glans III p114-5	Glansevern Collection Vol I-IV	Letters relating to the political situation in Jamaica	Foreign		1790-1799
Mayb III p 143	Mayberry Collection Vol III	Letter with a statement of the profits made by the brig Pomona on a voyage to the West Indies	Foreign		1799
Dav LT p522	Sir Leonard Twiston Davies Collection Vol I-IV	Petition claiming Crescent Estate tracing history from 17th century	Foreign		1802
Dol Corr p 295	Dolaucothi Correspondence	Notes on a shooting expedition	Foreign
M1989 p99	Minor Lists and Summaries 1989	Reference to William Williams, Trinidad	Foreign
M1989 p51	Minor Lists and Summaries 1989	Act of a journey to Jamaica	Foreign		1892
Griff J p45	James Griffiths Papers	Letters from NW manley, Chief Minister Jamaica and Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica	Foreign		1956, 1972
NLW ex 1409 and NLW facs 780	Facsimiles	Press cuttings article 1991 and other papers relating to Reverend Lewis Ton Evans(1861-1933) Ystrad Rhondda Baptist Missionary to Haiti	Foreign
Harp 1 p75	Harpton Court Collection 1	Comments on the effect of abolition of slavery on Liverpool:	Soc: Slavery		1792
Harp 1 p 185	Harpton Court Collection 1	Notes on slavery by Sir G Cornewall Lewis			1845
Cym p1	Cymreigyddion y Fenni	Englynian about abolition of Slavery	Soc: Slavery		1834

 

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Created: December 2001 by Dr.Roiyah Saltus - Blackwood

Updated: January 2002