Newcomers and Neighbours
A couple of weeks ago a new baby was born in the village — Lauren Bailey of Grove Cottage, who qualifies as the youngest resident. Across the road at the Pines Flat, 94-year-old Ollie Meredith knitted the baby a cardigan — a small kindness that delighted Lauren's mother Paula, who moved to Llanmaes from Essex two years earlier with her husband Mike.
For Paula and Mike, that kind of generosity is typical of the village. They could have moved to any of the Vale villages; they saw Grove Cottage and fell in love with it, and with the village, when they walked around. The stream wending its way through was a particular attraction. When Mike decided to rebuild the wall at the bottom of the garden, the man who had lived in Grove Cottage many years before — Glyn David — came around and pitched in without being asked. Paula says people in the modern city she had left behind would never have dreamt of doing that.
Ollie Meredith — A Village Life
Ollie knows the village very well, having moved here in 1925 with her family. They lived at Pensarn Cottage; her father was a drayman for the brewery in Llantwit Major. Ollie worked at Llanmaes House as a housemaid, and remembers rising at six, heating water on a primus stove for the baths upstairs, and tending eight or nine oil lamps because there was no electricity. The family living there at the time, the Carnes, did own a car — a privilege shared by the rector.
Ollie's mother ran the Post Office, now a private home, and Ollie helped out there too. She met her late husband Dick when he came in to buy cigarettes. Dick worked with the cattle herd at Great House Farm, then in 1936 moved to St Athan where the new aerodrome was being built, staying there until he retired. Ollie remembers the dentist coming to the shop and extracting eight of her teeth, even though some were sound.
Ollie last visited the village pub in 1945, when she and Dick went to celebrate the Declaration of Peace. She was not much of a drinker, but remained an active member of Llanmaes WI and took part in village lunches and celebrations.
Glyn Williams — The Blacksmith's Son
Another elder of Llanmaes is Glyn Williams, who was born in Forge Cottage and has never moved away. His father, grandfather and brother were all blacksmiths, working at the smithy alongside the pub. His great-grandmother Annie built the pub in the middle of the last century.
When Glyn was born, his father paid £25 for a specialist to travel from Cardiff to attend the birth — his mother had been ill during the pregnancy, and this ensured a safe delivery. Glyn remembers when the village's ten farms kept the smithy busy, with four horses each to be shod. His uncle was the wheelwright, a trade Glyn took up, along with serving as the village undertaker.
Glyn remembers a happy childhood, walking from the village to Llantwit to school, though a bus was provided in winter. On a Monday, Mr Thomas, one of the local farmers, would stop to pick up a dray load of children on his way home from market — there were three markets in Llantwit then. Harry, Glyn's brother, was the last blacksmith in the village. He died seven years ago.
Community action was alive and well in Llanmaes fifty years ago. When Glyn and twelve other local boys came home from serving in the Second World War, they were each given £17 — a fortune then — by the Welcome Home Committee, a fund set up by the Rector, Campbell Davies. Llanmaes was bombed during the war: an incendiary went through the roof of Gadlys Farmhouse, and another was found and made safe in the churchyard.
Glyn thinks the village is still a happy place to live. He doesn't mind the newcomers — the occasional one may not speak to him, but most fit in just fine.
The Brights and the Baileys
Colleen and Colin Bright also moved to Llanmaes two years ago and recently had their son Arran, three and a half months old, baptised at the church. Colleen has become quite involved with the congregation, praising its friendliness. The baptism took place during a normal Sunday morning service, and the Brights invited their neighbours in Rectory Court. Afterwards they held a party in the Hall — Colleen couldn't praise the facilities enough. She would like to get more involved in Best Kept Village activities when her son is a little older.
Paula Bailey, mother of Lauren, is now planning to work from her home office — a converted scullery at Grove Cottage. She and her next-door neighbour Alison, a young solicitor working in Cardiff, came along to the meeting about the Best Kept Village competition and helped out with the tidying. Paula says she and Mike will never move from Llanmaes. "Even if we won the Lottery, we would stay here," she said. "We love it."
← Back to Home