Tredegar St. George

“You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.”
M. Scott Peck : The Road Less travelled
After my morning meditation I decided on a visit to Rhymney and Tredegar to photograph the latest murals I’d read about, for possible family history journal use. I’d completed the first two and was travelling (a road less travelled, for me anyway) through Tredegar when I passed St George’s Church. Having come across references to ‘Tredegar St George’ in the family history trail – my grandfather was born in Tredegar - I did a quick reverse to explore further.
Unusually there were banners outside, welcoming visitors to the rather severe looking church. It was built in 1830 in a simple style reminiscent of Norman architecture. The site was gifted by ironmaster Samuel Homfray (whose nephew and ironworks surgeon Alfred is commemorated inside) who also gave £500 towards the £2,700 construction costs. The church was consecrated in 1836 with a congregation approaching 2,000! No doubt they’d love that today. Carpenter William Alexander was working on the church when he fell from the scaffolding and died, having survived the Battle of Waterloo and the Peninsula War (www.historypoints.org). This curious little anecdote came to me after I’d spent some time inside chatting with A over a coffee about family history and DNA results. Mine reflected a mixed ancestry of course, his showed a marked percentage of Spanish and northern European ancestry; I was reminded of stories about soldiers returning from the wars in Europe with wives and children in tow, explaining some of the more ‘exotic’ connections and names in family stories. There could have been plenty more to explore but I was due in Chepstow for an evening walk with Oxford House Industrial History Society, another couple of hours exploring the town and its’ history – from ship to bridge building with Brunel’s bridge over the Wye thrown in for good measure.