121 – Looking for the Hoylake School (and Richard Roberts) Part 1: 15 December 2024

Richard Roberts and Eleanor Edwards established the Hoylake School located at “Newlands”, Clydesdale Road, Hoylake, Cheshire.  The Postcard sent by Alfred Pearson was addressed to Eliza Hankin at “Newlands” in Clydesdale Road, Hoylake. 

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Richard Rees Roberts was born at Bryn Penmachno on 15 April 1863.  His birth was registered as “Richard Rice Roberts” by his father “Rice Roberts” of Bryn Penmachno on 25 May 1863 in the Yspytty sub district of the Llanrwst registration district in the Counties of Caernarvon and Denbigh.  Rees Roberts, father of Richard Rees Roberts, was a “Slate quarrier” who was unable to read or write; he made his “mark” on the birth record.

Bryn Penmachno was the name of the house where the family of Richard Rees Roberts lived when Richard was born.  The house was located in the Penmachno area but I have not yet been able to precisely locate it.

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The hamlet of Cwm Penmachno is accessible only by a single lane road wich starts in the village of Penmachno.  Penmachno village is tiny but Cwm Penmachno makes Penmachno seem very large.

The road to Cwm Penmachno follows a valley carved out of the Welsh countryside by the River Penmachno.  The scenery between Penmachno and Cwm Penmachno is astonishingly beautiful.

I took this photo on 19 September 2024 while driving from Penmachno to Cwm Penmachno.

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 When the 1871 Census took place on 2 April, Richard Rees Roberts was recorded with his parents at 1 Rhiw Bach Terrace, Penmachno, Llanrwst, Caernarvonshire, Wales.  Richard was then aged 8.  This is a summary of the 1871 Census for this address.

 

Name	Family Relationship	Marital Status	Stated Age	Calculated Year of Birth	Occupation	Where Born	Deaf and Dumb, Blind, Lunatic, Imbecile or Idiot
Rees Roberts	Head	Married	33	1838	Quarryman	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire	Unstated
Alice Roberts	Wife	Married	33	1838	Not stated	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire	Unstated
Richard Roberts	Son	Single	8	1863	Scholar	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire	Unstated
Rowland Roberts	Son	Single	6	1965	Scholar	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire	Unstated
Ellen Roberts	Daughter	Single	4	1867	Unstated	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire	Idiot
Robert Roberts	Son	Single	3	1868	Unstated	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire	Unstated
Jane Roberts	Daughter	Single	1	1870	Unstated	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire	Unstated
Evan Evans	Boarder	Single	21	1851	Quarryman	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire	Unstated
Catherine Jones	Servant	Single	16	1855	Domestic servant	Festiniog, Merioneth	Unstated

 

1 Rhiw Bach Terrace was not a street number but the house number in Machno Terrace where the Roberts family lived.  Rhiw Bach Terrace is a group of houses running at right angles to the only street in Cwm Penmachno (Tanrallt Street).  Tanrallt Street is a dead end street.

I took this photo of 1 Rhiw Bach Terrace on 19 September 2024.

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In the 1881 Census, Richard Rees Roberts was recorded at age 17 as a “Scholar”.  This confirms that there was indeed a school in Cwm Penmachno in 1871.  Richard’s parents had married in the “Licensed School Room” at Cwm Penmachno in 1861.

In 1881, Rees Roberts and Alice Evans, the parents of Richard Reece Roberts, were recorded at 7 Rhiw Bach Terrace, Penmachno, Llanrwst, Caernarvonshire, Wales when the Census took place on 2 April.  This is a summary of the 1881 Census return for that address.

 

Name	Family Relationship	Marital Status	Stated Age	Calculated Year of Birth	Occupation	Where Born
Rees Roberts	Head	Married	42	1939	Slate quarryman	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire
Alice Roberts	Wife	Married	44	1837	Unstated	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire
Richard R Roberts	Son	Single	17	1864	Scholar	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire
Rowland R Roberts	Son	Single	16	1865	Slate quarryman	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire
Ellen Roberts	Daughter	Single	14	1867	Unstated	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire
Robert R Roberts	Son	Single	12	1869	Scholar	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire
William R Roberts	Son	Single	8	1873	Scholar	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire
Margaret J Roberts	Daughter	Single	4	1877	Unstated	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire
Evan Evans	Brother in law	Single	28	1853	Slate quarryman	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire
Arthur J Roberts	Servant	Single	17	1864	Carter	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire
Mary J Jones	Servant	Single	16	1865	General servant	Penmachno, Caernarvonshire

 

Number 7 Rhiw Bach Terrace is located at about ¾ of the way along Rhiw Bach Terrace.  Between 1871 and 1881, the Roberts/ Evans family had moved from number 1 to number 7 Rhiw Bach Terrace.

This 1881 Census indicates that Richard Rees Roberts was an outstanding scholar.  Richard was still attending school at age 17 – even though his brother Rowland, who was one year younger, had started working as a quarry man in the Cwm Penmachno slate quarry.  Rees Roberts, father of both of the Roberts boys, worked in the local slate quarry and had done so for many years.

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The Cwm Penmachno slate quarry is no longer operational.  It was carved out of the astonishingly beautiful mountains surrounding Cwm Penmachno.  I walked through the remains of Cwm Penmachno quarry of 19 September 2024.  The silence in the quarry that day was profound.

 I took this photo (taken 19 September 2024) when I was about 3/4 of the way up the mountain that once housed the quarry.

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The houses at Rhiw Bach Terrace were built to provide accommodation for the quarry workers.  Before the Rhiw Bach Terrace housing was built, the quarry workers lied in crude accommodation within the quarry itself.  The row of slate walls visible in the photo below is what remains the accomodation that once existed within the quarry a.

 

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The photo above (taken on 19 September 2024) shows a closer view of the remains of the quarry housing.  I visited the quarry on a day when, unusually for Wales, it was not raining.  It must have been bitterly cold and damp living in the slate slums that once housed the quarry workers at Cwm Penmachno.

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The 1881 Census indicates that Richard Rees Roberts was an outstanding scholar.  Richard was still attending school at age 17 – even though his brother Rowland, who was one year younger, had started working as a quarry man in the slate quarry.  Rees Roberts, father of both of the Roberts children, had worked in the local slate quarry for many years.