Genealogy Chat

Does anybody have any information on Carmel House in the 1930s. I believe it's sheltered housing now but it was my Nan's registered address on her marriage certificate . Would be grateful for any information

Try contacting the nearest library with a local studies section - they may have historical ER or Trade directories which would give a clue

there's a picture of it on this site

Plas Carmel, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Rhondda Cynon Taff, CF37 ...


www.housingcare.org › … › Aelwyd Housing Association Ltd

Plas Carmel, sheltered housing, retirement housing, supported housing for older people, based in Rhondda Cynon Taff, run by Aelwyd Housing Association Ltd.

Perhaps your grandmother was employed there in some capacity, or boarded there.

What was her occupation, if any, when she married?

On her marriage certificate there is a line through occupation which makes me wonder even more!

Where was she born and brought up?

What was her father's occupation?

BTW, the building called Plas Carmel which is pictured on the Aelwyd site was erected in 1982 - if I've looked at the right one

The postcode for Wattstown appears to be CF39, but I know very little about that part of Wales

I can't see a listing for Carmel House in Wattstown in 1901, and there are no results for Wattstown for 1911

She might have resigned by the day she got married. Depending on their circumstances, husbands were expected to financially support their wives while the wives cared for the home.

At one time a local archive had images of PR from that period on line. Brides with an occupation were the exception rather than the norm! There started to be a noticeable change during WW2.

I'm also having problems finding any record of it. My Nan was brought up in the Rhondda Valley Wattstown as was my grandad. On the 1911 census she and her family are living in the Rhondda Valley. Her Father was Thomas Griffiths. I'm not from that area so I know very little about it. There has always been doubt in the family over my Nan's youngest sister actually being her sister so I was hoping to see that is a home for unmarried mothers etc ,I am waiting for the birth certificate of the "sister" to arrive however I can see from information on here that the sisters surname and mothers maiden name both say Griffiths. What with my nan not have an occupation when she married and living in a palace called Carmel House I'm putting 2 & 2 together and very probably getting 5!!! My nan married in 1935 and the "sister" was born in 1933

You're probably thinking what I am..........that the 1933 birth was her daughter

You haven't given a lot of info, but I would think that if your grandmother was on the 1911 census, the chance that her mother would still be able to bear children in 1933 was pretty remote

The house could have been given its name at any time............

And, of course, a copy of the 1933 birth cert would give you the facts

Good thinking about her age!!! She was born in 1879

It actually probably means very little that there is a line through occupation on her marriage certificate!


My mother was married in 1928, and I know she was working before she married ................... she was a velvet weaver which is/was a very specialised occupation in the cotton weaving industry.

But she expected not to work after she married ........................


such brides probably quit work the day before they married at the very latest, so by the time the Parish Register entry was made, they did not have an occupation!


It's not that they lied ......... because they truly were not working on the day they married!

There's this:
Margaret Williams in the 1911 Wales Census
Name: Margaret Williams
Age in 1911: 57
Estimated birth year: abt 1854
Relation to Head: Head
Gender: Female
Birth Place: Glamorgan, Wales
Civil Parish: Rhondda
County/Island: Glamorgan
Country: Wales
Street address: Carmel House Wattstown Glam S Wales
Marital Status: Married
Years Married: 21
Estimated Marriage Year: 1890
Occupation: Caretaker
Registration district: Pontypridd
Registration District Number: 589
Sub-registration district: Llanwonno
ED, institution, or vessel: 04
Household schedule number: 52
Piece: 32250
Margaret Williams 57
Elizabeth Williams 21
Rhianon Williams 18

Seems to be a modest dwelling-4 rooms.

Maureen

Thank you so much, this is first evidence of there being a Carmel House! Still not sure what to make of it though

What kind of house do you think this was? Really grateful for any help

Sorry-went off to make coffee and got waylaid.

It looks to me as though it was just a regular cottage-maybe somewhere between Victoria Street and Chapel Street (just going by neighbour's addresses.). Naturally I can't find it in 1901.

Could just be a red herring,too!!

Maureen
(I should NEVER dive into Wales first thing in the morning! :-)

Well spotted Maureen.........there was nothing on FMP for it that I could find using their search options.

This Carmel House as stated on my Nan's marriage certificate confuses me as her family address in the 1911 cenus was still her family address into the 1960s!! As for my Grandad it was never his address! I suppose she could have worked there. I am looking forward to the birth certificate of my dad's Auntie arriving as I hope that will have some answers! On here though I can clearly see that her surname is the same as mothers maiden name.

Do let us know when you get the cert,Kelly!

Maureen

P.S. to Jacqueline :-)

It's always a crapshoot finding addresses on FMP. :-D :-D

Maureen

The 1911 posted by Maureen for Margaret Williams says that Margaret was a caretaker at a chapel.

Probably Carmel Chapel , which was only a couple of doors away from Carmel House:
http://www.pillars-of-faith.com/chapels2.php?RecNo=154

Maybe Carmel House was owned by the chapel, as Margaret was the chapel caretaker - so maybe an occasional unmarried mother was taken in there, as already suggested.

Ancestry's sequence of census images goes along Chapel Street (aka Terrace per Google) as far as No. 10.
No 10 is next door to the chapel, per Google Streetview.

There's no record for the chapel, of course, as nobody lived there.

Then there's Twynglynen (?) Cottage (8 rooms). This is the house on the other side of the chapel. By zooming in, on Streetview, one can just make out the name on the glass panel above the front door.
In 1911, the occupation of Mary Parry, who lived there, is "Home Manageress" - wonder if this is relevant??

The next census image is for Carmel House, which would have been beyond Twynglynen Cottage, where nowadays there's a grassy bank with a modern house just visible at the top of it, before you come to the modern Wattstown Social Club.

Carmel House must have been the last house on Chapel Street/Terrace in 1911, as the next census image is for Glenside (10 rooms), which, according to Google streetview, is up on Hillside Terrace.
After that the sequence of images moves on to Victoria Street (or Terrace, per Google), round the corner from Glenside.