Monthly Newsletter
October 2026
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What’s On at The Met
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N/A this month
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For more information on these and more visit:
https://awenboxoffice.com/the-met/whats-on
or tel 01495 533195
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Museum Opening Times
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The Museum is open to the public, free of charge:
Thursday to Saturday 10 am – 1 pm
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Contact us
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Museum phone number 01495 211140
Email: abertillerymuseum@btconnect.com
Web: www.abertilleryanddistrictmuseum.org.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abertillerymuseum
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Contact Names
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Mr G Murphy Curator
Mrs P. Bearcroft Deputy Curator
Mrs E. Ewers Chair
Mrs K. Pratley Treasurer
​Mrs Jen Price Secretary
Mrs S. Murphy Newsletter
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Vice Presidents (Annual Subscription £25)
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Rev Roy Watson
Mrs Carol Brooks
Mrs Margaret Cook
Mrs Margaret Herbert
Ms Michele Dack
Dr Graham Eyre-Morgan
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September 100 Club
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This month’s prize numbers were drawn by local barber, Pedro, and the lucky winners are:-
No. 97 Jen Price £20
No. 55 Sally Murphy £10
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If you would like to join our 100 club and be in with a chance of winning, it costs just £1 a month. Ask at the museum for further details.
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SATURDAY 31ST OCTOBER
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​Join us at the museum this Halloween for some ‘spooktacular’ fun including a pumpkin hunt and ‘Trick or Treat’, both available from 10am, with face painting available from 3pm to 5pm. Our café, gift shop and displays will also be open from 10am until 5pm for this event.​​​​​​​​
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​Mystery Tapestry​​​​​​
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​For years a framed tapestry of unknown origin, had been standing on the table alongside the children’s sand pit, propped up against a cupboard. Then in early 2022 a conservator told us that the tapestry was in a poor state and in need of attention.
However when we removed the tapestry from its frame we discovered it had a secret – a another tapestry on the reverse depicting the name C Hedditch. After some clever sleuthing by two of our volunteers we discovered the tapestry, had been done to mark the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 24th August 1914. It was the first Anglo-German naval battle of the war and involved the HMS New Zealand.
The ship had been funded by, not surprisingly, New Zealand as a gift to the British Government and was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1912. On board that ship during the Battle of the Bight was none other than one Charles Hedditch. Charles, who was born in Somerset in 1889, moved to Abertillery at some point after leaving the navy as records show that he and his wife Mabel, were living in Bourneville Road, Abertillery by 1939.
Records also show he was working at one of the local coal mines and it was probably that which drew him to Abertillery. We have also discovered that we have four World War I medals belonging to Charles Hedditch on display. ​​
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Welshcake v Singing Hinnie
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We are all familiar with Welshcakes but a Singing Hinnie? If you have visited the North East of England you may have come across them as that is where they are from. A Singing Hinnie is, as you might guess, a poor man's cake made from a few simple ingredients and cooked on a griddle. Hinnie (or hinny) is a term of endearment, especially in the Newcastle area, and the 'Singing' part of the name is from the sizzling sound as it cooks on the griddle. What does it look like? The best description I can give is a very fat Welshcake - a Singing Hinnie is about an inch thick. What does it taste like? Well to my mind it is like a cross between a Welshcake and a scone.
I have tried a couple of recipes. One was a very traditional recipe and used only flour, lard, milk and currants. It was a bit plain and dry to be honest and I much preferred a slightly richer recipe that also included some butter, an egg and sugar – that recipe is reproduced at the end of this short piece. Whereas you might expect to slice open the inch thick Singing Hinnie and put butter on each half (or jam, honey, cream.....whatever takes your fancy), it seems that a Singing Hinnie is traditionally served warm and the butter is spread on the top.
I am visiting Northumberland in September so hopefully I will get a chance to try the genuine article. I have to admit that I have become fond of them as they are very quick to make, the dough doesn't need to be rolled out just squashed flat with your hand, and it makes 6 cakes which fit nicely in a frying pan so you aren't standing over the stove for ages as is invariably the case making Welshcakes (which I still call ‘bakestones’). It says on-line that it was traditionally made as one large cake so that is always an option. According to Wikipedia in Scotland they are known as 'fatty cutties' – what a wonderful name! Here is my preferred recipe:
Singing Hinnie
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Ingredients
45g lard
45g butter
225g self raising flour
45g caster sugar
45g currants
1 egg
75ml milk
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Method
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Rub the lard, butter and flour together in a mixing bowl to get a breadcrumb like texture.
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Add the remaining ingredients and mix to form a soft dough.
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Flatten the dough with your hands to about an inch thick and cut out rounds.
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Lightly grease a frying pan or griddle and cook for 7-8 minutes on each side on a low heat. Take them off the heat when they still look soft in the middle as they will carry on cooking.
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Enjoy eating them!
Jen Price​
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Quick Quiz (ans on page 3)
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This month it’s all about Acronym’s! A new word made from the first letters of a phrase.
What do these acronyms stand for?
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RADAR
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NATO
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SCUBA
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AWOL
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FIFA
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LASER
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Angel of the North
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On a recent trip I was lucky enough to have the chance to stop off and see the Angel of the North, I had heard about it and seen it on TV but the chance to see it for real was a little underwhelming for me
I can’t see the significance of it with the area its standing and this may be due to our local Guardian of the Valley – a miner at Sixbells erected on the old colliery. Any way the angel standing tall on an old colliery it is said to honour the regions coal mining past with the wings slightly tipping forward to give a sense of embracing the landscape
Many people will disagree with my impression and this lead me to want to find out more about it.
It was commissioned by Gateshead council and created by Sir Antony Gormley an internationally known sculptor with the intention of producing a landmark on the site on an old colliery in Low Eighton overlooking the A1 road. Once the design was agreed after years of debate the technical design was made by structural engineers Ove Arup & Partners and work commenced in 1997 with the main contractor being Hartlepool Steel Fabricators Ltd on Teeside.
The design is based on Gormleys own body and took 20 people 6 months to complete using COR-TEN weathering steel that gives the sculpture its rusty, oxidised colour. It has 3153 individual steel pieces in 3 sections of the body and wings.
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It is 20 metres high and has a wingspan of 54m, with 6.2m wing height at the shoulders. Holes were drilled 33 metres into rock to enable the coal seams below to be grouted with sand and cement then 8 reinforced concrete piles installed followed by 1.5m slab of concrete on top. The plinth on which it stands is 3.5m with 52 bolts 30m in length to anchor the sculpture to withstand all winds and weather.
The 3 section were transported over night to the site in February 1998 and assembled in one day using 500 tonne capacity crane. Once the body was in place the wings were attached using 136 bolts and then welded in place.
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It’s said to be as high as 4 Double Decker buses with a wingspan close to a Jumbo Jet and has enough steel for 4 Chieftain Tanks and the cost was around £800,000!
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It is thought to have inspired thousands across the community to move forward with a range of art projects and brought pride, belief, confidence and investment to the regeneration of Gateshead. It is seen by more than 1 person per second, that’s around 33 million annually.
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Karen Pratley
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​Condolences
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I am sorry to report that long-standing museum supporter, Mrs Chris Budd, has died at the age of 96. Our thoughts are with Chris’ family and friends at this sad time.
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QUICK QUIZ ANSWERS
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Radio Direction And Ranging
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North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
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Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
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Absent Without Leave
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Federation International Football Assoc.
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Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
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THE DAVIES SISTERS
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Gwendoline and sister Margaret were born in Llandinam Powys in 1882 and 1884 respectively to Edward and Mary Davies (nee Evans). Their grandfather was David Davies who had built much of the railway system in mid Wales and who was also a pioneer of the coal industry. He amassed a huge fortune during his lifetime which, after his death, passed to his son Edward and from him to the sisters and their brother David.
The sisters grandfather on their mother’s side had been a Calvinistic Methodist minister and so they a strict upbringing based on the religious beliefs of Methodism. Part of their upbringing included being taught that their wealth should be used for the benefit of others. They received a progressive education, unusual for females at that time, and the girls developed a passion for the Arts which was then its infancy in Britain. To broaden their knowledge of the subject, in particular art history, they studied in both Germany and Italy. They gained a level of knowledge of art history that was unusual for women of this period.
In 1908, while travelling around Europe, the sisters began collecting art. Their early purchases included landscapes by Corot, peasant scenes by Millet and seascapes by Turner. In just the first 6 months they amassed over 100 paintings and sculptures. In the beginning the paintings they collected were traditional but by 1912 they were acquiring works by impressionists whose work, in general, was cheaper than the works of Turner and Corot. In 1913 Gwendoline acquired her most important work to date, ‘La Parissiene’ by Claude Monet more commonly known as ‘The Blue Lady’.
When war broke out in 1914 both sisters became volunteer nurses with the Red Cross in France and while in France they continued to collect works of art by Monet, Renoir and Manet. In 1916 they spent over £2000 on paintings and a drawing by Augustus John. After the war they continued their travels and purchased yet more artwork including a Cezanne and a piece by Van Gogh. While both loved art, Gwendoline also loved music and so in 1920 the pair bought Gregynog Hall in Tregynon, new Newtown where they established a centre for music and art in Wales and where they hosted music festivals and poetry recitals. In 1921 Gwendoline decided to reduced her spending on art due to the ‘appalling need everywhere’ but not before spending £6000 in 1922 on a painting by Turner. In 1922 the sisters also set up Gregynog Press which produced books in both English and Welsh. Gwendoline’s collecting ended in 1922 though Gregynon hall continued to host music festivals until the outbreak of the second world war in 1939.
In 1951, at the age of 69, Gwendoline died and shortly after it was announced that she had bequeathed her collection to the National Museum of Wales. It was deemed to be one of the most valuable donations to a public collection ever. Meanwhile sister Margaret continued to collect art and following her death in 1963, her collection joined that of her sister bringing the number of items donated to 260. The house and grounds at Gregynog were given to the University of Wales the year before Margaret’s death.
The Davies sisters, neither of whom married, were the greatest benefactors to the National Museum of Wales and together their collections formed the basis of the Welsh National Art Collection. Their generosity and support for Welsh Art and Culture had a remarkable impact on the cultural life in Wales which continues to this day.
And if you would like to see the artwork donated by the sisters, the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff is free to visit, see the website below for more information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwendoline_Davies
The editor would like to thank Miss Jean Colwell for her contribution to this article.
To read past editions of this newsletter use this link:
www.abertilleryanddistrictmuseum.org.uk/newsletter​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
