Gwaith Merched (Ysbyty) Chwarel
Elin Tomos (Elin Nant), Nantperis
I am currently researching for an MA History of Wales degree, exploring the public health provision available in the quarrying communities in the Llanberis district during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. One aspect of my study focuses on the Dinorwig Quarry Hospital, and I have chosen to study the hospital within a wider community context, arguing the importance of the establishment to the inhabitants of the surrounding villages, residents who did not necessarily work in the quarry, e.g. THE WOMEN!!
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In 1860, at the expense of the Vaynol Estate the Dinorwig Quarry Hospital was built, an establishment that formed some of the first occupational health services in Britain. It is believed that this hospital was the second to serve the quarrymen of Dinorwig; the first was built during the 1830s and has since disappeared under the giant mounds of waste slate. The new hospital was part of Thomas Assheton Smith The Younger’s new vision for the quarry, but, unfortunately he died in 1858, two years prior to the completion of the new hospital.
The Dinorwig Quarry Hospital is a substantial building, built of granite and slate, it includes a central reception block with wings stretching out for wards. The main purpose of the new hospital was to offer medical care to Dinorwig Quarry employees, especially those who were suffering following an accident or a wound or disease related to their work. The hospital was located close within close proximity to the quarry in the hope that employees would be able to return to their work following treatment for minor injuries. The hospital provided care for both in-patients and out-patients. From 9am until 11am each day (excluding Sundays) outpatients could seek medical advice; if the patient was too sick to visit the hospital the doctor would be willing to travel to the patient’s home provided he lived within a 4 and a half mile radius of the hospital.
Many historians have written extensively about the care provided at Dinorwig Quarry Hospital. Emphasis is placed on the organization's initiative and its overall success in astounding medical service to hundreds of quarrymen over a period of eighty-five years. Edward Davies, Reg Chambers Jones and Emyr Jones have all given great attention to the stories of outstanding treatment, such as that of Edward Jones from Bethel. Edward lost both his arms following an explosion accident in the quarry, the surgeon, Dr. Robert Herbert Mills Roberts and the blacksmith made metal arms ‘operated by wires for him’ so that Edward could use a knife and fork and take off his hat in chapel! The story of Edward Jones is an individual case that deserves our attention and praise, one that highlights the high quality and ingenuity of the service provided for Dinorwig quarrymen.
According to R. Merfyn Jones, ‘slate quarrying was a male industry and as far as it is known no woman worked in a slate quarry in any capacity.’ I, therefore, was fascinating to find cases of women receiving treatment at the quarry hospital. The first woman I came across was ‘Laura Humphreys, daughter of John Humphreys Esq. Tŷ Mawr, Llanddeiniolen’, who ‘died suddenly’ on the 7th of October 1887 at ‘Dinorwic Quarries Hopital.’ I presumed at first that Laura had received treatment due to a possible companionship between her late father John and the Assheton Smith family. I was incorrect. Laura was in fact the Head Matron at the Dinorwig Quarry Hospital! Since no logbooks prior to 1890 have survived it is difficult to determine when she started working at the hospital and if she died a patient or an employee or both(!). I have come across a previous mention of Laura in the local newspapers as she was involved in a court case against a surgeon called Walter W. Winston in 1876. This article noted that Laura was then Head Matron at Dinorwig, which indicates she served at the hospital for a minimum of eleven years.
In May 1894 ‘Mrs. Ellen Williams, Penceunant, Llanberis’ spent over two months as in in-patient at Dinorwig Quarry Hospital. Ellen was suffering from a tuberculous knee joint, resulting in the amputation of her leg. Ellen returned to the hospital during October 1894 for a futher month of treatment. ‘Mrs. Margaret Owen, Hafod Uchaf, Llanberis’ spent a substantial amount of time in the hospital between the 25th of November 1898 and the 11th of February 1899 as she was suffering from necrosis. In December 1899, ‘Mrs. Davies, Bron Elidir, Dinorwic’ spent over a month in hospital receiving treatment for a tuberculous right foot. ‘Mrs. Davies’, returned again in March 1900 for a fortnight. Cases where the patient returns to hospital not only reflects the complexity of individual cases but also the realities and hardships of treatment. In fact, beside Ellen’s notes was an additional remark which noted ‘special care’, a remark that was not common in the logbooks.
Overall, there are only a few details to explain why these women were allowed treatment. In many cases, it was noted that the women concerned were private patients, such as ‘Mrs. Ellen Morris, Hafod Gynfor, Nantperis, Private Patient’, who spent three days in hospital in September 1899, with no further explanation as to why. In a number of cases there is no record of female patient’s first names, although there is an emphasis on the fact that they are married women (Mrs. noted on all cases), an emphasis that may suggest that they were receiving treatment due to their husband’s connection with the Quarry or the Vaynol Estate.
According to Edward Davies, the surgeons of Dinorwig reflected ‘the best in 19th and early 20th century medicine, working far away from the large surgical centres in the metropolitan hospitals of England, they performed their duties with courage and dedication.’ One case that supports Davies’ comments is that of ‘Mrs. Margaret Jones, Tanymarian, Bethel’, who received a radical mastectomy at Dinorwig Quarry Hosptial in August 1902, a mere twenty years since the first was successfully performed! In the logbook next to a comment that noted that Margaret had survived her operation there is an exclamation mark (‘!’) that truly emphasizes the enormity of her procedure.
By studying the history of Dinorwig Quarry Hospital in its wider community context and scrutinizing the nature of specific patients, the organization can be conceived as a community establishment, rather than an exclusively vocational establishment.
Ym 1860, o dan nawdd Ystâd y Faenol adeiladwyd Ysbyty Chwarel Dinorwig, sefydliad a oedd ymhlith y cyntaf ym Mhrydain i gynnig gwasanaeth iechyd galwedigaethol. O achos natur beryglus yr alwedigaeth chwarelyddol, cyfraddau uchel o ddamweiniau a safle daearyddol anghysbell y Chwarel sylweddolwyd yn fuan iawn bod gwasanaeth meddygol gerllaw'r gweithfeydd yn anghenraid. Mae’n debyg mai hon oedd yr ail ysbyty i wasanaethu chwarelwyr Dinorwig, tybir bod yr ysbyty blaenorol wedi cael ei adeiladu yn ystod yr 1830au, a'i fod bellach wedi diflannu o’r golwg o dan domenni llechi gwastraff. Gweledigaeth Thomas Assheton Smith Yr Ieuaf, mab sylfaenydd y Chwarel, oedd yr Ysbyty newydd, ond yn anffodus bu farw ym 1858 dwy flynedd cyn i’r gwaith adeiladu gael ei gwblhau.
Roedd yr ysbyty yn adeilad sylweddol wedi cael ei adeiladu o wenithfaen a llechen, ac yn cynnwys bloc derbynfa ganolog gydag adenydd yn ymestyn allan ar gyfer wardiau. Prif ddiben yr ysbyty newydd oedd cynnig gofal meddygol i weithwyr Chwarel Dinorwig, yn arbennig y rheiny a oedd yn dioddef yn dilyn damwain neu o achos clwyf neu glefyd a oedd yn gysylltiedig â’u gwaith. Lleolwyd yr ysbyty yn agos i’r gweithfeydd yn y gobaith y byddai gweithwyr yn gallu dychwelyd i’w gwaith wedi iddynt dderbyn mân driniaethau. Yn yr ysbyty darparwyd gwasanaeth meddygol i gleifion mewnol ac allanol. Rhwng 9yb a 11yb bob dydd (ag eithrio’r Sul) roedd cyfle i gleifion allanol ofyn am gyngor meddygol; pe bai’r claf yn rhy wael i ymweld â’r ysbyty byddai’r meddyg yn fodlon teithio ato cyn belled â’i fod yn byw o fewn 4 milltir a hanner i’r ysbyty.
Mae nifer o haneswyr wedi ysgrifennu’n helaeth am y gofal a ddarparwyd yn Ysbyty Chwarel Dinorwig, ac nid yn annisgwyl maent yn canmol y gofal hwnnw i’r entrychion. Gosodir pwyslais ar flaengaredd y sefydliad a’i lwyddiant cyffredinol wrth ddarparu gwasanaeth meddygol o’r radd flaenaf i gannoedd o chwarelwyr dros gyfnod o bedair ugain a phump o flynyddoedd. Mae Edward Davies, Reg Chambers Jones ac Emyr Jones oll wedi rhoi cryn sylw i hanesion o driniaeth ragorol, megis hanes Edward Jones o Fethel. Yn dilyn damwain ffrwydrad yn y chwarel collodd Jones ei ddwy fraich, cyd-weithiodd y llawfeddyg, yr athrylith, Dr. Robert Herbert Mills Roberts gyda’r gof er mwyn creu breichiau o fetel a reolid gan wifrau fel bod modd i Jones ddefnyddio cyllell a fforc a thynnu ei gap yn y capel! Dyma achos unigol sydd yn haeddu sylw a chlod, yn un enghraifft o blith nifer sydd yn amlygu safon a dyfeisgarwch uchel y gwasanaeth a ddarparwyd ar gyfer chwarelwyr Dinorwig.
Yn ôl R. Merfyn Jones, ‘slate quarrying was a male industry and as far as it is known no woman worked in a slate quarry in any capacity.’ Rhyfedd felly, yw’r achosion hynny o ferched yn derbyn triniaeth yn Ysbyty Chwarel Dinorwig. Y ferch gyntaf i mi ddod ar ei thraws oedd ‘Laura Humphreys’ merch John Humphreys Esq. Tŷ Mawr, Llanddeiniolen ‘who died suddenly’ yn Ysbyty Chwarel Dinorwig ar 7 Hydref 1887. I ddechrau, roeddwn i’n meddwl fod Laura wedi derbyn triniaeth yn yr ysbyty oherwydd cyfeillgarwch posibl rhwng ei thad John â theulu’r Faenol. Wedi ymchwilio ymhellach, dysgais mai Laura oedd prif fetron yr Ysbyty! Gan nad oes unrhyw gofnodion cyn 1890 wedi goroesi mae hi’n anodd penderfynu pryd y dechreuodd Laura wasanaethu yn Ninorwig ac os y bu farw Laura fel claf, gweithiwr neu’r ddau? Rwyf wedi dod o hyd i gofnod o Laura yn y papurau newydd lleol gan ei bod wedi ynghlwm ag achos llys yn erbyn llawfeddyg o’r enw Walter W. Winston ym 1876. Nodwyd yn yr erthygl bod Laura yn brif fetron yn Ysbyty Chwarel Dinorwig sy’n golygu ei bod wedi gwasanaethu yn yr ysbyty am o leiaf un-ar-ddeg mlynedd.
Ym mis Mai 1894 treuliodd ‘Mrs. Ellen Williams, Penceunant, Llanberis’ dros ddeufis yn yr ysbyty fel claf mewnol. Roedd Ellen yn dioddef gyda chymal pen-glin twbercylaidd a bu’n rhaid torri ei choes hyd at ei chlun. Dychwelodd Ellen i’r ysbyty ym mis Hydref 1894 am fis pellach gan nad oedd ei chlwyf wedi llwyr wella. Treuliodd ‘Mrs. Margaret Owen, Hafod Uchaf, Llanberis’ gyfnod sylweddol yn yr ysbyty rhwng 25 Tachwedd 1898 a 11 Chwefror 1899 yn derbyn triniaeth ar gyfer madredd. Ym mis Rhagfyr 1899, treuliodd ‘Mrs. Davies, Bron Elidir, Dinorwic’ dros fis yn yr ysbyty er mwyn derbyn triniaeth ar gyfer troed dde twbercylaidd, dychwelodd ‘Mrs. Davies’ i’r ysbyty ym mis Mawrth 1900 am bythefnos. Mae achosion lle mae’r claf yn dychwelyd i’r ysbyty yn pwysleisio natur gymhelth achosion unigol yn ogystal â realiti profiadau o driniaeth. Yn wir, nodwyd ger nodiadau Ellen y sylw ‘special care’, sylw nad oedd yn gyffredin o gwbl yng nghyfnodlyfrau’r ysbyty.
Ar y cyfan, ychydig fanylion sy’n egluro pam y caniatawyd i’r merched hyn dderbyn triniaeth. Ger sawl achos nodwyd mai cleifion preifat oedd y merched dan sylw, megis ‘Mrs. Ellen Morris, Hafod Gynfor, Nantperis, Private Patient’ a dreuliodd dridiau yn yr ysbyty ym mis Medi 1899, heb unrhyw eglurhad pam. Mewn nifer o achosion nid oes cofnod o enw cyntaf y cleifion benywaidd, ceir pwyslais yn hytrach ar y faith eu bod yn wragedd priod, pwyslais sydd efallai yn awgrymu mai drwy eu gŵyr a’u cysylltiad hwy â’r Chwarel maent yn derbyn triniaeth.
Yn nhyb Edward Davies, roedd llawfeddygon Dinorwig yn adlewyrchu ‘the best in 19th and early 20th century medicine, working far away from the large surgical centres in the metropolitan hospitals of England, they performed their duties with courage and dedication.’ Hanes sydd yn cefnogi sylw Davies yw hanes ‘Mrs. Margaret Jones, Tanymarian, Bethel’, a dderbyniodd driniaeth i godi bron ym mis Awst 1902, ugain mlynedd yn unig wedi’r mastectomi cyntaf. Treuliodd Margaret ychydig dros fythefnos yn yr ysbyty. Yn y cofnodlyfr, ger y sylw sydd yn nodi ei bod wedi goroesi’r driniaeth ceir ebychnod (‘!’) sydd yn amlygu camp y llawdriniaeth.
Drwy astudio hanes Ysbyty Chwarel Dinorwig yn ei chyd-destun cymunedol ehangach a chraffu ar achosion cleifion penodol, daw’r sefydliad i ymdebygu’n fwy i sefydliad cymunedol, yn hytrach na sefydliad a oedd yn alwedigaethol neilltuedig.
For more information, see…
· Gwynedd Archive Service, Dinorwig Quarry Hosptial, DQ/1707, In-patients logbooks at Caernarfon Archive.
· Some information can be found in Edward Davies, The North Wales Quarry Hospitals and the Health and Welfare of the Quarrymen (Aberystwyth, 2003)
· Details about Laura Humphreys:
The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 15 October 1887, p. 5
The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 8 January 1876, p. 5.
All available at:
http://newspapers.library.wales//home
Modd dod o hyd i enwau’r merched…
· Gwasanaeth Archif Gwynedd, Cofnodion Ysbyty Chwarel Dinorwig, DQ/1707, Cofnodlyfr cleifion mewnol Ysbyty Chwarel Dinorwig.
· Manylion am Laura Humphreys:
The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 15 Hydref 1887, t. 5
The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 8 Ionawr 1876, t. 5.
Oll ar gael ar: http://papuraunewydd.llyfrgell.cymru//home
· Gwybodaeth hefyd yng nghyfrol Edward Davies, The North Wales Quarry Hospitals and the Health and Welfare of the Quarrymen (Aberystwyth, 2003)