Old Povey’s House

Another mystery house!

In 1904, when the parish council were considering renaming the streets of Whitchurch, there was a proposal to rename the southern end of the old Merthyr Road, to call it ‘The Philog’; a name that continues to this day

The stretch ran from ‘the parish boundary at the south, to Old Povey’s House’

A second section to be renamed as Gwauntreoda ran from ‘Old Povey’s House to the blacksmith at the stream’

But where was Old Povey’s House, and who was Old Povey?

The old maps don’t help much. As we’ve found out previously, there were no houses shown south of the Common on the Tithe Map of 1841, and by the time of the earliest Ordnance Survey map of 1880, a lot of the north side of the old Merthyr Road had been developed (but nothing on the south side, except for the old farm)

By the 1860’s the village was growing, with the Melingriffith Tin Works to the north and the College Iron Works at Llandaff Yard. And of course, the railways had arrived. New people were moving in and houses were needed

The land around Wauntreoda was early in the village growth. We’ve seen how William Vachell built a gentleman’s residence on the north side of the common, and that whole stretch started to be developed in the decades to follow

By the time of the census in 1861, William Vachell’s house, Bryn Glas, was occupied by the Bedlington’s and a number of terraced cottages had been built alongside. There was Philog Terrace to the south and Alma Terrace nearer to Bryn Glas. There was even a grocer’s shop (probably one of the first ‘proper’ shops in the village). The sketch below shows how the area was developing

Amongst the newcomers was the Povey family who were living at Wauntreoda (not sure whether this was the name of a house or the area). John Povey was a 69-year-old gardener from Berkshire, living with his wife Harriet, 3 children, a niece, a daughter-in-law and a lodger. Looking at the 1880 OS map, there was a detached house within a large plot which would have been ideal for a market gardener. I wonder whether this was his home? It’s also at the spot where the change in street name would have occurred

As an aside, John Povey’s oldest son Phillip was living locally too in Pantbach just behind the common. By the time of the 1871 census, we seem to have lost John Povey, but his male children remain in the village

So, was John Povey, who was living on the old Merthyr Road with his family and market garden the basis of ‘Old Povey’ referred to by the parish council over 40 years later? Again, we’ll probably never know. He must have been a character, to have been remembered all those years later!

Interestingly, the plot where I think ‘Old Povey’ lived has now been transformed. A lot more houses have been built, and the old ‘Povey’ house long demolished and replaced by a block of flats, Philog Court This is the 3-storey block with the pierced concrete screen in the front; probably built in the 1950’s or 60’s

Does anyone know anything about this. Or will ‘Old Povey’ and his house remain yet another of the mystery houses of our village?

PS Phillip Povey (aged 81), Old Povey’s oldest son was living in Ironbridge Road Tongwynlais in 1911. I wonder if there are any family members still around in the village?

  Back