The two elder sons, John and James, were apprenticed to a stone-mason whose name is given by family tradition as William Nowell. This man has not been identified, though he was most probably a close relative of the James Nowell who married Tabitha Hemingway and had a son William. The date for the apprenticeship cannot be stated, but it would probably commence something after 1805 in John's case and after 1812 in that of James. Thus, Tabitha's marriage in 1815 may have followed an acquaintance arising out of the apprenticeship. Joseph Benjamin also learned his trade as a mason, perhaps under James Nowell himself.
For some years, the brothers seem to worked in close conjunction with the Nowells and their relatives , and the elder pair soon left Dewsbury. For, after the baptisms, the first known mention of any of them is in the Parish Register of Mitton Church, Lancashire, where, on 20th June 1820, the marriage is recorded of John Hemingway and Mary Snape, the witnesses being Robert Wilkinson and Rachel Hall. Then, on 10th June 1821, the baptism occurs of William, son of John and Mary Hemingway, of Aigton. In the 1851 Census, the birthplace of this William (who may have been named after the William Nowell under whom John Hemingway learned his trade) is given as Hurst Green, a place not far from Stonyhurst College.
There is nothing to show that James, then 18, was with his brother, nor any mention of the work on which John was engaged.
James was probably still in Dewsbury, since on 2nd December 1824, at Dewsbury Parish Church, the marriage is recorded of James Hemingway, stone-mason, and Hannah Crawshaw, daughter of Philip Crawshaw, currier and landlord of the Crown and Cushion Inn in Dewsbury Market Place. The witnesses were John Hemingway and, yet again Josh. Ward.
Further children of John and Mary Hemingway, and information about John's movements during the next years, appear in the 1851 Census, as will be more fully stated later. This shows that the following were born:-
Mercy, about 1826-7 at Brighouse, Yorks.,
Mary, about 1830-31 at Castleford, Yorks,
Lucy, about 1831-2 at a place which, written in a fair 'copperplate' hand, is quite clearly Iarmouth, Cheshire, probably a phonetic rendering of a place - so far unidentified - unfamiliar to the Welsh enumerator. No Hemingway baptisms are recorded at Gawsworth, but it may possibly have been Wernith, no 'Yarmouth' being known in Cheshire.
Over the same period, the Dewsbury Parish Church Register reveals repeated tragedies in the family-life of James and Hannah Hemingway. On 16th November 1826, it records the burial of Hannah, infant daughter of James Hemingway of Dewsbury, then on 20th April 1830, that of John, infant son of James Hemingway of Castleford. Finally, there is the baptism on the 5th April 1831 of James Philip (born 9 March 1831), son of James and Hannah Hemingway of Dewsbury, stone-mason, followed by his burial on 17 May of the same year. From this it appears that James was with his brother John at Castleford in 1830, and perhaps absent from Dewsbury in the early part of 1826, since Hannah's baptism has not been located.
About this time, but at a date regarding which the evidence is contradictory, James and Joseph Benjamin left the Church of England to join that of Rome. It seems beyond doubt that James and in all probability his brother as well, went to Stonyhurst College to carry out some mason-work, and that the conversion took place there. James is stated by one of his grandsons, Frank Hemingway, to have been 18 at the time, which would set the event in 1820, when has been seen, his brother John was taking a wife at Mitton, not far from the College. But, at a time when his father was still living at Dewsbury, it is difficult to account for the presence of Joseph Benjamin, then a child of eight, so far from home. Farther, James' marriage four years later, took place in Dewsbury Parish Church, while three of his children were buried there - and one baptised - up to the middle of 1831.
On the other hand, it appears that some reconstruction was being carried out at Stonyhurst between 1830 and 1832. In the former year Joseph Benjamin, not James, was 18, and Luke was dead. On account of the early activities of the brothers, compiled in 1937 by another grandson of James, Charles Robert Hemingway (a narrative of which will be increasingly drawn upon later), states:- "As a young man, he [James] was engaged on the Jesuits' College at Stonyhurst. Here he attracted the attention of one of the priests, who took an interest in him and taught him Latin and mathematics, in which subjects he showed brilliant ability. He became a Roman Catholic: originally he was what in those days they called a Dissenter. As the Catholic prayer-books were in Latin, he taught himself to read, write and speak Latin with real efficiency. The bulk of his library was composed of Latin books and it still exists."
"From Stonyhurst, he went to Birmingham to help build the Grammar School there. My father pointed out to me some of his handiwork in the columns of the stonework alongside the street, a good job."
The demolition of the former Birmingham Grammar School buildings took place in 1832, so it appears unlikely that the new construction began before, at least, the latter part of that year. If, therefore James - and perhaps also Joseph Benjamin - went directly from Stonyhurst to Birmingham, the conversion of the two brothers to Catholicism should be ascribed, not to 1820, but to the period 1830-32. John and James were together at Castleford in 1830, and John, perhaps alone, in Cheshire in 1831, which suggests that the two younger brothers may have gone to Stonyhurst in the autumn of the latter year, subsequent to the burial of James Philip at Dewsbury Parish Church. If this is so, the conversion probably took place early in 1832.
The name of the builder responsible for the reconstruction of Birmingham Grammar School has not been ascertained, but one of the masons engaged on the work - perhaps, indeed, one of the principals - was Angus McGregor, born on 11th February 1809 in Callander, Perthshire, the son of another builder and mason of the same town, Duncan McGregor (born 7th February 1782, died 29 January 1853 in his 71st year, and buried with his son in Callander Old Churchyard, overlooking the River Teith) and Helen his wife, formerly McPherson. James Hemingway was undoubtedly there, for on 12th March 1834 he and Hannah had another son James, born in Birmingham and the first of their children to survive infancy. This boy's baptism was postponed until at least his 10th year, so no record will appear in any Birmingham Church Register, but the birth date is preserved by his grandson, Charles Robert Hemingway, to whom many of the facts given from this point forward are due.
About the middle of 1834, James Nowell obtained the contract for the construction of the Lawley St. Viaduct (also known as the Rea Viaduct), almost the first work out of the northern terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway. Angus McGregor may have worked on this, probably as a sub-contractor under James Nowell, for about 1836, in the Aston district of Birmingham, he married Betsy, daughter of William Podmore, victualler of that town, and on 18th September 1837 a son, Duncan, was born to these two in the "Lawley St. District" of Birmingham.
While James Hemingway may have gone directly from work on the Grammar School to Lawley St. Viaduct, there is no evidence that John or Joseph Benjamin had any part in the latter work, which was completed by October 1836. It seems likely, however, that these two were at work on another of James Nowell's contracts on the London and Birmingham Railway, that for the construction of Linslade Tunnel, near Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire (commenced October 1835 and completed about March 1838). For, during 1837, a daughter, Hannah, was born to John and Mary Hemingway at Leighton Buzzard, revealed by the 1851 Census, which gives her birthplace and age (13), though no birth certificate or record of baptism has been traced.
Meanwhile, before 1836 and perhaps even before leaving Stonyhurst - Catholic Foxleys are stated to be numerous in that part of Lancashire - Joseph Benjamin Hemingway had married Susannah Foxley, and in 1836-7 he became the father of a daughter, Mary, whose birthplace has not been traced. Then, on 28th June 1838, the birth is recorded of: "William, son of Joseph Benjamin Hemingway, stone-mason, of Leighton Buzzard, Beds., and of Susannah Hemingway, formerly Foxley."
The Linslade section of the London and Birmingham Railway had already been opened with the tunnel - perhaps the completion of the masonry portals - would normally continue for some time longer. From what follows, the deduction may be made that the Hemingway brothers (and perhaps Charles Pearson and / or Robert Humphreys) were subcontractor under James Nowell, not individually employed, and that, in a corporate capacity, they may also have undertaken other work in the area.
About July 1837, the firm of McGregor and Howe obtained the contract to build the Anker Viaduct, Tamworth, on the Birmingham and Derby Railway for the sum of [sterling]17,625. And here a fundamental contradiction arises between family tradition and the facts drawn from Railway Companies' Minutes or other contemporary documents.
Charles Robert Hemingway, who wrote his 'Recollections of Railway Construction' about 1937, states:
In the year 1834, there was a butty-gang of masons engaged in the construction of Tamworth Viaduct on the Derby to Birmingham Railway. The leader of the squad was my grandfather on my mother's side, one Angus MacGregor of Callander, Perthshire. The other members were:
James Rennie, John Logan, George Thomson, Peter Thomson, Andrew Duncan, all Scotsmen and James Nowell, Michael Nowell, John Hemingway, James Hemingway, Charles Pearson, Jim Howe all Englishmen.
This suggest the fusion, or co-operation, of two previously existing groups, the Scots, who perhaps came south under Angus' leadership, his (or his fathers's) money giving him a position above what his 25 years would otherwise warrant, and a Dewsbury group headed by James Nowell, already a man of means and much experience.
Of these, Micheal Nowell was the eldest son of James and Tabitha, born about the end of 1817 and baptised at Dewsbury Parish Church on the 14th January 1818. He was thus a close relative of the Hemingways.
Charles Pearson, born early in 1811 and the youngest son of Thomas Pearson, a mason of Soothill, near Dewsbury, may have learned his trade under James Nowell, for whom he worked in 1831-2 on the construction of a country house near Sligo, in Western Ireland, his eldest daughter Eliza being born in that country at that time.
Jim Howe has not been identified, but may also have come from Dewsbury. He partnered Angus McGregor at Tamworth and on some later work, and later took other contracts as Howe and Jones.
It seems altogether unlikely, however that James Nowell, who in 1834-5 took the Contracts for Lawley St. Viaduct, Linslade Tunnel and other substantial works on the London and Birmingham Railway - all in hand at the same time - would even in 1834 have still figured as the leader of a "butty-gang" (a group of craftsmen who pooled their capital and carried out the work on a piecework basis), and still less so that he would be subordinated to 25-year old Angus McGregor. Further the letting of the Anker Viaduct Contract did no take place until 1837, 3 years after the date mentioned. However, the family tradition of the butty-gang evidently has a solid basis, in view of the later co-operation, and partnerships, among the men listed.
The probability is that the scene of their joint efforts was in Birmingham, where several of those named are known to have been in 1834. They may have worked on the Grammar School reconstruction, then, with greater probability, on the Lawley St. Viaduct, the Scots as sub-contractors under James Nowell, and the Dewsbury men in his direct employment. Afterwards, as will be seen (certainly before 1837), they split into several groups, these setting up in business under their own names.
The Anker Viaduct, spanning the river of that name, a little to the south of Tamworth station on what up to 1922 was the Midland Railway, is sometimes referred to as the Bolebridge Viaduct and is 817 feet in length, with eighteen segmental brick arches of 30 feet span and one skew arch of 60 feet span. Of the smaller spans, eleven arches lie to the south of the river (...).
From the original butty gang, wherever this may in fact have worked arose several firms of railway and public works contractors, whose activities were so interlinked that some outline of their early progress must be included here. In some cases, familiar names will be found in partnership with unfamiliar ones.
[Numbers of contracts are now listed, involving James Nowell, John Logan, Andrew Duncan, James Rennie, George Thomson, Duncan Turner ("of Coventry"), James Nowell and son (Michael Nowell), McGregor & Howe, ]
On 11th July 1839 occurs the first mention of the Hemingway brothers in business on their own account, when "John Hemingway, James Hemingway and Robert Humphreys, of Leighton Buzzard, Beds." submitted an unsuccessful tender for the Castle Street (No. 7) Contract of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, their figure being [sterling]49,067.12.0. Robert Humphreys cannot be identified, though a man of this name, aged 57, died in Dewsbury on 20 January 1874.
Thus in the middle of 1839, John and James Hemingway, in a corporate capacity, were based on Leighton Buzzard, where Joseph Benjamin's family, also, resided. Before the end of the year, however, all three brothers seem to have moved to the Todmorden area, on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border. For, on 9th January 1840, a son, John, was born to "James Hemingway, stone-mason, of Swineshead, Langfield, and Hannah Hemingway, formerly Crawshaw," while on 9th March of the same year a daughter, Catherine, was born to "Benjamin Hemingway, stone-mason, of Swineshead, and Susannah Hemingway, formerly Foxley."
On the same day, 9th March 1840, John's wife Mary died of consumption at Chelsea, in the parish of Linslad, Leighton Buzzard, aged 38 years and 7 months, giving her date of birth as August 1801. Her husband, described as a stone-mason, was present. She may have been too ill to undertake the journey to Yorkshire and so may have stayed behind when the others moved.
Swineshead is almost immediately over the Summit Tunnel on the Manchester and Leeds Railway and some distance from Gauxholme, suggesting that the brothers may have been engaged, whether as masons or sub-contractors, on the tunnel rather than on the viaduct. Messrs. Evans and Copeland had, early in 1838, obtained the tunnel contract, but had to relinquish it, as a result of losses elsewhere, in March 1839, the completion being undertaken by John Stevenson, and work continuing until December 1840. But it seems more probable that Joseph Benjamin only was engaged on the tunnel and that James' family lodged with him, while John and James were employed on the viaduct.
For, on 14th February 1840, tenders were opened for two sections of the Great Western Railway. The first was the Dolmeads Viaduct, for which "John Hemingway, James Hemingway and Charles Pearson, Gauxholme, Todmorden, Lancs" made an unsuccessful bid of [sterling]7,349.3.10, while that of "Duncan, Logan and Rennie, of Leighton Buzzard," also unsuccessful, was [sterling]6,703. The second, "Contract 4c," was for a bridge over the River Avon at Christian Malford, immediately to the east of Chippenham, which John Hemingway, James Hemingway and Charles Pearson obtained for [sterling]7,059.15.0, while Duncan Logan and Rennie put in an unsuccessful bid of [sterling]9,020.
[Details about the this contract and others follow.]
Though neither John nor James Hemingway has yet been located in the 1841 Census, Joseph Benjamin had already settled in Cardiff, as had Charles Pearson. The entries read:
Bute St. Benjamin Hemingway, builder, 25 (really 28)
Susannah Hemingway, age 30
Mary Hemingway, age 4
William Hemingway, age 2
Catherine Hemingway, age 1
St. Mary St. Charles Pearson, contractor, 30 (lodging with Mrs J T French, Independent, 50.)
All these individuals were recorded as "not born in county"
There is nothing to show what brought these two to Cardiff, though, since Charles Pearson is described as a Contractor, he was probably still in partnership with John and James Hemingway, though Joseph Benjamin, "builder" may well have been unconnected with the others.
On the 1st June 1841, John Hemingway took a second wife, a widow with whom he had probably once been well-acquainted in Dewsbury. The marriage is recorded, at St. John's Church, Beverly (Yorks) of:
John Hemingway, of age, widower, contractor for publick works, of Cardiff, S. W. [South Wales?], son of Luke Hemingway, manufacturer.
Sarah Halliley, of age, widower, of Eastgate, Beverly, daughter of John Greenwood, surgeon.
Witnesses were Jonathan Greenwood, Jane Williams and James Nowell.
Sarah Greenwood, baptised 26th July 1802, was the eldest surviving child of John Greenwood, probably a brother of Thomas, of "Light House," Dewsbury, whose daughter Alice married Mark Hemingway's grandson John. John Greenwood was described in the Dewsbury Parish Church Register as "surgeon and apothecary" when, on the 31st December 1800 he married Mary Green, On the 2nd November 1818, Sarah married James Halliley, merchant, at the same church and went with him to Beverly. Jonathan Greenwood was her younger brother, baptised 25th July 1804, while Jane Williams was probably her much younger married sister, born 31st October 1815 at Raven's Lodge, a house still standing on the south western outskirts of Dewsbury. James Halliley died, aged 42, on the 14 March 1838, at Fall Lane Cottage, Dewsbury, then being described as a "merchant and manufacturer."
Soon afterwards, on the 13th June 1841, Catherine Hemingway died, the cause of her death being given as 'dentitition.' She is described as the daughter of Benjamin Hemingway, railway contractor, of Bute St. Cardiff, and her father was present at the death. She was buried on the 2nd July, as recorded in the Register of St. John's Church, Cardiff.
The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian of 9th October 1841 includes James Hemingway among those who obtained a game-certificate for the forthcoming winter. Thus, by the summer or autumn of that year, all three brothers were in Cardiff, and Joseph Benjamin would seemed (sic) to have joined forces with the others.
The only clue to the early activities of the Hemingways in Cardiff is Charles Roberts's statement that "they renewed the entrance to the West Bute Dock." This may perhaps refer to some repairs, to the value of about [sterling]5,000, carried out at the recently opened West Bute Dock between August 1840 and February 1841, mainly as a result of bad workmanship by the original contractor, David Storm.
Though no record has been found to connect the Hemingways or Charles Pearson with this work, there is equally nothing to the contrary.
No mention of this bad workmanship appears in Chappell's History of the Port of Cardiff, but the few mentions in the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian allow the main dates to be established. These are:
18th July 1840. Notice that water will be drawn off for about ten days "for the deepening of the Upper Dock."
7th November 1840. Repairs to the lock progressing.
27th February 1841. Notice that the repairs to the lock have been combined and that the Dock will be opened 1st March.
6th March 1841. The Improved West Bute Dock was opened by the Marquess of Bute "Monday last" i.e. 1st March.
[Discussion of extent of work in this contract, and competition between Hemingway and Co. and David Storm.
Also account of work of McGregor and Howe.]
Angus [McGregor] died, at the early age of 34, on 15th August 1843 in his home-town of Callander, leaving a widow and three young children. "When he died," states Charles Robert Hemingway, "Charles Pearson went up to Scotland and persuaded Mrs McGregor to marry him and brought her back to England." The marriage too place on 26th February 1845 at St. Mary's Church, Edgehill, West Derby, Charles Pearson being described as "Railway Contractor, of Manchester," and Betsy McGregor as "of Edge Hill, daughter of William Podmore, victualler." Witnesses were Edward Podmore (probably Betsy's brother) and Betsy Spier. The pair must have become well-acquainted in Birmingham - further evidence that the "butty-gang's" work was in that city. Much later, in 1859, Mary McGregor became the wife of the younger James Hemingway and the mother of Charles Robert, whose recollections have preserved so many facts about the next few decades.
The is another gap from 1841 in the definite knowledge of contracts carried out by the Hemingway brothers, but Cardiff continued to be their base.
In June 1844, Pigot's National Directory includes the entries:- Hemingway, John, Contractor, Wellington Place, Cardiff; Hemingway, James, Contractor, Bute St. Cardiff. It seems likely, however that John's address was really "Wellington Terrace," which consisted of fairly substantial villas adjacent to Charles St., Bute St. then consisted of the portion of the present street lying north of the Junction Canal Bridge and was both residential and commercial.
On 11th July 1844, London Gazette entry p 2469 of 1844 records the "dissolution, by mutual consent as to James Hemingway, of John Hemingway, James Hemingway, Joseph Benjamin Hemingway and Charles Pearson, contractors for public works at Cardiff and elsewhere under the style of John Hemingway and Co., Contractors, Cardiff. All debts to be paid at their house, Cardiff. Business to be carried on by John Hemingway, Joseph Benjamin Hemingway and Charles Pearson under style as aforesaid."
Note the words "at Cardiff and elsewhere."
There was, however, another partnership in existence at the same time, Cooper & Hemingways.
Hiram Hill Cooper was another Dewsbury man, baptised 26th July 1815, the son of Benjamin Cooper, stone-mason, and Hannah his wife, who was an elder sister of Tabitha Hemingway's husband, James Nowell. Thus he was a relative both of the Hemingways and of the Nowells.
On 3rd January 1842, he obtained Contract No. 11 (the Yate section) of the Bristol and Gloucester Railway. Only his name is mentioned in the Minutes, but the Hemingways may have entered into partnership with him after the award of the Contract. Owing to an omission in the Schedule of Prices, the final signature of the Contract was delayed until 28th February 1842, but work was in hand by May of that year, and the work was completed in January 1844. Hiram Cooper also tendered, unsuccessfully, for Contracts 1c and 3c on the same railway on 17th April 1843, his name, only, being once again mentioned.
The same partnership carried out work on the Cheltenham & Great Western Union Railway, constructed, except for Sapperton Tunnel, between 1841 and 1843. Jonathan Willans Nowell, a nephew of James, built Wickwar Tunnel on the Bristol & Gloucester (April 1841 until 1844), and it is possible that Cooper and Hemingways may have sub-contracted some of the masonry on one or both of these. But the relevant Minute books appear to have been lost.
The Cardiff Register of Births contains the entry:
2nd December 1844, John Greenwood, son of John Hemingway, Contractor for Public works, Wellington Terrace, Cardiff, and Sarah Hemingway, formerly Greenwood." The child was baptised at St. Johns's Church, Cardiff, on 16 April 1845, the father being described as "builder, of Wellington Terrace, St. John's, Cardiff.
To anticipate a little, on 1st September 1846, London Gazette Entry P 5663 gives:
Dissolution by mutual consent
Hiram Cooper, of Dewsbury, contractor for public works.
John Hemingway, of Cardiff, contractor,
James Hemingway, of Cardiff, farmer,
Joseph Benjamin Hemingway and Charles Pearson, both late of Cardiff, now of Newton Heath, near Manchester, Contractors.
Carrying on business under the form of Cooper and Hemingways in the formation of certain portions of the Bristol and Gloucester & of the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railways.
Witnessed 8th May 1845 [? 1846] by John Hemingway, James Hemingway, Joseph Benjamin Hemingway, Charles Pearson, Hiram Cooper."
In view of the date of the completion of the two railways, the witnessing of the dissolution in May 1845 appears probable, though the delay in publication then seems strange. No further collaboration seems to have taken place between the other partners and Hiram Cooper who, by 1848, had settled at Upton, just north of Macclesfield. Here, on 6th November 1848, he married Harriet, daughter of Nathan Percival of Kiln Hill House, Bosley. He remained a resident of Upton until his death, following an accident on 9th October 1866.
The reference in the dissolution to James Hemingway as a farmer shows that he must already have entered on a lease of Hackerford Farm, in Llanedarn, a little north of Cardiff. The 1841 Census shows this place, described simply as "Hackerfield," occupied by John Lowe, while the 1845-6 Cardiff Electoral Roll shows it as "freehold land and farm" owned by James Ensor Lowe (perhaps John Lowe's son or brother), and in 1873 "Love, J.E." - evidently a misprint for the same man's name - owns 22A 3R 33P of land in Llanedarn [Llanederyn? SJH], estimated rental [sterling]30.10.0. There is no mention of any Hemingways in the 1845-6 electoral roll, but the franchise was then very restricted, and James Hemingway was only a tenant at the farm.
The old farm-house still (1962) exists, with a faded "Hackerford" on its gate post, though a recently-constructed housing estate, named after it, covers its former fields. It was formerly known as Rhyd y Biliog, and the Glamorgan Record Office contains deeds under this name, dated 1736 to 1839, the latter date probably indicating a change of ownership. Literally translated, Rhyd-y-Biliog (or Bilwg or Bilwa) signifies "the ford of the bill hook," a reference to the small stream beside the farm house. All the other farms in the vicinity retain their Welsh names e.g. Rhyd y Pennau, Rhyd y Blewyn and Gwern Rhuddi, and the name Rhyd y Biliog is retained on the 1875 Ordnance Survey Plan, though in succeeding editions both this and Hackerford are given.
The word 'hacker' for a bill-hook appears in the Complete Oxford Dictionary, but not in the Concise Oxford, showing it to have been of local use only. The derivations given refer to the 'Shropshire Word Book' and the 'Gloucestershire Glossary.' (Ref. Proceedings of the Glamorgan Local History Society, Vol IV, 1960, p 71.). It seems likely, therefore, that John Lowe first used the English version of the name in 1839, or 1840, though this did not become generally (or perhaps legally) used until after 1875.
Probably on the completion of the work carried out by Cooper and Hemingways in the West Country, Joseph Benjamin Hemingway & Charles Pearson, under the style Hemingway and Pearson, moved to the Newton area of Manchester, as indicated in the subsequent dissolution of partnership. About March 1845, the obtained the contract from the first half-mile, at the Miles Platting End, of the "Ashton Stalybridge & Liverpool Railway," otherwise known as the Ashton Branch of the Manchester and Leeds Railway. The remainder of the six and a half mile branch was let to Harding and Cropper, who started work on 8th April 1845, and the first certificate payment to each contractor was made in May of the same year.
[From this point on comes much detail about early contracts of Hemingway and Pearson, then a lengthy account of their part in the building of the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Straits.]
[Further details of contracts cover: the Ardwick Viaduct, the Oldham Extension of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, the tunnel on the Great Western Railway at Newport, Monmouthshire (Gwent), a timber bridge over the River Usk (which had been in construction for two years when it burned down after a workman tried to enlarge a hole with a red-hot bolt after the bridge had been 'kyanised' or 'pickled'), this work generally done by the firm of Rennie and Logan.]
James Hemingway was probably still at Newport when, during November 1848, his wife Hannah, in Cardiff, was the heroine of an adventure which showed her to have been a woman of courage. She was living at a house in Plucca (or Plwca) Lane (later renamed Castle Road, [later still named City Road SJH], the building then becoming 19, Castle Road, and also commonly known as "Hemingway's House." The site, at the corner of the present St. Peter's St., and very near to St Peter's Catholic Church (built 1861), was occupied by the Cardiff Dairy Co. after the demolition of the house about 1890-91.
The contemporary account in the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian of the following two Saturdays shows that in the very early morning, about 1 a.m., of Sunday the 12th November 1848, an Irishman, John Connors, fatally stabbed a Welshman, Thomas Lewis, in Stanley St., not far from the present Cardiff General Station. The murderer took refuge in the house of another Irishman, John Cokely, of 17, Mary Anne St., who concealed him throughout the Sunday and helped him to leave Cardiff on the Monday. The inquest on Lewis was held on Monday the 13th, and Cokely's part in the matter became known: racial passions were aroused, and during the Monday evening the police carried out a search of many houses occupied by Irishmen in Mary Anne St., Stanley St., and elsewhere, in the course of which doors were forced, damage done, and some persons mishandled, though not, apparently, to the extent implied by rumour mongers. "A cry arose that the murderer was concealed at the priest's house," and a mob perhaps 500 strong (though swelled by popular report to 8,000) proceeded thither, broke the windows of the adjoining Catholic Chapel and demanded that the house be searched. The police were able to prevent a general entry, and a search, made with the consent of the priest - Father Miller - revealed that Connors was not there, but stones were being thrown, and the priest, afraid for his life, took advantage of a lull to escape.
The story is now taken up by a deposition made on 25th June 1854 to Fr. Fortunino Signini by Catholic residents of the city.
"The Welsh next paraded the streets and seemed bent on levelling the church and even killing the Catholic priest, Father Miller, under these circumstances, sought refuge in disguise in the house of James Hemingway, contractor for the Bute Docks, and very shortly after applied for removal, which was granted him."
This reference to the Bute Docks applies to 1854, not to 1848 when the event took place, but it does clearly identify James Hemingway. And the Souvenir Publication of the Centenary of St Peter's Church, Cardiff, includes:
"When the great riot took placed in Cardiff, and the Church (old St. David's) and the presbytery (now St. David's Convent) were attacked by a mob, the priest, Fr Patrick Miller, was eventually rescued, escaping in disguise. He found shelter in the house of a friend outside the town. Several old people have independently confirmed the identification of this friendly house. It stood at the corner of St Peter's St., where Cox's Dairy now stands. It was the house of Mr Hemingway the contractor, whose wife was a Catholic. This was in November 1848. After a day or two, Fr. Miller went to Chepstow to seek shelter with his bishop."
The statement that "his wife was a Catholic" suggest that James Hemingway was away from home at the time, since he, also, had been a Catholic for at least 15 years. Thus Hannah took the decision to offer shelter to the terrified priest, who seems to have left for Chepstow on the 14th or 15th November.
The arrest of John Conners, on the Sunday evening, 19th November, at Newbridge (now Pontypridd) does not concern us.
[nr. bottom p 65]