Eisteddfod and Gorsedd join forces 25 July 2010 Iolo Morganwg's sword, used in the 1819 ceremony. A copy of the order of the Gorsedd ceremony, September 21, 1858 in Llangollen. MWL MSS 2435 /280 Dr William Price, Llantrisant as a Druid T. H. Thomas, Arlunydd Pen-y-garn, the Herald Bard (1895-1915) in his Gorsedd robes. A portrait by C. F. Tunnicliffe of Archdruid Cynan, 1953. Carmarthen 1819In 1789 the Gwyneddigion Society had sponsored an eisteddfod in Bala in order to raise the standard and status of eisteddfodau in Wales. From this support the movement for provincial eisteddfodau developed and in 1819 the Bishop of St David's, Thomas Burgess, was very keen to establish such a provincial eisteddfod in Carmarthen. It was held at the Ivy Bush Hotel. Gwallter Mechain (Walter Davies) won the prize for the best ode and Iolo Morganwg tied a blue armband around his arm as a sign that he belonged now to the Order of Bards in Gorsedd.The next morning, in the hotel grounds, a Gorsedd ceremony was held in a small circle of stones, produced from Iolo's pocket. By associating the Gorsedd with the eisteddfodic movement in this way Iolo succeeded in transforming its future. The National Eisteddfodau and Gorseddau of the late nineteenth century evolved from this simple beginning. As G.J.Williams commented, 'Iolo gave the Welsh nation a national institution'.Early National EisteddfodauBetween 1819 and 1858 some Gorseddau were enacted in the provincial eisteddfodau but these did not have a standard form or order. Then, in 1858, Ab Ithel (John Williams 1811-1862) rector of Llanymawddwy, who was 'stark drunk' on Iolo's druidic ideas decided to try to establish a national eisteddfod and gorsedd, at Llangollen under the auspices of the Chair of Powys. Thousands flocked to it and the Gorsedd provided a remarkable spectacle with the eccentric Myfyr Morganwg wearing a druidical egg around his neck and Dr William Price in foxskin headgear!In spite of these strange sights the Llangollen eisteddfod and gorsedd were a turning-point for the eisteddfodic and gorsedd movements as this was the first step towards a National Eisteddfod with the Gorsedd as an integral part of its activities. Two years later at Aberdare (1861), Ab Ithel's dreams were fulfilled and the first National Eisteddfod and Gorsedd were held.During the following years Gorsedd ceremonies evolved but everyone was not supportive of them. The druids were like 'a pack of madmen' according to Cynddelw (Robert Ellis) and others feared that the 'ancient' rites did not suit the image of the Victorian Age as 'The Age of Progress'. A correspondent with the Times was in his element in 1867, as he mocked:'This remarkable piece of pantomime ... the puerile fopperies of making Druids in broadcloth and Ovates in crinoline.'Doubters and CriticsAlthough many Welsh people believed Iolo Morganwg's claims regarding the antiquity and authenticity of the Gorsedd, not everyone, even from among his contemporaries, was as gullible:John Walters (1721-97), who called it "a made Dish"Edward (Celtic) Davies (1756-1831), the author of a book on Druids.William Williams, Llandygái (1738-1817 who claimed that 'no vouches can be produced (for it) but the brains of Iolo Morganwg.'J.W.Prichard, Plas-y-brain, Llanbedr-goch (1749-1829) who detested Iolo because he was 'always a mischief-maker ... making up some lies to try to deceive the world.'Thomas Stephens (1821-75) who criticised the druidic and gorsedd institution in the periodical Yr Ymofynnydd, 1852-3.Then, towards the end of the nineteenth century, university scholars and academics began to express their doubts:John Rhŷs (1840-1915), a Celtic scholar who was appointed the first Celtic professor at Oxford University in 1877, described the Gorsedd as 'antiquarian humbug, positively injurious to the true interests of the Eisteddfod'.John Morris-Jones (1864-1929), Professor of Welsh at University College of North Wales, Bangor from 1895 onwards. In a series of five scathing articles in Cymru 1896, he cast doubts upon the alleged authenticity of the Gorsedd and came to the (erroneous) conclusion that the ceremonies had been introduced by Glamorganshire poets during the seventeenth century. He continued, 'it is all but child's play'.G.J.Williams (1892-1963) Professor of Welsh at University College, Cardiff from 1947 onwards. Through his meticulous research into Glamorganshire traditions and Iolo's own history he totally undermined the credibility and antiquity of the Gorsedd in an article in Y Llenor, 1922. It was, for him, 'a refuge for quackery', and its members 'merely useless members of an institution based upon falsehood and upheld through arrogance and ignorance.' Yet, he was willing to concede that 'a modern institution can be a blessing to a nation.'Dignifying the GorseddIn view of these attacks upon the Gorsedd's origins, authenticity and merit the supporters of the institution realised, by the 1890s, that efforts should be made to re-organise and dignify Gorsedd ceremonies and to enrich its rites and regalia. This would help to silence its critics and to promote its image.The Gorsedd found its champion in T.H.Thomas, Arlunydd Pen-y-garn (1839-1915) who was elected Herald Bard in 1895. His artistic training as a professional artist made him the ideal person to reform the Gorsedd. He supported Hubert Herkomer's plans to re-style the Gorsedd's robes and the Archdruid's regalia based upon Celtic patterns. Arlunydd Pen-y-garn designed the Gorsedd Banner, and the Stone Circle and transformed the standard of Gorsedd pageantry.Many of these changes have survived until today and the Gorsedd of the Bards' debt to Arlunydd Pen-y-garn's creativity and patriotic zeal is immense.Disciplined showmanshipIn 1935. Cynan (Albert Evans-Jones 1895-1970) was elected Gorsedd Recorder, an office which he held, between two periods as Archdruid (1950-54; 1963-66), until 1970. Cynan was very interested, as a playwright and actor, in the theatre and he used his talent in this respect to create more colourful, dramatic and disciplined ceremonies for the Gorsedd. He refined the rite of Presenting the Aberthged (the offering of the fruits of the earth); he composed new words for the Chairing Song and he, with the help of teachers from the Machynlleth area, created the Floral Dance in 1936.Cynan succeeded in getting the Gorsedd and the Council of the Eisteddfod to form one national body - the Court of the Eisteddfod, to manage its affairs, and thus ensured that both parties were considered as equal partners. Furthermore, the new Constitution agreed upon in 1937 and which came of age in Caerphilly in 1950 incorporated the all-Welsh Rule. As Ernest Roberts has shown:'Cynan, and no-one else, made the Gorsedd one of the main attractions of our National Festival'. This is, after all, 'the only national pageantry we possess.'
The Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Company 23 July 2010 Ebbw Vale Open Hearth Furnaces, 1960s. The early iron industry of South Wales was small scale and rural; blast furnaces at Clydach Ironworks, 1813. Sir Henry Bessemer paid the Ebbw Vale Company £30,000 for their patents on steel making (George Parry received £10,000) and in 1866-68 the company erected six Bessemer Converters to make steel, one of the first two installations in Britain. A Bessemer converter "on the blow" is a dramatic sight. The process had not changed at Ebbw Vale in the 1950s when this photograph was taken. The Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Company The Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Company was based in south Wales. Founded in 1790, it was the largest tinplate producer in the country, until its closure in 2002. In the Edwardian period it employed 34,000 men, and by the mid-nineteenth century it was at the forefront of technological development, especially in the conversion of iron to steel. It gained further British technological firsts after a complete rebuild in 1936-8 and went on to outlast all the other Heads of the Valleys iron and steel plants. Beginnings Ebbw Vale Ironworks was part of a chain of works along the northern rim of the south Wales coalfield where the raw materials for making iron - iron ore, coal and limestone - occurred together. It was established in 1790 by a partnership led by Jeremiah Homfray, owner of the Penydarren Ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil. In 1796 he sold the works to the Harford family who ran it for the next half a century, building three more blast furnaces, puddling furnaces to produce wrought iron and rolling mills to make rails. The Harfords also bought the three blast furnaces at Sirhowy in 1818, to increase their supplies of pig iron for the furnaces and mills. Expansion The Harfords went bankrupt in 1842 when their overseas investments collapsed. Their works were kept going by trustees and in 1844 Abraham Derby IV, the Coalbrookdale ironmaster, came out of semi-retirement to form the Ebbw Vale Company. The company rapidly expanded, buying the neighbouring Victoria Ironworks in 1848, Abersychan Ironworks in 1852, Pentwyn Ironworks in 1858 and Pontypool Ironworks in 1872. When the local iron ores became exhausted the company bought iron mines in Somerset, Gloucestershire and Spain during the 1850s. In 1854-5 George Parry, the works chemist, experimented with steel making but it was not until 1868, when the company installed a Bessemer plant, that regular steel production began. The cost of expansion The company was reformed as the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Company Limited in 1868. The cost of continued expansion in the boom of the early 1870s crippled the company in the depression that came later in the decade. Iron trade declined as steel superseded iron - fortunately the Ebbw Vale Company had been an early innovator in steel production. From 1873 the company was controlled by Manchester financiers, who did not seem to understand the iron and steel trade. The works declined; Pentwyn closed in 1868, Sirhowy and Abersychan closed in 1882-3, Pontypool in 1890 and by 1892 the concern was almost bankrupt, with the plant described as obsolete and the machinery in disrepair. Changing direction — the insatiable demand for Welsh Coal From the 1870s onwards the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Company's prosperity lay in coal rather than iron and steel. In 1873 it was already the largest coal producer in south Wales, but the bulk of its coal was being used in the coke ovens and the steam engines of the ironworks. In the 1870s and 1880s the company switched direction to take advantage of the spectacular growth in demand for Welsh steam coal to drive the world's ships, trains and steam engines. As the older collieries in the Ebbw Vale area were becoming exhausted it sank two new collieries - Waunlwyd (1874-7) and Marine Colliery at Cwm (1889-91). Ebbw Vale coal became a familiar sight all over the world. The increasingly insatiable demand for Welsh steam coal during the first two decades of the twentieth century enabled the company to rapidly expand and modernise its collieries. Some of the older collieries were closed and output was doubled at Waunlwyd and Marine. In twenty years the company doubled its output to 2 million tons. More coal meant more miners and the company's workforce rose to nearly 6,000, and profits rose dramatically too. Digging for coal at Llangynidr Road during the 1926 miner's lockout. An air view of the works in August 1957 As Marine Colliery expanded so did the village of Cwm where the bulk of the miners and families lived. Station Terrace, Cwm's first major shopping centre, in 1913. The 750-ton hot metal receiver in the Bessemer Steel Works was the largest in the World when installed in 1905-06. On 30 October 1929 the works were closed. In 1936 they were demolished. Coal mining and its landscape, Waunlwyd, 1950s Modernisation In 1892 control of the company returned to iron and steel interests. The companies finances were consolidated, with expansion and modernisation beginning in 1897. In 1910 a number of south Wales colliery owners led by Viscount Rhondda became directors. In May 1911, under the impression that profits would be increased by concentrating on coal production alone, they closed the iron and steel works. However, their hopes were not fulfilled and those works reopened in April 1912. The last act of expansion before the First World War was the construction of sheet mills in 1912. Between 1918 and 1920 the company increased its capital from £1.8 million to £7.7 million and embarked on further expansion. Two modern blast furnaces built at Victoria in 1920-23 replaced the four old Ebbw Vale blast furnaces. Plants were installed to produce steel railway sleepers and weldless tubes and couplings. However, the international iron and steel trade slumped in the early 1920s. Troubled times The golden age of the early twentieth century was shattered from the 1920s onwards. The boom in the coal export market collapsed as ships switched to oil for fuel. After 1922 the company's high profits turned into big losses. Closure The 1920s and 1930s were the "Years of the Locust" as wages fell, collieries closed and unemployment rocketed. There were bitter and long industrial disputes in 1921 and 1926 and the financial crisis of 1929 affected the Ebbw Vale company badly. Its works closed, putting almost half the town's population out of work. In 1935 the company went into liquidation and all its collieries were sold to Partridge Jones and John Paton Ltd, the largest colliery owner in the Gwent valleys. Rebuilding To remain internationally competitive, Britain's tinplate industry required an American-style steel stripmill. A new stripmill was planned in Lincolnshire but Government intervention caused it to be relocated to Ebbw Vale, and in 1936-8 the old works was cleared and an integrated iron, steel and tinplate plant built. The former collieries of the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Company were taken over by the National Coal Board when the whole industry was nationalised in 1947. In that year, three were still in production — Waunlwyd, Cwmcarn and Marine. They were closed in 1964, 1968 and 1988 respectively. Up to the present The first electrolytic line outside the USA was built at Ebbw Vale in 1947-8. The Bessemer and open hearth steel plants were expanded and in 1960 Britain's first LD converter was installed at the works. Such plant was soon to supersede all Bessemer and open hearth steel plants in the UK. Two further electrolytic tinning lines were installed in 1961 and 1969, with galvanising lines added in 1957 and 1969. Rationalisation in the steel industry following nationalisation in 1967 led to the steel plant at Ebbw Vale closing in 1978. Until closure in 2002 the works concentrated on tinplating and galvanising, and was the largest tinplate producer in Britain.
Fuelling Antarctic exploration: The Crown Patent Fuel Company in Cardiff Jennifer Protheroe-Jones, 23 July 2010 A block of Crown Patent Fuel. Age of Polar ExpeditionsThe early 20th century was a time of great heroic explorations to the Antarctic continent. Crown Patent Fuel from south Wales was the fuel of choice for these Antarctic expeditions.Crown Patent FuelIn addition to 100 tons of steam coal from south Wales coal companies, Captain Scott's 1910 British Antarctic Expedition was also given 300 tons of fuel blocks by Cardiff's Crown Patent Fuel Company. This, along with other sponsorship from Cardiff and south Wales, persuaded Scott to designate Cardiff the home port of his ship, the Terra Nova. He sent the Terra Nova to load fuel in Cardiff rather than have it sent by rail to London.The Crown Patent Fuel works were situated alongside the Glamorganshire Canal at Maendy. The works was one of a number along the canal and, together with a number of works at other south Wales ports, made the region the largest producer of patent fuel in the world. Most of the patent fuel was exported, with France being a major customer.Scott commends Welsh coalThe fuel was made by mixing and heating waste small coal with pitch, the residue from distilled coal tar, and ramming the mixture into moulds. Various size blocks were produced, ranging from 7lbs to 56 lbs, with 28lbs being the most common — and the size taken on Scott's expedition. The blocks stacked well and took up less space than coal.When the expedition reached their base at Cape Evans on Ross Island in Antarctica, the fuel blocks were used to build a back wall to the stables for the expedition ponies.Earlier expeditionsIn 1901 the Discovery, Captain Scott's first Antarctic expedition ship, took on 200 tons of Patent Fuel in Cardiff. The Aurora, the ship of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-14), was also in Cardiff taking on Crown Patent Fuel on 4 August 1911 before sailing for Australia and Antarctica.
The Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Company 20 July 2010 The Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Company was based in south Wales. Founded in 1790, it was the largest tinplate producer in the country, until its closure in 2002. Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Co. The Double Reduction Mill installed in 1978 produced very thin strip steel for making drinks cans Demolition of the blast furnaces, August 1978. The no 2 electrolytic tinplating line was the fastest in the world when installed in 1961. An air view of the works in August 1957 Fettling an open hearth steel furnace at Ebbw Vale in about 1962. Abercarn Colliery site in the 1970's Underground timbering competition at Cwm Betterment Society Carnival 1956 Coal mining and its landscape, Waunlwyd, 1950s The new works started production in 1938 and prosperity returned to the town of Ebbw Vale. The new stripmill produced high quality strip steel at 20 miles per hour & far faster than the hand rolling mills it replaced. On 30 October 1929 the works were closed. In 1936 they were demolished. In 1929 a new 1,500 ton hot metal receiver, then the largest in the world, was installed. The works were due to close before it could be used. Ebbw Vale's inland location necessitated a huge fleet of railway trucks to haul iron ore from the Newport wharves to the furnaces The Roughing Mill at the Steel Works. The depressed state of the steel trade between the wars has been described as "like entering a tunnel and not emerging until 1938". The new Nos. 4 and 5 blast furnaces at Victoria produced 2,750 tons a week each. On St David's day 1927, 52 miners at Marine Colliery were killed in an explosion. The cause of the disaster was never ascertained. On St David's day 1927, 52 miners at Marine Colliery were killed in an explosion. The cause of the disaster was never ascertained. During the industrial disputes of the 1920s and the depression of the 1930s jazz bands provided fun and just as important, kept up spirits. Digging for coal at Llangynidr Road during the 1926 miner's lockout. As Marine Colliery expanded so did the village of Cwm where the bulk of the miners and families lived. Station Terrace, Cwm's first major shopping centre, in 1913. The Prince of Wales during his visit to Victoria No 5 pit in 1918. The colliery had recently been deepened and modernised. After he had been underground he agreed to the colliery being renamed 'Prince of Wales'. Marine Colliery, 1907: Coke for the furnaces, but the bulk of its coal was exported overseas. Pride and achievement: Pit Bottom. Marine Colliery, Cwm, c.1907. In 1907 the company built a third brickworks and production reached 14 million a year. The company owned four wharves at Newport to import iron ore and pit props and to export iron and steel By 1907 the company employed 350 maintenance and engineering staff: The Smith Shop in the Engineering Department. Victoria Foundry, rebuilt in 1902, produced 18,000 tons of castings a year, used both within the works and sold to other firms. In 1907 the company owned 524 coke ovens and was producing 200,000 tons of coke a year. The tapping hole of the "Yankee" furnace at Victoria, it could produce 2,300 tons of iron a week. Ten hours output of steel billets from the Bessemer Steel Works. The 750-ton hot metal receiver in the Bessemer Steel Works was the largest in the World when installed in 1905-06. A new American design blast furnace was built at Victoria in 1903. Two open-hearth steel furnaces were built in 1898, followed by a further three in 1905-06. In 1897 a spring making shop was built to make railway carriage springs. The export market was the mainstay of the company. Cardiff Docks, early twentieth century The export market was the mainstay of the company. Cardiff Docks, early twentieth century The new pits sunk from the 1870s onwards were much deeper than the older collieries so that they could reach new reserves and the steam coal seams. The shaft of Victoria No. 5 (Prince of Wales) Colliery. Waunlwyd Colliery. At the turn of the century two trainloads of coal from this colliery went to Crewe everyday to power the locomotives of the L.M.S. The rolling mills about 1900. A Bessemer converter "on the blow" is a dramatic sight. The process had not changed at Ebbw Vale in the 1950s when this photograph was taken. One of the works' main products was rails; steel replaced wrought iron in the 1870s and in 1881 wrought iron puddling ceased at Ebbw Vale. The Bessemer steel converters kept the works going through the 1880s. The last act of expansion was the rebuilding of the two Victoria Furnaces in 1882. The four furnaces of Ebbw Vale were rebuilt in 1871-72, increasing production to 800 tons per week per furnace In 1866 the "Darby" blast furnace blowing engine was installed, the largest in the world. Sir Henry Bessemer paid the Ebbw Vale Company £30,000 for their patents on steel making (George Parry received £10,000) and in 1866-68 the company erected six Bessemer Converters to make steel, one of the first two installations in Britain. One of George Parry, the works chemist, inventions was the "cap and cone" to close the top of the blast furnace to retain heat. It was briefly lowered during charging. Much of the company's pig iron production was converted to wrought iron in 100 puddling furnaces. Abersychan Ironworks shown here in 1866 was bought by the Ebbw Vale Company in 1852. The company's other works probably resembled it, although their buildings were not as ornate. Ebbw Vale experimented with locomotives from 1829 and was one of the first South Wales ironworks to do so. This is the Tredegar Iron Company's locomotive 'St David' in 1854. The Ebbw Vale Company built many rows of homes for its workers, Gantra Row, intended for colliers, accommodated one family in the upper two floors of each house and another in the basement. No. 6 pit, Victoria, sank in 1838 provided coke for the Victoria Ironworks. Women were prohibited from working underground in 1842 but a small number continued to work on the surface until the early twentieth century. The earliest coal and ironstone mines were "patches" or small opencast pits. The early iron industry of South Wales was small scale and rural; blast furnaces at Clydach Ironworks, 1813. Holing in the Gwern Y Cae Seam, Sirhowy No. 7 Pit, 1898. Ebbw Vale Open Hearth Furnaces, 1960s.
When tea-drinking was a fashionable, expensive habit Rachel Conroy, 25 June 2010 Figure 1: Chinese porcelain teapot, c. 1700-20 Figure 2: Chinese tea bowl and saucer, c. 1760-70 Figure 3: Creamware teapot, Leeds Pottery, c. 1775 Figure 4: Slop bowl, Staffordshire, 1740s Figure 5: Detail of William Hogarth, 'Industry and Idleness: The Industrious 'Prentice Married', 1747 Figure 6: Cream jug, Chinese porcelain, c. 1771. Part of a tea service made for Penry Williams (1714-1781) of Penpont, Brecon Figure 7: Porcelain tea bowl and saucer, Worcester, 1755-8 Figure 8: Tea kettle, stand and spirit lamp by Robert Watts, 1711-12. In the eighteenth century tea-drinking was a highly fashionable activity for the wealthy upper classes. Tea was first imported into Britain from China in the mid-seventeenth century by the East India Company. At first it was considered as something of a novelty and was promoted for its health-giving properties. Green tea The most common tea was bohea, a type of black tea, but green tea was also popular. At first it was drunk weak and without milk, after the Chinese tradition. Later, milk or cream and sugar were added. Teapots and (locked) teachests Only the wealthy could afford tea. It was kept in locked teachests that were controlled by the lady of the house. Domestic servants received a tea allowance as part of their wages. The eighteenth century saw an explosion in tea-related consumer goods, and there are many fine examples in the applied art collection at Amgueddfa Cymru. At first these were made from very expensive materials, particularly imported Chinese porcelain and silver (figs 1 & 2). Later, the production of cheaper ceramics and silver plate allowed the middle classes to follow the fashions of the very wealthy (fig. 3). Drinking tea became more commonplace in the late eighteenth century. The abolition of import duties in 1784 meant it became recognized as an important part of the diet for the poor. Taking afternoon tea Entertaining friends by hosting afternoon tea was an important part of women's lives. The selection of objects for the tea table was crucial. Visiting England in 1784, the Duc de Rochefoucauld commented that tea drinking provided "the rich with an opportunity to display their magnificence in the matter of tea-pots, cups and so on" (cited in Clifford 1999: 161). Guests were expected to conform to certain modes of behaviour and good manners, which included sticking to polite topics of conversation such as the arts, theatre and music. Tea bowls For most of the eighteenth century tea was drunk in the Chinese style, from a bowl without a handle. These were also known as "tea dishes" or "basons". A wonderful slop bowl, which was used at the table for rinsing dregs from used tea bowls, depicts three women enjoying tea together (fig. 4). The bowls are usually shown being held with the fingers at the rim and thumb under the base (fig. 5). Chinese exports Chinese porcelain teapots and bowls were exported along with the tea. They were prized for their translucency and white surface and were collected fanatically. Chinese porcelain manufacturers began to make tea-related objects purely for the European market, such as teapot stands, milk jugs, sugar basins, spoon trays and slop bowls (figure 6). Once they had uncovered the secrets of producing porcelain, Chinese teawares were widely reproduced by Continental and English factories (fig. 7). Kettles and urns Teapots were filled by hot-water kettles on grand stands or smaller table-top versions, with burners to keep the water hot (fig. 8). The kettles were eventually replaced in about the 1760s by tea urns heated by charcoal burners and, from the 1770s, with heated iron bars that slotted into a "sleeve" inside the urn (fig. 9). These "tea kitchens" or "tea fountains" allowed people to help themselves at less formal gatherings such as breakfast. The most elaborate examples also had additional urns for coffee and hot water. Moral and physical decline Eighteenth-century attitudes towards tea-drinking were quite mixed and contradictory. The obsessive collection of teawares was criticised by social commentators, with women being the most frequent target. Furthermore, afternoon tea was often claimed to be no more than an opportunity for women to spread malicious gossip or boast about themselves. A satirical poem, The Tea-Table, by 'Moses Oldfashion' was published in Mist's Weekly Journal in 1722: "...Chief Seat of Slander! Ever there we see Thick scandal circulate with right Bohea. There, source of black'ning Falshoods! Mint of Lies! Each Dame th'Improvements of her Talent tries, And at each Sip a Lady's Honour dies". Although at first tea was thought to have many health benefits, some commentators began to fear its popularity could cause physical decline. In 1753 Mr Andree described the dangers of "intemperate", excessive tea drinking, describing it as "pernicious", worsening epilepsy and causing hysteric fits. He also tells of a young girl who had been eating tea for a number of weeks, causing her to suffer facial palsy and convulsions (fig. 10). Thankfully, these objections did not diminish the British public's desire for tea and it has remained an important part of daily life. Although tea-drinking today is generally a far less formal affair than during the eighteenth century, it continues to be enjoyed and shared by millions of people everyday. References Andree, John. Cases of the epilepsy, Hysteric Fits, and St. Vitus's Dance, with the process of cure: interspersed with practical observations. To which are added, cases of the bite of a mad dog, and a method that has been found successful. The second edition, with emendations and additions in the introduction, and some new cases and Inspections of Dead Bodies (1753). London: printed for W. Meadows and J. Clarke, in Cornhill. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Web. 12 Jan 2010. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/ECCO Clifford, Helen. 'A commerce with things: the value of precious metalwork in early modern England', in M. Berg and H. Clifford (eds.) (1999) Consumers and Luxury: Consumer Culture in Europe 1650-1850, pp. 147-169. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Oldfashion, Moses. 'The Tea-Table', in (author unknown) A collection of miscellany letters, selected out of Mist's Weekly Journal (1722): 224-227. London: printed by N. Mist, in Great Carter-Lane. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Web. 12 Jan 2010. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/ECCO Article author: Rachel Conroy. Assistant Curator - Applied Art Figure 10: Tea jar or canister, Swansea, 1783 Figure 10: Tea jar or canister, Swansea, 1783
