Press Releases

The family hairdressing company was started by Mr John Lewis from Cwmdare in the 1930s. A young entrepreneur, at 17 John Lewis moved the business to Gadlys, Aberdare, and the business expanded as his children Thomas, Margaret Olive and Sarah Mary (Mari) took up the scissors. Father and son ran the barbers while Mari and Olive ran the hairdressing salon with the help of 2 apprentices. The salon closed with the sudden death of Thomas in 1990. Sadly, the last of the two sisters passed away recently.

Head of Historic Buildings at the Museum of Welsh Life, Gerallt Nash explains the significance of moving the contents of this hairdressers' salon to the Museum.

"This is a wonderful find and we are extremely grateful to the family for this donation to the national collection. Most of our working buildings tell the stories of very male-dominated occupations and trades such as tanners, millers and blacksmiths but this hairdressing salon will enable us to address the story of women's growing independence and working lives. The iconic styles of the 1950s and early 60s can be very clearly seen in the salon whilst the barber still has that very distinct feel and smell of testosterone, Brylcreem and a little something for the weekend!

"We are always on the look-out for suitable buildings to complement those already in the Museum, though we do have quite strict criteria for determining what can be accepted, moved and rebuilt at St Fagans. This hairdresser's salon will be a brilliant addition to our collection. What we need now is a small terrace of shops to accommodate it, and some of the other interiors that we have in store, such as an Italian Caf