THIS photograph of Pontymoile (Pontymoel in Welsh, meaning The Plain Bridge) is from the early twentieth century when Panteg Urban District Council (UDC) had their offices there.

In 1920, the Panteg, Pontypool and Abersychan UDC’s joined together to start the purchase of the Pontypool Park with Park Buildings (now Sight Support and Torfaen Museum) for the local people from the Hanbury family’s estate.

The key to the Park Gates from the opening ceremony of the ‘Peoples’ Park’ in 1922 is in the museum collection.

Just to the left of the Council Offices is the original water drinking fountain for horses and humans. This fountain was preserved and moved further down Fountain Road in the 1990s when the new road / bypass layouts were being planned. It is still there today.

Although the shops, houses, garage and the ornate lamp are now all long gone, the building that housed William Jones’ shop is still standing.

Before being Mr Jones’ shop the building was known as The Truck Shop. This came from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when Industrial Companies (such as Pontypool Iron & Tinplate in this case) not only provided housing for their workers but shops too.

However, the catch was then that the workers were paid in tokens that could only be spent with the company through rent or in their shops on food, clothing or household goods – keeping the workers ‘in truck’.

An anti-Truck Association was formed in Pontypool in 1848 and eventually the practice was abolished and workers were paid in real coinage.

The building remains at Pontymoile as flats today.

Nostalgia is provided by Torfaen Museum.