Elizabeth Phillips Hughes (right / ar y dde) Rachel Barrett Taith Gerdded Treftadaeth Menywod: Caerfyrddin Women’s Heritage Walk: Carmarthen Alice Abadam Edith Hunter 1 Introduction / Cyflwyniad Women’s Heritage Walks / Teithiau Cerdded Treftadaeth Menywod Welcome to Women’s Archive Wales’ Carmarthen Women’s Heritage Walk. This booklet is one of a series designed to promote an understanding of women’s history in Wales. Women’s history has often been hidden, ignored or neglected. The aim of Women’s Archive Wales is to re-discover the women who have contributed so much to our history and to restore them to their rightful place. In this booklet we have chosen to focus on ten women or groups of women whose stories can be told while walking along this specific route. It is an eclectic mix of women from all classes and backgrounds. Enjoy! Croeso i Daith Gerdded Treftadaeth Menywod Caerfyrddin, Archif Menywod Cymru. Mae’r llyfryn hwn yn un o gyfres a gynlluniwyd i hyrwyddo dealltwriaeth o hanes menywod yng Nghymru. Mae hanes menywod yn aml yn guddiedig, wedi’i anwybyddu neu’i esgeuluso. Nod Archif Menywod Cymru yw ail-ddarganfod y menywod hynny sydd wedi lliwio ein hanes ac adfer iddynt eu lle priodol ynddo. Ar gyfer y llyfryn hwn rydym wedi dewis hanesion deg o fenywod neu grwpiau o fenywod y gellir dweud eu hanes wrth gerdded y llwybr arbennig hwn. Ceir casgliad eclectig o fenywod o bob dosbarth a chefndir. Mwynhewch! Content / Cynnwys Starting point / man cychwyn: 26 Picton Terrrace/ 26 Teras Picton. 1. Alice Abadam: feminist, suffragist and orator / ffeminist, swffragydd ac areithydd. 2. Rachel Barrett: suffragette, hunger striker and co-editor of ‘The Suffragette’/ swffragét, streicwraig newyn a chyd-olygydd ‘The Suffragette’. 3. Edith Hunter: animal rights activist/ actifydd hawliau anifeiliaid. 4. Laura Hirtzell Powell: Unitarian polymath and domestic innovator / Polymath Undodaidd ac arloeswraig ddomestig. 5. Mary Marles-Thomas: political activist and champion of girls’ education / actifydd gwleidyddol a hyrwyddwraig addysg i fenywod. 6. Elizabeth Phillips Hughes: pioneer of women’s higher education / arloeswraig addysg uwch i fenywod. 7. Dorothea Bate: palaeontologist / palaeontolegydd. 8. Margaret Morgan: worker for women’s welfare /gweithwraig er lles menywod. 9. Florence Price: doctor and surgeon / meddyg a llawfeddyg. 10.Victoria Jones: matron of Guy’s Hospital / metron Ysbyty Guy’s. 2 1. Alice Abadam (1856-1940) 26 Picton Terrace/26 Teras Picton Alice Abadam was born in Middleton Hall in 1856. She was educated by governesses and, by the time she moved to Carmarthen in the 1880s, had become an accomplished musician, artist and linguist and had converted to the Roman Catholic faith. In 1901, she met Dr Alice Vowe Johnson, who had been appointed as a psychiatrist to St. David’s Hospital, the County Asylum. They were partners for the rest of their lives and, in 1903, they moved together to London where both became active in political and social causes. Alice Abadam was one of the signatories on the letter which resulted in the formation of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. She was a formidable and able public speaker and, in 1918, Alice formed the Feminist League under her own chairmanship, continuing to campaign vigorously until women were granted the vote on the same terms as men. ‘The Two Alices’ are buried together in St Mary’s graveyard. Ganwyd Alice Abadam ym Middleton Hall yn 1856. Addysgwyd hi gan athrawesau preifat ac, erbyn iddi symud i Gaerfyrddin yn y 1880au, roedd wedi dod yn gerddor, artist ac ieithydd medrus ac roedd wedi troi at y ffydd Babyddol. Yn 1901, cyfarfu â Dr Alice Vowe Johnson, a oedd wedi’i phenodi’n seiciatrydd yn Ysbyty Dewi Sant, Seilam y Sir. Roeddent yn bartneriaid am weddill eu hoes ac, yn 1903, fe symudon nhw gyda’i gilydd i Lundain lle bu’r ddwy yn weithgar mewn achosion gwleidyddol a chymdeithasol. Roedd Alice Abadam yn un o’r rhai a lofnododd y llythyr a arweiniodd at ffurfio Undeb Cenedlaethol Cymdeithasau Rhyddfreinio Menywod. Roedd hi'n siaradwraig gyhoeddus eithriadol a galluog ac, yn 1918, ffurfiodd Alice y Gynghrair Ffeministaidd o dan ei chadeiryddiaeth ei hun, gan barhau i ymgyrchu'n frwd nes bod menywod yn cael y bleidlais ar yr un telerau â dynion yn 1928. Mae’r ‘Ddwy Alices’ wedi'u claddu gyda'i gilydd ym mynwent y Santes Fair. 3 2. Rachel Barrett (1874-1953) 8 Morley Street/Heol Morley Rachel Barrett was born in 1874, the daughter of ‘Welsh, Welsh speaking parents’. Rachel won a scholarship to Aberystwyth University where she gained a B.Sc. in mathematics and science. Having taught in Carmarthen, she moved to Penarth County School and became involved with the suffrage movement, helping Adela Pankhurst in Cardiff. Rachel then moved to London and was a prolific public speaker and co-editor of The Suffragette magazine. She was also a photographer, taking many of the most famous pictures of suffragettes. In 1913 Rachel was arrested and charged with conspiracy. She was sentenced to nine months in prison and was incarcerated in Holloway and Canterbury prisons. There she became a hunger and thirst striker. After WW1, Rachel continued to campaign for women’s rights and died in Sussex in 1953. She was a key figure in the Suffrage movement and her full contribution is yet to be recognised. The Unveiling of Rachel Barrett’s Blue Plaque, November 2018 Dadorchuddio Plac Glas Rachel Barrett, Tachwedd 2018 Ganwyd Rachel Barrett yn ferch i ‘Gymry, Cymraeg, eu hiaith’. Enillodd hi ysgoloriaeth i Brifysgol Aberystwyth lle enillodd radd B.Sc. mewn mathemateg a gwyddoniaeth. Ar ôl dysgu yng Nghaerfyrddin aeth yn athrawes yn Ysgol Sir Penarth a daeth yn rhan o'r mudiad rhyddfreinio menywod yng Nghaerdydd, gan helpu Adela Pankhurst. Symudodd Rachel i Lundain ac roedd hi'n siaradwraig gyhoeddus doreithiog a chyd- olygydd cylchgrawn The Suffragette. Roedd hi hefyd yn ffotograffydd a thynnodd lawer o'r lluniau enwocaf o swffragetiaid. Yn 1913 cafodd ei harestio a’i chyhuddo o gynllwyn. Fe'i cafwyd yn euog a dedfrydwyd hi i naw mis yn y carchar a chafodd ei charcharu yng ngharchardai Holloway a Chaergaint. Yno aeth ar streic newyn a syched. Ar ôl y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf, parhaodd Rachel i ymgyrchu dros hawliau menywod a bu farw yn Sussex yn 1953. Roedd yn ffigwr allweddol yn y mudiad rhyddfreinio menywod ac nid yw ei chyfraniad llawn wedi'i gydnabod eto. 4 3. Edith Hunter (1846-1923) Parc-y-felfed Edith Hunter, a member of a well-known Unitarian family, lived in Carmarthen from 1863 until her marriage in 1877. By April 1875, Edith had been appointed as secretary to the RSPCA in South West Wales and she was described as ‘the principal mover in the matter’. Edith brought many successful prosecutions, including several relating to the welfare of donkeys used in cockle gathering. It is clear that Edith’s work on behalf of the Society was exceptional, attracting international attention, particularly in the United States of America. The anti-vivisection movement was close to Edith’s heart and she campaigned with considerable determination and enthusiasm, organizing a petition in Carmarthen town to be presented to Parliament. Despite Edith’s relatively short time in Carmarthen she showed a deep dedication to the public life and welfare of the community with the intelligent vibrancy of an educated, forceful and committed woman. Edith Hunter and family c.1920/ Edith Hunter a’r teulu c.1920 Roedd Edith Hunter yn aelod o deulu Undodaidd adnabyddus, a bu’n byw yng Nghaerfyrddin o 1863 hyd at ei phriodas yn 1877. Erbyn Ebrill 1875, roedd Edith wedi'i phenodi'n ysgrifenyddes i'r RSPCA yn ne-orllewin Cymru. Disgrifiwyd hi fel ‘prif arweinydd yr achos’. Ymroddodd Edith i hyrwyddo'r achos gan ddod â llawer o erlyniadau llwyddiannus, gan gynnwys sawl un yn ymwneud â lles asynnod a ddefnyddid wrth gasglu cocos. Mae’n amlwg bod gwaith Edith ar ran y Gymdeithas yn eithriadol, a thrwy hynny denodd sylw yn rhyngwladol, yn enwedig yn yr Unol Daleithiau. Roedd y mudiad gwrth-vivisection yn un a oedd yn agos at galon Edith ac ymatebodd hi gyda chryn benderfyniad a brwdfrydedd, gan drefnu deiseb yng Nghaerfyrddin i'w chyflwyno i'r Senedd. Er mai am amser cymharol fyr y bu yng Nghaerfyrddin dangosodd Edith ymroddiad dwfn i fywyd cyhoeddus a lles y gymuned gyda bywiogrwydd deallus menyw addysgedig, rymus ac ymroddedig. 5 4. Laura Hirtzel Powell (1828-1901) Parc-y-felfed One of the most comprehensive accounts that has survived of Carmarthen life in the nineteenth century, is contained in the diaries of Laura Hirtzell Powell who came to the town in 1864 . Laura was born in Devon in 1828, and kept a daily diary for sixty years. The diaries themselves are well written and articulate and provide the portrait of a family who lived their lives guided by the religious and moral values which were at the core of their existence. These writings give a detailed insight into the world of the educated, unmarried middle class woman. Laura assumed responsibility for the family following her sister’s death in 1866 and she sought to bring her literary, scientific and technical knowledge and interests into the lives of her family and her community. Carmarthen women looked to her for advice on such matters as the operation and purchasing of sewing machines and the installation of gas into their homes. Mae un o'r adroddiadau mwyaf cynhwysfawr sydd wedi goroesi o fywyd Caerfyrddin yn y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg yn nyddiaduron Laura Hirtzell Powell a ddaeth i'r dref yn 1864. Ganwyd Laura Hirtzell Powell yn Nyfnaint yn 1828, a bu’n cadw dyddiadur dyddiol am drigain mlynedd.