Evan & Margaret Watkins-Caerlan shop

[oakley6691]

Hello everyone, i'm trying to trace the history of the Evan watkins Family that lived and had a shop in Caerlan (near Abercrave,Swansea), i was hoping to find out how long they run the shop for, i know Evan was born in 1822 and on the 1871 census he was at the Caerlan Shop with his wife and children, on the 1891 Census he was still there and the business seemed to be family run as the older children worked there as well. I have no idea when the building was built, wether it was a shop straight away or converted to a shop, i also don't when it ceased trading but would supect it coincided with canals from Swansea ceasing, i also don't know when it was converted into a cottage, any information, photo or ideas of where i may find some more knowledge about the family and the shop would be appreciated....cheers

[Fisherman]

Hi Oakley,

First of all a warm welcome to RootsChat.

I have been making some enquiries in Caerlan.
The oldest person I could find moved there in 1952 and he tells me that the shop had already closed by that time.
The shop was at No. 7 with the stores and cellar at No. 6
I have also discovered that a member of the family also ran the Emporium in Abercraf (Abercrave).

A surviving family member also lived at No.8.  Believe it or not he was my maths teacher, so I hoping to track him down.  Just hope he doesn't remember that I skipped his detention to play a snooker match  .

Chris

[oakley6691]

Cheers for the reply, the reason i have intrest in this is I'm in the middle of buying No 7b which was  originally No 7 (the shop), it was built as a end of terrace before the stores were built, the stores are now two cottages numbered 7 and 7a. I want to get the history back to the property and did manage to find a picture/painting of the street which show my new house as a shop. What was your teachers name as i know a retired teacher who lives in Caerlan and he is one of my customers at work....Rob

p.s. i live in Abercrave(about one mile from Caerlan)

[Fisherman]

Hi Rob,

What a fanastic picture.

My wifes grandparents lived in No.8 and had the chance to buy it but the Watkins' wanted to much for it. I remember the shop safe was in one of the rooms at the front of the house.
The stone shed at the end of the terrace was their coal shed.  I rebuilt a large section of the stone wall behind the lady only two years ago.
I was talking to the reired teacher you know and it was he who reminded me about my old maths teacher (since he is still alive I'll have to PM you his name).

Chris (in Penrhos)

[oakley6691]

My colleague from work lives at No 8, he's lived there for about 20 year(I think) he told me the coal shed was there when he bought it but was in a poor state and knocked it down to build a double garage, he knows quite a bit about the history of the street and he's over the moon I'm doing research on it.

[Siwsan]

My great aunt Mary Davies was married to David Watkins, the son of the shop. They ran the Caerlan Shop for many years, I think. I am not sure when they retired but before 1939. They did not have children but Mary’s niece Olive from Caehopkin worked there a lot of the time.

My grandfather’s family lived in Caerlan in 1891. From that census it looks as if the Watkins were in the house next to the shop as well - father Evan and mother Margaret in the shop house and son Evan with wife Mary next door. David Watkins was living in the shop house with his future wife a few doors away.
Susan