William & George watkins
Continuing the Family Tradition
William and Ann Watkins were the parents of our great-grandmother Rosa Kate Watkins. After growing up in Llandegveth with his family, and moving to Whitson, 30-year-old William Watkins married Ann Baker. The wedding was on 25th April 1854 at the Parish Church in St Brides. Ann was the daughter of a farmer from Goldcliff on the Gwent Levels and had lost her parents at a young age.
The couple settled at Pye Corner Farm in Nash, where William farmed the 111-acre property. They had nine children between 1855 and 1873, all of the children attended the local school and were well educated. They had four sons, two of them Fred and Herbert, left the UK for a new life in Australia, whilst the other two William and George followed family tradition and became farmers in the local area. In this story we are going to look at the lives of William and George Watkins.
William Watkins
William Henry Watkins was born at Pye Corner Farm in 1855, the first child of William and Ann. As a young boy, William and his two sisters were looked after by a young nurse maid named Hanah Hanly. As more children were born the older siblings replaced Hannah and helped their mother raise the children. After finishing school William started farming alongside his father and by the 1881 census was personally responsible for 50 acres of farm land.
On 20th May 1890, he married Mary Ann Jones, at Nash Baptist Chapel. Mary had grown up on Tatton Farm, just 1km from Pye Corner, where her father farmed 238 acres. The newlyweds first lived in Newport, on Beechwood Road in Christchurch, with Mary’s widowed mother. They then established a home of their own at Cwm Farm where they were tenant farmers. The farm was a large property in Christchurch, the farm buildings have now been replaced by a small private housing estate and the M4 motorway runs through the fields of the former Cwm Farm.
William and Mary did not have children but shared the farm with William’s sister Eliza. In 1899 a cattle theft was reported at Cwm Farm, the offender was quickly caught when they tried to resell the livestock at market. The case gained considerable coverage due to the quick thinking of a market worker whose suspicions were raised by the low prices asked by the seller.
By the 1911 census William and Mary, plus Eliza had moved to ‘ The Moorlands’, a substantial farm in Goldcliff. Both were listed as Farmers and Farm Dealers on the census. They employed two permanent farm workers including John Bonar from Pembrokeshire who has come with them from Cwm Farm. William died 15th December 1913 aged 59 and left his estate to his wife. William owned land on Broad Street Common in Nash and a cottage in Goldcliff. Mary followed in 1930 leaving over £4000 to farmers Charles Jones and John Waters. William and Ann are buried together at Nash Baptist Chapel.
George Watkins
George Arthur Watkins was born at Pye Corner Farm in October 1869, he grew up on the farm with his eight siblings. George showed himself to be extremely capable on the farm and worked alongside his father to learn the family trade. On the 1891 census George was still living at home with his two youngest sisters Rosa and Myra. The farm was only employing one full time worker and much responsibility rested on George’s shoulders.
He was still working on the farm when his mother died in 1896. His father then sold Pye Corner Farm and George moved to Draenllwyn Farm on the Old Roman Road in Christchurch, Newport. It was a short walk from older sister Rosa, who was living with her husband and young children at Abernant Farm. We can see that the first adverts George placed to sell cattle from Draenllwyn appeared in 1898.
In June 1899 George married Rose Winifred Maud Waters from Burnt House Farm in Nash. The couple were both from prominent farming families and the wedding was well attended and reported on in the South Wales Times. It was held at St Mary’s Church in Nash; George’s sister Myra was a bridesmaid and Llewellyn Morgan the best man. Following the wedding the couple lived together at Draenllwyn Farm which they purchased as their family home.
George proved to be a successful farmer. He was an active member of the Caerleon Shire Horse Society and also attended many agricultural shows where he won awards for his colts, often competing against his brother-in-law, James Skinner. George always maintained a close relationship with the Skinner family and gave a home to his nephew Ray Skinner during the 1940s.
George’s eldest brother William died in 1913, this left their sister Eliza needing a new home. George and Rose stepped in and Eliza moved to Draenllwyn where she spent the next 13 years. George and Rose lived at Draenllwyn Farm for the rest of their lives, they had one son, Joseph Arthur Godfrey Watkins, who was born in 1900. George died in 1954 aged 85 and Rose in 1970, both at Draenllwyn. George was the only one of the seven UK-based Watkins siblings not buried at Nash Baptist Chapel. We are still looking for George and Rose’s final resting place.
Draenllwyn Farm was one of the many properties purchased by The Celtic Manor to expand their hotel and golf resort. The Roman Road golf course opened in 1995 and now covers the former lands of Draenllwyn, however the farmhouse and barns still stand. They have been redeveloped and are now known as ‘The Barn & Farmhouse’, luxury self-catered accommodation from the Celtic Manor.
Their son Joseph grew up at Draenllwyn and was close friends with his cousin Reg Skinner from Abernant Farm. In October 1920 the pair, both aged 19, enlisted in the Gloucestershire Yeomanry. The regiment then became part of the Royal Tank Corps, the oldest tank unit in the world. When he left the army Joseph returned to Draenllwyn and became a farmer working with his father.
Joseph married Frances Evans in Llanfoist on the 28th June 1928. The reception was held at Penyrheol Farm, the Evans family farm. The couple lived at Draenllwyn with George and Rose until the 1940s. They had a son and a daughter and later settled at Craig-Y-Mor, Leechpool in Portskewett, where Joseph died in 1961. Francis followed in 1982. During our research we were delighted to make contact with Joseph’s granddaughter who provided these family photographs.