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Buckley's Brewery

Llanelly Guardian, 27 November 1884 Death of Joshua Wedge Buckley

Llanelly Guardian, 4 December 1884 Decease of Joshua Wedge Buckley

Scandal – Basil Valentin & Rose Buckley

Llanelly Guardian & Country Advertiser, 17 June 1909, Valentin Divorce Case

The Guardian, 30 December 1909 - Wedding of Basil Valentin & Rose Buckley

South Wales Daily Post, 8 March 1916 - Death of Basil Valentin

Western Mail, 9 March 1916 - Obituary of Basil W Valentin

Western Mail, 13 March 1916 - Funeral of Basil W Valentin

1700 A small successful brewery had been established close to the Parish Church in the vicinity of what is now the lower end of Thomas Street.

1767 Henry Child (1742-1824) who came to Llanelly to work for the Stepney family was a loyal supporter of John Wesley. He was also a shrewd entrepreneur who took advantage of every opportunity that came his way.

1791 Henry, who had become keeper of the Falcon Inn, had taken over the small brewery which had been established around 1700 and also took the lease for 60 years from 1795. He founded a brewery that remained a family concern for more than 200 years.

1798 Maria Child, daughter of Henry Child, married James Buckley (1770-1839), an itinerant preacher from Oldham. James had probably met Maria, who was said to have been blessed by John Wesley, on his first visit to Llanelli.

1799 Henry Child's (senior) wife died and Maria was concerned about her father’s health.

1822 From this period James Buckley was Chairman of the First Welsh District (English Preaching) which stretched from Merthyr Tydfil to Haverfordwest. This enabled him to be close to his ailing father-in-law.

1824 When his father died, Henry Child (junior) (1771-1831), who lived at Furnace House after the departure of Alexander Raby (senior), followed in his father’s footsteps as a maltster and continued to manage the brewery.

1827 to 1829 James Buckley was based at Carmarthen where his chapel (which was said to have been built in 1821), was built above a cellar which belonged to a brewery.

1831 Maria (Child) Buckley and her brother, Henry Child (junior), died.

1832 James Buckley (Maria’s husband) retired to Llanelli and the family lived at Furnace House, until he built a new house, Cilfig which had a brewing kitchen, pig sty, hen roosts and stables. He was cared for by his daughters Elizabeth, Catherine and Maria. His elder son, John Mark, ran away to sea and was killed in the Crimean War and his second son, James Buckley (1802-83), followed his father and became a devout member of the Wesleyan Society.

1834 James Buckley (1802-1883) married Elizabeth Wedge and they lived at Penyfai.

1839 When his father died, James Buckley of Penyfai (The Great James) took over the brewery and under his management the brewery flourished.

1848 William Bythway, son of the Revd William Bythway from Haverfordwest, came to Llanelli and served his apprenticeship to the Brewery from 1848 to 1853.

1875 William Bythway founded his own brewery in the Tyisha area of the town, close to the Railway Station, where Cottage Garage was later established.

1883 James Buckley (The Great James) died and his sons Joshua Wedge Buckley (1834-1884), James Buckley (1838-1895) and William Joseph (1851-1905), continued to manage the brewery. Joshua became the senior partner.

1884 James Buckley’s widow, Elizabeth, and his eldest son, Joshua Wedge Buckley, died. Elizabeth was in her 72nd year and Joshua was 49 years old.

The business was converted into a Limited Liability Company with James Buckley and his younger brother, William Joseph Buckley, as Directors.

1895 Buckley’s Brewery acquired William Bythway’s Brewery at Tyisha and Carmarthen United Brewery.

1903 Buckley’s Brewery was granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment to HRH the Prince of Wales.

1910 A Royal Warrant of Appointment to His Majesty King George V was granted.

1911 Lt. James Frances Hughes Buckley was Chairman of the Brewery when he sold Bryncaerau to Sir Stafford Howard.

1918 During the Great War 64 employees served in the forces and 60 returned home, 4 employees having been killed in action. Another casualty of the 1914-1918 War, was one of the directors, Captain Hume Buckley Roderick, who was killed in action in France during 1917.

1929 According to the Llanelli Official Guide, the Directors were: Martin Rees Richards (of Rodericks Solicitors), Chairman; Captain William Howell Buckley (son of William Joseph and Muriel Howell Buckley); William Thomas and James William Buckley.

1988 Buckley’s Brewery was purchased by Crown Brewery (based at Pontyclun) with financial assistance from the Harp Lager Company.

1993 There was a management buy-out and the company set itself a target of being the No. 1 regional brewer in Wales.

1997 Christopher Brain, Chairman of S A Brain & Co. Ltd. and Mike Salter Managing director of Crown Buckley Limited celebrated a merger between the two companies. The company was still producing: The Reverend James Original Ale Traditional; Buckley’s Best Bitter Traditional; Crown Pale Ale Traditional; Buckley’s Dark Mild Traditional; St David’s Ale Seasonal; Merlin’s Oak Seasonal and Black Prince Seasonal.

1998 Over two centuries of brewing history came to an end with the official closure of Buckley’s Brewery. The demise of the brewery was marked by a funeral procession from the Town Hall to the old brewery gates at the junction of Thomas Street with Bridge Street where a wreath was laid.

Llanelly Guardian, 27 November 1884

SUDDEN DEATH OF MR JOSHUA WEDGE BUCKLEY

It is with deep regret we learn of the sudden and unexpected death of Mr Joshua Wedge Buckley of Castell Gorfod, St Clears, senior partner in the renowned firm of Messrs Buckley Brothers maltsters and brewers of this town at the comparatively young age of 50 years [sic]. Deceased was the eldest son of the late James Buckley, Esq., of Penyfai, Llanelly, and of Castell Gorfod, St Clears, by Elizabeth daughter of the late Joshua Wedge of Penyfai. His father died in March 1883 when we gave a lengthy obituary notice and his mother died as recently as July in the present year.

Deceased gentleman took little interest in public affairs except in only agricultural meetings where to an extent he substituted the loss of his father by his knowledge of farming in general and by reading papers on kindred subjects. He was an agriculturalist of no mean order and took a personal interest in farming on his estate in the rearing and management of stock and in the development of agricultural procedures generally. Whatsoever he undertook he went into it heartily and was recognised for the excellence of his vinery and other hothouse specialities. He was a very keen businessman and to him to a great extent is due the building up of the great concern in which he was the senior partner for he was a chemist of some repute and years ago had a chemical laboratory in which he experimented. He had an intimate knowledge of the business as a maltster and brewer in all its departments when these businesses were to an extreme a close trade when produced in bulk.

Deceased was a very large Shareholder in the Old Castle Tinplate Works, was one of its directors and had amassed a wealth himself besides the fortune he inherited from his father.

The subject of our memoir was a gentleman of retiring and unobstrusive disposition kind and gentle in manner but he was gifted with extra business tact and aptitude. He was much esteemed by the employees on his estate as well as by those in the Brewery at Llanelli.

His death was extremely sudden. Although his state of health for some time had not been robust, yet on the night previous to his decease he appeared in his usual state. Before retiring to rest an attendant waited upon him in the dining room at the Castle where she saw him engaged in writing at the table after asking him if there was anything she could do previously to retiring he said “No” she could go. In the morning at a quarter past eight the servant entered the same room to open the window shutters and was astonished to find her master in the room sitting in an armchair with his head leaning on a sideboard apparently dead.

Whether an inquest on the body will be held in consequence of the suddenness of the death we have not heard but when the sad circumstance was made known it created a profound sensation in the immediate neighbourhood as well as amongst his numerous relatives and friends in Llanelly where he was so well known and respected.

Death Announcement: Buckley, Joshua Wedge, on 26 November 1884, at Castell Gorfod, St Clears, aged 49 years.

Llanelly Guardian, 4 December 1884

THE DECEASE OF MR JOSHUA WEDGE BUCKLEY

An inquest on the body of Mr Joshua Wedge Buckley of Penyfai and Castell Gorfod, St Clears, was held at the latter place on Thursday evening. It appears to have been an inaccuracy to say that Mr Buckley was found dead in his bed. On Tuesday night at ten o’clock the maidservant saw him sitting in an armchair in the dining room reading a paper and asked him if he wanted any attendance before going to bed. He said he did not and she left him there. It would appear from the circumstances that after this he fell asleep and after all the oil had become exhausted in the lamp awoke and got up. In doing this he fell over a small chair and when the servant entered the room on Wednesday morning she found him lying face downward over the back of the overturned chair and he was dead. The jury returned a verdict of “Death from natural causes”.

The body of Mr Buckley was interred at the Felinfoel Churchyard on Monday morning. The funeral cortège which left Penyfai at 11.30 a.m. consisted of seven carriages and the hearse:

First carriage Messrs Johnson & Snead (Solicitors for the deceased); Rev. J W Roberts

Second carriage Mr William, Penylan, St Clears; Mr Samuel Bevan, Wellfield;

Third carriage Mr William Thomas, Wellfield; Mr John Thomas, Goring Road.

Then came the hearse with 8 bearers which was followed by:

Fourth carriage Mr James Buckley; Mr Henry Child Buckley MD; William Joseph Buckley;

Fifth carriage Mr Morgan Morgan of Cardiff; Mr Joseph Timmins MD of Carmarthen; W Buckley Roderick; James Buckley Wilson;

Sixth carriage Servants of Castell Gorfod;

Seventh carriage Servants from Penyfai.

The Burial was conducted by the Rev. J W Roberts.

Note Morgan Morgan of Cardiff married Elizabeth Mary (Buckley) and Joseph Timmins MD of Carmarthen married Mary Ann (Buckley) – both were sisters of Joshua Wedge Buckley.

An Obituary Notice for Elizabeth Wedge Buckley appeared in the Llanelly Guardian and reported that on 7 July 1884 at Penyfai, Elizabeth, widow of the late James Buckley Esq., JP, of Penyfai and Castell Gorfod died in her 72nd year, leaving four sons and four daughters: Joshua Wedge Buckley; James Buckley JP of Bryncaerau; Henry Child Buckley MD; William Joseph Buckley; Mrs Maria Roderick, Wellfield; Mrs Anne Emily Jeffreys; Mrs Mary Ann Timmins of Carmarthen and Mrs Elizabeth Mary Morgan of Cardiff.

Scandal – Basil Valentin & Rose Buckley

The scandal involving Basil William Henry Valentin and Rose Buckley caused a sensation at the time and was heavily reported in the Press.

In today’s liberal climate few eyebrows would be raised and the event would pass almost unnoticed. Things were much different in the 19th and early 20th century.

This story shows how society was changing and the children and grandchildren of the stern, strict, Victorian industrialists were kicking over the traces. The young women were beginning to assert themselves in society, no longer content to be the dutiful wife staying in the background and bringing up large families. Rose, as the youngest daughter of James Buckley, probably had the confidence to ‘do her own thing’

Basil William Valentin was born in London, around 1862, the son of William Jones Valentin, a general in the French Army who fought against the Germans in 1870. When William Jones Valentin retired from the French Army he became a professor at the Royal School of Mines, South Kensington.

At the age on 19 Basil Valentin took up brewing and became one of the best London Brewers. In time breweries all over the country frequently consulted him on various matters concerning the brewing industry. In 1890 he married Ethel Marian and their marriage was solemnised at Astley Bridge, Parish Church, Bolton, Lancashire on March 5 1890. Following their wedding the couple came to live in Llanelli and after Rowland MacLaran retired to Ilfracombe they made Cilfig their home.

Valentin was manager of Buckleys Brewery and was responsible for maintaining the quality of the beer. As manager he would have socialised with members of the Buckley family and by 1907, although still married to Ethel, he had become involved romantically with Rose Buckley, the youngest daughter of James Buckley of Bryncaerau (d. 1895). The relationship must have raised a few eyebrows locally especially when Mrs Ethel Marian Valentin petitioned her husband for restitution of conjugal rights.

The aggrieved spouse hired a man to follow her husband and it was discovered that Valentin and his lady companion had signed the register of a hotel as Mr & Mrs Valentin. When the case came to court it could not be proved that it was Rose Buckley who was the ‘Mrs Valentin’, but when the divorce finally became absolute, Basil and Rose married in a civil ceremony at the Registrar’s Office in London on 23 December 1909. Following their marriage Basil and Rose lived at The Mount, Langland Bay, Mumbles, probably too many tongues were wagging in Llanelli to allow them to live at Cilfig.

Valentin was well known in Swansea and Llanelly where he made a large number of friends. He became Chairman of the South Wales Brewers’ Society and Commandant of the Swansea Motor Volunteers. As a businessman he travelled frequently and it is thought that he caught a cold whilst on a visit to London. Apparently he did not pay much attention to his cold, and carried out his business commitments as usual, including a visit to Buckley’s Brewery in Llanelli. Gradually his cold became worse, and Dr Jones from the Mumbles and Dr Lancaster were called. They discovered that he was suffering from double pneumonia and despite their best efforts he died.

The body of the late Basil William Henry Valentin, Managing Director of Messrs Buckleys, Brewers, Llanelly, was taken from his residence, The Mount, Langland Bay, and carried by train to Llanelli Station. From the Station the body was taken in procession to Felinfoel Churchyard, for interment. He left a widow, Rose, but there were no children from the marriage.

Llanelly Guardian & Country Advertiser, 17 June 1909

The Valentin Divorce Case

Undefended Suit – Decree Granted

London – Friday

Late this afternoon before the President (Sir John Bigham) in the Divorce Division was heard the petition of Mrs Ethel Marian Valentin for divorce from her husband Basil William Henry Valentin, Manager of Buckley’s Brewer, Llanelly.

The suit was undefended.

Mr Le Bas who appeared for the petition of the wife Mrs Ethel Marian Valentin of Culworth House, Henry Street, Regent’s Park, for the dissolution of her marriage.

The date of the marriage was March 5th 1890 and it was solemnised at the Parish Church, Astley Bridge, Bolton, Lancashire, and after the wedding Mr & Mrs Valentin went to live at Cilfig, Llanelly.

They lived on good terms until 1907. Early in that year the petitioner discovered that her husband was carrying on an intrigue with a girl named Rose Buckley and that caused her great distress and annoyance.

She spoke to her husband on the matter and endeavoured to persuade him to give up the girl. For a long time he hesitated about the matter, at one time deciding that he would do so, and at others not being able to make up his mind to break with her. Until finally he said he would not give her up. On this, Mrs Valentin consulted her solicitors and on 12th November in that year they filed a petition for restitution of conjugal rights hoping that this would have the effect of causing the husband to give up the girl. He declined to return to his wife however, and on the 13th January following, a decree was made and was served upon the respondent on 20th of that month. He had not however, complied with that order.

On the 22nd March, a petition was filed for the dissolution of the marriage and various charges were made. Subsequently, however, it was considered that the evidence was not of a sufficiently conducive character and a supplementary petition alleging adultery against her husband was filed and discovery had been made that at Easter 1908 and Easter 1909 the respondent had stayed for some days at the Sackville Hotel, Bexhill, with a lady who was not the petitioner, as Mr & Mrs B Valentin. He would prove this fact by calling before his lordship, as a witness, the proprietor of the hotel and by a witness who had been sent down for the purpose of identifying the respondent. Mrs Valentin, who on account of defective hearing, was permitted to leave the witness stand and occupy a position close to her counsel, was then called. Examined by Counsel, she said she resided at Culworth House, Henry Street, Regent's Park. She was married to Basil William Henry Valentin on 5 March 1890 at the Parish Church, Astley Bridge, Bolton. Her husband was a Brewer and they lived at Llanelly.

“In 1907 did you discover that he was carrying on an intrigue with a young lady named Rose Buckley?” – “I did.”

“Did you endeavour to get him to break it off?” – “I did everything I could.”

“Was it some time before he would finally make up his mind one way or the other?” – “Yes it was. Sometimes he would say he would and then he could not, and finally that he would not do so.”

“Did you consult your solicitor?” – “Yes and they commenced proceedings for restitution.”

“On the 13th January following, the decree was made, and on the 20th January you were informed it had been served upon your husband. Is that so?” – “It is.”

“Your husband has not been back to you?” – “No.”

“Afterwards enquiries were made at your instigation and were proceedings commenced as a result of those enquiries?” – “Yes.”

“Your solicitors in the court, Messrs Andrews & Thomson of Swansea, knew you and your husband very well?” – “Yes very well.”

Mr Henry Roderick Thomson, solicitor of the firm of Andrews & Thomson of Swansea, solicitors for the petitioner said he served the respondent on 20th January with a certified copy of the decree in the restitution suit.

Mr William Andrews, solicitor, partner of the last witness said he knew the respondent well and pointed out on the 5th March to a man named Thomas Jones at the Railway Station Swansea.

The report goes on to say that although Basil Valentin was recognised as staying at the hotel in Bexhill, the lady with him could not be identified as Rose Buckley.

The Guardian, 30 December 1909

Wedding - Valentin & Buckley

On 23 instant at the Registrar’s Office, St George Street, Hanover Square, Basil William Valentin FCS of The Mount, Langland Bay, Mumbles, eldest son of the late William Valentin, Royal School of Mines, London, to Rose Buckley, youngest daughter of the late James Buckley, JP, DL of Bryncaerau, Llanelly.

South Wales Daily Post, 8 March 1916

Death of Mr Basil Valentin

Manager of Buckley’s Breweries

The many friends of Mr Basil W Valentin, FCS managing director of Buckley’s Brewery Ltd., Llanelly, will regret to hear that he died on Tuesday evening at his house, The Mount, Mumbles, from double pneumonia.

Deceased, who was 54 years of age, was a son of the late Professor William Jones Valentin, of the Royal School of Mines, South Kensington, and was one of the best London Brewers in the country, being frequently called upon for consultation upon many matters concerning brewing. He was born in London, and took up brewing at the age of 19, and has been for sometime the chairman of the South Wales Brewers’ Society.

Being well known both at Swansea and Llanelly, deceased had made a large number of friends, and was commandant of the Swansea Motor Volunteers. It is thought that he caught a cold early last week whilst on a visit to London, his native place. He did not pay much attention to his cold, and was at Llanelly Brewery as recently as last

Thursday. Gradually he became worse, and Dr Jones, Mumbles, and Dr Lancaster were called in when it was discovered that Mr Valentin was suffering from double pneumonia and despite the best efforts of his medical advisers he passed away on Tuesday evening.

Deceased, who has only been married six years leaves a widow for whom much sympathy is expressed. There are no children. Mr Valentin’s father was a general in the French Army and fought against the Germans in 1870.

The funeral will take place at Felinfoel Cemetery, Llanelly, on Saturday next at three o’clock and will be attended by the Swansea Motor Volunteers. The procession will leave the Llanelly Station at 1.30.

The funeral arrangements are in the hands of Mr D C Jones, Castle Square.

Western Mail, 9 March 1916

Obituary - Mr B W Valentin, Llanelly

The death has taken place of Mr Basil W Valentin, managing director of Buckley’s Brewery, Llanelly, at The Mount, Mumbles. Mr Valentin, who was 54 years of age, had suffered from double pneumonia. He was the son of Professor William George Valentin, of the Royal School of Mines, South Kensington, and was married to Miss Rose Buckley, Llanelly.

Mr Valentin was of French extraction and his father, as a French general, fought against the Germans in 1870. Mr Valentin was a great authority on brewing and chairman of the South Wales Brewers’ Society. He was an enthusiastic motorist and was commandant of the Swansea Branch of the Motor Volunteers.

Western Mail, 13 March 1916

Funeral of Mr B W Valentin

The body of the late Mr Basil W Valentin, managing director of Messrs Buckleys, brewers, Llanelly, was taken from his residence, The Mount, Langland Bay, to Felinfoel Churchyard, via Llanelly; for interment on Saturday, being conveyed by train to Llanelly Station, whence the procession took place to Felinfoel.

Note:

Memorials to the Buckley family can be seen at Holy Trinity, Felinfoel.