Home   

Notable Houses in and around Llanelli

Long Row

Long Row is a terrace of cottages branching off Swansea Road and built in the early part of the 19th century. On 14 September 1849 a local newspaper carried a story about one of the inhabitants of Long Row, namely John Jenkins, a labourer working at the coke furnaces belonging to William Webb Esq.

It seems that the neighbours were awakened from their sleep around two o’clock in the morning by shouts of ‘murder murder’. The story unfolded that Betsey Jenkins, John Jenkins’ wife had three lodgers who were all single men. Because Mr Jenkins worked long hours and his job was very tiring he was in the habit of going to bed quite early in the evening so that he would be able to get up early for work the following morning.

Betsy Jenkins stayed up long after her husband had gone to bed, making the excuse that she had to make sure that the lodgers were home and the door was locked before she could join her husband.

After a time Jenkins became suspicious and one night he retired to bed as usual and waited for a while before going downstairs. Although he was holding a candle he was surprised to see the parlour door closed and a light flickering through the gap underneath. Without being seen Jenkins gently opened the door and was dismayed to see his wife in the arms of one of the lodgers, whilst another lodger looked on.

With extraordinary control of his emotions the aggrieved husband left the doorway and returned a short while later carrying a poker. He burst into the parlour, beating his wife and the two lodgers. The commotion woke the another lodger who came downstairs and joined in the fray taking sides against the husband. Jenkins was a strong man and before long he had control of the situation, throwing the lodgers and his wife out of the cottage.

The noise of the domestic dispute woke many of the neighbours and it was not long before a large crowd gathered and were in time to see Jenkins throwing the lodgers’ clothes outside, still wet from the wash-tub. The adulterous wife and her companions beat a hasty retreat before the crowd could show their disapproval.

The story continues, that according to local custom, the townspeople took the law into their own hands in such cases and during that evening they marched to Long Row with a straw effigy of the cheating wife placed on a ladder. They walked up and down outside John Jenkins’ house beating the effigy with switches and nettles, thus showing that they would have no hesitation in doing the same to Betsy if they caught her.

The townspeople then set fire to the effigy of Betsy in front of the cottage and it was noted that her daughter was an enthusiastic participant.

The journalist concluded with the statement that ‘such scenes of a wife’s faithlessness were of a rare occurrence in this place’.

If the cottages of Long Row could speak they would be able to recall much of the history of the town, including the devastating cholera epidemic which spread so rapidly in 1866. During July of that year, in a 7 day period, no fewer than 42 cases were recorded, 17 had died within 24 hours and David Thomas aged 29 of St David’s Row had died within 9 hours.

As the disease raged through the Wern, Capel Newydd, Pottery Street, Llwynhendy, New Dock, Dolau, High Street, Cambrian Place, Forge and Tinworks Row, Long Row did not go unscathed.

John Cowell Stepney, Esq. (later Sir John), of St George’s Place, Hyde Park Corner, London, owner of the Stepney Estate, was so concerned that he wrote a letter to the Board of Health about the unsanitary conditions in some parts of the town.

Forty years later, Low Row formed part of the estate owned by Miss Catharine Meriel Cowell Stepney, granddaughter to Sir John Cowell Stepney (the Baronetcy had been recreated in 1871). When Miss Stepney married Sir Stafford Howard and became Lady Howard, her commitment to the town was unquestioned, and known affectionately as ‘Lady Bountiful’, she always tried to ensure the good welfare of her tenants. Long Row is a fine example of her commitment. The cottages of the Row were refurbished by her and provided comfortable accommodation for her workers. The head gardener for Lady Howard had lived at No 22 and paid just 2s 6d per week rent for his cottage.

When Lady Howard died her tenants were given the option of buying their Long Row cottages, and her thoughtfulness was very much appreciated.

In those days the cottages were numbered consecutively from 1 to 36 and at the top of the Row there was a slaughterhouse. Also at the top end of Long Row is a road named Woodend and this is a reference to Woodend, Ascot, in Berkshire, another of the estates belonging to the Stepney family.

In 1915 plans were underway to demolish the quaint row of cottages to make way for a new road system and fortunately not all were destroyed.

A walk along the Row will show a false window shared by two cottages. The story behind this window is fascinating to anyone interested in history. During the reign of William III there was a financial deficiency caused by the re-coinage of silver and a Window Tax was imposed to raise funds for the Exchequer. The Tax first, introduced in 1696, proved to be an excellent revenue booster and was increased six times between 1747 and 1808. However, resentment grew, so much so, that during 1823 the Window Tax was reduced, finally being abolished in 1851.

To avoid paying the Tax many ‘Tax evaders’ bricked up their windows and in time this led to an architectural fashion of designing window-shaped recesses which made a plain façade into a more interesting frontage. Many façades have the appearance of having a window but closer inspection reveals that it is just an indentation in the stonework.

Some upper storeys of the Long Row cottages had imitation windows positioned between the properties, giving the appearance of a shared window. Over the years many of these features have been covered up but there is still an example of bedrooms in separate cottages seeming to share the same window space.

There are other buildings to be seen in the Llanelli area with false windows or windows that have been bricked up. The end of Dillwyn Street near the lawn cemetery of St Pauls is another example of this type of architecture.

Window shared by two properties in Long Row