Robert and Lucy Thomas Memorial Fountain

A cast-iron canopied drinking fountain in Merthyr Tydfil, erected in 1906 'in commemoration of Robert and Lucy Thomas of Waunwyllt in this parish, the pioneers in 1828 of the South Wales steam coal trade'. It honours the couple whose small level near Abercanaid was the first to strike the Four Feet seam of steam coal, and it helped fix Lucy Thomas's name as 'the mother of the Welsh steam coal trade', a reputation historians now trace largely to a colourful account of 1888.

The mining history in this record

The Thomases and Waunwyllt

Robert Thomas, a contractor who supplied coal to the Cyfarthfa ironworks, took an annual tenancy from Lord Plymouth for a small level at Waunwyllt, near Abercanaid, in 1828 by one account and 1824 by another. The lease forbade him to sell to the four local ironworks, so he sold house coal in Merthyr and Cardiff, carried by tramroad to the Glamorganshire Canal. Little was expected of the level, but it was the first to reach the Four Feet seam, a rich deposit of high-quality steam coal, and from 1830 the Cardiff trader George Insole was shipping it to London. Robert died in 1833 and Lucy, who could not write and signed with a cross, carried the business on with her sons; through Insole it contracted to supply 3,000 tons a year to London coal merchants, and in the fourteen years after her husband's death it grew more than tenfold. When the Waunwyllt lease ended in the mid-1830s the family leased the Graig pit nearby, in 1837 by the Northern Mine Research Society's account, which also worked the Four Feet. Lucy Thomas died of typhoid at Abercanaid on 27 September 1847.

The legend

Her fame rests largely on an account written in 1888 by the Merthyr historian Charles Wilkins, who had a taste for imaginative touches. Historians now credit much of the business's success to Insole and her agents, and point out that Llanelli and Swansea coal had been shipped to London before the Thomases began. The image of a lone, unlettered widow in a man's industry has lasted all the same.

The fountain

The fountain was commissioned in 1906, when Merthyr was granted its charter as a county borough. Its plate records that it was erected by Sir William T. Lewis, later Lord Merthyr, whose wife was the Thomases' granddaughter, and William Thomas Rees of Aberdare, and presented to their native town. It is a stock design, number 20, of Walter Macfarlane and Company's Saracen Foundry in Glasgow, about 18 feet by 4 feet: a filigree canopy on eight columns with griffin terminals, cartouches showing a miner with a pick and a miner at work beside the arms of St Tydfil, and a figure of Samson inscribed 'Strength' on top.

People

Robert Thomas (died 1833) and Lucy Thomas (baptised 1781, died 1847), of the Waunwyllt level. George Insole, the Cardiff agent now credited with much of their success. Charles Wilkins, whose 1888 account made the legend. Sir William Thomas Lewis, later Lord Merthyr, husband of their granddaughter, and William Thomas Rees of Aberdare, who gave the fountain.

Legacy today

The fountain first stood in the public square at the southern entrance to the High Street beside St Tydfil's churchyard. Road widening moved it in 1966, when the canopy was re-sited in front of St Tydfil's Church; it was listed Grade II in 1988, moved to its present position at the southern end of the High Street in 1993, restored by Acorn Restorations from 1995 and reopened in July 1996. The legend it commemorates has proved as durable as the ironwork.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The fountain's plate reads that it was erected by Sir William T. Lewis and William Thomas Rees of Aberdare and presented to their native town in commemoration of Robert and Lucy Thomas of Waunwyllt, the pioneers in 1828 of the South Wales steam coal trade. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The fountain was designed by W. Macfarlane and Co. and made at the Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow, an elaborate canopied drinking fountain about 18 feet by 4 feet, topped by a figure of Samson inscribed 'Strength'. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The fountain was commissioned in 1906 to mark Merthyr's incorporation as a county borough, a gift of Sir William Thomas Lewis in tribute to his wife's grandparents. (documented fact) ^3,1
• The fountain was moved in 1966 for road widening, designated Grade II in 1988, moved to its present position in 1993 and restored, reopening in July 1996. (documented fact) ^1,2
• Lucy Thomas's reputation as 'the mother of the Welsh steam coal trade' owes much to Charles Wilkins's embellished account of 1888; much of the business's success is now credited to the Cardiff agent George Insole. (documented fact) ^3,4
• Robert Thomas took an annual tenancy from Lord Plymouth for a small coal level at Waun Wyllt, near Abercanaid, in 1828; it was the first to hit the Four Foot seam. (documented fact, disputed) ^5,4
• Robert Thomas took up the Waun Wyllt tenancy in 1824, shipping coal along the canal from July 1828. (documented fact, disputed) ³

People

• William Lewis, 1st Baron Merthyr · founder, 1906 — Gave the fountain with William Thomas Rees of Aberdare in 1906, in tribute to his wife's grandparents.
• Lucy Thomas (d. 1847) · namesake — Commemorated by the fountain as one of the pioneers of the South Wales steam coal trade.
• Robert Thomas (d. 1833) · namesake — Commemorated by the fountain with his wife Lucy; took the Waunwyllt level near Abercanaid.

Regions

Merthyr Tydfil

Sources

1. (secondary) The Fountain — The Melting Pot (merthyr-history.com)
2. (secondary) Robert & Lucy Thomas Memorial Fountain — Memorial Drinking Fountains
3. (secondary) Lucy Thomas (businesswoman) — Wikipedia
4. (secondary) Lucy Thomas — The Melting Pot (merthyr-history.com)
5. (secondary) Lucy Thomas Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 19 September 2026 · Last researched: 19 September 2026