Walking around Rhymney, the street names tell their own tales. Some were named after chapels, such as Jerusalem Street and Beulah Street. Others are named after local features, such as Plantation Terrace, so called because of the trees that were grown there for the iron works, whilst of course there are rich, traditional Welsh local names too such as Twyn Carno - a hill with memorial stones.
It is fascinating to discover the stories behind these street names and the history they tell. So, what about Margaret Pasley - who was she and where does she fit in the history of Rhymney? The answer is Lady Tyler Terrace. The daughter of General Sir Charles William Pasley, a famous British soldier and military engineer, Margaret Pasley became Lady Tyler after marrying Sir Henry Whatley Tyler. But why is the street named after her?
Henry Tyler was born on June 27th 1827 in Mayfair, London. He attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and became a civil servant, helping to organise the 1851 Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London, and a prominent railway engineer and expert. He was as an advocate of railway nationalisation and played a crucial role in improving railway safety standards, conducting investigations into accidents and recommending measures.
In addition to several other positions, he became as Chairman of the Rhymney Iron Company (RIC), which switched its attention to coal mining rather than wrought iron production and steel making in 1891. His chairmanship at the company was not without issues. For example, in 1882, there was local concern at so-called “Cwrw Bachs” - illegal pubs - operating in Rhymney and discontent at the company’s ‘Truck Shop’ operation in the town which eventually ended in 1886. In 1902, strikers at local pits attacked his speeches as Chairman of the company.
Tyler did take an active benevolent interest in the town, however, and seemed to be well respected personally by local people. After opening the Rhymney Workers Cottage Hospital in 1904, his speech at the town’s Eisteddfod the following year showed his desire to help improve housing in the area. A club had been set up whereby workers could contribute a £1 a month a year to buy a house. These were far better houses than the older ones in the town.
Maps from the end of the 19th century show the area where Lady Tyler Terrace is now was originally known as Rowles Square. It was flanked either side by Bryn Hyfryd and Pond Row, next to the reservoir, which was known as Paddy’s Pond, probably because of the Irish immigrants who lived in that area. Some of the new houses replaced these and the street was renamed at some point shortly afterwards as Lady Tyler Terrace, probably as a sign of respect not long after Sir Henry Tyler’s death in January 1908.
Both Lady Tyler and her husband were highly interested in homeopathy and contributed large sums of money for the expansion of the London Homeopathic Hospital. Their daughter, Margaret Lucy Tyler, a medically qualified doctor, became one of the most influential homeopaths of all time. The London Homeopathic Hospital, located in Great Ormond Street, became the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine in 2010, reflected the fact that its activities that had expanded to include acupuncture and a range of other treatments. In 2018, local commissioners stopped NHS funding of the controversial therapy of homeopathy in line with national health service policy.
now the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine.