Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1913-1953 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.018 cubic metres (2 boxes)
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Aberystwyth was one of a number of towns across England and Wales which established an elected borough council in the wake of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835. Another local Act, passed in the same year, saw the establishment of Town Improvement Commissioners whose responsibilities included lighting, sanitation and the supply of water for Aberystwyth. In 1837 a reservoir was built at Brynymor Dingle and, following the drought of 1844, additional supplies were obtained by tapping springs near Plas Crug. Water was pumped to Brynymor by a steam pump, a system which remained until the 1880s.
A new waterworks was built to meet increasing demand following the Aberystwyth Improvement and Water Act of 1872, and in 1873 the powers of the Town Improvement Commissioners were transferred to the Council. The Brynymor Reservoir and other existing sources proved inadequate in supplying the town's growing population and the Council decided to transport water from Llyn Llygad Rheidol to Aberystwyth through a line of underground pipes from 1880. During the 1930s corrosion in the pipes affected this supply. The Aberystwyth Rural District Council (RDC), which was experiencing a shortage of supply in its own area, offered to contribute to the cost of renewing the pipes in exchange for a supply of water, but this scheme was rejected by the Borough Council. The Aberystwyth Rural District Council Act 1937 enabled the RDC to obtain water from the Llyn Craig y Pistyll reservoir instead, built c. 1877, and later provided additional supplies to the borough during the Second World War. Water shortages in the summer months by 1960 compelled the Borough and Rural District Councils to plan the transportation of water from Llyn Llygad Rheidol to Llyn Craig-y-Pistyll and on to the new filter plant at Bontgoch. Work on this scheme was completed in 1967 by the Cardiganshire Water Board which was formed in 1962 and administered the water supply for the town and surrounding area. This, in turn, was taken over in 1974 by the Welsh Water Authority.
Archival history
It appears that these records were accumulated by Aberystwyth Community Council. However, some may have been acquired by Councillor P. B. Loveday, to whom several letters are addressed and whose name appears on a number of documents. Loveday, who was a member of the Aberystwyth Borough Council, served as Mayor, Chairman of the Public Works Committee, and Chairman of the Finance Committee, and was a member of the committee concerned with the Rural District Council Bill and the Borough Council's opposition to it.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by Aberystwyth Community Council in July 1976.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The fonds comprises manuscript, typescript and printed material, including copies of acts or bills, correspondence, reports, etc., relating to Aberystwyth Borough and Rural District Councils Water Supplies.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
The records received were mostly disordered. They have been arranged at NLW into four series according to types of records, namely correspondence, reports, consultation and discussion papers, agenda and minutes of meetings, acts and bills.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright rules apply.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A hard copy of the catalogue is available at NLW.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Previously called Aberystwyth Water Supplies
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
GEAC system control number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
This description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) Second Edition; AACR2; and LCSH.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
January 1999.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Compiled by Siân Bowyer.
Archivist's note
The following sources were used in the compilation of this list: W. J. Lewis, Born on a perilous rock (Aberystwyth, 1980), and Howard C. Jones, Aberystwyth borough 1277-1974 (Aberystwyth, [1974]).