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​Full Project Title: 'The life of the squatter settlement on Newtown Mountain, 1845 - 1907'

Doctoral Researcher: Vic Tyler-Jones

Supervised by: Dr Shaun Evans and Dr Mari Wiliam

Squatter settlements arose in Wales in the early part of the nineteenth century but the story of the individuals who lived in these places has not been told. One such colony was established in around 1845 on Ruabon Mountain in Denbighshire and dignified by the name ‘Newtown’ by the time of the 1861 census.

George Borrow stumbled on this colony by mistake and noted: -

‘small grimy looking huts’ 

‘grimy but chubby children’

a barefooted woman with ‘on her head an immense lump of coal’

[Borrow, Wild Wales, 1862 p. 313]

Where did these people come from and why were they living on the mountain? What were they like and what can we find out about their dwellings? What evidence is there of the development of a community in this place? How did these people  withstand the rigours of existence in this inhospitable place and how did it relate to the wider economy of the area? I hope to provide answers to these and other questions in order to describe the life of the squatters of Newtown Mountain. 

Recent activity: Currently focussed 100% on writing the literature review.