Blue Plaques


Two blue plaques were put in place last month to commemorate the Welsh composer, pianist and mezzo-soprano Morfydd Owen.



Owen (left), was born at 68 Park Street, Treforest in 1891, the daughter of amateur musicians and drapers. At the age of 16 she began to study piano, and by 1909 she published a hymn tune entitled “Morfydd”. Owen won a scholarship to study at University College, Cardiff, graduating in 1912.



Moving to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music, she began to study singing. During her time in London, she formed two separate circles of friends. The first was centred on the Welsh Presbyterian Chapel, in Charing Cross; a gathering point for Welsh people living in London. The other circle of friends, were the London literary intelligentsia. In 1913, at a concert at London’s Bechstein Hall, she sang four of her own songs, Chanson de Fortunio; Songs from a Persian Village; Suo Gan and The Year’s at the Spring. The same year, at the regional Eisteddfod held at Swansea, she won a prize for her Nocturne. It is thought that Owen composed for over 10 years, and had some 250 scores.



At the end of 1916, she was introduced to Ernest Jones, a Welsh psychoanalyst, they married after a brief courtship on 6th February 1917. During the summer of 1918 the couple were holidaying in South Wales, staying at the home of Ernest’s father, Craig-y-Mor, Plunch Lane, when Owen developed acute appendicitis. Ernest hoped that his brother-in-law, Wilfred Trotter, the eminent surgeon would travel to Swansea to perform an operation. Unfortunately the operation was conducted by the local surgeon and sadly on 7th September 1918, Owen died from delayed chloroform poisoning.



No post mortem was carried out and she was hastily buried on the 11th September at Oystermouth Cemetery. Owen’s headstone has the inscription from Goethe’s Faust – “Das Unbeschreibliche, hier ist’s getan”.



During 1956, Ernest Jones played an instrumental part of helping securing the statue for Gower as the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The blue plaques were placed in Craig-y-mor and Park Street.

When is a blue plaque not a blue plaque? When it’s a purple plaque


Also this year, 8th March, International Women’s Day, a purple plaque, commemorating Val Feld, AM for Swansea East from 1999-2001 was unveiled at the Senedd, Cardiff (National Assembly Buildings). The purple plaque represents and recognises the achievements of Remarkable Women in Wales.



 Copyright – The Bay Magazine – October 2018

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