Lady Of The Lamp

A little local history lesson for you ....

We had to go up to Tonypandy this morning to sort out our wedding photos (it's only taken us a year ...). Every time I park in the car park I keep meaning to take a picture of Tonypandy's Lady Of The Lamp, and every time I pull out of the car park and I forget ... well, not today!

This lady used to stand proudly where the bus station now is in Tonypandy. She was part of a drinking fountain erected in the honour of the memory of Archibald Hood JP, the founder of the Glamorgan Collieries in the area. Originally standing at thirteen feet, the top was adorned with a powerful gas lamp, below there were drinking fountains and troughs for dogs and horses. The troughs have long since been lost, but the lady has been shoved from pillar to post in the local area, until she was finally re-sited not far from from her original position.

In 1968 she was badly damaged when she was hit a car, she was patched up repaired as best as you could, but by 1993 she was in too bad a condition to remain on display as was taken down and put into storage.

It was decided to put her back into the lives of locals of Tonypandy to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Tonypandy riots in 2011, and she was restored to her former glory.

The statue represents an Egyptian water carrier, and I think it is wonderful to look at each time I visit. She has seen a lot of changes in my mother home town over the 103 years (almost to the day) since she was unveiled. I wonder how many people walk past her without a second glance ...