Newtown Football Club

This photograph of Newtown Football Club was taken during the 1895-6 season and the players were named as follows:

Back row: F R Lloyd (Hon Sec), J Harper, R Goodwin, A Townsend, T Worthington, W Stokes (Trainer).

Middle row: E Morgan, A W Pryce-Jones, W E Pryce-Jones (Captain), H F Mytton, W Parry.

Front: T Chapman, H Tucker.

By this time soccer in general was becoming popular, and players were drawn from the skilled working classes. These Newtown players probably did receive some form of payment, but likely they continued with their jobs, perhaps in the woollen industry. Although this photograph is interesting from a sporting point of view, it is unlikely that many of these working class men would have been photographed in any other context, be it with their families, at home or in their everyday work. Until the 1920s and the development of snapshot photography, photographs of ordinary people were rare, as it was largely the gentry and middle classes who could afford photographs by specialised photographers.

Some of the players can be found on the 1891 census for the parishes of Newtown and Llanllwchaearn:

Back row:

J Harper: there are two possibilities for this player, John Harper, 21, a tailor living in Dysart Terrace, Llanllwchaearn, with his parents John and Mary, and two other children, Elizabeth and Mary.
The other was John Harper, 26, a bricklayer who lived with his wife Sarah and son John in Frolic Street, Newtown.

R Goodwin: again there are two possibilities: Robert Goodwin, 21, a tweed spinner living at Bryn Street, Llanllwchaearn, with his mother Catherine, and siblings Martha, Abraham, Edward and Maggie.
The other is Richard Goodwin, 22, a reporter, living with his parents Richard and Alice, and other children Edith, Albert, Amy and Charles, in Crescent Street, Llanllwchaearn.

A Townsend: Alfred Townsend, 27, a painter living in the Canal Basin, Llanllwchaearn, with his wife Caroline, and daughter Emily.

T Worthington: Thomas Worthington, 25, loom jobber, living at Crynfryn Place, Newtown, with his step father Edward Lewis and wife Martha, other children, Richard and Annie, and his brother David. Worthington gained an international cap against Scotland in 1894.

W Stokes (trainer): William Stokes, 34, licensed victualler living at Severn Street, Newtown, with his wife Sarah, and children, Gertrude, William and Elliott. He ran the New Inn pub there.

Middle row:

E Morgan: There are four possibilities for this player, the first is Edward Morgan, 17, a woollen operative living in Greens Court, Newtown, with his parents William and Eliza, and three other children Samuel, Elizabeth and Jane.

The second is Ernest Morgan, 20, an accountant from Upper Bridge Street, Llanllwchaearn. He lived with his father Cornelius, and sister Mary.

The next possibility is Edward Morgan, 25, a grocer's assistant. He lived with his wife Sarah, and daughter Louisa in Market Street, Newtown.

The final E Morgan is Edward H Morgan, 30, a clerk living at Crescent Street, Llanllwchaearn, with his wife Catherine and sons Edward and Herbert.

A W Pryce-Jones: probably Col A W Pryce-Jones from the Pryce-Jones family. In 1859, Pryce Jones established a flourishing mail-order business, and by 1895 goods were sent by post to all parts of the world. The early prosperity was based almost entirely on Welsh flannel - Welsh tweeds, shawls, hosiery etc. The flannels were made at the textile mills that Pryce Jones operated in Newtown and Welshpool, whilst the finished products were manufactured at one of the factories in Newtown. Several members of the Pryce-Jones family were keen sportsmen and subsequently they formed a recreation society for their employees. A W Pryce-Jones gained an international cap against England in 1895.

W E Pryce-Jones (captain): almost certainly William Ernest Pryce-Jones, third son of Sir Pryce and Lady Eleanor Pryce-Jones. Born 29 December 1867, and according to the monumental inscriptions for the parish church of Llanllwchaearn he died 14 March 1949. William gained three international caps.

W Parry: William Parry, 20, a telegraph clerk. He lived in Commercial Street, Llanllwchaearn, with his grandmother Hannah, his uncle Owen, aunts Catherine and Annie, and brother Albert.

Front row:

T Chapman: Thomas Chapman, aged 19, living in the Canal Basin in Llanllwchaearn with his mother, Ann Chapman. He was a cloth dresser by trade. Chapman gained several international caps and went on to play for Manchester City in 1896.

H Tucker: Henry Tucker, 19, a woolsorter who lived with his parents William and Emily, in Gas Street, Newtown, and two other children, Alfred and Frederick.

contributed by Catherine Richards, Archives Manager