'Glyn-y-Mêl' 1866-1906 - Teulu Worthington Family.

Yng Nghyfrifiad 1871 disgrifir Worthington fel Ynad Heddwch, wedi ei eni yn Northwich yn 1820. Enwir William, ei frawd dibriod a Herbert, a oedd yn ugain oed. Yn ystod ei gyfnod yn Abergwaun, bu John yn aelod o Gyngor y Sir, bu’n bridio ceffylau, da a chŵn. Ef oedd prif gefnogwr Clwb Ffermwyr Gogledd Penfro a nifer o achosion da lleol.

Yn anffodus, ni fu bywyd yn fêl i gyd i’r teulu Worthington yng Nglyn-y-Mêl. Ar Ebrill 29, 1886, bu farw Elizabeth, gwraig John. Mae’n bosib i’r digwyddiad sbarduno John i ariannu yr Ysbyty Gymunedol a agorwyd yn Stryd y Cwm y flwyddyn honno. Hysbysebwyd am staff yn y wasg . [Mary Owen o Landudoch a gyflogwyd fel nyrs cofrestredig pan sefydlwyd yr ysbyty. Cafodd ei hyfforddi yn Ysbyty St Thomas, Llundain. Priododd â John Evans yn Hermon ar Ionawr 7fed, 1890, a chyn hir, roeddent wedi adeiladu y tri tŷ cyntaf yn ‘Vergam Terrace’ ar dir a oedd, cyn hir, yn berci gwyrddion.]

Am saith y bore ar y Llungwyn yn 1896, bu farw Herbert Worthington, unig fab John Worthington. Roedd yn 45 oed ac yn deithiwr brwd. Bu farw tra yn Affrica. Roedd wedi goroesi ffrwydrad difrifol ar fwrdd  llong yr oedd yn hwylio arni ar hyd yr Afon Congo, ger porthladd Matadi.  Wedi iddo gael ei achub o ddŵr yr afon, daliodd haint, a bu farw’n sydyn. Dywed adroddiad yn The County Echo – ‘Yr oedd Mr Herbert Worthington wedi ymweled â bron bob gwlad yn y byd ac y mae wedi dwyn adref lawer o ryfeddodau o wledydd tramor. Yr oedd yn Ynad Heddwch, yn aelod o’r Gymdeithas Ddaearyddol, Cymdeithas Y Celfyddydau, y Clwb Hwylio Gymreig Frenhinol, Clwb Cyfansoddiadol Ieuenctid Llundain, a bu’n gadeirydd y Clwb Cyfansoddiadol lleol.’ Penodwyd ef hefyd, yn unfrydol, yn Feistr Ardal ar gyfer Helfa Dwrgŵn Sir Benfro yn 1894.

Ar 27ain o Fedi, 1906 pan yn 86 oed, bu farw John Worthington ei hun. Mae yr adroddiadau yn y wasg yn datgan yn glir y parch yn y gymuned tua’r ‘hen sgweier’. Byddai ei ewyllus yn datgelu mai Robert George Chambers, nai iddo, fyddai’n etifeddu ei ystad. Roedd mam Robert Chambers, Anne, yn ferch i William Worthington, brawd John. Robert a’i chwiorydd Beatrice (1857-1937) a Florence(1851-1931), a anwyd yn Rotherham, Swydd Efrog, oedd i’w gweld yng Nglyn-y-Mêl erbyn Cyfrifiad 1911.

Following the sale of the Glyn-y-Mêl Estate at auction, at The Castle Hotel in Haverfordwest on the 20th of June, 1866, ownership passed from the Fenton family to John Worthington Esq. Worthington was a Cheshire industrialist. His family owned salt mines in the Northwich area. The family home was Brockhurst Hall. Worthington had visited Fishguard in 1860 while on holiday. After the sale he became owner of the mansion, (built around 1799), two pubs, a shop, a large number of houses and cottages, gardens and land stretching from Parc-y-morfa and the nearby tollgate, and along the  river valley. His mission was to enjoy life, hunting otter in the river and to be a fair and kindy squire to his tennants. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had one son – Herbert.

The 1871 Census gives Worthington’s occupation as Justice of the Peace, who was born in Northwich in 1820. Also named are William, his unmarried brother and Herbert, John’s 20 yr old son. During his time in Fishguard, John was a member of the County Council, he bred horses, cattle and dogs. He was a major supporter of the North Pembrokeshire Farmers Club and many local good causes.

Unfortunately, for the Worthington family, life at Glyn-y-Mêl did not prove to be all milk and honey. On April 29, 1886, Elizabeth, John’s wife, died. The event may have prompted him to fund the Cottage Hospital which opened in West Street that year. Staff were advertised for in the press. [Mary Owen of St. Dogmaels was employed as a registered nurse when the hospital was established. She was trained at St Thomas’ Hospital, London. She married John Evans at Hermon Chapel on January 7th, 1890, and soon they had built the first three houses at ‘Vergam Terrace’ on land that was previously a green field.]

At seven o’clock on Whitmonday in 1896, Herbert Worthington, John Worthington’s only son, died. He was 45 and had been a keen traveller. He died while in Africa, having survived a serious explosion aboard the ship on which he was sailing the Congo River, near the port of Matadi. After being rescued from drowning in the river, he contracted an infection, and died suddenly. A report in The County Echo states – ‘Mr Herbert Worthington had visited almost every country in the world and he has brought home many wonders from foreign countries. He was a Justice of the Peace, a member of the Geographical Society, the Society of Arts, the Royal Welsh Yachting Club, the London Junior Constitutional Club, and was chairman of the local Constitutional Club. ‘ He had also been unanimously appointed as District Master of the Pembrokeshire Otterhound Pack in 1894.

On the 27th of September, 1906 when 86yrs old, John Worthington himself died. The press reports reveal the respect with which the whole community regarded the ‘old squire’. His will would name Robert George Chambers, his nephew, as inheritor of his estate. Robert Chambers’ mother, Anne, was the daughter of William Worthington, John’s brother. Robert (1946-1937) and his sisters Beatrice (1857-1937) and Florence (1851-1931), born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, were to be seen at Glyn-y-Mêl by the 1911 Census.