This photograph was kindly shared with us by Steffan John, who recounts the story of his great-great-grandmother opening a shop in the parlour of her home.

"This photo is of 14 Llechyfedach in Upper Tumble, Cwm Gwendraeth. In the photo are Elizabeth ‘Bessie’ Perkins (my great-great-grandmother) and her son Glyndwr Perkins (my great-grandfather). It is believed that the photo was taken around 1933.

As you can see in the bottom-right window, there are signs in the window, indicating that there was a shop in the parlour of the house. Elizabeth opened the shop for the local residents. We are not sure when the shop opened or closed, but we know it was still open during the Second World War, when people would come to the shop with their ration books. Bessie passed away in 1993 at the age of 100 and is buried at Bethania Chapel near Llechyfedach.

Our family has lived at 14 Llechyfedach (formerly ‘City Gardens’) since the houses were built in the early 1920s. My grandmother, Janet Hague, was raised there, and my mother remembers visiting often to see her grandparents. My grandmother remembers her grandmother, Bessie, keeping a large vegetable garden, and every house had a pigsty in the back garden. She recalls the meat being hung in the pantry of the house, which still has its original shelves and slate for keeping things cool. My bedroom while I was living with my parents was the same room my grandmother was born in! I, my brother, and my sister were all raised there as well, and my parents still live there."