Welsh Journals

Introduction THE YEARS spanned by John Bird's life and career 1761 to 1840 were years of upheaval in the political, economic and social life of the country, and if great national and international events such as American Independence and French Revolution were remote from the day-to-day life of Glamorgan, the impact of Industrial Revolution was both immediate and profound. During the latter half of the eighteenth century Glamorgan was transformed from a rural backwater into an industrial giant. During Bird's lifetime the mighty ironworks of Merthyr, Dowlais and Aberdare spawned a seething industrial community in the formerly neglected hinterland, the population of the county rose dramatically and both the landscape and economy of Glamorgan were reshaped. Soon after Bird's death the pace of change gathered momentum to engulf and transform the town in which he had lived. But the Cardiff familiar to John Bird was outwardly little affected by the new industrial order. The town remained what it had been for centuries, a small community of no more than 2,000 inhabitants huddled around the Castle, its trade and commerce dependent upon Bristol and the West Country, its politics and government dominated by the owners of the Castle. Despite the emergence of Merthyr as the largest town in Wales with a population of over 7,700 in 1801, most of the county's population (70,000 in 1801) continued to live in the small towns and villages of the Vale where agriculture predom- inated. Agricultural produce was the staple of Cardiff's modest trade through its small port, and even when the products of the iron industry began to be transported down the Glamorganshire Canal to Cardiff the traditional links with Bristol were maintained. John Bird's diaries portray a community and an estate on the verge of change. While the content of the diaries reflects a preoccupation with the past rather than a perception of the future, there are glimpses of a society in turmoil and of developments that would, within a few short years, transform the society and institutions chronicled by the diarist. John Bird, the author of these diaries, was born in Cardiff on 1 September 1761.1 In a Directory which he himself published in 17962 he is described as a printer and bookseller, clerk to the Marquess of Bute and agent to the Phoenix Fire Office, Bristol Tontines3 etc, a varied collection of occupations to which can be added those of coach proprietor, tax collector and postmaster, and all of which were complemented by Bird's activities as a bailiff and alderman of Cardiff. When he died in 1840 John Bird was a substantial citizen, a prominent figure in the life of Cardiff borough. Obituary notices4 refer to 'the universally re- spected and esteemed alderman of the borough', a 'gentlemen of much local