EACH week, we look back at a moment in time in the history of the region covered by the South Wales Guardian.

This week, we take a look at the aftermath of the 1843 Rebecca Riots in Pontarddulais.

On Friday, September 8, 1843, the Carmarthen Journal featured an article from neighbouring Swansea Journal relating to riots where it was alleged a number of people were injured or killed in Pontarddulais during the riots which took place at Pontarddulais gate.

The article begins talking about the fact that two farms had hay and corn set on fire the previous night.

Both farms were owned by a man called Mr W. Chambers who worked as a magistrate.

Mr Chambers’ straw had also been targeted as around ‘fifty loads of straw, the property of the same gentleman, were consumed at the pottery on the night of the 8th instant.’

Mr Chambers had gone out previously with the military to Pontarddulais on Thursday morning following the riots at the gate and the article said he, had "given deep and mortal offence to that portion of the community who sympathise with the Rebbecaites.”

It was said that residents had “expressions of hatred towards that gentleman, and a determination to have revenge – ‘to have blood’.”

The article also states that on the Sunday morning, the toll house at Hendy Gates in Pontarddulais was burnt down by Rebeccaites, leaving Sarah Williams - who was gatekeeper - dead.

A group of men spoken to by reporters said: “I am sorry they killed the old woman but what service is it to pull down the gates if people continue to exact tolls?”

They also said that the old woman had been given warnings to stop collecting tolls.

It was believed that no one was hurt with the exception of those taken by police.

In the nearby village of Llanon, it was seen that very few expressed regret for the death of the woman.

They found that the toll house was indeed burnt to the ground but the gate itself was still standing.

It was found that the woman’s body was in a cottage nearby and the reporters believed that she had been shot three times due to the injuries on her face and being told by two women that she had also been shot in the chest.

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A man living in the cottage said that, “at about two o’clock in the morning a party of men disguised in white dresses came to the gate, carried out the furniture from the tollhouse and told the old woman to go away and not return.

“She left the house for a short time but afterwards re-entered. The report of a gun or pistol was soon after heard and the old woman ran to his house – fell down at the threshold and expired within two minutes without saying a single word.

“The men set the tollhouse on fire and suddenly disappeared in various directions.”

The inquest into the death of Ms Williams was held on Monday, September 4, in Pontarddulais.

A labourer called John Thomas who knew Ms Williams, said that at 12 o’clock on Saturday night or early on Sunday morning, he was alarmed by gunshots.

He told the inquest: “I was then in bed and soon after the deceased came to my house and called me and my family to assist in putting the fire out.” He said they were too afraid to.

“In about a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes afterwards I heard a report of another gun and a minute later the deceased came to my house and my wife went to the door and saw the deceased coming towards her.

"She was crawling along by the wall to support herself until she came to my door when she cried out ‘dear, dear’ and fell down, I fund that she was dead.”

At the time of her death, Ms Williams had been toll collector at the gate for a number of years.

Benjamin Thomas, a surgeon, inspected the body and carried out a post mortem with Mr John Kirkhouse Cooke while it was at the Black Horse in Pontarddulais.

He told the court that while the body was led on its back, there didn’t seem to be any signs of violence from the feet to the chest.

He continued: “The marks of shots were seen penetrating the nipple of the left breast, one in the armpit of the same side, and several shot marks in both arms.

"On the external end of the left clavicle there were two shot marks, one on the left side of the windpipe, several on the forehead and one on the external angle of the right eye.”

The pair came to the conclusion that the cause of death was “produced from the large quantity of blood effused into the chest, and which impeded the motion of the lungs, as well as by the large quantity of blood lost, destroying vitality.”

They concluded that “there was no other cause to attribute this effusion of blood into the cavity of the chest but by the shots penetrating the lungs and injuring the vessels.”

The jury retired and after an hour, returned the bizarre verdict of “the deceased died from the effusion of blood into the chest, which occasioned suffocation, but from what cause is to the jury unknown.”

The Illustrated London reported on September 30, that a £500 reward was offered for the apprehension and conviction of the murderer and that ‘Her Majesty’s gracious pardon to any accomplice, except the person who shot her.’

The Illustrated London news reported on January 20, 1844, that Ms Williams was ‘shot by a boy unintentionally – in fact, purely accidental.’

Nobody was convicted of the murder.