| To
the right of the picture is Cambria House, demolished in 1982. The cottage
next door was the residence of the master of the Industrial School situated
in Cambria House. At one time this was Mr Gilbert Harding, grandfather
of the TV celebrity of the same name. Of interest here, though, is the
covered walkway from the cottage to Cambria House. It is thought that
the cottage and walkway were demolished around 1953. Has anyone out
there got a photo of this unusual structure? Does anyone know why it
was built?
(We have had replies - see below.)
Caerleon resident, Mrs Lynne Daniels kindly sent us this picture. Her
father, Doug Glass was an ambulance driver based in Cambria House in
the early fifties. He later rose through the ranks becoming Ambulance
Officer, Control Officer and retiring as Training Officer for the then
Gwent Ambulance Service.
The sketch was made by Bill Davies of Kemys View, Usk Road, Caerleon.
He worked in the 'control room' at Cambria House. This was a semi circular
room at the very top of the building, up many stairs, known as 'the
turret'. The picture was drawn on the back of a piece of lined notepaper
which has become very fragile with age. We are fortunate it has survived,
providing us with this most unusual view of Caerleon.
We have been contacted by a local resident who remembers the walkway. He told us:
At the time between 1947 & 1954 Cambria House was a multi- department facility consisting of the Headquarters of the Ambulance Service, the Headquarters of the Social Services as well as other administrative departments.
The walk way between Cambria House & the Headmaster's residence was known as 'The Tunnel'. The reason for this was that when you walked through the corridor it resembled walking through a railway tunnel.
The room beyond the corridor was in the Headmaster's residence. It was an administrative office with 2 women secretaries surrounded by files & paperwork. I was sent there many times because I was asked to deliver paperwork & messages from Vale View House by Margaret & Clifford Base.
Vale View House was always closely connected to the Department of Social Services at Cambria House.
[Update June 2026]
We were delighted to hear this as we were beginning to think the walkway hadn't really existed... Now for the icing on the cake... Sally Cooper has kindly sent us a photo of the structure. Sally is a descendent of Gilbert Harding the superintendent of the Industrial School from the late 1870s until 1902. She also sent the photo of Gilbert Harding and some of his family. |
