The census records spanning 1841 to 1881 identify several individuals engaged in the trade of hatter or hatmaker, revealing a small but consistent group of specialized craftsmen within the Amlwch area.
In 1841, the hatter trade was distributed across several residential streets:
Petters Street: This location was a hub for the trade, housing David Thomas (40), Thomas Davies (25), and Richard Griffiths (20), all identified as hatters.
Well Street: The trade was a family or shared occupation for Robert Jones (40) and Michael Jones (17).
Other Locations: Additional hatters included Edward Kelly (20) in Pwll coch, Evan Jones (40) at the Club houses, and John Philips (30) in Tredaeth
The 1851 census provides more specific information regarding the ages and birthplaces of those in the profession:
The trade attracted individuals from outside Amlwch, including David Edwards (50), a hatmaker from Cynfelin; John Nurney (48), a hatter from Drogheda, Ireland; and John Phillips (43), a hatter from Carmarthen.
Amlwch-born residents in the trade included John Jones (27), Richard Jones (37), and Richard Thomas (26).
The records show that some individuals remained in the trade for decades or established shops in prominent civic areas:
John Humphreys: In 1861, at age 62, he worked as a hatter on Methusalem Street.
Richard Thomas: Having been recorded in 1851, he was still working as a hatter in 1861 at age 35, then residing on Kings Street.
John Philips: He continued his career in Tredaeth, recorded as a 53-year-old hatter in 1861.
John Jones: By 1881, John Jones (57) was still active in the trade, residing at No. 11 Llwydiarth Arms in Llanerchymedd.
The census records for Amlwch document a steady and professional community of women engaged in millinery and the closely related craft of bonnet making. These trades were often intertwined with dressmaking and represented a significant sector of female entrepreneurship and skilled labor in the town.
Agnes Davies: Recorded in 1851 as a 19-year-old milliner born in Amlwch.
The Jones Family: Multiple members of the Jones family held this title, including Martha Jones (age 17 in 1851), Ellen Jones (age 24 in 1881), and Elizabeth Jones (age 49 in 1881) residing at Mona Terrace.
By 1881, millinery was a established street-side trade. Margaret Hughes (34) practiced on Bridge Street, and Elizabeth Thomas (22) ran a shop on Methusalem Street. In 1891, Catherine Roberts (24) is listed as a milliner on Llywelyn Street
Bonnetmaker was a specific occupational designation in the earlier census records, often held by women who managed their own households:
In 1851, the trade included Elizabeth Evans (48), Elenor Hughes (37), Hanah Jones (21), and Catherine Thomas (20).
These craftswomen were found across Amlwch’s main commercial thoroughfares. In 1861, Elizabeth Jones (20) practiced on Frondeg Street, and Jane Williams (19) was a bonnet maker on Well Street. By 1881, Ann Jones (42) was recorded as a Straw Bonnet Maker on Lime Kiln Lane
The sources indicate that millinery was rarely a solitary pursuit; it was frequently combined with other textile arts or retail management:
• Millinery and Dressmaking: Many households contained both milliners and dressmakers, or individuals who transitioned between titles. For example, Catherine Owen (age 26 in 1851) was recorded as a bonnetmaker, while other family members were often dressmakers.
• Retail Integration: Milliners often lived in or managed shops that sold a variety of goods. In 1881, Catherine Wrench is listed as running a “Toy & Provision” shop while also employing family members in related needlework. Ellen Jones, a former milliner on Bodednyfed Road, lived with her daughter Mary, who continued the trade in 188
The most famous hat maker of Amlwch was David Edwards ‘Dafydd y Ffeltiwr’ (David the feltmaker),a hatter who was born and learnt his trade in Tre’r-ddôl, Cardigan shire around 1801. He moved to Amlwch in 1824 and is listed as a hatter in the 1828 trade directory. In the 1851 census he was listed as a hatmaker living at 11 Pigmarket Place. In 1861 he was living in market street with his wife Elizabeth. In the 1871 census he is listed as a widow at the hat shop market place. He died in Amlwch 29th September 1876.
His wife, Elizabeth Morgan was born in Tynywern and was well-known throughout Wales as ‘Y Ddynes Fach’. She sold the hats and was also very good at making corn dollies. (Y Geninen, Vol 12 (1894), p. 280)
Felt hats had been made in Britain since the middle ages but become very popular in Wales in the early 1800 s. Fashionable ladies would wear tall felt hats to Chapel or market while miners used a felt hat adapted to hold a candle underground as described below.
“He wore a flannel shirt, tucked up at the sleeves and fustian trousers. He carried his candle in a ball of clay, stuck on the broad brim of his round crowned hat. The water fell in streams, and he told me that to keep his head and face dry, he was bound to waterproof his hat, as I saw it, with wax and rosin.”
Jules Grunswick, Labour and the Poor in England and Wales 1849-51, to (London, 1983), 220.
In Wales the felt hats were normally made from rabbit or hare fur. Around 2 ½ ounces of fur together with good quality wool was required to make each tall hat.
The hair and the wool were drawn together on a hurdle and then, by using an implement similar to a bow, the fibres were spread in all directions while the dust and dirt fell through the holes in the hurdle. The fibres were then squeezed to form a cone, and the cone was then dipped into a large cauldron full of liquid known as a kettle. The liquid was a mixture of boiling water, a glass full of vitriol (sulphuric acid) and beer dregs or in some cases urine. The vitriol compressed the body of the hat and the beer or urine diminished the effect of the vitriol.
The hatters would form the hat on a wooden plank on the rim of the cauldron, dipping the hat from time to time into the liquid. This process was known as planking. It was essential that the liquid be kept at boiling point. Once the hat had been shaped, it was dipped in varnish to make it waterproof, and once dry it was stretched over a hatter’s block to obtain the correct shape and then cut.
It was now ready to be dyed. The hat was dipped in a black mixture, usually made up of logwood, copperas and nutgall. The finished hats were then dried in the open-air. Before being ironed by a heavy iron. A band was stitched on it and a suitable lining was added for the better hats.