Volume Eight - Pre-Victorian to the present day - more aspects - Chains at Penarth Dock - Macey, Mules and Wallace Family History . . .

William Mules, with his daughter May. May was born in 1887 to his second wife, so the photograph was taken around 1906. William is sporting a fine moustache.

The text shows that although William was only a workman in the dock, he had excellent handwriting and prose. He also used some ‘old English’ words (‘hath’ instead of ‘has’ etc) probably because he was a religious man. William was 58 years old and Elizabeth was 54 when he began this particular diary.

The 1906 diary reveals that William was a good worker, sometimes working through his lunch to get an extra hours pay - ‘Work all day - dinner hour + 1 hour’. He also worked frequent night shifts. This would have been necessary so that ships could leave with a full load if the high tide was in the morning. It also paid better rates.

The diary also revealed that William had strong faith. Most Sundays, he took Elizabeth and his youngest 3 children to ‘The Hall’, sometimes twice in the same day. William was a Methodist. The original Methodist Chapel was built on the corner of Arcot Street and Chapel Lane in 1864. William was a member there as it was just along the other end of the street from where he lived. After it was burnt down in 1905, the Methodists moved to temporary residence at the Lesser Hall above shops in Ludlow Lane (now Hamptons). This was built by local businessman Solomon Andrews, a Methodist himself, c 1880. The hall windows are still there. William sometimes named the preachers. These included Mr Jackson, Mr Watson, Mr Treleven, Mr Bevan, Mr Atkains, Mr Knapps, Mr Lander and Mr Lansdown.