So, all over the Valleys, the miners and the ironworkers are angry,
they're up in arms,
they're forming mobs and they're heading
down towards Newport, and our ancestor is trailing them
in his first-class coach...
LAUGHING: Don't do that! ..monitoring them at every point.
Good that we're peeling away the layers of Thomas Jones Phillips.
He's gone from being a sort of officious windbag to now
being a full-blown snitch, who's trying to stop a mob of people
that are fighting for freedom.
Hello. Morning.
Two tickets to Newport, please.
Off to Newport we go.
On the 4th of November 1839,
Jack's four-times great-grandfather, Thomas Jones Phillips, was pursuing
a band of armed Chartists marching on Newport.
I now want you to pretend that it's 1839. OK. Fine.
"Nothing extraordinary occurred until the coach reached Abercarn.
"There we overtook several colliers and miners who expressed
"their intention to go to Newport.
"The coachman told them what the fare was. One or two of them paid
"the amount demanded and others said they had no means.
"I then suspected that something disagreeable was going to take place
"and expressed to the coachman my surprise at his permitting persons
"to occupy places on his coach without paying their fare."
Really? "And those persons were compelled to abandon their seats."
Basically some miners and colliers were trying to get on the bus
and then Thomas Jones Phillips has gone,
"Oh, excuse me. Excuse me, these, these guys haven't paid."
He's a perennial snitch.
So what happened then?
Well, hopefully they beat him up.
"We passed several groups of colliers or miners, some with guns,
"others with pikes."
"When I arrived at Newport, I went to the Westgate Inn
"where I was made fully acquainted with what had taken place in my absence."
What happened in his absence?
I want to know.
Jack and Michael are meeting up with local historian Rhian Jones.
Hello again. Hello again. Hello. How are you? Nice to see you. Hi.
So we have been following the route of our ancestor.
He was hot on the heels of a mob of angry Chartists
who were marching on Newport
and we know that something went down at the Westgate Inn. Mm-hm.
Yeah, unfortunately, when your ancestor arrived, he would
have found the front courtyard of the Westgate Hotel full of injured
and killed Chartists. Oh, no. Mm-hm.
Around 5,000 Chartists marched on the Westgate Hotel, where a group
of their fellow Chartists were being held prisoner.
500 soldiers and special constables guarding the building opened fire
on the protesters.
And how many people died?
22 Chartists died and about 50 were injured.
So, what happens after this nightmare here?
After the battle, which only lasts about 20 minutes to half an hour,
the surviving Chartists scatter,
but obviously there are, there are warrants out for the arrest
of anyone who took part, which brings me to this document.
"£100 reward. John Frost.
"The above reward will be paid to any person or persons who shall
"apprehend and bring to justice John Frost, who stands charged
"with the crime of high treason by order of the magistrates.
"Borough of Newport, November 4th, 1839."
And the magistrate of Newport is... Thomas Jones Phillips?
Yeah. Clerk to the magistrates. Well, he would've been working for them, yeah.
Oh, God.
Thomas Jones Phillips isn't the guy that finds him and turns them in, is he?
The next part of the story takes place in Shire Hall in Monmouth,
where some of the remaining Chartists get put on trial.
Please don't be.
HE SIGHS
To discover what became of Thomas Jones Phillips in the wake
of the Newport Rising, Jack and Michael
have returned to Monmouth.
So, this is the courthouse in which all of the Chartists
arrested after the rioting were put on trial.
And does our ancestor Thomas Jones Phillips play a part in these trials?
Oh, yes. HE LAUGHS
He has to make a deposition to tell the story of what he was doing.
"Thomas Jones Phillips being sworn sayeth that he is a solicitor
"residing at Newport.
" 'I arrived that morning, Monday 4th,
" 'about half past ten.
" 'I assisted the magistrates in taking evidence.
" 'I then took the information of the parties who had inculpated
" 'John Frost as the ringleader of the riot.
" 'The magistrates had agreed to offer a reward of £100
" 'for the apprehension of John Frost for high treason. Bills
" 'offering that reward for his apprehension were issued.
" 'I do not recall seeing them
" 'before I went to execute the warrant.' "
Oh, so he's saying he didn't know that there was a...
Oh.
"Oh, is there a reward?" "Oh, is there a reward? £100 for, for finding
"this guy that I've hated for years. Well, that's a convenience."
So, Steve, you've got one final thing to show us.
I presume this is going to be like a drawing of our ancestor
Thomas Jones Phillips dancing around with John Frost's
head on a stick.
Shall we have a look?
This is the criminal register from the assize court.
"Names of offenders -
"John Frost.
"Offence -
"High treason.
"Sentence -
"Death."
"Execution of capital sentence -
"Transportation for life."
So not death. No.
Ultimately not. The appeals for clemency were successful,
so... That's great news. That's... There's the light.
This whole thing we've been looking for some light at the end
of the tunnel and we've found it. Transportation wasn't a sort of picnic. OK. Where does he go?
So, he goes to Australia. Australia! That's lovely! Sure.
Warm, sunny. Yeah...
Well, it's not a holiday, you know, it's a penal colony.
He doesn't die there incidentally. He doesn't die! Even better!
He's given a full pardon.
Well, there is a happy ending.
Through all this darkness and despair and our scumbag ancestor.
So, what happened to Thomas Jones Phillips?
Well...
..here's a notice from the Monmouthshire Merlin. Again.
JACK GASPS
"To the ineffable grief of a numerous family,
"Thomas Jones Phillips, Esq,
"died on Saturday the 30th after acute
"and protracted suffering."
1843, that's only three years after the sentencing of John Frost.
Yeah. So, he doesn't get long to...
..to enjoy his victory.
So Frost wins, which is good.
So...
I wonder where his plaque is.
"Charles Octavius."
No.
It's not there.
Shall we...? "Martin Durance."
No. Have you found it? Anything?
Well, my problem is I can't read a lot of them.
"The Duke of Gloucester, 2006." He opened the shop! Right. OK.
It's not on the floor...you don't think? No, it's a wall plaque.
Oh, I don't know. I'm going to go to the loo. OK.
Got him.
"Thomas Jones Phillips." Oh, yes. God, look.
Read it out.
"Sacred to the memory of Thomas Jones Phillips,
"for many years a much respected solicitor in this town."
That's actually quite sad.
It is very sad. Seeing a plaque to one of your ancestors
is a little weird.
There he is, our ancestor.
Laid to rest...
..above the toilet.
Not a lot of light in our story.
No.
Should have done it with Mummy.
And, in fact, knowing what I know about you and your ancestry,
I think going forward,
I am going to have to sever ties with you and focus on Mummy.
Why, because I'm Welsh, you mean?
No, not because you're Welsh,
because all your ancestors were wrong 'uns.
I'm sure Mummy has really nice ancestors.