National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales preserves and celebrates the sound and moving image heritage of Wales, making it accessible to a wide range of users for enjoyment and learning. Its film collection reflects every aspect of the nation’s social, cultural and working life across the 20th century, giving a fascinating insight into Welsh filmmaking, both amateur and professional.
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White Rose Laundry
Dashing away with the smoothing iron/She stole my heart away – so goes the traditional song and here are numbers of women smoothing away the creases, using a variety of irons.
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Overview
The days of detachable collars generated a lot of work for the women in the laundry, each collar going through a number of different processes. Then there was the ironing of bed linen and clothes, using a variety of different irons and equipment, including a twin-armed device for pressing shirts. Men kept to the wet area of the laundry – filling and emptying the washers with enormous loads of garments/bedding, including that collected from the notorious local Lord Tredegar.
Founded by Ernest Charles Jordan, a builder, and at this point run by one of his 11 children, Ernest Charles Jordan II, the White Rose Laundry operated at 87 Caerleon Road, Newport from 1909 until 1972 when it was taken over by Newport Paragon Cleaners and Launderers. ECJ II also purchased Caefelin Laundry, Llangollen, which was run by his second wife, Nellie Boote. What state Lord Tredegar’s laundry would have been in is anyone’s guess – he lived with a menagarie of animals at Tredegar House, Newport, and gave extravagant parties at which he would dance with the kangaroo. He had strong links with the Vatican, MI5 and the occult!
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