Was there a Dowlais College in the area in the mid 1800s?

[nancyw]

I am researching family history and found in my great-grandfather's obituary that he was a professor at Dowlais College in the mid 1800s. Would this college have existed in the area?

[robertjones]

There was a Merthyr College near where the West End Bowls Club meets now.
Dowlais was a large important town in the 1850s and there may well have been
a private school calling itself Dowlais College, although there was an early Ironworks
school for employees of the Dowlais Works. No formal Education Board until the 1870s
Very unlikely there would be any records of a Dowlais School but there may be a mention
in local newspapers ....... the National Library of Wales has put many on-line and for free
Actually lots of small private schools before 1870, Tydfil School being one, and there was
a Jewish College for a few years. I would never dismiss the idea just because evidence is hard to find

[nancyw]

Thanks so much for this information. I will try to find some information through the National Library of Wales.