Robert Thompson Crawshay staffed the Cyfarthfa Band with professional musicians and provided them with some of the finest instruments available. Even so, the band rarely took part in competitions, being primarily a private band used for functions such as balls, garden parties and regattas.

After Robert Thompson Crawshay's death and his son's departure from Merthyr, the band became a municipal band, but they didn't thrive under their new management and were disbanded in 1928.

Source:
Display panel, Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery