When I think of native Welsh castles I tend to think of sturdy defensive towers like Dolbadarn; Castell y Bere is on a completely different scale, with three towers, courtyards, curtain walls and a drawbridge.
The display board at the site gives a pretty good idea of what it may have looked like.
It was built by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), Prince of Gwynedd, in around 1221.
He and his successors occupied it until 25th April 1283 when it fell to the English under Edward I. It was finally abandoned around 1294.
I was labouring under some difficulty this day, as I accidentally left my camera behind at our hotel and the battery ran out on my ex-wife's camera soon after we got to Castell y Bere.
I was thus reduced to taking photos on my Samsung Galaxy SIII. Within the limitations of the phone, the quality is surprisingly good.
External Links and References
External Links
Castell y Bere
Cadw's official site with a detailed history, opening times, etc. https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/castell-y-bere
Castell y Bere
Detailed history of the site an lots of photos from the excellent Castle Wales site. http://www.castlewales.com/cybere.html
Llanfihangel y Pennant is probably best known as the start of the easiest
walk up Cader Idris
This explains not only the large number of cars parked nearby, but also the very welcome public toilets discretely tucked away in the woods opposite the church.
The church itself is pleasant but unremarkable. Unusually, the most interesting things are in the vestry.
As well as an extensive, if slightly confusing, display on the remarkable life of Mary Jones (see below), there is also an extraordinary patchwork relief map of the Dysynni Valley made by a group of local women.
I don't know what they were on, but I wouldn't say no to some of that.
External Links and References
External Links
Saint Michael's Church
Lots more photos and some brief details from the Castle Wales site. http://www.castlewales.com/st_michaels_church.html
Further up the road past the church is Ty'n y Ddôl the cottage where Mary Jones (1784-1866) was born.
The daughter of devout Calvinistic Methodists, she became obsessed with the idea of owning a Welsh Bible. Eventually, after saving for six years, in the year 1800 at the age of 15
she walked barefoot from Llanfihangel y Pennant to Bala, some 26 miles (42 km) to procure a copy from the Rev. Thomas Charles.
Inspired by her devotion, Charles (along with William Wilberforce and others) founded the British and Foreign Bible Society, a nondenominational Christian charity whose purpose is to make local language versions of Bible available throughout the world.
Jones married a weaver from Bryncrug named Thomas Lewis, and lived a life of abject poverty. She is buried at the graveyard of Bryncrug Calvinistic Methodist Chapel. She had six children, only one of whom survived into adulthood, and he emigrated to America as a young man.
External Links and References
External Links
Mary Jones and her Bible
Wikipedia article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jones_and_her_Bible
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