So, Who was Mary Jones?

(This post is dedicated - without apology! - to Bible Society, following my recent visit to Mary Jones World in Llanycil, North Wales)

In the churchyard of St Bueno at Llanycil, by the northern shores of Llyn Tegid (Lake Bala) in North Wales, is a family tomb surrounded by iron railings.  The tomb nearest the lake is that of Thomas Charles; nearest the path is the tomb of his grandson-in-law, Lewis Edwards, while a headstone between them records the burial of other members of the family.  The older man is commemorated thus:

Underneath lie the remains of

The Revd. THOMAS CHARLES, B.A. of Bala

who died Octr 5, 1814 aged 59.

By his indefatigable endeavours when in London (A.D. 1804) to

procure a supply of the Holy Scriptures for the use of his

native countrymen he became the means of establishing

The British and Foreign Bible Society.

He was the reviver of the Welsh Circulating Charity Schools,

and a most active promoter of the Sunday schools both for Children

and Adults:- and North Wales (the more immediate field of his

Ministerial labours for 30 years) will probably retain traces of

his various and strenuous exertions to promote the kingdom

of Christ till time shall be no more.

Also of SARAH, relict of the above Thomas Charles

Died Octr 24th 1814. Aged 61.

She was possessed of every natural endowment and

Divine grace, and was an helpmeet indeed to the

Man the Christian and the Minister.

“Cariadus ac annwyl oeddynt yn eu bywyd,

ac yn eu marwolaeth ni wahanwyd hwynt”

[They were loving and affectionate in their lives,

and not divided in their death.]

The inscription on Lewis Edwards’ tomb reads:

In memory of

The Reverend Lewis Edwards M.A. D.D. [Edin].

Founder and principal teacher for fifty years (1837-1887)

of the College of the Calvinistic Methodists in Bala.

Born October 27, 1809 Died July 19, 1887

Also Jane his wife

Born February 9, 1814 Died January 1892

St Bueno's Church (picture: Bible Society)

The inspiration for Thomas Charles’s ‘indefatigable endeavours’ leading to the establishment of the BFBS (later known simply as Bible Society) was a young woman called Mary Jones.  Her life is now the subject of an impressive display inside the church.

[The church is named after St Bueno who, in the sixth century used to travel all over Wales from his monastery in Clynnog Fawr near Caernarfon.  It was probably built in the twelfth century, but was rebuilt in 1881.  It closed for worship in 2003, and now has a new lease of life as ‘Mary Jones World’.] 

The brand new visitor centre

Mary Jones was born to a poor weaving family on 16th Dec. 1784 at Ty’n-y-Ddôl [the house in the meadow] in Llanfihangel-y-Pennant, in the foothills of Cader Idris, and her father died in April 1789.  In 1794, when Mary was 9, Thomas Charles set up a day school in nearby Abergynolwyn.  Mary had become a Christian in 1792 and, possibly inspired by this new development, she made the decision to save up for a Bible of her own.  It took her many years but, in 1800, she took her savings and walked all the way to Bala to obtain a Bible from Thomas Charles.

Many a fifteen-year-old today would find this task challenging, but 200 years ago, there was no public transport, few decent roads, in fact, and Mary had no choice but to walk.  We don’t know exactly which way she went, nor how long it took her.  It’s certain that she didn’t have 21st-century boots and walking aids!  The map tells us that a direct line from Abergynolwyn to Bala is 24 miles; Bible Society has published a five-day, 28-mile walk: a likely route devised for the bi-centenary by Mary Thomas with the help of local people, particularly the late Mrs Margaret Rees of Llanfihangel-y-Pennant.

In 1802 Thomas spoke about Mary and her determination at a meeting of the Religious Tract Society in London, and two years later the British & Foreign Bible Society was established.

Mary’s life was hard, but perhaps no more so than many poor people of the time.  She married Thomas Jones of Tywyn at Tallyllyn on 27th February 1813, and they moved to Cwrt, in the Dovey valley, roughly midway between Machynlleth and Aberdyfi, and their first child, a son Lewis, was born on Christmas Day.  In the next thirteen years two daughters and three more sons were born to the couple.  They moved to Bryncrug near Tywyn in 1820, but by the mid-1830s five of these children had died. Mary and Thomas were left only with John, the first son born in Bryncrug.  He emigrated to America sometime during the 1840s, and Thomas died in 1849.  Mary died 29th December 1864 after a lifetime’s involvement in the local Methodist Church, and is buried at Bethlehem Chapel in Bryncrug.

Since then - and even during Mary's lifetime - the Bible Society has been working throughout the world to make Bibles available where they are needed.  At present they have people operating in 146 different countries.  To find out more about their work, visit their website.  Who could have known that a long and lonely walk by a fifteen-year-old girl could have had such a far-reaching effect?