Images (7)
Fieldnotes (1)
Folklore (2)
Topics (1)

Images

Image of Y Garreg Fawr (Burial Chamber) by thesweetcheat

The stone has been in the wars, trimmed and dressed, but obviously broken into pieces at some point as well.

Image credit: A. Brookes (2.1.2017)

thesweetcheat Jan 9, 2017

The top of the stone has a beautifully eroded hollow, filled with ice today.

Image credit: A. Brookes (2.1.2017)

thesweetcheat Jan 9, 2017

First site visit of 2017, a frosty Llanbadarn Fawr. Look at the thickness on that.

Image credit: A. Brookes (2.1.2017)

thesweetcheat Jan 9, 2017

Image of Y Garreg Fawr (Burial Chamber) by Kammer

Taken 19th December 2002: OK, so this is pretty cheesy, but here’s my Christmas offering to the site. Garreg Fawr is built into the top of the wall in the foreground. The Christmas tree in the background is one of two standing in the village of Llanbadarn Fawr (that’s more than Aberystwyth has, so perhaps they’re trying to say something).

Ho ho ho, merry Christmas etc etc!

Image credit: Simon Marshall

Kammer Dec 25, 2002

Taken 15th eptember 2002: Here’s the stone itself. You can just about make out the cracks where the stone was broken.

Image credit: Simon Marshall

Kammer Sep 20, 2002

Taken 15th September 2002: This photo shows the war memorial, with Garreg Fawr behind it (to the left) partly covered by the shadow of the war memorial cross.

Image credit: Simon Marshall

Kammer Sep 20, 2002

Taken 15th September 2002: This little metal plaque is mounted on the base that supports Garreg Fawr. The Powells of Nanteos are no longer about, but back in the 19th century they owned large swathes of Ceredigion (including the land where my house now stands). I wonder who lays claim to the stone now?

Image credit: Simon Marshall

Kammer Sep 20, 2002

Articles

Y Garreg Fawr

Burial Chamber

Kammer Sep 19, 2002

This enormous stone was once part of the capstone of a large burial chamber. It now sits relatively inconspicuously in the centre of Llanbadarn Fawr where it is has been incorporated into the wall behind the war memorial.

It’s very easy to find the Garreg Fawr stone once you’ve found the war memorial. If you don’t know Llanbadarn, then you might miss the centre of the village if you’re driving in, because Llanbadarn boasts a (very small) by-pass road. Once you find a one way street with speed bumps on it, you know you’re nearly there. The stone is behind the war memorial when you have your back to the hairdresser’s (Hayley’s Hair Studio).

Thanks to Toby for consistently pointing this site out every time we stumbled out of the Gogerddan Arms. We took the mickey at the time, but here I am writing about it!

Y Garreg Fawr

Burial Chamber

thesweetcheat Jan 8, 2017

According to tradition it was originally a megalithic dolmen about 4000 years old. It has served mainly as a small platform used by preachers, the Parish Clerk and others to make public announcements. In the past there was a large tree in front of it on which were nailed fox tails and the corpses of other creatures which preyed on chickens.

Charming local customs abound. Taken from the village information board near the stone.

Y Garreg Fawr

Burial Chamber

Kammer Sep 19, 2002

Back in 1867 a gentleman called Mr Morgan wrote about Garreg Fawr (the great stone) in his Aberystwyth Guide. He describes how it once “stood on pillars of the same material” but was “fractured by the kindling of a bonfire upon it”.

Before it’s destruction the tomb appears to have been the focal point for village life. Morgan says that “the [village] crier used to proclaim all matters of public interest” from the monument.