Site of ‘Snowdrop Marble’ mason’s home, Morfa Bychan

Link to Welsh translationLink to French translationSite of ‘Snowdrop Marble’ mason’s home, Morfa Bychan, near Pendine

Old photo showing cottage at Morfa Bychan

In the 19th century, stonemason Tom Morris lived with his wife Jenny near here, in the thatched cottage visible in the photo. The building’s overgrown remains lie between where you now see the Second World War concrete block and the shingle ridge – the beach in Tom’s day was much further out into the bay.

Tom selected the stone he used with great care, as is evident in nearby churchyards where his gravestones are unweathered and as clear as when he first carved them in his ornate style.

He described one type of stone as ‘Snowdrop Marble’. It came from quarries further up the valley and elsewhere in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.

Portrait of Tom and Jenny Morris of Morfa BychanTom was born in a local watermill in 1804 and showed his talent for stone engraving when still a boy, working for marble masons in Tenby. Having settled in Morfa Bychan, he created many memorials, mantelpieces, tables and other objects in his workshop outside the cottage, using Snowdrop Marble and other stone. Some are at Eglwys Gymyn, north of here. Heavy slabs of stone and finished work had to be transported to and from the remote spot!

Visitors often gathered at the cottage on summer evenings to hear him sing ballads while playing the cello. He was known as ‘the bard of Morfa Bychan’. They received a warm welcome from Jenny, who wore Welsh flannel and a tall hat. She kept geese and sheep on her smallholding. The middle photo shows the couple in the 1870s and was taken by Carmarthenshire antiquarian George Gilbert Treherne. Tom died in 1886, and Jenny soon after.

Photo of Gloucester memorial using Snowdrop Marblerble_monument_gloucester_cathedralSnowdrop Marble is a grey/black limestone. White shells contrast with its dark surface when polished. It was used for wall memorials and ledger stones which you can still see in local churches, including St Mary’s Church, Tenby. Many date from the 18th century, before Tom’s time.

Snowdrop Marble was also used for fireplaces and chimneypieces, and for the base of the Prince Consort Memorial in Tenby. The photo shows it in a memorial in Gloucester Cathedral. There are also examples at Tredegar House, Newport.

With thanks to Michael Statham and Andrew Haycock, of the Welsh Stone Forum, and to Peter Stopp and Jason Lawday

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