About five years ago, I started researching for a book I was writing at the time about old pubs. I was often flabbergasted by some of the wild stories told about some of these great old boozers, but none was more bizarre than the story told about an old inn in Tregaron called Y Talbot.
This charming hostelry situated in the centre of town is believed to date back to the seventeenth century. But it isn’t beams or log fires that make this place stand out in the memory. It is the quite spectacular story of the elephant buried in its beer garden. Perhaps the wildest thing about this story though, is that it is quite likely to be true.
The elephant, who is locally nicknamed Jwmbi, was part of a touring circus troupe, quite possibly Batty’s Travelling Menagerie, who entertained extensively in the area. According to an 1840 article the Cambrian News, the chapels of Tregaron were empty on the day the circus visited the town, with everyone lining up to see Batty’s exotic animals. Sadly, the young elephant became ill and died after drinking contaminated water at Bronmywn Farm. There was a lot of lead mining in the area at the time, and presumably this had something to do with it. Land belonging to Y Talbot Inn was made available for the burial of the creature, and there he has remained ever since.
Over time this story has passed into the realm of myth, with no one really quite certain if it is true or not. Accordingly, in 2011, an archaeological dig was commissioned to try and track down Jwmbi’s final resting place. Early attempts were confounded by the discovery of an 1840 title deed which revealed that, at the time of Jwmbi’s burial, Y Talbot had over 200 acres of land. You may well describe exploring such a vast area “a mammoth task” (I’m here all week).
Undeterred, project leader Dr Jemma Bezant led a team of volunteers, including children from the local primary school, to take a part in a series of small-scale excavations. However, after a five-day dig, the archaeologist from the University of Wales Trinity St David had to concede that they had found no signs of the elephant, and so the mystery continues.
Graham Loveluck-Edwards is an author and broadcaster specialising in Welsh history. His book “Historic Pubs of Wales” is available from Amazon, all good bookshops, or direct from the author on this link.
