STONE MARKS SPOT OF SEASIDE TRAGEDY
An innocent summer’s day out ended in tragedy when two sisters drowned during a heatwave, together with the loving maid who tried to save them. More than 160 years later, a block of stone still marks the scene of the devastating incident, as Lucy John rep
IF YOU walk along Llanelli Beach when the tide is out, you might notice a large and mysterious block of stone lying on the sand. At first glance it’s hard to imagine it could be of much significance, but if you take a closer look you can see letters faintly engraved on the top.
The names Isabella, Anna and Jane are just about visible through the erosion.
The stone once stood upright and was erected 166 years ago to mark the place where these three young women met their tragic deaths in a story that has been largely forgotten over the years.
On July 4, 1855, sisters 19-year-old Isabella and 13-year-old Anna Sophia Rees drowned in a pool where the Dyfaty stream met the sea. Their maid, Jane Grier, 26, drowned in a heroic attempt to save them.
That morning the two sisters had been looking forward to a relaxing day at the seaside with their maid and young sister Emily, according to Llanelli Community Heritage.
They hoped to make the most of the sun during an “extreme” heatwave which had been ongoing for a fortnight. They left Cilymaenllwyd, their mansion home on the hill, at around 4pm. They crossed the South Wales railway line and made their way to a “usual” bathing place, a few yards south of the line and “eastward of a culvert through which the river runs”.
The pool was in the Dyfaty river near the park colliery, but despite its natural beauty, it was a very dangerous place to be. At the bottom of the pool lay quicksand, while the depth of the water varied from just 3ft in parts up to 10ft in the centre.
On this day it was at its deepest. The three girls undressed and got into the pool while Jane looked on. Emily went into the pool first and was then joined by her sisters, but she soon came out of the water.
According to a report in the Bristol Mercury at the time, after playing in the pool for quite a while, Isabella “slipped into the pool and sank”.
Anna tried to help her sister “but also disappeared”.
Although she was fully dressed, Jane dashed into the pool in a brave attempt to save them, but “three sank in the struggle”, it said in the Pembrokeshire Herald.
Left alone after seeing her sisters and maid go under, Emily ran back across the railway, screaming for help.
Some boys in a pool on the other side of the railway had been unable to see what was going on, but ran to the spot on hearing her.
A local named John Powell, who was standing at his cottage door about a hundred yards north of the railway line, heard the commotion and hurried to help.
He found the water calm, but noticed “the rising of one bubble” to the surface.
It wasn’t long until word had reached the girls’ family back at the mansion. Fear-stricken, their mum along with a few other family members rushed down to the beach.
At about 5.45pm, with the help of locals, “two large pitchforks with their prongs bent to form grapples”, were plunged into the water, according to Llanelli Community Heritage.
The body of maid Jane Grier was found first at about 6.15pm and laid upon the side of the river.
About an hour later, Isabella’s body was found and, at 7.30pm, Anna’s body was brought to the surface.
Medical assistance had been sent for to try and save their lives, but sadly on arrival they told those at the scene it was “too late to be of service, as they were past recovery”.
The three bodies were carried up to Cilymaenllwyd house, where they were met by the girls’ father who had been summoned after he left a meeting in the Vestry at Pembrey Church.
On Friday, July 6, 1855, an inquest was held at the nearby Talbot Inn – now a private house – by coroner Mr W Bonville. After considering the facts, he recorded their deaths as “accidental death by bathing”.
On July 8, brave Jane – variously described as governess, nursemaid and servantmaid – was buried in the churchyard at Llangennech.
The next day, Isabella and Anna were laid to rest in the family vault at Pembrey Church.
Within days of the event, the Bristol Mercury recorded that “a heap of stones in the river indicates the spot where this most melancholy and heart-rending accident occurred and will act as a warning against its being used for the future as a bathing place”.
More than a century and a half later, in notices erected on the Millennium coastal path, Carmarthenshire County Council still warns visitors of the dark side of this seemingly harmless coast.