We found the shipwreck of the Bronze Bell, as it's known, off Talybont in 1978. It had lain there for over 300 years There isn't actually a wreck there - the ship broke up in the storm and was strewn across the beach. It's the heavy things which remain. So when we dived we first found a couple of rather shapeless canons and some marble blocks - the cargo.
There were 43 blocks down there in all. Two have been raised and one has been carved into a sculpture by local sculptor Frank Cocksey. It's called The Haul, and depicts three generations of fishermen bringing in the last haul and saying 'that's it, we've had enough, we can't make a living out of this any longer'. You can find it at the entrance to the harbour here.
We'd love to get some more rock up to do another sculpture for the town. It is a bit of a waste having so much marble under the sea, but it's in the hands of CADW. It is a good idea to stop people bringing things up willy-nilly, of course, but two more blocks would be great for the town.
We think the centres of marble carving were London and Amsterdam, and so we think this cargo was destined for very important use. There is a possibility it was meant for the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral because there's mention of some marble coming by sea via Wales in the ledger. However, after completion there's another mention that this marble never arrived on site.
One thing that this Italian marble did perhaps confirm was an old local legend told by a family from Dyffryn.
They'd always said that they were descended from an Italian who was shipwrecked here. Their name until recently was Bennett Williams, but we believe the original name was passed down from John Benedictus, who is buried in the local churchyard. So there was some truth to this legend
The ship would have been on its way to London or Northern France. But ships often ended up being blown off course. Having come out of the Straits of Gibraltar, they would head north to 'dead wreck', where they could only guess within 100 miles as to where exactly they were.
Hopefully, by turning right, they'd reach the English Channel. But if there was a gale, they might end up anywhere, like up in Cardigan Bay which has always been a total trap.
The wreck lies only about 400 yards off the beach and people ask me why they didn't swim ashore. But on a stormy night, with gale force winds, heavy clothes and perhaps unable to swim, it would be nearly impossible. I'm a pretty good swimmer and I couldn't get ashore in those conditions.
