On September 21, the original Mary Jones Bible was displayed in Bala (Wales) for an anniversary event. I visited the exhibition and that Bible is one of three which Thomas Charles gave to Mary Jones on her famous walk in 1800. 

For those who may not know, the Bible I’m referring to is a Welsh translation dating to 1799 and was once owned by Mary Jones (1784-1864). Mary’s story is legendary and tells how she saved pennies and farthings for six years and walked 26 miles to buy herself a Bible in her heart language. Amazingly this Bible was collected in the 19th century and is still preserved and contains her actual handwriting in English. These are the words she wrote in her Bible; 

“Mary Jones was 

born 16th December 1784

I bought this in the 16th year 

of my age. I am daughter 

of Jacob Jones and Mary Jones 

his wife. The Lord May 

give me grace today. 

Mary Jones his the True 

owner of this Bible 

Bought in the Year 

1800 Age 16”

Mary’s English is slightly broken in this text and demonstrates that her choice of language (at the time of writing) was in fact English. She never wrote this account in Welsh. This could be due to the fact that in those centuries the Welsh language was being suppressed and children were subject to a punishment known as the “Welsh Not”. This meant that any child who spoke Welsh in school was at risk of being beaten. It’s horrific! However there is no evidence that Mary Jones was ever subject to the “Welsh Not” since she was educated in schools run by Thomas Charles, who was an advocate of both English and Welsh languages. Bala at the time of Mary Jones was bilingual. So on the basis of that we do not need to assume that the third Book of Mary Jones had to be in Welsh. This is where the rubber hits the road. 

Some think that Mary Jones only got one Bible on her trip to Bala, others claim she only got two, yet Mary Jones herself said she actually attained three Books from Thomas Charles. In her own words Mary put her story this way;

“I came to Bala and trembling, knocked on the door of Mr Charles’ house. I asked for Mr Charles and was told he was in his study at the back of the house. I was allowed to go to him and he told me the Bibles had not arrived. I started to cry because I did not know where to stay. He sent me to an old servant of his who had a house at the bottom of the garden, until the Bibles came. When they came, Mr Charles gave me three for the money that is for the price of one.” (The World of Mary Jones by Sara Eade. P. 14) 

This account was written out in 1864 by Lizzie Rowlands (nee Jones) who interviewed Mary Jones when she was older. I believe the account is accurate since Mary’s use of language (in this text and the writing in her Bible) blend perfectly and you can hear her choice of wording within both accounts.

Other versions of the story, including the 1882 book “The Story of Mary Jones and her Bible” only mention one Bible but they are based upon much later traditions, and are often fictionalised versions aimed for Sunday schools. They cannot be taken as literal history. It is Mary’s own testimony which should be the basis for historical fact. 

Two of these Bibles have been officially accounted for and I believe we can now compliment her story with the discovery of a third Book. 

This third Book I believe is a 1787 Book of Common Prayer and Psalms twice signed by Mary Jones. Research has been done and the signatures match to those in her Bible. 

But why would the third Book be a Book of Common Prayer and Psalms rather than just a standard Welsh Bible? Well, it should be noted that 18th century Bibles were not like the Bibles of today. In our tradition we open the Bible at Genesis and close it with Revelation, but the bound Bibles Mary Jones knew opened with the Book of Common Prayer, and contained the Apocrypha and also an extra version of the Psalms translated by Edmund Prys. So it is probable that Mary Jones would have viewed the Book of Common Prayer as a volume of the Bible, or at least a part of the bound versions she knew. After all the 1717 Bible she learned to read from at the farmhouse opens with the Book of Common Prayer and contains an extra version of the Psalms. I know this because I have viewed and handled it. I’ve handled them all.

Today, the original 1799 Mary Jones Bible is in Cambridge, while the second Bible is in Aberystwyth and the third has been a mystery since the 19th century. So the question remains: Has the third Book of Mary Jones been found?

Yes, I believe it has been found and characteristics match the Bible she owned. Likewise, it makes sense to me that Mary Jones would have had an English Book of Common Prayer since she loved the Psalms and Thomas Charles was an advocate of both Welsh and English languages and when Mary arrived in Bala (to buy a Bible) Mr Charles is said to have given her one of his own copies. Being an ex Church of England minister Mr Charles would have had a Book of Common Prayer in English and he was certainly an advocate of it, so for me, it seems like this part of the story contains an element of truth though it has been mixed up a little in the fictional versions. Likewise it is a fact that a majority of Bibles from the late 1600’s through to the establishment of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804 contained the Book of Common Prayer and Psalms. So for Mary Jones, she wouldn’t have known anything else so it would have been seen as part of the collected volume. 

It seems very fitting to me that she would have had an English Book of Common Prayer and Psalms since Mary Jones loved them both.