3. The Welsh Trail - Griffith Jones Traditional Cache

A relatively easy 5km circular walk taking in various terrains and views.  Good walking boots/shoes will be needed as some patches can be muddy (especially between Caches 6 to 10).  Sorry, not suitable for wheel chairs or strollers as there are many styles.  Dogs are welcome but must be kept on leads as the walk takes you through fields which are often used for livestock.

Originally set up for the South Wales Geocachers' 'All Things Welsh' Camp 2016 this series takes a little stroll around Llandovery and surrounding area whilst learning a little more about Wales and local history.  Have Fun!

Griffith Jones

You'll find yourself near the local primary school here and so I thought I would mention someone who is not local, but had a very big influence on schools in Wales.

In the early 18th century, the centre of an educational movement that was taking Wales - perhaps even the world - by storm. This was the times of Griffith Jones and his famous Circulating Schools.

In an age when there was no compulsory education, when the vast majority of working class people could neither read nor write, Griffith Jones created a system of schooling that by the time of his death in 1761 had taught almost 200,000 people to read.

Jones, arguably more than anyone else, helped to make Wales into a literate and literary nation.

Griffith Jones was born in Carmarthenshire in 1683. He was educated at Carmarthen Grammar School and was ordained into the Church of England in 1708. As an active member of the SPCK (the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge) Jones was concerned about the illiteracy of his parishioners and when he began his Circulating Schools in about 1731 he was clear that one of his main aims was salvation. 

What Griffith Jones created was a series of schools that would rotate or circulate around the rural parishes of Wales, mainly in the winter months when farm work was relatively slack. The schools would stay in one place for approximately three months and then move on to another location. Dozens of men, women and children flocked to the schools where they used the Bible both as a means of instruction and as a training manual or reading book.

By 1737, just six years after they began, there were 37 such schools in existence with over 2500 pupils or scholars attending the classes. For those who had to work during the day, evening classes were set up (extract from Phil Carradice BBC Blogg)

Cache