Firs Cottage has a rich history, which is most visibly shown in our ingle-nook fire-place, oak beams and the Victorian pitch-pine mantelpiece. We take pride in showing you the original features of our home, including the thick walls which are two or three foot thick in places..
But there is more to our history then these wonderful period features, for instance during roof renovations we found 17th century pegged slates on the original roof which was still there under the 20th century one!
As the cottage is on the 50 foot contour line, it is above the flood plain, so it is thought that a dwelling could have been on this site since the early 600s concurrent with the settlement of Llanrwst. We have details of the previous occupiers and their families back to 1668, and often their descendants, from all parts of the world, come back to do research. Just one such example is Jesse who left here aged 18, in 1895. We have met many of his family and have recently been given his photo by one of his great grand children.
We are also able to boast that the celebrated children’s author Mary Vaughan Jones was born at Firs Cottage in 1918. She pioneered the use of children’s books in Welsh with her series, Sali Mali, still in use today.Many of her books have been re-published by Gymdeithas Lyfrau Ceredigion and there have even been new ones based on her characters, for instance: Sali Mali a’r Ceffyl Gwyllt by Dylan Williams in 2006.
Welsh language TV broadcaster S4C has produced many children’s television programmes and merchandise connected to her beloved characters