Thrale history

Bardsey Island, Gwynedd, Wales

Tree: UK Thrale family

Notes:

Henry Thrale had been visiting Wales for many years with his Welsh wife, Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury. In 1777, they made a trip to Bardsey Island, where they were impressed by its serenity and religious significance. Henry made enquiries about buying the island.

In a letter to John Cator on 12 November 1778 he wrote …

I am very serious about the purchase of Bardsey Island, and have been making some inquiries about it. I should like to improve it as much as possible, without destroying its natural beauty, or the religious veneration in which it is held by the Welsh. I think it might be made a very agreeable place of resort for people who want a little quiet and retirement.

However, Thrale’s plans for Bardsey Island never came to fruition. He died in 1781 and had not progressed his plan by the time of his death. It is possible that ill health and business commitments prevented him from doing so.

Hester Thrale wrote to Fanny Burney on 26 November 1783 …

He had often wished for a little Elysium, where he might be able to pass his summers in perfect tranquility; and he had found a place which he thought suited his ideas, and had begun to form a plan for making it his own. This place was Bardsey Island, a small spot on the coast of North Wales, which had been from time immemorial a place of pilgrimage, and was said to be the last spot in Britain where Christianity remained after the departure of the Romans. Mr Thrale was much pleased with the idea of having a place so retired and so full of ancient and religious associations, and he had begun to form a plan for building a house there, and for making the island as beautiful as possible. He had even gone so far as to purchase some land on the island, and he was very sanguine about the success of his undertaking. However, his death prevented him from carrying out his plans, and the island remains as it was in his time.

Location : Latitude: 52.75689199999999, Longitude: -4.7886018751236135