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WALES
CARDIFF, Glamorgan, Stone (doubtful), fell 1842
BEDDGELERT, Gwynedd, Stone (H5), fell 1949
PONTLYFNI, Gwynedd, Stone (anomalous), fell 1931


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CARDIFF, Glamorgan
A stone is said to have fallen , sometime before 1842,[13], but the evidence is very unsatisfactory
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PONTLYFNI Gwynedd
Stone (anomalous), fell April 14th 1931 at 11:53am
A fragment of 5oz was recovered, the main mass probably fell into the sea.
extract (abridged) from the Manchester Guardian:
from the Yorkshire Post, April 15, 1931
extracts from a paper by A. King F.R.A.S in the JBAA, vol 42, p328-332
extract (abridged) from the Manchester Guardian: quoted by A. King F.R.A.S in the JBAA, vol 42, p328-332

The meteorite fell within 50 yards of the farmhouse. Weight, exactly 5oz. lt made a hole 8 in. or 9 in. deep in very hard ground. Mr. John Lloyd Jones (tenant of Coch-y-Bug) was not more than ten paces from the spot when it came down. He was startled shortly before noon by what he took to be a clap of thunder. "He walked 200 yards towards the farm-buildings, when he heard a 'rushing, whistling sound.' 'I stood still,' he added. 'and shouted to my son, and then behind me I heard a dull thud. Not knowing what was going to happen, I ran a few steps towards one of the outbuildings. Then my son came up and he took out of a hole in the ground what seemed to be a stone.' Mr. Jones stated that the sky was not noticeably dark when this happened; it was dull, however, and the clouds, though high, were heavy and threatening....

"Mr. John Aneurin Jones, a son of the house, said: 'I heard a succession of reports like muffled guns, and about a minute later there was a peculiar whistling noise as of a projectile. Instinctively I stooped where I stood in the farmyard.

When I picked up the fragment of metal, or whatever it is, it was warm in my hand.' Just before the meteorite fell, he added, horses which were being led reared and whinnied and seemed rather affrighted. Their disorder continued till after the occurrence, when they quietened down."


from the Yorkshire Post, April 15, 1931: quoted by A. King F.R.A.S in the JBAA, vol 42, p328-332

Yorkshire Post, April 15, 1931. "There was a terrific double report followed by an awe-inspming rumble of earth lasting quite 30 seconds. The rumble shook the houses and left an eerie feeling, especially to the residents of houses on elevations. People had their fears intensified by the affrighting effect of the disturbance on domestic animals and on birds and cattle. . . . The effect of the tremor on Portmadoc and neighbouring towns and villages was immediately to empty houses and business premises of their occupants. The streets were crowded with people, whose anxiety was intensified by memory of a terrific explosion during the Great War at a neighbouring explosives factory. Others suggested an explosion in North Wales quarries. Inquiries dissipated these notions.

The alarm subsided slowly, and all day the inhabitants were discussing what could have caused the terrifying report and equally terrifying tremor. . . ."


extracts from a paper by A. King F.R.A.S in the JBAA, vol 42, p328-332

[ A. King quotes the two newspaper articles, then proceeds... ]
One London Daily termed the tremors "earthquake shocks." This is quite understandable, inasmuch as nobody in North Wales seems to have observed the passing of the meteorite through the air, and its true nature did not transpire until later.

[ A. King then give details of the real path determined from two accounts one from Mrs. Freda Beardmore, of Leeds and the other from Mr. Frederick W. Tappin, of Ripon, who had seen a bright meteor at just before noon on the date in question; plus the following map, the visible track being in shown as a solid line, and the places marked with a cross are those whence detonations were reported.... ]
path of meteorite 1931 April 14

Some delay was experienced in verifying the authenticity of the object as a meteorite, and until this was done the computation of the real path was not proceeded with, also it was hoped that other observations of the fireball might be received to augment the meagre available material. When Dr. Spencer went to Pontllyfni the stone had been sold to a gentleman in MidWales, and was pronounced by the former, on visiting him, to be a genuine meteorite. The present owner prefers not to part with it, so that no chemical and microscopical examination has so far been possible, and Dr. Spencer will venture on no description of the meteorite other than to state that it is "apparently of an unusual type."

[ Note Dr. Spencer of the Natural History Museum ]


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BEDDGELERT Gwynedd
Stone (H5), fell September 21st 1949 at 1:47am
One mass of 794g fell through the roof of an hotel.
Extract from Nature magazine, December 10th, 1949, page 990
Extract from Nature magazine, December 10th, 1949, page 990

The Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History) have acquired, partly by purchase and partly by presentation, from Mrs Lorna Tillotson, one half of a new meteorite which fell at Beddgelert, Caernarvonshire, on September 21. The other half is to go to the University of Durham, where Prof. F. A. Paneth plans to make measurements of the helium, uranium and thorium content to add to the present meagre data available for calculating the age of meteoritc stones. Plaster casts of the stone will be made before it is divided. The meteorite is a black chondrite, a rather uncommon type of stony meteorite. The mineral composition has not been studied at present. Its arrival was accompanied by several loud explosions likened by Mr. Tillotson to heavy gunfire. Mr. Tillotson, by noting the positions of the holes in the roof and in the ceiling of the room into which the meteorite fell, determined that the angle of its fall on the roof was nearly vertical. Very few reports have been received about the light or sound phenomena accompanying the fall. Those so far received are from three localities in Caernarvonshire, Lancashire and Cheshire. Any records of the passage of a meteor over Great Britian or Ireland would, therefore, be of interest, and should be sent either to Prof. Paneth or to Dr. W. Campbell Smith, Keeper of Minerals, British Museum (Natural History), London, S.W.7.


ADDITIONAL REFERENCES (awaiting examination)

Note, once quoted or summarised in the main text, they removed from this list.
Ann. Phys. Chem. (Poggendorff)
[13] G. von Boguslawski, 1854, 4 (suppl.), p366