Because of pride in my Welsh heritage, I have named my enterprise Mathrafal Collectibles, and aim to provide many different things, Handmade Chocolates and fudge, brassware, rugs, cheeses and even Welsh Whiskey and other items, sourced where possible from the Principality of Wales and Montgomeryshire in particular. Mathrafal is a magical and mystical place in central Wales in the county of Montgomeryshire and was the first home of my mother’s father – my Grandfather Bob Jones.  It was and still is, a prosperous sheep and cattle farm situated on mostly flat land in the beautiful valley of the river Vyrnwy, a tributary of the river Severn just west of its confluence with another river, the Banwy.
Above and overlooking the Mathrafal fields are the typical wooded hills of the area described by my mother in her book A View of Old Montgomeryshire as: humped backed hills, lying like sleeping lizards in the sunlight.  The summits and prominences of many of the hills still show evidence of ancient defensive earth ramparts of Celtic tribesmen who defended their land from Roman invaders some 2,000 years ago and many myths and legends have come down the ages associated with these places and every time I come around the hillside above Mathrafal I feel a sense of wonder, of history but most of all a pride in the knowledge of belonging to this ancient landscape.  In 2003 the Welsh National Eisteddfod (photo above), a festival of music, song and dance was held on the Mathrafal fields and walking my long deceased Great-Grandfather’s fields was quite a strange experience.  At the foot of this hill are the remains of Old Mathrafal Castle.  Only the castle mound now remains, with a few traces of walling.  As a castle it had a relatively short history; it was built as the original fortress for the Princes of Powys, the chieftains of this area .  The motte or mound was probably built at the end of the 12th Century. Then the seat of Powys was transferred to Welshpool in early C13, but these were troublesome times, with many territorial squabbles and Llywelyn ab Iorwerth who by that time had gained control of much of central Wales destroyed Mathrafal Castle in 1212.

 Many superlative craftsmen, often inspired, as I am by the Welsh landscape have agreed to provide a superlative range of collectibles and treats and we welcome you to our site.

I live in Bristol, just across the Seven Estuary from South Wales, but am a frequent visitor to the “Land of my fathers” and Powys Paradwys Cymru, the paradise of Wales that is the county of Montgomeryshire (Powys).