HIGH above the Powys border stands a monument to a king.
Few may have heard of Ernest Burton but his legacy is one of more than stone on the hills above Middletown, but his great-grandson, Tyson Fury, is a more familiar name these days.
Fury's grandfather was a Romani chief.
As his culture dictated, Ernest spent much of his life travelling across Britain and Ireland but he was born in Wales and developed a great love for the Breidden hills and passed on his wishes for his ashes to be spread over them after his death in 1960.
These wishes were honoured by his son Uriah who hired a plane to scatter the ashes on the hills.
The monument at Moel y Golfa. Picture: Geograph.
Three years later the family erected the 25 ton granite memorial at the summit of Moel y Golfa
Afterwards his sons, Uriah and Hosiah, carried on their father's legacy as a bare knuckle fighter and Uriah became known as the 'King of Gypsies'.
His fighting prowess has been inherited by his grandsons, British light heavyweight champion Hosea Burton and former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
The monument at Moel y Golfa. Picture: Geograph.
Their grandfather left an impressive legacy: a plaque on the monument notes that he was undefeated from the age of five.
Land for the monument was obtained through donation, but contractors stated that the proposed structure was unfeasible.
Undeterred, the Burton's decided to do it themselves, with others’ assistance, and the granite blocks were shipped from Devonshire.
However, when construction began many who had promised to help failed to come.
The monument at Moel y Golfa. Picture: Geograph.
The brothers reportedly found the truants, taking a bus throughout Britain and driving them to Wales.
Once in Wales, the workers were housed and provided with food and drink. The Burtons even offered remuneration, an offer most refused.
Ultimately the monument was completed: a dozen feet of granite with an inscription near its top commemorating Ernest and his wife Dora.
This was not the end of construction, however, as after Uriah’s death in 1986 a plaque was added memorialising his life, fighting prowess, and character: ‘a true legend in his own time … known and respected by all Gypsies and creeds’.
The stones on Moel y Golfa therefore serve as a memorial to two generations of Romani leaders.
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