A retired vicar lay dead in his home for nearly three years before being found by police an inquest heard.
Police found the body of Rev Dr Hubert Basil Henry Bevan in a bedroom at a rubbish-filled house in Bryniau Duon, Llandegfan near Menai Bridge last October.
The hearing at Llangefni heard officers had called to check on the cleric’s welfare after neighbours said they had not seen him for some time.
After speaking with a woman, later identified as Mr Bevan’s wife Pauline, officers entered the house and found a body, lying on its side fully clothed and wrapped in blankets..
North Wales senior coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said initially police were unable to identify the body.
“There were no features to enable the officers to identify the body. There were, however, grounds to believe the remains were that of Mr Bevan officers,” the coroner said.
Inquiries were carried out and the purpose of yesterday’s inquest was to determine the identity of the body and try and pinpoint a cause of death said Mr Jones.
“DNA was the main, if not only, way to establish the identity and samples were taken from the body. But samples have to matched with someone and Mr Bevan had no children. For quite a while there was no one to whom the samples could be matched.
“The police were able to trace a brother of Mr Bevan and he co-operated by giving a DNA sample but this was not a perfect match and the results were by no means conclusive. But they suggested the remains could be, and probably were, those of Hubert Basil Bevan,” he said.
Mr Jones said a statement taken from Mrs Bevan and subsequent discussions satisfied him the body was that of Mr Bevan.
“In normal circumstances I would be called her to give evidence but she is in no fit state to do so,” he added.
Mr Jones said the couple had lived at the house since 1998 and that Mr Bevan had a history of heart illness.
“She said these problems were ongoing and that on November 11, 2010 - the day before his 86th birthday - he complained of chest pains, was short of breath and later died.
“For reasons of no concern to this inquest the body was allowed to remain and no efforts were made for a funeral,” he said.
The inquest heard the house was untidy with rubbish up to five feet deep in some rooms. A number of dead animals were found and the RSPCA took away a number of cats and a dog
Pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers, who visited the scene, said his examination of the mummified remains showed no signs of trauma and no evidence Mr Bevan had fallen. There were also no signs he had taken any drugs.
He believed it was perfectly reasonable he had died of a heart attack.
The coroner concluded Mr Bevan died of natural causes.
Rev Bevan was ordained in 1955 and spent most of his career in Wales, serving in the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon before moving to North Wales in 1978. He was rector of Llanferres from 1978 to 1980, vicar of Treuddyn from 1980 to 1985, and rector of Llanfynydd from 1985 to his retirement in 1989, when he said to have moved to Anglesey. He is originally from the north-east of England.
A spokesperson for the Church in Wales said, “We are very sad to learn of the death of the Revd Basil Bevan. He was a faithful priest and gifted preacher who served most of his long ministry in the Church in Wales.
"He suffered from severely impaired eye-sight in later years and memorised every service he would need to do, such as marriages and baptisms.
"He is remembered by those who knew him with great affection, as a real gentleman who took an interest in all aspects of the wider church life. He retired in 1989 when he was Rector of Llanfynydd, Wrexham, and moved to the Anglesey area. He did not seek permission to officiate at churches as a retired cleric.”
