British Formula 1 (F1) driver Lewis Hamilton stepped out at the 2024 Met Gala wearing a Burberry outfit inspired by John Ystumllyn - "the first Black person in North Wales whose life was well recorded".

Seven-time F1 champion Hamilton, fresh off the Miami Grand Prix over the weekend, attended his fifth Met Gala on Monday (May 6).

The theme of the 2024 Met Gala, which was held in New York, was “Garden of Time".

Hamilton said he was really able to "get into character" with his Burberry outfit for the 2024 Met Gala and "deep dive into the theme".

North Wales Chronicle: Lewis Hamilton raced for Mercedes in the Miami F1 Grand Prix on the weekend before attending his fifth Met Gala on Monday (May 6).Lewis Hamilton raced for Mercedes in the Miami F1 Grand Prix on the weekend before attending his fifth Met Gala on Monday (May 6). (Image: David Davies/PA)

Speaking on the red carpet, he said: "What I love about the Met is that I'm really able to deep dive into the theme. 

"So I did a lot of research and I came across this 18th century gardener that through slavery times came over from Africa to Wales and became the first black gardener in Wales."

He added: "So that's where the inspiration comes from."

The F1 driver also took to Instagram to show off his outfit and share a little more information about the Welsh gardener who inspired his Met Gala outfit.

Hamilton, on Instagram, said: "Inspired by the legacy of John Ystumllym and the beauty of his work.

"Thank you Daniel Lee and the @burberry team." 

Who is John Ystumllyn?

John Ystumllym, who was born in 1738, is "the first Black person in North Wales whose life was well recorded", according to Cadw. 

"He is likely to have been a victim of the Atlantic Slave Trade and was taken as a child to the Wynn family's Ystumllyn Estate in Criccieth," the experts at Cadw explained.

"Here he was taught English and Welsh, and learned horticulture, showing great talent in the estate gardens.

"He began a romance with, and finally eloped with and married, the local maid Margaret Gruffydd with whom he had seven children.

"They continued to work on estates in and around the area eventually being given a cottage and garden in recognition of service."

Ystumllym died in 1786. 

It is believed he was "well-regarded and widely liked" but "the colour of his skin drew attention throughout his life as did his marriage to a white woman" Cadw added.

Ystumllym is commemorated by a Grade II listed sandstone memorial at St Cynhaearn's Church, Ynyscynhaearn.

There was also the John Ystumllyn rose named after him in 2021.

The Gardener - poem inspired by John Ystumllyn

As part of Hamilton's Met Gala outfit, he said he'd had a poem by Welsh poet Alex Wharton, who hails from Torfaen, sewn into his jacket.

The poem, named The Gardner was inspired by Ystumllym and reads:

I’ll take cover, watch the rain pass (the smell of water on the summer grass).

This is my boundary, my place.

Within the old stone, cold stone walls.

I am the Gardener. 

I clear things up, make good.

Plant seeds, watch them grow.

Mist and light, Moss and bark.

I know where wind moves.

Why birds sing. My thoughts drift – wrap and climb like clematis.

Nothing separates me from this land, but the cries of my mother.

A dream or nightmare. A mixture of both.

I see the maid, Margaret- Tip toe through the meadow.

Her fear, a few steps ahead.

I’m hacking at bramble, she’s butterfly quiet – but I am no black devil!

Maybe she’ll run again, flinging the plate of bread and ale.

But if she stays:

I’ll show her the roses, how petals make use of shadows, or is it the opposite?

I’ll turn soil for her, show her that darkness isn’t emptiness but endless giving.

Flowers are birthed here. 

Food and life.

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I hope the sun pours light upon our skin. And we melt into each other, into everything.

Maybe the trees will speak, as they sometimes do.

Whispers from the shade - run, run away.