| Blaenau Ffestiniog |
 | Boot dump. Information is currently being
gathered about the boot dump at Blaenau Ffestiniog. Spoken history
tells of a heap of boots (reputedly millions of boots) burning for years
on the hillside outside of the town. The remains from the fire can
still be seen today. The story is emerging of boots being brought to
Blaenau Ffestiniog after the First World War and being sorted into those
which could be repaired and those which couldn't. The un-repairable
boots were burnt. |
| Crimea Pass. Again, spoken history tells of
the walls along the Pass being built by Russian prisoners of war.
There are also memories of a pub where the lay-by is now on the top of the
Pass and also of a brewery on the same site. |
| Facebook Group -
Save Blaenau Ffestiniog's Heritage and History - old photos and
information |
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| Bontddu Gold Mines |
|
| Charles Darwin on the Rhinogs |
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| Dolgellau |
| Quaker Community -
In 1657 George Fox and John
ap John travelled throughout Wales, arriving at Dolgellau from
Machynlleth. Their preaching made a great impression on some of the local
families and a sizeable Quaker community grew. Quaker's from the
area emigrated to America and the area also has strong connections with
the Cadbury family. For more information visit the Tourist
Information Centre in Dolgellau where there is an exhibition on the
Quakers or
visit this website. |
|
Historical Landscape Characterisation Review of Dolgellau
- a document produced by CADW which tells the story of the development of
Dolgellau. Contains a fascinating insight into the Town's history
and tells the history of some of the buildings that can still be seen in
the Town. |
|
| Flash Floods |
| On 3rd July 2001 flash floods
hit the area, stripping trees from valleys, knocking down bridges and
washing away cars and livestock. Have a look at
this website
to see the forces of nature in action. |
|
| Frongoch (A4212 towards
Bala) |
| Whisky distillery - in 1897 the owner of the
Rhiwlas Estate near Bala built a whisky distillery at a cost of around
£100,000. Frongoch was chosen because of the suitability of the
water in the Tryweryn river and because the whisky could be easily
transported by train. At it's peak, the distillery employed about 30
people plus managers. Because of the strong religious faith of the
local people and the fact that the temperance movement had reached the
area the liquor was moved out at night to avoid attacks from the locals.
The venture went bankrupt in 1910. The buildings were empty until
the First World War when they were converted into a camp for German
prisoners. Some Germans didn't survive their imprisonment and were
buried in the local church yard, but after a number of years their remains
were disinterred and buried in England. |
| Irish Prisoners - in 1916 the Easter
Rising took place in Ireland. After the rising, hundreds of Irish
were taken to prison in Knutsford and to other prisons in England.
It is believed that 1,836 prisoners were sent to a camp in Frongoch, but
that some were released because they had been wrongly arrested and this
brought the numbers down to five or six hundred. There were two
camps, one was based in the old Whiskey Distillery buildings whilst
another camp was higher up in the direction of Capel Celyn. One camp
consisted of a collection of wooden huts. One of them has survived to this
day and is used by the Frongoch and District Women's Institute.
Among the prisoners at Frongoch were Terence MacSweeney, J.J. O’Connell
and Michael Collins. There is a plaque commemorating these events at
the lay-by in Frongoch. |
|
| Links To The Rich And Famous |
| The newly digitised 1911 census for Wales reveals
that Kylie Minogue's Great Grandmother was from Blaenau Ffestiniog |
| Russell Grant, the famous astrologer currently
lives in a grand house overlooking Maentwrog...
but not for much longer! |
|
| Llyn Celyn (A4212 towards
Bala) |
| A Lost Village -
the lake of Llyn Celyn tells a sad tale - in the early 1960s the
Liverpool City Corporation built a reservoir at Capel Celyn and in the
process drowned a Welsh speaking community. Today a commemorative chapel
overlooks the still waters of the lake and during dry months, the ruined
village can be seen as a reminder of what was lost. |
|
The Story of Capel Celyn and Tryweryn - The National Library of Wales |
|
Appeal for money to save "Tryweryn Wall" - BBC Story |
|
| Manod Quarry, Blaenau Ffestiniog |
| The drama "Framed" recently told a story of
precious paintings being stored underground at Blaenau Ffestiniog.
This really happened but back in World War II
Read the real story. |
|
| Penrhyndeudraeth |
| The site of Gwaith Powdwr at Penrhyndeudraeth is
now a nature reserve but during World War II it is said that 17 million
hand grenades where made there. The site has a long association with
explosives production right back to the middle of the 1800's. The
site closed in the 1990's. It was, at its peak, one of the largest
employers in the area with a workforce of 500 people. There have
been a couple of massive explosions there during its history but many of
the buildings and some equipment remains giving an insight to its previous
life.
Find out more about Gwaith Powdwr and the nature reserve that now
stands on the site. |
|
| Plas Tan y Bwlch |
| Plas Tan y Bwlch is the grand house that can be
seen on the hillside, looking out on Maentwrog, on the drive down to
Porthmadog. It is now the Snowdonia National Park's training centre,
Click here to read about its history and past inhabitants.
|
|
| Plas y Dduallt and Campbell's Platform |
| Also near to Maentwrog. this |
|
| Rhiw Goch Inn |
|
Many lives of our local Inn - for those of
you who have visited Cadair View Lodge or intend to visit you will know
that this inn is only a few hundred yards away, but are you aware of its
history? The inn was originally built as a farmhouse in the
12th Century. It has been greatly extended over the centuries.
The area where the entrance is now was built about 1610 and the hall bar
was built in the late 1930s. During its early centuries it was an
important country house - the home to the local MP and High Sheriff of
Merioneth in the mid 1500s. It was also the local courthouse with
executions taking place there. In 1610, Henry the Prince of Wales
spent several nights at the house. It continued as a private house
until in 1905 it was bought by the War Department for the Royal Artillery
training camp - the inn became the Officers' Mess. The Army left in
the 1950s and the Rhiw Goch because a residential hotel. In the
1970s the residential side of the business was abandoned and the Inn
developed into what is seen today. |
|
| Romans around Trawsfynydd |
|
It is believed that the locals living around Dolgellau
and Llanelltyd put up a gallant fight against the Roman invasion but
eventually the better organised Romans won and the local area became part
of the Roman Empire. However there is little evidence of the Romans
having been in that area. They did build an important fort at
Tomen-y-Mur near Trawsfynydd and another less important one at
Caergai, near Bala.
It is believed that up to 500
auxiliaries lived at
Tormen-y-Mur. There was allegedly a bath house and a wooden
amphitheatre on the site too.
From Tomen-y-Mur stretched a great road (Sarn Helen). It went south
down the Ganllwyd valley (passing above Bronaber) but before reaching
Llanelltyd, it appears to have turned east towards Llanfachreth.
There it turned south again, and it crossed the Wnion close to Bont
Newydd.
There would also have been a road between the fort at
Caergai and Tomen-y-Mur, but the definite route has not been established.
Some traces of the roads can still be seen but they
probably weren't paved as they weren't heavily used, and so over time they
have disappeared.
See an aerial photo of the Roman fort complex near to Bala
See an aerial photo of the Roman fort at Brithdir near to Dolgellau |
|
There is what is reputed to be a
Centurion's grave
on the hills above Bronaber. |
|
A
Roman Will was found near to Trawsfynydd in the 19th Century |
|
Several years ago a few coins from the
Emporer
Hadrian's era were discovered near to Ffynnon Fair above Dolgellau. |
|
There is also a fort on the top of
Moel Offrwm, There
is great speculation as to who built this fort. |
|
| Royal Artillery Training
Camp at Bronaber |
| It's difficult to imagine now at our quiet cabins
that less than 100 years ago the whole area was an artillery range.
It is difficult to track down much information but here are some snippets. |
| The area was apparently chosen because the terrain
was very like that in the area of Africa where the Boar war was being
fought. |
| Local farmers had to leave their property for many
hours each day while the bombardments took place. |
| In the 1960s when the forestry commission took
control of the land to plant trees there was still a considerable amount
of live ammunition on the ground. So much so that when the ground
was being ploughed for planting the bulldozers had to have armour-plated
cabs to protect the drivers!
Source |
| Bronaber used to be known as "Tin Town" due to the
fact that many of the buildings were erected quickly out of corrugated
metal sheets to meet the needs of the army camp (1902-1962). Most of
tin buildings have been pulled down and replaced with brick built
buildings. |
| This is a weird link! - SF Cody the
great Wild West Showman apparently stayed at the camp at Bronaber in
August 1906 whilst developing surveillance kites for the British War
Office! -
Link |
|
Troop
Trains Notice |
|
This link shows a photo of one of the early camps which was nearer to
Trawsfynydd. This photos is from 1904 |
|
This link shows photos of buildings and items still evident from the
Camp and Ranges |
|
This link is to a document from 1941 giving the Byelaws for the
Trawsfynydd Artillery Range |
|
| Tal-y-llyn Hoard |
|
A hoard of late Celtic artefacts were uncovered on the slopes of
Cadair Idris, overlooking Tal-y-llyn lake. Items including shields
which may've been used in the battle against the Roman invaders |
|
| Trawsfynydd |
| Bard of the Black Chair - Ellis Humphrey
Evans was born at Trawsfynydd in 1887. He began writing poetry at an
early age and won his first prize in 1907. He was called up to serve
in the army in 1917 and was sent to Flanders. He was killed in a
battle the same year. At the National Eisteddfod in Birkenhead a
month later, his poem was chosen as the winner. As a mark of respect
the Eisteddfod chair was covered in a black cloth. A film was later
made depicting his story. A statue of the poet stands in the middle
of Trawsfynydd. For more information about Hedd Wyn and details of
how to visit his birthplace
click here |
| Trawsfynydd Martyr - St John Roberts was
probably born at Rhiw Goch in 1577 and baptised at St Madryn's Church
Trawsfynydd. It is believed that he received his early education
from a dispossessed monk from Cymer Abbey - following the dissolution of
the monasteries. He was raised as a Protestant and joined St John's
College, Oxford in 1595/1596. He then left Oxford to study law in
London. Whilst travelling on the continent he became a Catholic and
went to a Jesuit College at Bordeaux. After becoming a Benedictine
he adopted the name of Brother John of Merioneth. He returned to
England and tended the sick and dying during the plague and it was whilst
taking mass he was finally arrested by the authorities. He was
executed as a traitor. There are 2 portraits of him in Gellilydan
Catholic Church and one of his fingers is at the Catholic Church at
Blaenau Ffestiniog. See leaflet at Cadair View Lodge for more
information. |
| Trawsfynydd Power Station - the power
station is in the process of being decommissioned and there is currently a
debate over whether the large reactor buildings should be preserved by
CADW.
See films about the power station |
|
| Tremadog |
| Birthplace of Lawrence of Arabia - now forms
a coffee shop and accommodation |
|
| Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant |
| This is the birthplace of Bishop William Morgan who
translated the Bible into Welsh and is credited with unifying the Welsh
language. This 16th Century house is set in a remote valley near to
the village of Penmachno. It is managed by the National Trust.
Click here for more information |
|
