Cerrigydrudion
Encyclopedia
Cerrigydrudion is a village
and its surrounding parish
in Conwy County Borough, north Wales
. Previously it was part of the historic county of Denbighshire
(pre 1974) and then Clwyd
. The village formerly lay on the A5, but a short by-pass now takes the road along the south-western edge of the village. Prior to the by-pass being built, Cerrig-y-Drudion was the highest point on the A5 between London
and Holyhead
.
and less favourable grassland
. It is on the outskirts of Mynydd Hiraethog
. The oldest feature of the village is the parish church
dedicated to Saint
Mary Magdalene
. It is believed to have existed in 440 AD. It is also mentioned in the 'Norwich Taxation' of 1254. The village is the largest in the area known as Uwchaled which also includes Llangwm
, Pentrefoelas, Pentre-llyn-cymer, Dinmael, Glasfryn, Cefn Brith, Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr and Cwm Penanner. Llangwm and Pentrefoelas are stand-alone parishes whilst the remainder fall within the parish of Cerrig-y-drudion. However, there are multiple Nonconformist chapels throughout the area of Uwchaled, located in many of the minor villages and hamlet
s.
The village was mentioned in the writings of several noted travellers including Edward Lhuyd
and George Borrow
. It attained a certain significance in the 18th century when Thomas Telford
built the A5 turnpike Toll road
between London
and Holyhead
. This would be the main route to Ireland
. The road passed through the village. In the farmhouse of Ceirnioge Mawr, where the stagecoach
and Mail coach
horses were changed, there is a plaque marking the fact that Queen Victoria stopped there en route to Ireland.
The current population of the parish stands at 692 residents. The parish remains one of the heartlands of the Welsh language
and in the last census in 2001, 80% stated they had some knowledge of the language and over 76% stated that they used spoken Welsh in their normal every-day life.
Remnants of human habitation have been found in the area dating back to the Mesolithic
era. Many of these were found in the area of Llyn Brenig
, a manmade reservoir
to the north of the village. The reservoir was built between 1973 and 1976 and was one of the major British engineering projects of that era. Today it is the most important tourist attraction in the area and provides competition class fly fishing
facilities for many visitors.
One of the most famous sons of the parish is Jac Glan-y-Gors
, who was a leading Radical
at the end of the 18th century. His ideas were published in the polemical pamphlets Seren tan Gwmwl ("Star under a Cloud") and Toriad y Dydd ("Break of Day").
(Köppen climate classification
Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom. Due to its upland setting, it tends to be cooler than coastal areas of Wales throughout the year, and heavy snowfall can occur during winter months. The nearest MetOffice weather station at Alwen, about 2.5 miles to the North, holds the Welsh record for the coldest day for the months of June, September and October
although tourism
related work is becoming common.
Apart from the church the village has two active Nonconformist chapel
s. These are Jerusalem, which is dedicated to the Methodist Calvinist group, and Moriah which follows the Congregational path. A third chapel, Seion, which was part of the Wesleyan
tradition, was closed in 2002.
The village has two public house
s, The White Lion and The Saracens. The White Lion was owned in the 1970s by the famous Welsh entertainer Ronnie Williams
who formed half of the duo Ryan and Ronnie. It once received as a guest the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
when he was unable to return home due to heavy snowfall. Across the road from The White Lion is The Queens Head, which closed in the 1990s.
Other facilities include a cafe on the A5 main road called Ty Tan Llan Cafe,a butchers shop called Cig-Y-Llan, HSBC bank, public toilets, library, provisions shop.
Nearby is the older Alwen Reservoir
, built between 1909 and 1921 to provide drinking water for the English town of Birkenhead
. At its conception the engineer who designed the dam, George Deacon
, also planned Llyn Brenig
, built over half a century later.
One of the most popular social gatherings in the village occurs on the first Saturday in September when the local Agricultural Show
takes place. This attracts upwards of 3,000 people and is one of the most successful non-county shows in Wales.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and its surrounding parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
in Conwy County Borough, north Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Previously it was part of the historic county of Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
(pre 1974) and then Clwyd
Clwyd
Clwyd is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east, bordering England with Cheshire to its east, Shropshire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Gwynedd to its immediate west and Powys to the south. It additionally shares a maritime border with the metropolitan county of...
. The village formerly lay on the A5, but a short by-pass now takes the road along the south-western edge of the village. Prior to the by-pass being built, Cerrig-y-Drudion was the highest point on the A5 between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
.
Geography and history
Geographically the area is classed as moorlandMoorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
and less favourable grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
. It is on the outskirts of Mynydd Hiraethog
Mynydd Hiraethog
Mynydd Hiraethog is an upland region in Conwy and Denbighshire in north-east Wales. It includes the large reservoir Llyn Brenig and the Clocaenog Forest, which has one of Wales's last populations of red squirrels. Its highest point is Mwdwl-eithin, at above sea level, making it higher than Exmoor...
. The oldest feature of the village is the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
dedicated to Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
. It is believed to have existed in 440 AD. It is also mentioned in the 'Norwich Taxation' of 1254. The village is the largest in the area known as Uwchaled which also includes Llangwm
Llangwm, Conwy
Llangwm is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, north Wales. The population was 516 in 2001.It is one of three communities in the Uwchaled ward.-References:...
, Pentrefoelas, Pentre-llyn-cymer, Dinmael, Glasfryn, Cefn Brith, Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr and Cwm Penanner. Llangwm and Pentrefoelas are stand-alone parishes whilst the remainder fall within the parish of Cerrig-y-drudion. However, there are multiple Nonconformist chapels throughout the area of Uwchaled, located in many of the minor villages and hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
s.
The village was mentioned in the writings of several noted travellers including Edward Lhuyd
Edward Lhuyd
Edward Lhuyd was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also known by the Latinized form of his name, Eduardus Luidius....
and George Borrow
George Borrow
George Henry Borrow was an English author who wrote novels and travelogues based on his own experiences around Europe. Over the course of his wanderings, he developed a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe. They figure prominently in his work...
. It attained a certain significance in the 18th century when Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
built the A5 turnpike Toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
. This would be the main route to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The road passed through the village. In the farmhouse of Ceirnioge Mawr, where the stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
and Mail coach
Mail coach
In Great Britain, the mail coach or post coach was a horse-drawn carriage that carried mail deliveries, from 1784. In Ireland, the first mail coach began service from Dublin in 1789. The coach was drawn by four horses and had seating for four passengers inside. Further passengers were later allowed...
horses were changed, there is a plaque marking the fact that Queen Victoria stopped there en route to Ireland.
The current population of the parish stands at 692 residents. The parish remains one of the heartlands of the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
and in the last census in 2001, 80% stated they had some knowledge of the language and over 76% stated that they used spoken Welsh in their normal every-day life.
Remnants of human habitation have been found in the area dating back to the Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
era. Many of these were found in the area of Llyn Brenig
Llyn Brenig
Llyn Brenig is a reservoir located in North Wales, in the heart of the Denbigh Moors, on the border between the counties of Conwy and Denbighshire...
, a manmade reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
to the north of the village. The reservoir was built between 1973 and 1976 and was one of the major British engineering projects of that era. Today it is the most important tourist attraction in the area and provides competition class fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
facilities for many visitors.
One of the most famous sons of the parish is Jac Glan-y-Gors
John Jones (Jac Glan-y-gors)
John Jones , better known by his bardic name Jac Glan-y-gors, was a Welsh language satirical poet and radical pamphleteer, born in Cerrigydrudion, Denbighshire, north Wales....
, who was a leading Radical
Radicals (UK)
The Radicals were a parliamentary political grouping in the United Kingdom in the early to mid 19th century, who drew on earlier ideas of radicalism and helped to transform the Whigs into the Liberal Party.-Background:...
at the end of the 18th century. His ideas were published in the polemical pamphlets Seren tan Gwmwl ("Star under a Cloud") and Toriad y Dydd ("Break of Day").
Climate
The Cerrigydrudion area possesses an oceanic climateOceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom. Due to its upland setting, it tends to be cooler than coastal areas of Wales throughout the year, and heavy snowfall can occur during winter months. The nearest MetOffice weather station at Alwen, about 2.5 miles to the North, holds the Welsh record for the coldest day for the months of June, September and October
Economy and daily life
The biggest employer in the parish remains agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
although tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
related work is becoming common.
Apart from the church the village has two active Nonconformist chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
s. These are Jerusalem, which is dedicated to the Methodist Calvinist group, and Moriah which follows the Congregational path. A third chapel, Seion, which was part of the Wesleyan
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
tradition, was closed in 2002.
The village has two public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s, The White Lion and The Saracens. The White Lion was owned in the 1970s by the famous Welsh entertainer Ronnie Williams
Ronnie Williams
Ronnie Williams was a Welsh actor and comedian.Williams struggled with his choice of an acting career, making an isolated television appearance in The Wednesday Play in 1966...
who formed half of the duo Ryan and Ronnie. It once received as a guest the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
when he was unable to return home due to heavy snowfall. Across the road from The White Lion is The Queens Head, which closed in the 1990s.
Other facilities include a cafe on the A5 main road called Ty Tan Llan Cafe,a butchers shop called Cig-Y-Llan, HSBC bank, public toilets, library, provisions shop.
Nearby is the older Alwen Reservoir
Alwen Reservoir
The Alwen Reservoir or Cronfa Alwen is a 5km long reservoir near Pentre-Llyn-Cymmer in the county borough of Conwy, North Wales, held back by the 27 metre high Alwen Dam. It impounds the Afon Alwen, and the dam is 8km downstream from Llyn Alwen. It was built between 1909 and 1921, originally to...
, built between 1909 and 1921 to provide drinking water for the English town of Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
. At its conception the engineer who designed the dam, George Deacon
George Deacon (civil engineer)
George Frederick Deacon was an English Civil Engineer. He was a pupil and lifelong friend of William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin. He was Lord Kelvin's assistant on the SS Great Eastern cable-laying expedition. He was both borough engineer and water engineer to Liverpool from 1871 to 1880, and water...
, also planned Llyn Brenig
Llyn Brenig
Llyn Brenig is a reservoir located in North Wales, in the heart of the Denbigh Moors, on the border between the counties of Conwy and Denbighshire...
, built over half a century later.
One of the most popular social gatherings in the village occurs on the first Saturday in September when the local Agricultural Show
Agricultural show
An agricultural show is a public event showcasing the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show , a trade fair, competitions, and entertainment...
takes place. This attracts upwards of 3,000 people and is one of the most successful non-county shows in Wales.