Rowen, Conwy
Encyclopedia
Rowen is a small village
on the western slopes of the Conwy valley in Conwy county borough, north
Wales
. It lies off the B5106 road, between Dolgarrog
and Conwy
.
In recent times the name of the village has been variously spelt as "Rowen", "Ro-wen" and "Roewen". Although the Religious Census
of 1851 records the name "Ro-wen", most early 20th century maps simply use the name "Y Ro", Welsh
for "gravel" or "pebble
s". Wen means "white", or could mean "holy".
The Afon Roe
, a tributary
of the River Conwy
, flows through the village. A tributary of Afon Roe is Afon Tafolog
, which drains the eastern slopes of Drum
, a mountain
in the Carneddau
mountains.
The village has a shop, a pub and a small primary school. There is a youth hostel a mile to the west of the village.
In the past, however, the village had a greater significance; it had three mill
s, and several ale houses and inns. It also had a pandy or fulling mill, so woollen
cloth must have been made nearby.
The village is a popular starting point for hillwalking
in the northern Snowdonia
, especially in the Carneddau mountains.
Nearby are the Roman road
route through Bwlch-y-Ddeufaen
, with its cromlech
Maen-y-Bardd, the neolithic dwelling site Caer Bach and the ancient 12th century church of Llangelynnin
.
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...
on the western slopes of the Conwy valley in Conwy county borough, north
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
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...
. It lies off the B5106 road, between Dolgarrog
Dolgarrog
Dolgarrog is a small village in the Conwy County Borough in North Wales situated between Llanrwst and Conwy, very close to the Conwy River. The village is well known for its industrial history since the 18th century and the Eigiau dam disaster, which occurred in 1925...
and Conwy
Conwy
Conwy is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. Conwy has a population of 14,208...
.
In recent times the name of the village has been variously spelt as "Rowen", "Ro-wen" and "Roewen". Although the Religious Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 1851 records the name "Ro-wen", most early 20th century maps simply use the name "Y Ro", Welsh
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...
for "gravel" or "pebble
Pebble
A pebble is a clast of rock with a particle size of 4 to 64 millimetres based on the Krumbein phi scale of sedimentology. Pebbles are generally considered to be larger than granules and smaller than cobbles . A rock made predominantly of pebbles is termed a conglomerate...
s". Wen means "white", or could mean "holy".
The Afon Roe
Afon Roe
The Afon Roe is a small river in Snowdonia, north Wales.Its tributary is the Afon Tafolog, which drains the eastern slopes of Drum, a mountain in the Carneddau range.The river flows through the village of Rowen before joining the River Conwy....
, a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the River Conwy
River Conwy
The River Conwy is a river in north Wales. From its source to its discharge in Conwy Bay it is a little over long. "Conwy" is sometimes Anglicized as "Conway."...
, flows through the village. A tributary of Afon Roe is Afon Tafolog
Afon Tafolog
The Afon Tafalog is a small river in Snowdonia, north Wales. It is fed by a number of streams which drain the eastern slopes of Drum, a mountain in the Carneddau range....
, which drains the eastern slopes of Drum
Drum (Wales)
Drum is a summit in the Carneddau mountains in north Wales, 2 km north-east of Foel-fras. It is 770 m high. It is also known as Carnedd Penyborth-Goch....
, a mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the Carneddau
Carneddau
The Carneddau , are a group of mountains in Snowdonia, Wales. It includes the largest contiguous areas of high ground in Wales and England, as well as six or seven of the highest peaks in the country—the Fourteen Peaks...
mountains.
The village has a shop, a pub and a small primary school. There is a youth hostel a mile to the west of the village.
In the past, however, the village had a greater significance; it had three mill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
s, and several ale houses and inns. It also had a pandy or fulling mill, so woollen
Woolen
Woolen or woollen is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn...
cloth must have been made nearby.
The village is a popular starting point for hillwalking
Hillwalking
In the British Isles, the terms hillwalking or fellwalking are commonly used to describe the recreational outdoor activity of walking on hills and mountains, often with the intention of visiting their summits...
in the northern Snowdonia
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
, especially in the Carneddau mountains.
Nearby are the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
route through Bwlch-y-Ddeufaen
Bwlch-y-Ddeufaen
Bwlch-y-Ddeufaen is a mountain pass in Conwy county borough, north Wales, traversable only on foot or horseback, following the former Roman road from Caerhun to Caernarfon...
, with its cromlech
Cromlech
Cromlech is a Brythonic word used to describe prehistoric megalithic structures, where crom means "bent" and llech means "flagstone". The term is now virtually obsolete in archaeology, but remains in use as a colloquial term for two different types of megalithic monument.In English it usually...
Maen-y-Bardd, the neolithic dwelling site Caer Bach and the ancient 12th century church of Llangelynnin
Llangelynnin
Llangelynnin is a former parish in the Conwy valley, in Conwy county borough, north Wales. Today the name exists only in connection with the church, a school in the nearby village of Henryd, and the nearby mountain ridge, Craig Celynnin.Llangelynnin Church is possibly one of the remotest...
.