Cerrigydrudion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cerrigydrudion (or Cerrig-y-drudion) is a village and its surrounding parish in North Wales. It currently lies within the local authority area of Conwy. Previously it was part of the historic county of Denbighshire (pre 1974) and then Clwyd, now Cerrigydrudion falls under Conwy County Borough. The village formerly lay on the A5, but a short by-pass now takes the road along the south-western edge of the village.
[edit] Geography and history
Geographically the area is classed as moorland and less favourable grassland. The oldest feature of the village is the church dedicated to St 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, Pentrellyncymer, Dinmael, Glasfryn, Llanfihangel GM and Cwmpenanner. Llangwm and Pentrefoelas are stand alone parishes whilst the remainder fall within the parish of Cerig-y-drudion.
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 tunpike 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 stage 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% state they had some knowledge of the language and over 76% stated that they used spoken Welsh in day to 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 which is a man made reservoir to the north of the village. This 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 Glangors who was a leading radical at the end of the eighteenth century. His ideas were published in the pamphlet "Seren tan Gwmwl" (Star under a Cloud).
[edit] Economy and daily life
The biggest employer in the Parish remains Agriculture although tourism related work is becoming common. Apart from the Church the village also has two active non conformist chapels. 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 also has two public houses namely The White Lion and The Saracens. The White Lion was owned in the 1970's by the famous Welsh entertainer Ronnie who formed half of the duo Ryan and Ronnie. In the past it also received as a guest the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George when he was unable to return home due to heavy snowfall.
Nearby is the older Alwen Reservoir. This was built between 1909 and 1921 to provide drinking water for the English town of Birkenhead. At it's conception the engineer who designed the dam, Deacon, also planned the Brenig which would be built over half a century later.
Today 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 to the show and is one of the most successful non county shows in Wales.
