Tal-y-Bont is a small village in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It lies in the Conwy Valley in North Wales, west of the River Conwy, on the B5106 road, six miles from Conwy to the north, and six miles from Llanrwst to the south.
It lies adjacent to the village of Dolgarrog to the south, and below the small settlement of Llanbedr-y-Cennin to the west.
The 'Bont' (the mutated form of pont, Welsh for "bridge") in the name probably refers to the bridge over the Afon Dulyn, a tributary of the nearby River Conwy, which runs through the village.
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Tal-y-Bont is the starting point for the road to Llyn Eigiau and the southern Carneddau mountains. Access to the northern end of the Carneddau Range and the Roman road over to Aberystwyth can also reached by following the road up from Tal-y-Bont through Llanbedr-y-Cennin - which is on the eastern edge of the Snowdonia National Park - and taking a left fork at the pub, Ye Olde Bull Inn, in Llanbedr.
Walkers can access peaks in the northern end of the Carneddau Range such as Drum and Foel Fras, and then continue south east to reach Carnedd Llewelyn.
The village has a chapel, a primary school Ysgol Tal-y-Bont, a hotel named The Lodge, a public house named Y Bedol (The Horseshoe), a butchers T. Parry-Jones and Daughters, a local shop and a memorial hall with recreational grounds (including tennis courts and a MUGA (Multi Use Games Area)). There was a garage and petrol station ("Rose's Garage") run by a mechanic called Mr. Rose and later run by his son Keith Rose, which once served the village, but it is now sadly closed down. The Lodge Hotel (around 100 Yards from the sign post's welcoming you to Tal-y-Bont from the village of Conwy)is a very friendly place with a great atmosphere, very friendly staff and beautiful rooms and food. The Lodge Hotel is run by Neil Bradshaw with his friendly and welcoming family.
Tal y Bont's memorial hall is a community supported hall with facilities such as a professional snooker table, meeting rooms, a main hall and a stage. The memorial hall has been know to accommodate weddings, birthdays and the very popular Village Gala, which is held in the summer holidays every year.
Y Bedol public house is a beautiful building run by Jennie Thomas and her partner, Keith serving wonderful food and real ale's. Y Bedol has faculties such as a Pool table, darts, disabled toilets, beer garden looking down the valley, juke-box, fruit machine and a cigarette machine. Y bedol holds a popular disco every two weeks by a well known local Disco Jockey, DJ Mike Rowlands. Y Bedol is popular with locals and tourists and has a very warm atmosphere.
To the west is a hill named Pen-y-Gaer, on top of which can be found remains of a Bronze Age hillfort. The hill occupies a commanding position above the village, with views north down the valley to Conwy and Llandudno, and south to Llanrwst. Pen-y-Gaer can be reached by following the road that runs up through Llanbedr-y-Cennin, taking the left fork at the Olde Bull Inn and then taking a left several miles later when the hill appears directly above to your left.
Half a mile to the north of Tal-y-Bont is the hamlet of Caerhun, where the Roman fort of Kanovium (Circa AD60) is located.
The latter 19th century saw a number of artists living in Tal-y-bont and neighbouring Llanbedr-y-cennin . The art movement, which had started in Betws-y-coed in the 1850s, saw a movement down the valley after the arrival of the railway in Betws-y-coed. Initial settlememt was in Trefriw, and the 1871 census listed the first artist settler in Tal-y-bont/Llanbedr as J.Cole. There were 7 artists living here by the 1881 census, and 15 by 1891.[1]
Charles Potter, an artist from Oldham (many of the artists were originally from the Manchester area), was instrumental in setting up the Tal-y-bont Artists Club, and in raising funds to construct in 1886 the ‘Artists Club’ building at Tal-y-bont (actually Llandbedr-y-cennin), and he became its first President. The group had originally starting meeting informally at the Olde Bull Inn in 1883, then in 1884 used the upper floor of a stable building (above a carpenter’s workshop, and now demolished) as their first studio.
Named “Walden”, the building offered a studio, a gallery, a classroom, a billiard room, and entertainment space. It originally had 40 members, male artists who lived or worked locally, although there were 150 honorary members. It had a committee of 17 members. The building was also used to hold art courses for clubs from far-and-wide, and every autumn there was an exhibition, despite the fact that this was not an altogether accessible place to the average picture-buying tourist. Nevertheless, membership (including non-resident members) grew to a number approaching 150.
The artist colony was a strong influence on the formation of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, which moved into Plas Mawr, Conwy in 1886.
The colony came to an end at the onset of World War I, and in the 1920s the building became a private home.[2]
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