Brynrefail () is a small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, an ...

, Wales which straddles the A4244 road roughly between

Deiniolen Deiniolen (; ; ) is a village in Gwynedd, Wales, at the foot of Elidir Fawr, in Llanddeiniolen Community. Deiniolen has views over Caernarfon (7 miles away) and on a clear day, Holyhead Mountain and occasionally the Wicklow Mountains in Irel ...

and Llanberis. The village is in the

Arfon (UK Parliament constituency) Arfon is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Westminster). Although the constituency is relatively large by geographical area, it is a predominantly urban rather than rural seat, with the majori ...

and the

Gwynedd Council Cyngor Gwynedd ( en, Gwynedd Council) is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language. History The county of Gwynedd was created in 1974 under ...

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Penisa'r Waun. It is a short walk from the northern shore of

Llyn Padarn Llyn Padarn is a glacially formed lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales, and is an example of a moraine dammed lake. The lake is approximately long (about 240 acres) and at its deepest point is deep, and is one of the largest natural lakes ...

lake. The main street is mainly traditional terraced housing. Notable buildings include the village's

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

, and the village's sole chapel, which is still in use. The village is policed from Llanberis and has a dedicated Community Beat Manager.

History

In the 19th century, the village was built to house workers for the nearby Dinorwig slate quarry. The village developed around the village smithy (yr efail in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

). The building that housed the smithy, which was built in 1776, still exists and has been converted into a cottage called "The Nook". Brynrefail's development may have been also influenced by the quarry railway that ran between Dinorwic Quarry and

Y Felinheli Y Felinheli (), formerly known in English as Port Dinorwic, is a village and community beside the Menai Strait ( cy, Y Fenai or ''Afon Menai'') between Bangor and Caernarfon in Gwynedd, northwest Wales. History Toponymy Etymologically, its ...

(or the unofficial English name of Portdinorwic) and skirted around the village. On the 1933 ½ inch

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

map of the area (Sheet 11) and on the 1948 revision of the same map, the village is referred to as Bryn-yr-Efail. At one time the village was home to the Ysgol Brynrefail before the campus was moved to the nearby village of

Llanrug Llanrug (or Llanfihangel-yn-y-grug) is a medium-sized village and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It lies about to the east of Caernarfon, south of Bangor and northwest of Llanberis. It is the largest populated village in the Arfon ...

in the 1960s. The school's site was cleared in the 1990s. Until 1960, the village's main street was the main road between

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor ...

and Llanberis until it was by-passed by the existing road to allow machinery to be conveyed to what was then the major construction site for the

Dinorwig Power Station The Dinorwig Power Station (; ), known locally as Electric Mountain, or Mynydd Gwefru, is a pumped-storage hydroelectric scheme, near Dinorwig, Llanberis in Snowdonia national park in Gwynedd, north Wales. The scheme can supply a maximum powe ...

. This split the village, leaving the small Local Authority

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

of Trem Eilian effectively stranded on the other side of what has later become a very busy main road. In 2002, work began on a multi-use centre called "Caban". Opened in 2004, Caban is home to a café, a meeting room, which doubles as the village's chapel, and 13 business units. The café was mentioned in the

Which? ''Which?'' is a United Kingdom brand name that promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products, highlighting inferior products or services, raising awareness of consumer rights and offering independ ...

2008 Good Food Guide.

External links

Caban website

North Wales Police

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Brynrefail and area
{{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Llanddeiniolen Mining communities in Wales