Penygroes () is a village in

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. The village is located to the south of

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 north of

Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau F ...

, by the A487 road. Penygroes'

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

stands at 1,793 at the 2011 census, of which 88% are

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 ...

-speaking, making it one of the most predominantly Welsh-speaking areas of the country. The population of

Llanllyfni Llanllyfni () is a village and a community in Gwynedd, Wales. It is in the historic county of Caernarfonshire. The community consists of the villages of Drws-y-coed, Nantlle, Nasareth, Nebo, Penygroes, Talysarn and the village of Llanllyfni ...

community, which includes Penygroes and Llanllyfni village, which practically adjoins Penygroes, plus

Talysarn Tal-y-sarn () is a village in the slate quarrying Nantlle Valley in Gwynedd, Wales, next to Penygroes. It is part of the community of Llanllyfni and includes some of Llandwrog. The ward had a population of 1,930 at the 2011 census, the buil ...

, is 4,135 according to the 2011 census.

Etymology

The name of the village is derived from ' "end" + ' " fthe" + ' "cross oads, referring to the crossing at the village of the roads from Carmel, Rhyd-ddu and Pontllyfni with the main

–

road.

History and amenities

Penygroes is located in the former

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

quarrying area of

Dyffryn Nantlle The Nantlle Valley ( cy, Dyffryn Nantlle, ) is an area in Gwynedd, North Wales, characterised by its numerous small settlements. The area is also historically important geologically, and featured in one of the most contentious disputes of the 1 ...

, although most of the quarries are now closed down. However, it remains the valley's main shopping and administrative centre. Its biggest employer is a paper-converting plant producing hand tissues and toilet rolls. It lies in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

, and nearby villages are Carmel, Talysarn, Nantlle, Tanrallt, Nebo, and Groeslon. It is the site of the area's comprehensive

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

, Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle (opera star

Bryn Terfel Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', '' Leporello'' and '' ...

's old school), and football team Nantlle Vale F.C., which used to be managed by the professional wrestler and promoter Orig Williams, better known by his ring name of "El Bandito". The club's former social complex has in recent years been demolished, and a new police station now occupies the site. As of a 2015 local council report 84% of the school's pupils come from primarily Welsh-speaking households. The

cycle path A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...

Lôn Eifion passes near the village, following the route of the former

Carnarvonshire Railway The Carnarvonshire Railway was a railway connecting Caernarvon railway station (terminus of the Bangor and Caernarvon Railway line from Bangor) with Afon Wen. History The Carnarvonshire Railway was absorbed into the LNWR in 1869. At the gro ...

, which ran from

to Afon Wen and closed in 1964. Penygroes lies by the edge of Lord Newborough's former estate at Glynllifon, from which several

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

legends have emanated. The character Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who features in the ages-old legends of the Mabinogi (sometimes inaccurately referred to as the Mabinogion), was said to have lived in the area. The

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

at Dinas Dinlleu and the village of Nantlle—originally spelt as Nantlleu—are said to have been named after him.

Notable people

Bryn Fôn Bryn Fôn (born 27 August 1954) is a Welsh actor and singer-songwriter. He also became the first ever artist to play live on BBC Radio Cymru in 1977. Biography Bryn Fôn was born in Llanllyfni, Caernarfonshire. He attended Ysgol Gynradd Lla ...

(born 1954), Welsh actor and singer-songwriter *

Dafydd Glyn Jones Dafydd Glyn Jones (born 1941) is a Welsh scholar and lexicographer, born in the village of Carmel, Gwynedd. He is a specialist in Middle Welsh prose, and his other interests include Welsh history, Robert Jones, Rhoslan, and the life and work of ...

(born 1941), Welsh scholar and lexicographer; went to school in Penygroes * R. Williams Parry (1884–1956), notable 20th-century poet writing in Welsh * Bill Pendergast (1915–2001), Welsh professional footballer with 118 club caps * Gareth Thomas (born 1954) politician and MP for Clwyd West, 1997 to 2005 *

Betty Williams Elizabeth Williams ( Smyth; 22 May 1943 – 17 March 2020) was a peace activist from Northern Ireland. She was a co-recipient with Mairead Corrigan of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work as a cofounder of Community of Peace People, ...

(born 1944), politician and former MP for

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...

from 1997 to 2010; went to school in Penygroes *

Owain Fôn Williams Owain Fôn Williams (; born 17 March 1987) is a Welsh professional football coach and former professional footballer who is currently the goalkeeping coach for EFL League One side Fleetwood Town. Williams played as a goalkeeper making 271 appea ...

(born 1987), Welsh international goalkeeper with 443 club caps and artist

Notes

{{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Llanllyfni Dyffryn Nantlle