Dinorwig ( ; ; ), historically spelled as Dinorwic in English, is a village located high above Llyn Padarn, near

Llanberis Llanberis () is a village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activity, outdoor ac ...

, in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The name is shared with the fort of Dinas Dinorwig, also within the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Llanddeiniolen Llanddeiniolen (; ) is a community in the county of Gwynedd, Wales, and is from Cardiff and from London. It comprises the hamlet also called Llanddeiniolen, and the villages of Deiniolen, Bethel, Dinorwig, Rhiwlas, Brynrefail and Penisar ...

, on a foothill from Dinorwig village and from the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...

and also with Port Dinorwic, the anglicised name of Y Felinheli. It lies around a mile from the larger settlement of

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 ...

Etymology

It is thought that the village was part of the territory of the pre-Roman

Ordovices The Ordovīcēs (Common Brittonic: *''Ordowīces'') were one of the Celtic tribes living in Great Britain before the Roman invasion. Their tribal lands were located in present-day North Wales and England, between the Silures to the south and the ...

tribe. From mediaeval times it has been part of the township, now the

, of

. The element ''-orwig'', ''-orweg'' has been thought to derive from the tribal name ''Ordovices''; this idea was rejected by linguist Melville Richards for lack of a sufficiently early record of a form ''*Orddwig.''.Some Welsh place-names containing elements which are found in Continental Celtic. In Études celtiques Année 1972 13-1 pp. 364–410 p. 377 Actes du quatrième congrès international d'études celtiques (Rennes 18-25 juillet 1971) Volume I. Linguistique celtique "A massive hill-fort and the name of a mediaeval township. Persistent attempts have been made to equate ''-orwig'', ''-orweg'' with the tribal name ''Ordovices'', but these must be rejected in the absence of an ''early'' Welsh form ''*Orddwig.'' In view of the obvious importance and extent of the hill-forts of ''Dinorben'' and ''Dinorwig'' we should perhaps begin to think of a possible element ''*dinor'', i.e. ''din'' + a collective suffix ''-or''. The elements ''byn/-ben'' and ''-weg/wig'' must remain conjectural." https://www.persee.fr/doc/ecelt_0373-1928_1972_num_13_1_1512

Facilities

Dinorwig is one of the main access points for Dinorwic quarry. It has a bus service to and from Caernarfon, with connecting services to and from Bangor at

History

The village has a long history of slate quarrying. The Romans used local

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 ro ...

for the construction of

Segontium Segontium () is a Roman fort on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales. Etymology The fort probably takes its name either directly from the Afon Seiont or from a pre-existing British settlement itself named for the river. The name ...

, and slates from the valley were used in the construction of

Caernarfon Castle Caernarfon Castle (; ) is a medieval fortress in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The first fortification on the site was a motte-and-bailey castle built in the late 11th century, which King Edward I of England began to replace with the current st ...

. The main local quarry was the Dinorwic Quarry, which was worked from the late 1770s until 1969. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, cheaper alternative roofing materials became available and production at the quarry declined. This led to a decline in the fortune of the village itself and many moved away to nearby towns such as Bangor and

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

. Today, the village shares its name with a pumped storage hydroelectric

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

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 power o ...

. The village is also the location of the Blue Peris Mountain Centre, a residential outdoor activities centre operated by

Bedford Borough Council Bedford Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Bedford, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The town of Bedford was a borough from at least the 12th century until 1974, when the moder ...

and

Central Bedfordshire Council Central Bedfordshire Council is the local authority for Central Bedfordshire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functi ...

. Part of the film ''

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

'' was shot in the disused Dinorwig Quarry, in June 1987.

References

External links

Photos of Dinorwic and surrounding area
geograph.co.uk
Blue Peris Mountain Centre, Dinorwig
{{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Slate industry in Wales Llanddeiniolen Mining communities in Wales