Dolanog () or Pont Dolanog is an ecclesiastical parish or chapelry that was formed in October 1856. It comprises the

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

of Dolwar in Llanfihangel portions of Coedtalog in

Llanerfyl Llanerfyl is a village and community (Wales), community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Located near the River Banwy, the community includes the village of Llanerfyl, several farms and wide tracts of marchland. The southern part of the communit ...

, Cynhinfa in Llangyniew and Gwaunynog in

Llanfair Caereinion Llanfair Caereinion () is a market town and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales upon the River Banwy (also known as the River Einion), around 8 miles west of Welshpool. In 2011 the ward had a population of 1,810; the town itself had a p ...

. The total area of this parish is 3,100 acres. Dolanog was within the historic county of

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

, which now forms part of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

, Wales. Dolwar Fechan in Dolanog was the home

Ann Griffiths Ann Griffiths (née Thomas, 1776–1805) was a Welsh poet and writer of Methodist Christian hymns in the Welsh language. Her poetry reflects her fervent Christian faith and thorough scriptural knowledge. Biography Ann was born in April 1776 ...

, the Methodist hymn writer. Dolanog Bridge

Description of the village

Dolanog lies in a stretch of the Vyrnwy valley. The 17th or early 18th century single-arched bridge spans the river below the church beside a pool overhung with oaks. The ford at the lower end of the village is crossed by a footbridge raised on stone piers, near a whitewashed former Corn Mill of the later18th. century. Across the road, the lovely whitewashed L-plan Mill Farmhouse was originally a fulling-mill, made into a house for the corn mill about 1810.

Church

St. John the Evangelist. Nave, chancel, western bell gable and a timber south porch in Early English rival style. The architect was Richard Kyke Penson and the church was consecrated on 12 April 1855. The roof is similar to nearby Pontrobert church, which was also designed by Penson. The Church school was built in 1872 for £150.

Ann Griffiths Memorial Chapel

The chapel was built in 1903 by architect C. Dickens-Lewis of Shrewsbury.

(1776-1805) was a

Calvinistic Methodist The Presbyterian Church of Wales (), also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity based in Wales. The Calvinistic Methodist movement has its origins in the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival ...

, who wrote many notable hymns in Welsh which are still sung today. The chapel has a buttressed front with

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

Gothic details on the bellcote and bowed porch. The adjoining house is slightly later, also of rock-faced masonry with

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

detail, but tactfully neo-vernacular. The furnishings are Art Nouveau, the pulpit and big seat with balustrading. Hammer-beam roof on headed

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

s of Ann Griffiths, David Davies, Rev. R Roberts, and Rev. John Hughes.

Dolanog Bridge or Pont Dolanog

Dolanog Bridge is possibly the finest single early stone bridge in

and may possibly date 17th century with the high camber of the roadway over the arch, which is similar to

Llanrwst ; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is on the east bank of the River Conwy and the A470 road, and lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (histori ...

bridge. It was graphical depicted against a background of mountains in Edward Pugh's ''Cambrian Depicta''. published in 1816. This view has now been lost by the building of recent bridge downstream of the old bridge. The bridge has a carriageway is about 3 metres wide. Rough masonry parapets with upright stone copings. The parapets are turned out at all four ends. Road macadamed and blocked by bollards at each end. It is listed by

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...

as Grade II

Houses

Stone and timbered house at Plas Dolanog - geograph

*Plas Dolanog, Timber-framed, with rebuilt in stone. T-plan with cross-wing and gabled porch in the front angle, dated 1664. Dressed stone chimneys set diagonally. *Dolwar Fach. The home of Ann Griffiths, commemorated in the memorial chapel. The house has been rebuilt since her lifetime. *Dolwar Hall A long, low,

cruck A cruck or crook frame is a curved timber, one of a pair, which support the roof of a building, historically used in England and Wales. This type of timber framing consists of long, generally naturally curved, timber members that lean inwards and ...

-framed house, much under-built in stone, except for a thin band of black-and-white timber work. A central chimney with a stair beside it has been introduced between two of the couples. Probably built in the 15th. century.

The hydro electric plant

Dolanog Estate installed a hydro electric plant on the Vyrnwy in 1921 when electricity was supplied to five houses, the church and the chapel. In April 2007 Derwent Hydro leased the plant. The site had been subject to reliability and operational problems for many years and was not profitable. Derwent Hydro modified the turbine arrangement and comprehensively upgraded the electrical control system at Dolanog including the installation of remote monitoring equipment. The plant now runs reliably, with a peak output over 140 kW.

Pont Dolanog gallery

Literature

*Scourfield R. and Haslam R. (2013), ''The Buildings of Wales: Powys; Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Breconshire'', Yale University Press. pp 106–7. *Thomas, D.R.(1908) ''History of the Diocese of Saint Asaph'', Vol 1, 503–4.

References

External links

Photos of Dolanog and surrounding area on geograph
{{authority control Villages in Powys Montgomeryshire Victorian Montgomeryshire parishes