Ffridd Gate was a station on the

Corris Railway The Corris Railway () is a narrow gauge railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) and Montgomeryshire (now Powys) in Mid-Wales. The line opened in 1859 as a horse tramway, running from quays on the River Dyfi ...

Merioneth Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is an anglicisation of the Welsh placename ''Mei ...

(now

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

), Wales, UK. It was built at the

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

over the B4404 road to Llanwrin, near the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of ''Fridd''. A small hamlet also grew up around the station and a nearby (pre-existent) toll-house. The hamlet and former station are near to the confluence of the

Afon Dulas The Afon Dulas, or North Dulas, is a river forming the border between Merionethshire/Gwynedd and Montgomeryshire/Powys in Wales. Another river called Afon Dulas joins the Dyfi from the south, upstream of its confluence with the North Dulas: loca ...

and the

River Dyfi The River Dyfi (; ), also known as the River Dovey ( ), is an approximately long river in Wales. Its large estuary forms the boundary between the counties of Gwynedd and Ceredigion, and its lower reaches have historically been considered the b ...

, around west of the village of

Llanwrin Llanwrin () is a small village in the valley of the Afon Dyfi in Powys, Wales, about two miles north-east of Machynlleth. History and background Historically, it was in the county of Montgomeryshire (). The village is named after its church, d ...

and north of the town of

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a po ...

History

Around 1830 a

toll house A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...

was built at Ffridd Gate to control the south end of the turnpike road to

Dolgellau Dolgellau (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merion ...

– now the

A487 The A487, officially the Fishguard to Bangor Trunk Road, is a trunk road in Wales that follows the coast from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in the south, to Bangor, Gwynedd, in the north. Route The road starts at a junction with the A40 in H ...

. When the

Corris, Machynlleth & River Dovey Tramroad The Corris Railway () is a narrow-gauge railway, narrow gauge railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) and Montgomeryshire (now Powys) in Mid-Wales. The line opened in 1859 as a horse tramway, running from quay ...

was built in 1859, it crossed the road to Llanwrin (now the B4404) and passed on the east side of the tollhouse before entering Ffridd Wood. The station, built in 1885, was on the south side of the level crossing and had a simple wooden shelter for passengers. There was no platform.

Positioning

South of the station was the railway's bridge over the Dyfi, originally a wooden trestle construction and later a three-span steel bridge. The site of the bridge is now occupied by the Millennium Bridge for walkers and cyclists, providing a short-cut to

. The

Centre for Alternative Technology The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) () is an ecology, eco-centre in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales dedicated to demonstrating and teaching sustainable development. CAT, despite its name, no longer concentrates its efforts exclusively on al ...

lies about a mile north of the hamlet.

Description

References

External links

The Fridd-Gate tollhouse's entry
on the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW)'
website

Centre for Alternative Technology

Eco Dyfi Valley Partnership
Disused railway stations in Gwynedd Corris Railway Corris Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1887 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1931 {{gwynedd-geo-stub