Maentwrog () is a village and

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 ...

in the Welsh

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

(now part of

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 ...

), lying in the Vale of Ffestiniog just below

Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog () is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,0 ...

, within the

Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

. The River Dwyryd runs alongside the village. Its population of 585 in 2001 increased to 631 at the 2011 Census. 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 ...

of Maentwrog includes the village of Gellilydan.

Location and transport

The village lies on the A496 between

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, North Wales, and formerly in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it ...

and

, and also on the Roman road Sarn Helen, now classified as the B4410, at the junction with the A487 from

Porthmadog Porthmadog (), originally Portmadoc until 1972 and known locally as "Port", is a coastal town and community (Wales), community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, Wales, and the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Caernarfonshire. It li ...

, leading to the

A470 The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigate th ...

(to

Trawsfynydd Trawsfynydd (; Welsh language, Welsh for ) is a linear village in Gwynedd, Wales, near Llyn Trawsfynydd reservoir, and adjacent to the A470 road, A470 north of Bronaber and Dolgellau and 10 km (6 miles) south of Blaenau Ffestiniog. It als ...

and

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 ...

). Nearby Plas Tan y Bwlch, substantially rebuilt during the 19th century by the rich Oakeley family on the site of a first house probably built in the early 17th century, overlooks the village. Plas Tan y Bwlch has its own halt - Plas Halt - on the

Ffestiniog Railway The Ffestiniog Railway () is a heritage railway based on Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia#Snowdonia National Park, Snowdonia National Park. The ...

, and nearby Tan-y-Bwlch railway station is the railway's principal intermediate station. The ''National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)'' stated that Tan-y-Bwlch was the postal town of Maentwrog. Between 1882 and 1964 the nearest mainline station for passengers was ' Maentwrog Road', some two miles away; the use of "Road" in a station's name was a GWR

euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

for "not near the settlement in the station's name".

Etymology

Maentwrog means "Twrog's stone" (Welsh ''maen'' = stone). According to legend, a giant known as Twrog hurled a boulder from the top of a hill down into the settlement, destroying a

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

. This stone is said to be the one located in St Twrog's Church courtyard. It is said that if one rubs this boulder one is fated to return to the village in the future. The name was already in existence before the 12th Century as, according to a story found in the ''

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () is a collection of the earliest Welsh prose stories, compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created –1410, as well as a few earlier frag ...

'', Pryderi is buried "at Maen Tyfiawg, above Y Felenrhyd" after being killed by

Gwydion Gwydion fab Dôn () is a magician, hero and trickster of Welsh mythology, appearing most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', which focuses largely on his relationship with his young nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes. He also appears ...

in a battle at Y Felenrhyd on the banks of the River Dwyryd about a mile from the town. The boulder supposedly hurled by the giant is also the one said to mark Pryderi's grave. An alternative source, the ' Stanzas of the Graves' from ''

The Black Book of Carmarthen The Black Book of Carmarthen () is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book dates from the mid-13th century; its name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog ...

'', states that the grave is at Aber Gwenoli which is located in the woodland now known as Coed Felinrhyd just above Y Felenrhyd.

History

The church is dedicated to the memory of Twrog, an eminent British saint, who lived in the 5th and 6th Centuries. According to information in St Twrog's Church, based on a late addition to the Bonedd y Saint, there were four brothers and sons of Ithel Hael o Lydaw (Brittany) who came to Wales as

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

: * Saint Baglan is the founder and

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of Baglan; * Saint Tanwg is the founder and patron saint of Llandanwg; * Saint Tegai is the founder and patron saint of Llandegai; * Saint Twrog is the founder and patron saint of

Llandwrog Llandwrog (; ) is a village and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, most notable for the presence of the headquarters of Welsh record label Sain (record label), Sain and the site of Caernarfon Airport. It has a population ...

and of Maentwrog. The village settlement expanded in the 19th century to house workers from 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 ...

mines. Within the village community is the imposing Plas Tan y Bwlch, home of the Snowdonia National Park Study Centre and former residence of the Oakeley family. Maentwrog hydro-electric power station was opened in 1928, and still produces electricity today. It is supplied by water from

Llyn Trawsfynydd Llyn Trawsfynydd is a large artificial reservoir situated near the village of Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd, North Wales. With a total surface area of the reservoir is slightly more extensive than Wales's largest natural lake, Bala Lake at . History ...

, a large man-made

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

located near the village of

. The power station produces electricity for the local Welsh Power network while controlling the level of the water in the lake to protect the local wildlife on the lake shores. The station has 2 turbine sets, capable of producing approximately 32 MW, the head of water being roughly 180m.

Social facilities

There are two village inns: The Grapes Hotel, a 17th-century Grade 2 listed

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...

near the parish church; and The Oakeley Arms, across the valley at Tan-y-Bwlch.

Notable residents

* Edmund Prys (1542/3 – 1623), poet and biblical translator, born in nearby

Llandecwyn Llandecwyn () is a hamlet near Penrhyndeudraeth in Gwynedd, Wales. The bulk of the population (between 40 and 50 houses) is now located around Cilfor close to the A496 road and served by Llandecwyn railway station, with a cluster of under ten ho ...

, was rector between 1572 and 1624 and is buried inside St Twrog's Church. *

Morgan Llwyd Morgan Llwyd (1619 – 3 June 1659) was a Puritan Fifth Monarchist and Welsh language, Welsh-language poet and prose author. Biography Morgan Llwyd was born to a cultured and influential family in the parish of Maentwrog, Gwynedd. His grandfat ...

(1619–1659) a Puritan Fifth Monarchist and Welsh language poet and prose author. *

Thomas Love Peacock Thomas Love Peacock (18 October 1785 – 23 January 1866) was an English novelist, poet, and official of the East India Company. He was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley, and they influenced each other's work. Peacock wrote satirical novels ...

(1785–1866) an English novelist and poet; lived at Maentwrog in 1810/1811, close friend of

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

. * Edward Stephen (1822–1885), bardic name ''Tanymarian'', a Welsh musician, singer and composer of hymns and songs. * Russell Grant (born 1951),

astrologer Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

, lives in nearby Tan-y-Bwlch, Maentwrog.The Journal of The Ffestiniog Railway Society, Issue 201, Page 611, Summer 2008

References

External links

GENUKI(tm) pagePlas Tan y Bwlch - Snowdonia National Park Study Centrewww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Maentwrog and surrounding area
* {{Authority control