Cwm-y-glo is a small village in

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

, east 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 is ...

, between

Llanberis (; ) is a village, 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 activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...

and

Llanrug Llanrug (or Llanfihangel-yn-y-grug) is a medium-sized village and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It lies about to the east of Caernarfon, south of Bangor and northwest of Llanberis. It is the largest populated village in the Arfon ...

. It is in the Arfon Parliamentary constituency, 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, tow ...

, and the

Gwynedd Council Cyngor Gwynedd ( en, Gwynedd Council) is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language. History The county of Gwynedd was created in 1974 under ...

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

. Cwm-y-glo ward includes Ceunant and Pont-rug and has a population of around 1,000. The focus of the village is on the original roadway, now bypassed by the

A4086 road The A4086 is an A road in Gwynedd. The road goes between Caernarfon and the A5 near Capel Curig. In Caernarfon, the road leads towards the east to cross Afon Seiont near Pont-rug, then turns towards the south-east, past the shore of Llyn Pa ...

, which follows the approximate line of the former railway. To the east of the village lies the

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

Afon Rhythallt The River Rhythallt ( Welsh: Afon Rhythallt) is a river in Gwynedd, North Wales whose source is Llyn Padarn. It flows in a northwesterly direction past the village of Brynrefail, Gwynedd and changes its name to Afon Seiont downstream of Pont R ...

(an extension of the

Afon Seiont Afon Seiont (Welsh, meaning ''River Seiont'' in English) is a river in Gwynedd, Wales which runs into the Menai Strait. Its source is the outflow of Llyn Padarn near Llanberis, and it flows out in a generally northwest direction. Between the ...

) and consequently some houses on the eastern side of the old road (which lie below the level of the main road) suffer flooding. The village is mainly residential, but has a number of shops and small businesses. Menter Fachwen is a local charity offering work to adults with disabilities. The community is policed from Llanberis and has a dedicated Community Beat Manager.

History

The origin of the village's name ("Valley of

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

") lies in its connection with the extensive slate industries which thrived in the valley in 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. The area was home to the

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

sub-industry, which the foundries at the various quarries depended on to fabricate

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

to support the slate industry. On 30 June 1869, two carts carrying

nitroglycerine Nitroglycerin (NG), (alternative spelling of nitroglycerine) also known as trinitroglycerin (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by nitrating ...

explosive collided in the village; the resulting explosion killed the carters as well as three others and injured a further eight. The explosion was at the time believed to be the loudest manmade explosion ever, and the debris, allegedly including a cart wheel, was thrown as far as the next village,

Brynrefail Brynrefail () is a small village in north-east Anglesey, Wales. Location It is located in the civil parish of Moelfre on the A5025 between Amlwch and Benllech. Amenities As the settlement is very small it has very few amenities. Those ...

. To this day an X is inscribed on a wall at Clegir along the old road between

Bryn Bras Castle Bryn Bras Castle is a Grade II* listed country house located on the old road between Llanrug and Llanberis. Known locally as the Clegir road, in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. It was built in a neo-Romanesque style between 1829 and 1835 on the site of a ...

and

, marking the spot where a wheel and harness from one of the carts was flung. In April 2008 a plaque commemorating the tragedy was unveiled on the rock face opposite Y Fricsan, the village pub.''Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald'', 24/4/2008. Between 1865 and 1965 an

LNWR The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lond ...

branch railway line ran through the village from

, but there are no longer any visible remains of

Cwm-y-glo railway station Cwm-y-Glo railway station served the village of Cwm-y-glo, Gwynedd, Wales, at the north-west end of Llyn Padarn. The station was closed for regular passenger services in 1930 but trains passed through until September 1964. The station lay on t ...

. The line was established by the

Caernarvon and Llanberis Railway Act 1864 The Carnarvon and Llanberis Railway, built under the ''Caernarvon and Llanberis Railway Act 1864'', was an eight-mile branch line from the Carnarvonshire Railway running from to , via (for Llanrug), , and . History The Carnarvon and Llanberis ...

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Cwm-y-glo and surrounding areaNorth Wales Police
{{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Llanrug