Dinorwig sometimes spelled Dinorwic ( ; ; ), is a village located high above

Llyn Padarn Llyn Padarn is a glacially formed lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales, and is an example of a moraine dammed lake. The lake is approximately long (about 240 acres) and at its deepest point is deep, and is one of the largest natural lakes ...

, near

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 ...

, in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

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

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

, on a foothill from Dinorwig village and from the Menai Strait and also with Port Dinorwic, the anglicised name of Y Felinheli.

Etymology

It is thought that the village was part of the territory of the pre-Roman Ordovices 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 Grafton Melville Richards (1910-1973) was a Welsh scholar in the field of Welsh language and literature and Celtic studies. Early life He was born on 29 September 1910 as the third son of William and Elizabeth Richards (his father was a railway for ...

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

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 Irelan ...

History

The village has a long history of slate quarrying. The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

used local slate for the construction of

Segontium Segontium ( owl, Cair Segeint) is a Roman fort on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales. The fort, which survived until the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, was garrisoned by Roman auxiliaries from present-day Belgium and Ge ...

, and slates from the valley were used in the construction of Caernarfon Castle. 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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 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 ...

. 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 generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

, Dinorwig power station. The village is also the location of the Blue Peris Mountain Centre, a residential outdoor activities centre operated by Bedford Borough Council and

Central Bedfordshire Council Central Bedfordshire Council is the local authority for the Central Bedfordshire unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created from the merger of Mid Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire District Councils ...

. Part of the film ''

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

'' 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