Pentre Berw () is a small village located on the island of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

in north

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 ...

. It lies about south of the county town of

Llangefni Llangefni (meaning "church on the River Cefni", ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded Llangefni's population as 5,116 people, ma ...

, and next to

Gaerwen Gaerwen () is a village on the island of Anglesey in the community of Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog. It is located in the south of the island west of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll and southeast of Llangefni . The A5 runs through the village, and the A55 r ...

Description

The A5 and the A55 runs through the village as does the disused

Anglesey Central Railway The Anglesey Central Railway (Welsh: ''Lein Amlwch'', ''Amlwch Line'') was a standard-gauge railway in Anglesey, Wales, connecting the port of Amlwch and the county town of Llangefni with the North Wales Coast Line at Gaerwen. Built as an i ...

. Indeed, the village's most famous hotel ''The Holland Arms'' even had a station named after it. The village is located at the top of a gentle slope on the eastern edge of the Cors Ddyga - named after the 6th century

Saint Tegai Saint Tegai (sometimes spelt Tygai) is the patron saint and founder of Llandygai in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. According to Enwogion Cymru, Tegai was a saint who lived in the early part of the sixth century He was one of the sons of Ithel Hae ...

. A panoramic view of both the

marshes A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

Cors Ddyga on the Eastern side and Cors Malltraeth on the Western side of the

Afon Cefni Afon Cefni is one of the major rivers on the island of Anglesey, Wales. It is long. Its source is near to the village of Capel Coch, before flowing through Bodffordd and into Llyn Cefni in the centre of the island. It continues to run south th ...

or Afon Fawr can be seen from the high ridge called Poncia Berw and Creigiau Coed on either side of the A55 and A5. This ridge running from

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay ( cy, Bae Ceredigion) is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geo ...

across Anglesey to the North Sea is called the Berw Fault. Plas Berw, Anglesey

Berw and Esceifiog were termed as medieval townships. Coal was mined at Cors Ddyga. Bell pits were sunk during the

Tudor dynasty The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and it ...

. From 1700 onwards to 1803 the mining process evolved to deep pits 109 yards deep using large horse winding machines to raise the coal. In 1815 the first steam engine was used to draw the basket and pump out the water by the 'Anglesey Coal Company Ltd.' working the Berw coal. By 1840 the pits were 200 yards deep. Water was extracted by large powerful engines. The Berw stack and colliery buildings are the sole remains of the industrious Coal mines of Anglesey. By 1997 the stack, smithy, store-house, office and cottage of the Berw Colliery was in a ruinous state facing demolition on health and safety reasons. On the eleventh hour Donald Glyn Pritchard secretary of the Pentre Berw Conservation Society sent an SOS- 'Save Our Stack' plea to the Anglesey Antiquarian Society which resulted in CADW within a fortnight sending two inspectors to Pentre Berw to inspect the site. D.G.Pritchard local representative of the AAS testified to the importance of listing the colliery. The site was listed by CADW and the buildings were reinforced and anchored by, RSPB (Cymru), Cadw and Rural Wales Council. The remains of the old Plas Berw was reinforced by the owners and CADW and the old church - Llanfihangel Pentre Berw was also restored and anchored by a grant from CADW. (Cadw report 2012) The colliery lies in RSPB Cors Ddyga which was opened to the public on 18 July 2017. Plas Berw, a country house which dates back from the early 17th century, is near the village. It also has formal gardens and a deer park. The grounds cover some and it is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Llanfihangel Ysceifiog (St Michael's church), although ruined, is a good example of a traditional Welsh church. It is situated just north of the village.A short essay with pictures about the church at anglesey.info
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References

External links

photos of Pentre Berw and surrounding area on geograph
{{Authority control Villages in Anglesey Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog