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Dolwyddelan ( ; ; ) – in Victorian times, often spelled Dolyddelen – is a village and community in Conwy county borough, Wales, on the main A470 road between
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 12,00 ...
and Betws-y-Coed. As a community, the population of Dolwyddelan was recorded in the 2001 Census as 427, and 55.8% of those residents could speak Welsh. The population increased to 474 in the 2011 census with the proportion of Welsh speakers falling to 50.8%.


Name

The spelling of the village's name has varied over the years, though there appear to be two primary spellings with two primary meanings. The common modern spelling "Dolwyddelan" is translated as "Gwyddelan's meadow", referring to Saint Gwyddelan, an Irish missionary of the 6th century, after whom the parish church is named. There is some question as to which came first, the castle or the name. Saint Gwyddelan is believed to have arrived around 600 AD. A variant of this spelling is Dolwyddelen, which was particularly used by the railway between 1880 and 1980. Before the First World War the alternate spelling "Dolyddelen" was in common use; it is translated as "Elen's meadow", named after
Elen Luyddog Saint Elen ( cy, Elen Luyddog, lit. "Helen of the Hosts"), often anglicized as Helen, was a late 4th-century founder of churches in Wales. Traditionally, she is said to have been a daughter of the Romano-British ruler Octavius / Eudaf Hen ...
. Elen's Castle Hotel, which is on the east of the village, is also named after Elen Llyddog.


Gwydir Estate

For many years, Dolwyddelan was part of the Gwydir Estate. The estate was founded in the 16th century and was owned by the Wynn family. The estate was centered on
Gwydir Castle Gwydir Castle is situated in the Conwy valley, Wales, a mile to the west of the ancient market town of Llanrwst and to the south of the large village of Trefriw. An example of a fortified manor house dating back to c1500, it is located on the ...
and it dominated north Wales. More than of the country, stretching almost from
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 12,00 ...
in the south to the edge of Conwy in the north was part of the estate. In 1678 it passed to the Barons Willoughby de Eresby, based in Lincolnshire, and in 1892 it became the property of Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster. By the early 19th century the estate largely comprised the parishes of Dolwyddelan (where the Wynns also had an ancestral home), Llanrhychwyn, Trefriw, and Gwydir, totalling some . Much of the estate was under mortgage, and in 1894 Dolwyddelan was sold off.


Buildings of note

The village is particularly noted for
Dolwyddelan Castle Dolwyddelan Castle ( ; cy, Castell Dolwyddelan; ) is a Welsh castle located near Dolwyddelan in Conwy County Borough in North Wales. It is thought to have been built in the early 13th century by Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd and Wal ...
, the reputed birthplace of Prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), although doubt has been cast on this as the stone keep was not built until around 1220. It has better transport links than most villages, with the small
Dolwyddelan railway station Dolwyddelan railway station is a passenger station in the Lledr Valley, Wales, on the Conwy Valley Line from Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog, which is operated by Transport for Wales Rail. It is located at Pentre-Bont across the river ...
on the Conwy Valley Line still in operation. There are two historic hotels in the village: * Elen's Castle Hotel dates back over three hundred years and at one time belonged to Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster. In the 1870s he sold it to his game-keeper, who opened it as a coaching inn which specialised in hunting parties. * Gwydir Arms Hotel (now called Y Gwydir) named for the estate that contained the village.


Geography

Nearby mountains include
Moel Siabod Moel Siabod ( Welsh for "bare hill" with unknown meaning of 'Siabod'), is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales, which sits isolated above the village of Dolwyddelan. At , it is the highest peak in the Moelwynion mountain range. The UK National Mo ...
to the north,
Moel Penamnen Moel Penamnen is a mountain just north of Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales and forms part of the Moelwynion. It may be climbed from the Crimea Pass via Moel Barlwyd, from Blaenau Ffestiniog or Cwm Penamnen to the north. A circular of Cwm Penamnen ...
and
Y Ro Wen Y Ro Wen is a mountain just north of Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales and forms part of the Moelwynion. It may be climbed from Dolwyddelan or Cwm Penmachno. The popular climbing crag of Craig Alltrem can be found on its western slope. The summ ...
to the south and, further afield,
Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...
(Yr Wyddfa) lies approximately 10 miles to the west. Carreg Alltrem, a
crag Crag may refer to: * Crag (climbing), a cliff or group of cliffs, in any location, which is or may be suitable for climbing * Crag (dice game), a dice game played with three dice * Crag, Arizona, US * Crag, West Virginia, US * Crag and tail, a g ...
used by many rock climbers, can be found about a mile south of the village.


Industry

During the Victorian period Dolwyddelan was surrounded by slate quarries. These quarries worked the Nod Glas Formation, which extended across Mid and North Wales. It was primarily a bed of soft, black
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
, but in the area of the Dolwyddelan
syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of a syncline. A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimpose ...
it was partially metamorphisised into
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 rock. ...
. The principle quarries were: * Prince Llewellyn quarry and Chwarel Fedw * Chwarel Ddu *
Ty'n-y-bryn quarry Ty'n-y-bryn quarry (also known as Bwlch y Llan quarry or Lledr Vale quarry) was a slate quarry that was worked from the 1840s to about 1914. It stands on the south-east edge of Dolwyddelan. History The original workings at Ty'n-y-bryn wer ...
and Penllyn * Rhiw-goch quarry and Ty'n-y-fallen


Governance

Dolwyddelan is included in the Betws-y-Coed
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 ...
which is represented by a county councillor on Conwy County Borough Council.


Notable residents

*
Angharad James Angharad James may refer to: *Angharad James (footballer) Angharad Jane James (born 1 June 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Women's Super league and the Wales national team. Jam ...
, poet, lived in Cwm Penamnen, to the south of the village, most of her life and is buried in Saint Gwyddelan's church.Owen Thomas, D.D., ''Cofiant Y Parchedig John Jones, Talsarn'' (Wrexham 1874) *
John Jones, Talysarn John Jones, Talysarn (1 March 1796 – 16 August 1857), was a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist minister, regarded as one of the greatest preachers in the history of Wales. Because the name "John Jones" was one of the most common in Wales at the time ...
,
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
preacher was born in Dolwyddelan. * Paul Griffiths, playwright, writer, and theatre critic lived and worked in the village. *
Rachel Johncock Rachel Johncock (born 4 October 1993, in Bangor) is a Welsh track and field athlete specialising in the sprinting events. She competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as well as the 2015 European Indoor Championships. Competition record 1Disqua ...
, sprinter lives in the village; she represented Great Britain in the
2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1993 or later) which was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, on 10–15 ...
for the 100m and 4 × 100 m relay. * Baron Gwydyr, the Earl of Ancaster, lived in the house which is now Elen's Castle Hotel. *
Llywelyn the Great Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and d ...
(ca.1173 – 1240) King of Gwynedd. * Eigra Lewis Roberts, writer, won two Prose Medals, National Eisteddfod Drama Crown and Medal. She was born in Blaenau Ffestiniog, and now lives in Dolwyddelan. *
Ellis Pierce Ellis Pierce (29 January 1841 – 31 July 1912) also known as Elis o'r Nant, was a Welsh writer and bookseller. Early life Ellis Pierce was born on a farm at Tan y Clogwyn, Dolwyddelan. He attended a school at Penmachno, but his little formal educa ...
, also known as Elis o'r Nant, was from Dolwyddelan.


Film

In 1980 Walt Disney used
Dolwyddelan Castle Dolwyddelan Castle ( ; cy, Castell Dolwyddelan; ) is a Welsh castle located near Dolwyddelan in Conwy County Borough in North Wales. It is thought to have been built in the early 13th century by Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd and Wal ...
and surrounding grounds to film all the external castle scenes in the film ''
Dragonslayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
''. During the making of ''
Dragonslayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
'' (starring
Peter MacNicol Peter MacNicol (born April 10, 1954) is an American actor. He received a Theatre World Award for his 1981 Broadway debut in the play ''Crimes of the Heart''. His film roles include Galen in ''Dragonslayer'' (1981), Stingo in ''Sophie's Choice'' ( ...
) many other scenes were shot in North Wales.


Images

File:Dolwyddelan Castle.jpg, Dolwyddelan Castle on its hill File:Dolwyddelan6073152X.JPG, Saint Gwyddelan's Church at Dolwyddelan


References


External links


Dolwyddelan Community Council Official Website

A Vision of Britain Through Time

British Listed Buildings

Cistercian Way



Geograph

Office for National Statistics
{{authority control Villages in Conwy County Borough