Groeslon (;

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 ...

: ''Y Groeslon'', "the crossroads") is a small village in 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 ...

Llandwrog Llandwrog (; Welsh language: meaning 'The church of Saint Twrog') is a village and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, most notable for the presence of the headquarters of Welsh record label Sain and the site of Caernarfon Airport. It has ...

in the

traditional county of

Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

. Groeslon is administered by

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 ...

Caernarfonshire flag at Inigo Jones Slate Works

The population was 880 at the 2011 census Nearby villages are Penygroes,

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

and Dinas. The village lies approximately five miles south 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 ...

. It has one

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

in the centre of the village and no

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

s. Most secondary school age pupils go to

Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle is a bilingual secondary school for pupils aged between 11 and 18 years. It is situated in Pen-y-groes in Gwynedd, north Wales. The school serves the village of Pen-y-groes and the surrounding rural area. As of 2022, ther ...

in Penygroes. Groeslon was by-passed in 2002 by the

A487 road The A487, officially the Fishguard to Bangor Trunk Road, is a trunk road in Wales that follows the coast from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in the south, to Bangor, Gwynedd, in the north. Route The road starts at a junction with the A40 in ...

, a trunk road which cost around £12 million to complete. A

bat bridge A bat bridge is a structure of varying construction crossing a new or altered road to aid the navigation of bats following the destruction of a hedgerow, and to cause the bats to cross the roadway at a sufficient height to avoid traffic. Bats are t ...

was constructed in 2010 to guide lesser horseshoe bats across the road. Formerly an

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

and slate mining village, Groeslon is now expanding as a commuter village for the surrounding towns, especially Caernarfon and Bangor. Its initial growth came as a result of the construction of the

LMS LMS may refer to: Science and technology * Labeled magnitude scale, a scaling technique * Learning management system, education software * Least mean squares filter, producing least mean square error * Leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer * Lenz ...

railway in 1867.

Groeslon railway station Groeslon railway station served the village of Groeslon, Gwynedd, Wales. It operated first as part of the Nantlle Tramway and afterwards as a railway under the auspices of several different companies. The station and line closed on 7 Decembe ...

closed in December 1964. The railway line is now part of the national cycle route. In the village there is one

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

called the Penionyn. At the bottom of the village, bordering the A487, a huge wall becomes visible. This is the wall to the Glynllifon estate, formerly the seat of

Lord Newborough Baron Newborough is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. Both titles are extant. The first creation came in 1716 in favour of George Cholmondeley, later 2nd Earl of Cholmondeley. See Marquess of Cholmondeley for further h ...

, which is now a

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...

and college
Meirion Dwyfor
specialising in land based industries, e.g. agriculture, equine studies and

arboriculture Arboriculture () is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. The science of arboriculture studies how these plants grow and respond to cultural practices and to their environmen ...

. Groeslon is covered by a Neighbourhood Policing Team based in Penygroes.

Governance

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 ...

in the same name exists. This ward extends beyond the confines of Groeslon Community and the total population taken at the 2011 Census was 1,695.

Notable residents

author Eirug Wyn until his death in 2004. *The dramatist John Gwilym Jones (1904–1988) *Poet Tom Huws. * Llion Iwan,

documentary journalist/producer and author. * 'The Laughing Postman' Arwel Jones. *Novelist

Menna Medi The ancient Egyptian official named Menna carried a number of titles associated with the agricultural estates of the temple of Karnak and the king. Information about Menna comes primarily from his richly decorated tomb (TT69, TT 69) in the necrop ...

Bibliography

''Hanes Y Groeslon'' (History of Groeslon) available from public libraries

References

External links

Dyffryn Nantlle website
(with section on Groeslon, including postcards and photos)
www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Groeslon and surrounding area
Villages in Gwynedd Llandwrog {{Gwynedd-geo-stub