Penygroes () is a village in

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, Wales. The village is located to the south of

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

, and north of

Porthmadog Porthmadog (), originally Portmadoc until 1972 and known locally as "Port", is a coastal town and community (Wales), community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, Wales, and the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Caernarfonshire. It li ...

, by the A487 road. Penygroes'

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

stands at 1,793 at the 2011 census, of which 88% are Welsh-speaking, making it one of the most predominantly Welsh-speaking areas of the country. The population of Llanllyfni community, which includes Penygroes and Llanllyfni village, which practically adjoins Penygroes, plus Talysarn, is 4,135 according to the 2011 census.

Etymology

The name of the village is derived from ' "end" + ' " fthe" + ' "cross oads, referring to the crossing at the village of the roads from Carmel, Rhyd-ddu and Pontllyfni with the main

–

road.

History and amenities

Penygroes is located in the former

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 ro ...

quarrying A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their s ...

area of Dyffryn Nantlle, although most of the quarries are now closed down. However, it remains the valley's main shopping and administrative centre. Its biggest employer was a paper-converting plant producing hand tissues and toilet rolls. It lies in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

of Llanllyfni, and nearby villages are Llanllyfni, Carmel, Talysarn, Nantlle, Tanrallt, Nebo, and Groeslon. It is the site of Nantlle Vale F.C., which used to be managed by the professional wrestler and promoter Orig Williams, better known by his ring name of "El Bandito". The club's former social complex has in recent years been demolished, and a new police station now occupies the site. The

cycle path A bike path or a cycle path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "C ...

Lôn Eifion passes near the village, following the route of the former Carnarvonshire Railway, which ran from

to Afon Wen and closed in 1964. Penygroes lies by the edge of Lord Newborough's former estate at Glynllifon, from which several

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

legends have emanated. The character Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who features in the ages-old legends of the

Mabinogi The ''Mabinogion'' () is a collection of the earliest Welsh prose stories, compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created –1410, as well as a few earlier frag ...

(sometimes inaccurately referred to as the Mabinogion), was said to have lived in the area. The

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

at Dinas Dinlleu and the village of Nantlle—originally spelt as Nantlleu—are said to have been named after him.

Education

''Ysgol Bro Lleu'' provides Welsh-medium primary education to the village and the surrounding area. As of 2023, there are 199 pupils on roll at the school; 78 per cent of statutory school age pupils speak Welsh at home. Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle provides secondary education in the village. At least 80 percent of subjects (apart from English and Welsh) are taught only through the medium of Welsh to all pupils. 401 pupils were enrolled at the school in 2023; 82.5 per cent of pupils speak Welsh at home.

Governance

Pen-y-groes is the name of the electoral ward which covers the village and elects a county councillor to

Gwynedd Council Gwynedd Council, which calls itself by its Welsh name , 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 c ...

. It is coterminous with the Llanllyfni community ward of Penygroes.

Notable people

* Bryn Fôn (born 1954), Welsh actor and singer-songwriter * Dafydd Glyn Jones (born 1941), Welsh scholar and lexicographer; went to school in Penygroes *

R. Williams Parry Robert Williams Parry (6 March 1884 – 4 January 1956) was one of Wales's most notable 20th-century poets writing in Welsh language, Welsh. Life R. Williams Parry was born in Tal-y-sarn, in Nantlle Valley, Dyffryn Nantlle, a first cousin to t ...

(1884–1956), notable 20th-century poet writing in Welsh * Bill Pendergast (1915–2001), Welsh professional footballer * Gareth Thomas (born 1954) politician and MP for Clwyd West, 1997 to 2005 * Betty Williams (born 1944), politician and former MP for

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...

from 1997 to 2010; went to school in Penygroes * Owain Fôn Williams (born 1987), Welsh international goalkeeper, coach and painter

Notes

{{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Llanllyfni Nantlle Valley