Human settlement in Wales
Bethesda
(
;
[2]
Welsh:
[b?θ'?sda]
ⓘ
) is a town and
community
in
Gwynedd
,
Wales
. It is on the banks of
Afon Ogwen
and on the edge of
Snowdonia
. It is 5 miles (8.0 km) from
Bangor
.
History
[
edit
]
The settlement's ancient name was Cilfoden,
[3]
formerly known as Glanogwen.
[4]
In 1823,
[
citation needed
]
the Bethesda Chapel was built and the town subsequently grew around and later named after it. The chapel was rebuilt in 1840.
[
citation needed
]
The town grew around the
slate
quarrying
industries; the largest of the local quarries is the
Penrhyn Quarry
. At its peak, the town exported purple slate all over the world. Penrhyn Quarry suffered a three-year strike led by the
North Wales Quarrymen's Union
between 1900 and 1903 ? the longest industrial dispute in British history. This led to the creation of the nearby village of
Tregarth
, built by the quarry owners, which housed the families of those workers who had not struck. It also led to the formation of three co-operative quarries, the largest of which
Pantdreiniog
dominated the town for many years.
[5]
The
A5 road
runs through Bethesda and marked the border between Lord Penrhyn's land, and the
freehold
land. Most of the town is to the east and northeast of the road, with housing packed onto the hillside in irregular rows, built on the commons. On the current high street, all the
public houses
are found on the south side of the road.
Railways
[
edit
]
The
narrow gauge
Penrhyn Quarry Railway
opened in 1801 to serve Penrhyn Quarry. It connected the quarry with
Port Penrhyn
on the coast and operated until 1962. In 1884, a
branch
of the
London and North Western Railway
's network from
Bangor
was opened, along with a
station for the town
. The line closed to passengers in 1951 and to freight in 1963.
The
trackbed
of the
Penrhyn Quarry Railway
towards
Porth Penrhyn
is taken over by the
Lon Las Ogwen
cycle path.
Modern Bethesda
[
edit
]
The
population
of Bethesda was 4,735 in 2011.
[6]
Current opportunities for employment in the town are limited: there are a few manufacturing businesses; most businesses are in the low-paid
service sector
and
hospitality industry
.
Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen
("Ogwen Valley School") is a bilingual
comprehensive school
, with 374 pupils, established in 1951.
Zip World Velocity in Penrhyn Quarry is the longest
zipline
in Europe, at just over 1,600 metres (0.99 mi) long, and brings the town hundreds of visitors.
[7]
Governance
[
edit
]
At the local level, Bethesda elects thirteen community councillors to Bethesda Community Council, from the community wards of Gerlan, Ogwen and Rachub.
[8]
Prior to 1996 Bethesda was a county
electoral ward
to Gwynedd County Council.
[9]
Since 2004, two county wards have covered Bethesda, namely
Gerlan
and
Ogwen
which each elect one county councillor to
Gwynedd Council
.
[10]
Architecture
[
edit
]
The architecture and layout of the town are largely utilitarian. Most of the buildings are constructed of stone with slate roofs. Some are constructed wholly of slate blocks, although such buildings tend to suffer from damp and structural slippage because the very flat and smooth surfaces of slate do not bind well to mortar.
The town has 40 Grade II
listed buildings
, including three pubs, in addition to the substantial and imposing Grade I listed
Nonconformist
Jerusalem Chapel
[11]
The upper parts of Carneddi, Cilfodan and Tan y Foel owe more to stone quarrying on the nearby hills rather than slate quarrying that supported the lower end of the town. At the eastern limits, the town is bounded by the rising land of the
Carneddau
mountains which form some of the more remote landscapes of
Snowdonia
. Much of Bethesda once consisted of discrete villages such as
Gerlan
,
Rachub
,
Tregarth
,
Llanllechid
and Braichmelyn; their names are retained as districts of the town.
Religion
[
edit
]
Bethesda is noted for both the number of
chapels
(mostly dating from the
1904-1905 Welsh Revival
) in the town.
[
citation needed
]
The town was named after the Bethesda Chapel, which was recently converted into residential flats.
Commerce and industry
[
edit
]
Llanllechid, on the outskirts of Bethesda, is the home of the Popty Bakery, the origins of which date back to the bakery opened by O. J. Williams in the early 1900s. The product range highlights
Welsh cuisine
, including
Welsh cakes
and
Bara Brith
.
[12]
Public houses
[
edit
]
There are ten
pubs
in the Bethesda area, not including
Tregarth
. The Douglas Arms, on the High Street, was named after the family which owned the nearby Penrhyn Quarry. Other pubs include the Bull, The Kings Head, Y Sior ("The George"), The Victoria Arms, and the Llangollen.
The village has its own microbrewery known as Cwrw Ogwen. It currently
[
when?
]
manufactures one beer named Cwrw Caradog, named after the writer
Caradog Prichard
.
Language and culture
[
edit
]
The dominant language of the town is Welsh and can be seen written and heard spoken in most settings. According to the
United Kingdom Census 2001
, 77.5% of the residents are Welsh-speaking (with some parts being over 80.0%+),
[13]
higher than the average for both
Gwynedd
and Wales as a whole. In successive census returns (1901 and 1911) Bethesda had the highest percentage of Welsh speakers of its respective shire (Caernarfonshire) and of any district in Wales (with 1,500 monolingual Welsh speakers in 1901). The name of the town is known colloquially "Pesda" in the local Welsh dialect.
[14]
The
S4C
series
Amdani!
(a play on words that can mean "go for it!" and "about her") was based on a fictitious
women's rugby
team in Bethesda, and many of the location shots were filmed in the area. The series was based on the novel of the same name, by
Bethan Gwanas
, who lived in the town.
In June 2012 Tabernacl (Bethesda) Cyf., a non-profit co-operative based in the town was awarded a grant of around £1 million to renovate Neuadd Ogwen, a performance venue on the High Street. It was due to reopen as a community arts centre in June 2013.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Bethesda developed a reputation as a hub of musical creativity.
[
citation needed
]
Jam sessions and small home studios abounded alongside a burgeoning pub rock scene. As well as the now well-established 'Pesda Roc' festival, Bethesda has nurtured the Welsh language bands
Celt
,
Maffia Mr Huws
and experimentalists
Y Jeycsyn Ffeif
. In more recent years it continues to spring up bands from the local community such as
Radio Rhydd
.
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
The A5 going through Bethesda.
-
Hardware shop
-
War memorial and Jerusalem Chapel, the biggest of the many chapels built in Bethesda during the Age of Slate.
-
A slate memorial to commemorate the Strike at the Penrhyn Slate Quarry, in the grounds of Jerusalem Chapel.
-
Bethesda & the Quarry in Winter.
-
Slate tips on outer edges of Penrhyn Quarry at Mynydd Llandegai, the view looks out to Bethesda in the distance
-
Flooded pit at the Penrhyn Quarry from
Y Fronllwyd
-
Bethesda, From the mountains in the South facing North towards Anglesey
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Bobby Atherton
(1876?1917), footballer with 135 club caps and 9 for
Wales
- Richard Bell
(1859?1930), politician and MP; formed North Wales Quarries Ltd. which owned three slate quarries in Bethesda
- Ellis Davies (politician)
(1871?1939), politician and lawyer.
- Idris Foster
(1911?1984),
Jesus Professor of Celtic
Studies at the University of Oxford
- David Ffrangcon-Davies
(1855?1918), a Welsh operatic baritone.
- Bethan Gwanas
(born 1962), author with an informal style of writing, lived and worked in Bethesda.
- Esyllt Harker
(1947?2014), singer, actress and storyteller
- Tammy Jones
(born 1944), singer
- Frederick Llewellyn-Jones
(1866?1941), politician and MP
- Leila Megane
(1891?1960), a mezzo-soprano opera singer.
- John Ogwen
(born 1944), actor, born in nearby Sling, now lives in Bangor
- Gwenlyn Parry
(1932?1991), a dramatist and author of several plays in Welsh
- William John Parry
(1842?1927) businessman, politician, author and first general secretary of the
North Wales Quarrymen's Union
.
- Peter Prendergast
(1946?2007), Welsh landscape painter
- Caradog Prichard
(1904?1980), Welsh novelist and poet, author of
Un Nos Ola' Leuad
- Margaret Pritchard
a former Welsh radio and TV broadcaster
- Goronwy Roberts, Baron Goronwy-Roberts
(1913?1981), politician, MP and peer
- James Edmund Vincent
(1857?1909), barrister, journalist and author
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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