Trefriw Historical Society ~ Winter 2010 Newsletter

Trefriw Historical Society was formed when a member of the public asked Aneurin Hughes where was Ardda, an abandoned village high on the slopes above the Conwy Valley.

Realising that a lot of local History and Knowledge was being lost he, decided to form The Trefriw Historical Society, Notices were place on the notice board and shop windows for anybody interested to come along to Peniel Vestry. Many people turned up and it was decided to go ahead and form a committee with Mr Gwyn Griffiths Tan Dderwen agreeing to be Chairman.

It was decided to hold monthly meetings and suggestions were taken for future research and points of local interest to visit.

An open meeting was held with members bringing in old maps, pictures of the village and school photo’s and this proved to be a memorable evening and set precedence for future meetings. The first season ended with an open house at Gelli Newydd where members were given demonstrations of the water wheel and milling by Gladys and Aneurin Hughes before rounding off the evening at The Old Ship Inn where refreshments were provided by Mrs Rhian Barlow

Topics of talks have included Drovers Roads, dating old houses, Romans roads, Trefriw Woollen Mill, Trefriw Spa, Gwydir Castle, Researching your Family Tree, Folk traditions and dancing, Restoration of houses, the mines of Nant BH and Geirionydd.

William Dean Barker (1831 – 1889)
William Dean Barker was a Lancashire painter who, along with other painters in the second half of the 19^th century, moved to the Conway Valley. Barker lodged in a number of addresses in Trefriw, including “Minafon” in 1871, before making “Plas Celyn” his home (his daughter later worked from there as a painter). As a result of Eisteddfod success in art Barker was awarded the honour of induction into the Gorsedd, under the name “Arlunydd (artist) Glan Conwy”.

This picture, painted by Barker in 1877, shows “Llys Bach” (Crafant Road) as it was then. Other local works painted by him include :

 

● ‘Llyn Crafnant’

● ‘Near Llanrwst’, 1885

● ‘A Silvery Morning on the Conway’, 1884

● ‘Footbridge near Llanrwst’, 1885

● ‘A Summer Morning in Conway Vale’, 1877

● ‘In Nant Conway’

● ‘Tal-y-Caffa Ucha, Near Conway’, 1887

● ‘The Conway, Trefriw’, 1884

● ‘The Conway, from Ardda above Trefriw’, 1887

● ‘The River Conway and Carreg Ifan Goch near Tal y Caffa’, 1884

● ‘The Wooden Bridge at Nant Crafnant’.

If you are interested in the artists who have painted in the Conwy Valley, it is hoped that a new illustrated book listing over 500 artists and their works (from 1770 – 1930) will be available locally in the new year.

Trefriw Memories in Words and Pictures

Important historical events are recorded in newspapers, books or even through the camera and cine film. but local day to day events in the community can soon be forgotten. It was decided to invite Ken Howarth, oral historian to discuss the possibility of a project to record people relating their memories.

 

Lottery grants were available for funding and a committee was formed. We interviewed several people and this was recorded and collated. A booklet was published and an exhibition was set up in the village hall and the doors thrown open to the public.

This proved to be very popular and a lot of reminiscing and putting names to faces with a wealth of valuable information gained.
The exhibition is currently staged at Abergele Public Library and is very popular with many people looking at the exhibition and was reported upon in the Rhyl Journal.

PARTY OF EVACUEES OF WORLD WAR 2 AT TREFRIW

From The Daily Post

During World War 11 many children of School Age were evacuated from the large cities of England to rural areas where life was considered to be safer. Many came alone without their mothers, some with siblings. They were mainly from Manchester and Liverpool and many still kept in touch with the families and friends from the village.

‘The Train to Trefriw’

The Historical Society’s latest publication is a booklet called “The Train to Trefriw”. Many of you will be aware that when the railway opened to Llanrwst in 1863, an alternative route on the western (Trefriw) side of the valley had also been considered. Few of us, however, realised that over the years there have been quite so many different proposals to lay a railway to, or through, Trefriw.

Using records from the London Gazette, in which railway Bills were published, it has been possible to compile a picture of these proposals, which cover a period of nearly 70 years. Together with some explanatory notes and photos of contemporary locomotives, the booklet follows the history from the first proposal, at the height of Railway Mania in 1845 (for a line terminating at Trefriw Quay) to the last proposal in 1912 (for a branch line to link Dolgarrog and Trefriw with the existing line near Llanrwst).

None of these schemes succeeded, of course, but if you would like to know more about the train that almost got to Trefriw, copies of the booklet are available from the Post Office.

Fundraising

Gladys Hughes at one of the many fund raising barbecues held at Gelli Newydd.

St David’s Hospice, Llandudno. Ty Gobaith Hope House Children’s Hospice, Tyn y Groes. Air Ambulance Wales and St Mary’s Church Trefriw are among the beneficiaries of monies raised.

Members of the Historical Society have joined with friends of Peniel and St Mary’s Church for an evening of Carol Singing around the village to raise funds for Hope House.

Alfred Bestall

Alfred Bestall is probably most well known as the illustrator of the much loved Rupert the Bear Children’s Annual that came out every Xmas and daily in the Daily Express newspaper He was born in 1892 but in 1897 he and his 3yr old sister were brought to England because of ill health. He was left in the care of a Methodist Minister and his wife, while his sister stayed with their grandparents. In 1904 he was sent to Rydal Mount in Colwyn Bay, which was at that time a Wesleyan Public School. There he remained until he matriculated and won a scholarship to the Birmingham School of Art on the strength of a watercolour that he sent there of a mouse which had been caught in a trap!

His parents returned to live in this country in 1910, and in 1912 and for the following three summers, they all came to stay in Penlan, which at that time was the home of a Mrs. Marsh, who was the widow of an American Professor from Washington (he is buried in the cemetery in Trefriw). These visits appeared to be idyllic holidays for them all, and are described in great detail in his Wales sketchbook, from the family’s arrival at the station in Llanrwst laden with boxes and baggage and bicycles – and dog.

 

Every day he records their activities and the lengthy walks/climbs that he and his family did, always accompanied by his sketchbook. They certainly enjoyed their stays in Trefriw, being joined by some of their extended family and friends from England on occasions. They also enjoyed charabanc trips with the guild from Llanrwst Congregational Chapel to Snowdon for the day. His sketches are contained in a book which was given to us by some friends a couple of years ago, and to our amazement when we opened it, there was a sketch of our house “Penlan”, which looked then just as it does now.

Alfred Bestall went on to become a quite well known and accomplished artist, from designing posters during the first world war, to providing artwork for many publications, newspapers and magazines. He also appeared on television and on the radio. Because of his holidays in Wales and the great passion he developed for the Welsh Countryside, he eventually came to live in Beddgelert, in a cottage which he called Penlan. Paul and Linda McCartney and their children came to visit him there when he was going to collaborate with them on a film about “Rupert the Bear”. He died there in 1986.

Grateful thanks to Tony Ellis, Dai and Olwen Roberts,. Bernadine Parry,. Arfon W.Jones for their contributions to this Newsletter. If you have anything of interest to the Historical Society please contact Mrs Marian Scott, Mrs Karen Black or Mr Aneurin Hughes.