Frongochis a village located inGwynedd,Wales.It lies close to themarket townofBala,on theA4212 road.
It was the home of theFrongoch internment camp,used to holdGermanprisoners-of-warduringFirst World War,and thenIrish Republicanprisoners from the1916 Rising.
History
editWhisky
editBy the late 1800s, Frongoch was the main centre forwhiskyproduction in Wales. The distillery was bought by Scottish whisky companies and closed in 1910.[1][2]
Prison camp
editThe former distillery buildings (see above) were requisitioned by the UK government and used as aprisoner of warcamp for German prisoners duringWorld War One.After the 1916Easter Risingin Ireland it was used to imprison 500 of theIrish Volunteer Armyrank and file. Among them wereMichael CollinsandArthur Griffith.[3]
Railway station
editFrongoch railway stationwas on theBala Ffestiniog Line.It closed to passenger services on 2 January 1960 and freight services on 27 January 1961. The station building and signal box are now a private residence.
Cwmtirmynach Chapel
editTheWelsh Calvinistic Methodistchapel at Cwmtirmynach, lies on the B4501, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north of Fron-goch. It was built in 1826 and rebuilt in 1880 in what theRCAHMWdescribes as a "Lombardic/Italian style".[4]The folk singerRobert Roberts (Bob Tai'r Felin)was precentor at the chapel for nearly 50 years.[5]There is weekly worship and the current minister is Hywel Edwards.[6]
Education
editThere is a Welsh-mediumprimary school,Ysgol Bro Tryweryn, in the village. There were 58 pupils aged between 3 and 11 years on roll in 2017.[7]As of January 2018, the school had the highest percentage of pupils (aged 5 and over) who spoke Welsh fluently at home in Wales, at 97.4%.[8]
References
edit- ^Freeman, Bobby (1996).First catch your peacock: her classic guide to Welsh food(Rev. paperback ed.). Talybont, Ceredigion: Y Lolfa.ISBN0-86243-315-0.
- ^Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel (2008).The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales.Cardiff: University of Wales Press.ISBN978-0-7083-1953-6.
- ^"BBC - Wales History: Frongoch Prison Camp".bbc.co.uk.Retrieved9 July2020.
- ^"Cwmtirmynach Chapel (Welsh Calvinistic Methodist), Glan-yr-Afon, Cwm Tirmynach (8493)".Coflein.RCAHMW.Retrieved19 April2016.
- ^"ROBERTS, ROBERT ('Bob Tai'r Felin '; 1870 - 1951), folk singer".Dictionary of Welsh Biography.National Library of Wales.Retrieved8 April2023.
- ^"The Presbyterian Church of Wales - Cwmtirmynach".Ebcpcw.cymru. Archived fromthe originalon 27 April 2016.Retrieved19 April2016.
- ^"Ysgol Bro Tryweryn".mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk.Retrieved3 September2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^"Children speaking Welsh at home".gov.wales.Welsh Government.Retrieved31 August2018.
External links
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