Gwynfryn, Wrexham

Gwynfryn

Part of the village of Gwynfryn, viewed across a former limestone quarry
Gwynfryn
 Gwynfryn shown within Wrexham
OS grid referenceSJ259526
CommunityMinera
Principal areaWrexham
Ceremonial countyClwyd
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town WREXHAM
Postcode district LL11
Dialling code 01978
Police North Wales
Fire North Wales
Ambulance Welsh
EU Parliament Wales
UK ParliamentClwyd South
Welsh AssemblyClwyd South
List of places
UK
Wales
Wrexham

Coordinates: 53°03′58″N 3°06′22″W / 53.066°N 3.106°W / 53.066; -3.106

Gwynfryn is a small mountain village in the community of Minera in Wrexham county borough, Wales. Its name, originally that of the village chapel, is formed from the Welsh words bryn, "hill", and gwyn, "white": "white hill". At the time of the 2001 census, its population combined with that of the neighbouring, larger village of Bwlchgwyn was 1,148.[1]

Like the neighbouring villages of Minera and Bwlchgwyn, Gwynfryn is associated with the development of lead mines and limestone quarries in the vicinity. It is situated at the head of the Clywedog Valley in a hilly limestone area.[2] The area was originally known as Plas-Gwyn ("white hall") Mountain, its name on the 1879 and 1900 Ordnance Surveys of Denbighshire, or as Pentre-Bais ("petticoat village"). According to a local story the latter name was changed to Gwynfryn by the disapproving village postmaster (or schoolmaster, in some versions).[3][4]

There was a Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Gwynfryn, which in 1905 had a congregation of 194.[5] There was also a small Church in Wales chapel, St David's, which as of 2010 has been closed.

The musician, composer and Eisteddfod adjudicator Thomas Carrington (1881–1961) was born in Gwynfryn.[6]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gwynfryn, Wrexham.
  1. National Statistics. "Neighbourhood statistics". Retrieved 2007-03-04.
  2. Landscape Character Area – Minera, Gwynfryn, Bwlchgwyn, Wrexham County Borough
  3. Minera history, BBC North East Wales
  4. The Wilcoxon Family, Minera History
  5. Minera, GENUKI
  6. Thomas Carrington, National Library of Wales
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/12/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.