THE latest community news from Bro Ffestiniog

History group

ON Thursday, 8 November, the group had a lecture by Richard Suggett, on the subject of Medieval wall paintings.

There was a large attendance, including some visitors.

John Taylor introduced Richard, who works for the Royal Commission, and is a prolific author of historical books.

Some wall paintings were designed to look like wallpaper, which at one time was highly taxed.

Wall paintings that have been found under layers of plaster are still brightly coloured, and often have a stenciled border and freehand design.

Many churches had the same themes, painted with great detail, particularly for illiterate members of the congregations.

Those that have survived have been more isolated, and therefore less painted-over at times like the Reformation, Cromwell’s time and the Civil War.

There will be no meeting in December.

Archaeology society

AT the latest meeting, members were given the history of Plas Pren (pictured), the haunting ruin on the Denbigh Moors which many readers will recall, by speaker Eira Jones.

With the opening of a turnpike road from Pentrefoelas to Denbigh it opened up the mountain, Rhosydd-y-Frân, for game shooting and so on. Bryntirllyn Inn was licensed in 1829 but by 1870 the name had become the Sportsman’s Arms, due to the number of English landowners that visited for the grouse shooting season.

In 1880 the owner of the mountain was Frederick Burslem, a businessman from Liverpool who bought the land from the Crown. He had strong connections with the sugar company Tate & Lyle.

By 1890 the Inn had been bought by Londoner Henry Tatham Proctor and then in 1897 by Hudson Ewbanke Kearley o Medmenham, Buckinghamshire. He was a millionaire and also a Liberal MP for Plymouth and Devonport between 1892 and 1910. He was a parliamentary secretary to Lloyd-George and in charge of food control in 1916 gaining a Lordship in 1917.

It was during a visit to a food fair in Norway in 1894 that he saw a wooden mansion, bought it, dismantled it and rebuilt it on the moors near Denbigh with the aid of three Norwegian carpenters he brought back with him.

As the wooden building started to succumb to the damp weather in 1908 he organised a stone shell be built around the original building. The stone came from local quarries and the bricks were carried up on mules from Pentrefoelas. The then famous architect Edwin Cooper was responsible for the Jacobean design and it was built by John Jones of Pentrefoelas who roughcast the exterior to keep out the weather.

It had central heating throughout and two massive water tanks in the roof fed by pump from Llyn Brân. Lord Devonport also rented 7,000 acres of mountain in order to gain the rights to shoot grouse and other game-birds.

In 1925 it was put up for sale but was not sold. Instead it was leased by Lees Brewery. The sale catalogue listed eleven main bedrooms, two smaller bedrooms and an annexe for the servants. The house and the land was later leased out to a company from the Vale of Clwyd. They and their guests would arrive in their magnificent cars in their tweed suits along with their wives.

During WWII, the Home Guard used the house for training exercises and a searchlight was based there to follow enemy planes.

The last family to occupy the house was Eira Jones’ own family. Her father, Huw Williams, was the gamekeeper keeper – taking over from Robert Jones in 1951 until 1955.

The house remained empty and was plundered for the fittings before the house became a ruin over the years.

The next meeting of the society will be this Thursday, 15 November, at The Ganolfan, Blaenau Ffestiniog at 7pm for 7.30pm.

In a change from the original schedule, the speaker will be Jon Knowles who will talk about, and show, Archive Photographs of J.W. Greaves Ltd.

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