Historical society

THE next in the series of summer outdoor meetings will be a guided walk around Bala, led by the society’s chairman Dr Neil Evans, on Saturday, 16 July.

On the way the group will stop briefly at Frongoch to look at the site of the former prisoner of war camp and internment camp for the Irish rebels of 1916, including Michael Collins, a future leader of the independence movement.The camp became known as ‘the university of the Irish revolution’.

In Bala we will look at key buildings and statues associated with the history of the town and major figures connected with the history of religion and politics in Wales.

Bala has been called ‘the Mecca of Welsh Nonconformity’ and was a place where huge meetings of Methodists were held.It was also the home of Thomas Charles, who played a key role in the spread of Methodism in North Wales, was a founder of the British and Foreign Bible Society and the instigator of Welsh Sunday Schools.

It was he who provided young Mari Jones with a copy of a Welsh Bible after she had walked barefoot the thirty miles from Llanfihangel-y- Pennant to Bala to obtain one.Other prominent figures associated with the town and who will be discussed in the walk include Michael D Jones, the founder of the Patagonian colony, and the revered radical Liberal politician Tom Ellis.Please meet in the upper Bron-y-Graig car park at 11am so we can share cars, if possible.

A packed lunch is advisable.

The walk through the town is flat and not a great distance and non-members of the society are welcome to participate.

Unfortunately, dogs cannot be accommodated on the walk.