Llanbedr
| Llanbedr | |
| Merionethshire | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SH582268 |
| Location: | 52°49’12"N, 4°6’5"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,005 (2001) |
| Post town: | Llanbedr |
| Postcode: | LL45 |
| Dialling code: | 01341 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Gwynedd |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Dwyfor Meirionnydd |
Llanbedr is a village and parish in western Merionethshire.
The village originally grew around the slate quarrying industry. Attractions in Llanbedr include Neolithic standing stones; the Stones of Llanbedr and Bronze Age hut circles. The Morfa Dyffryn sand dunes and Mochras (Shell Island) lie nearby. It also boasts two public houses; Ty Mawr Hotel and The Victoria Inn.
The church of St Peter, after whom the village is named, is a class II* listed building.[1]
A mile from the village is the hamlet of Pentre Gwynfryn whose chapel, Capel Salem, was the subject of a painting by the artist Sydney Curnow Vosper. The painting, entitled Salem, showed a member of the congregation, Siân Owen, in traditional Welsh costume and became famous throughout Britain in the mid 20th century.[2]
Llanbedr has a recently reopened airport which, until 2004, was operated by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) and QinetiQ as a launch site for remotely piloted drone aircraft for use as aerial targets by the RAF and other UK forces.[3] Opposite the airfield is one of two NACATC units (National Air Cadets Adventure Training Centres) in the UK (the other being in the village of Windermere in Westmorland). The airfield was included in the Snowdonia Enterprise Zone by the Welsh Government in January 2013.
To the north of the village is the smaller village of Pensarn, situated at the estuary of the river Artro. This is the location of Llanbedr & Pensarn Yacht Club and the Christian Mountain Centre, a residential adventure activity centre.
In 2008 Llanbedr was twinned with Huchenfeld, Germany, following many years of exchanges between schools, churches, musicians and community leaders, in remembrance of the ghastly occurrences in 1945 at Pforzheim and Huchenfeld during the Second World War.
Llanbedr railway station, formerly known as Talwrn Bach Halt, is a little out of the village itself and is served by trains between Pwllheli and Shrewsbury.
References
- ↑ "Church of St Peter, Llanbedr". British Listed Buildings. http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-4782-church-of-st-peter-llanbedr. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ↑ Gower, Jon (23 May 2002). "Salem exhibition visits castle". BBC.co.uk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2004354.stm. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- ↑ Mills, Wendy (2002) Target Rolling: A History of Llanbedr Airfield 1941-2002, Hinckley, Leics: Midland Publishing ISBN 1-85780-136-9