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Description

The village of Llanwddyn after demolition prior to being submerged by the waters of the Vyrnwy Dam.

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Comments (2)

Anonymous's profile picture
Is this where there was a church and folklore had it that the bell would toll under the water? Yours Thomas George Davies
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales's profile picture
Thanks for your comment - very interesting & I hope someone will shed more light on the legend. We do know that the new church houses the old church bell though. Here's a bit more info: The old village of Llanwddyn was flooded in 1888 when Lake Vyrnwy dam was built to provide water to Liverpool. The village had 40 houses, three public houses, a corn mill and a church (St John's). The new village of Llanwddyn was built downstream of the dam at NGR SJ 0207519055, and a new church (dedicated as St Wyddyn) was built using funds donated by the corporation of Liverpool; a small turret was built to house the bell from St John's church. St. Wddyn’s Church, the parish church of Llanwddyn, was, like the majority of its village, built to replace the parish destroyed by the flooding of the Vyrnwy Valley. F.W. Holme designed the church in an Arts and Crafts interpretation of Early English Gothic style. It was completed in 1887 at the expense of the Liverpool Corporation, and consecrated in the following year. The carved inscription on the south porch reads; "The old church of St John being covered by the Lake Vyrnwy this Church of St Wddyn was erected AD 1887" The interior of the slate and rock-faced masonry church houses a stone model of the Church of St. John the Baptist, which it replaced, a book rest carved from yew from the original churchyard; two saplings from that churchyard were also relocated and now grow in the grounds of St. Wddyn’s. Alongside these are the gravestones that were relocated from the flooded site, dating from 1664. There is a series of wall paintings depicting the Passion of Christ on the interior north wall.

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