Llangurig
Coordinates: 52°24′16″N 3°36′18″W / 52.40440°N 3.60513°W
| Llangurig | |
 Llangurig
Llangurig shown within Powys |
|
| OS grid reference | SN909797 |
|---|---|
| Principal area | Powys |
| Ceremonial county | Powys |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LLANIDLOES |
| Postcode district | SY18 |
| Dialling code | 01686 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Montgomeryshire |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Powys | |
Llangurig is a village in Powys, within the historic county boundaries of Montgomeryshire, mid Wales, lying on the River Wye. The population is 670.
Llangurig is reputed to be the highest village in Wales at an altitude of 1000 feet. The A470 trunk road passes through the village as does National Cycle Route 8.
The 15th century parish church located in the village is dedicated to Saint Curig, its reputed founder. There are also two small chapels.
The village has been home for many decades to a craft shop as well as two public houses, a number of bed and breakfasts and a small village shop and Post Office. The manor house, Clochfaen Hall, was designed by architect, William Arthur Smith Benson a designer of the Arts and Crafts movement. He also designed the drinking fountain between the road and the village green, the erection of which commemorates the completion of the village's piped water supply, a scheme begun by Colonel Lloyd-Verney to whom the fountain is also a memorial.[1]
Llangurig has a small primary school. In January 2003 the school had only 19 pupils[2] but fought a successful campaign against closure by the local council.[3]. The school eventually closed at the end of the 2008 academic year [4].
The village holds an annual agricultural show and sheepdog trials in August.
Contents |
[edit] 'The Railway that never was'
During the Victorian period, Llangurig nearly had a railway service. Wales' rail network was built piecemeal by many small companies, and parliament mistakenly granted acts for two lines through the same piece of terrain, linking Llanidloes to Aberystwyth - one for the Manchester and Milford (Haven) Railway Co, the other for the Mid Wales Railway Co. The M&M intended to connect the two settlements with a route across Wales, to enable industry to access the deep-water port. Predicted traffic included American cotton for the mills of Manchester. This resulted in the construction of much of the Carmarthen Aberystwyth Line, which had reached Tregaron at the time. The Mid Wales had running rights from Newtown to Builth, Brecon, and Cardiff.
The MWR was authorized to build its line by act of parliament in 1859[5]. The M&M was likewise authorized in 1860. The line was to head west from Llanidloes by way of Llangurig to Pant Mawr, through a tunnel, turning southwards for Ysbyty Ystwyth and Tregaron, finally connecting with the Carmarthen & Cardigan Railway at Pencader. The MWR and M&M approaches to Llanidloes covered the same territory. This caused the M&M to prioritize work on this section and by 1861 contractors' work forces were physically clashing. The MWR and M&M both offered to make their facilities available to the other, at a price. Unusually the situation was resolved with the help of a third party. An 1862 act of parliament authorized the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway Co to extend southwards with 1.5 miles of double track to Penpontbren, where the MWR and M&M would diverge. The M&M and MWR were to pay 5% per anum on construction costs and maintenance. Also the three companies were to pay equal shares of interest and running costs for the new station at Llanidloes. These charges were eventually to prove crippling for the M&M.
The "Llangurig branch line" was fully built, and a single goods train ran along its length, at which point the L&N invoiced the M&M for the cost of the joint station at Llanidloes. The branch service was immediately terminated, being wholly unprofitable without through traffic. The M&M continued to pay for the cost of the joint station they could not reach.
By 1864 the M&M had changed its plans for crossing the Pumlumon range. They now wanted to abandon the route through Pant Mawr, and instead intended to follow the Nant Troedyregair from Llanrug. This caused any work west of Llanrug to be abandoned. The change was, in the event, not authorized by parliament. However, the MWR then proposed its own westward extension, which was authorized, by an act of 1865. This was to branch west from a junction at Aber Marteg (where its route crosses the A470) up the Wye and Nant-y-Dernol valleys. The MWR was supposed to build another line from here directly to Llanrug, to join up with the M&M route. A 1.5-mile-long tunnel would burrow under the mountains to a descent to Ysbyty Ystwyth. From there the M&M were to provide lines to the south through Ystrad Meurig (Strata Florida station) and west to Aberystwyth. 1866 was a difficult year, including the collapse of the London Bank Overend, Gurney and Company, causing many industrial projects to encounter financial hardship. By 1876 MWR had still failed to build the new route, with an act of parliament permitting abandonment of the scheme. In 1882 the M&M started to dismantle the Llangurig branch, lifting 1.5 miles of the essentially unused track for maintenance purposes elsewhere.
The M&M became a cross country route from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth, being absorbed into the Great Western Railway. Penbontbren Junction signal box existed and was manned until the Mid Wales line closed. A large part of the route east of Llangurig is marked on current OS maps as 'dismantled railway', much of the course close to the A470 road through Nant gwynwydd being clearly visible. Some earthworks and tunnel headings survive from the original M&M scheme west of Llangurig. A view of Llangurig station can be seen .
- The Llangurig branch is noted in trivia as being the shortest lived working branch line in the UK - receiving precisely 1 train.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project Accessed August 14 2006
- ^ ESTYN Llangurig School Inspection Report January 2003 Accessed August 14 2005
- ^ BBC NEWS | Wales | Mid Wales | Schools vow to fight closures Accessed August 14 2006
- ^ BBC NEWS | Wales | Mid Wales | School with eight pupils closes Accessed October 02 2008
- ^ Holden, J.S.The Manchester & Milford Railway. The Oakwood Press, Second Edition, 2007, Ch 1-4.
