Esgairgeiliog Explained

Static Image Name:Esgairgeiliog NLW3362798.jpg
Static Image Caption:General view of Esgairgeiliog, c.1885
Country:Wales
Constituency Welsh Assembly:Montgomeryshire
Coordinates:52.637°N -3.835°W
Official Name:Esgairgeiliog
Community Wales:Glantwymyn
Unitary Wales:Powys
Lieutenancy Wales:Powys
Constituency Westminster:Montgomeryshire
Post Town:MACHYNLLETH
Postcode District:SY20
Postcode Area:SY
Dial Code:01654
Os Grid Reference:SH759059

Esgairgeiliog (also known as Ceinws) is a village in Powys (formerly Montgomeryshire), Wales, UK. It is situated at the junction of the Afon Glesyrch's and Afon Dulas' valleys.

Behind the village is the former Era slate quarry, in the Glesyrch valley, and the Centre for Alternative Technology lies about a mile south of the village.

History

The minor road on the east side of the Afon Dulas is believed to be of Roman origin. In 1910, this road was still mostly cobbled, with sections that crossed bedrock showing deep wheel ruts.[1]

Immediately after the Second World War, the Forestry Commission established the Dovey Forest (later known as the Dyfi Forest) in the land between Corris and Aberangell. A major camp was established on the east side of Esgairgeiliog.[2]

Murder of April Jones

See main article: Murder of April Jones. In 2012, Mark Bridger, a resident of Ceinws, abducted and murdered five-year-old April Jones from the nearby town of Machynlleth.[3] Bridger was sentenced to a whole life sentence.[4] His house was subsequently torn down and a memorial garden to April Jones was erected on its site.[5]

Railway Station

Esgairgeiliog railway station was a station on the narrow-gauge Corris Railway, although it was the opposite side of the Afon Dulas river from the village, making the station in the county of Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) as opposed to the village, which was in Montgomeryshire (now Powys). A steeply-graded branch line crossed the river and led to the Era quarry, where slate could be taken from for transport to Machynlleth for transshipment.[6]

The station was opened in 1884,[7] and closed at the end of passenger services in December 1930.[8]

The station was structurally and cosmetically restored in the early 1980s.[9] The Corris Railway Society is now restoring the line, through Esgairgeiliog.

The station at Esgairgeiliog is the basis for Ulfstead Road, one of the Mid Sodor Railway's stations in The Railway Series.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales . An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire: I - County of Montgomery . 1925 . Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales . 142 . GGKEY:HRABCGX5SDD.
  2. News: The Dovey Forest . Sydney . Moorhouse . Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News . 12 October 1955.
  3. News: Grave headstone for murdered April Jones two years after death. 16 December 2014. BBC News. 10 March 2017.
  4. Web site: April Jones trial: Mark Bridger guilty of murder. 30 May 2013. BBC News. 27 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140916054557/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22687971. live. 16 September 2014.
  5. News: April Jones: Murder house to be demolished. BBC News. 4 August 2014. 4 August 2014. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140919115103/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-28643905. 19 September 2014.
  6. Book: A New Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to Aberystwyth, Barmouth, Pwllheli, Criccieth, Bala, Llangollen, and the Southern Section of North Wales: Including Ascents of Snowdon, Cader Idris, Etc. Appendices for Anglers, Cyclists, and Golfers . Ward, Lock and Company, Ltd. . 1904 . 49.
  7. Book: Boyd, James I.C. . Narrow Gauge Railways in Mid Wales . 1965 . James I. C. Boyd . The Oakwood Press . 24–25.
  8. Book: The Corris Railway Society . Corris Railway Society . Corris Railway – Guidebook & Stocklist . 2009 . Template Printing (Nottingham) Limited . en-gb . The Corris Railway – 1859 to 1948.
  9. Book: Baughan, Peter E. . A Regional History of the Railways of Britain: North and Mid Wales . 11 . 30 January 1992 . Atlantic Transport Publishers . 978-0946537594.