Capel Celyn

For the controversial flooding of the Tryweryn Valley including Capel Celyn, see Tryweryn flooding.

Capel Celyn
Tree stumps at Capel Celyn in 2006, exposed by low water level of reservoir
Capel Celyn Location within Gwynedd
Community	Bala
Principal area	Gwynedd
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom

Capel Celyn was a rural community to the northwest of Bala in Gwynedd, Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded in the Tryweryn flooding of 1965 to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and Wirral with water for industry.^[1] At the time the village was one of the few remaining Welsh-only speaking communities.^[2]

Etymology

Capel is Welsh for chapel, while celyn is Welsh for holly.

Flooding

Main article: Tryweryn flooding

See also: Cofiwch Dryweryn

The villagers first knew about the proposal a few days before Christmas 1955, from reading about it in the Welsh edition of the Liverpool Daily Post.^[3] The flooding of the village was controversial as Liverpool City Council did not require planning consent from the local Welsh authorities as the reservoir was approved via an Act of Parliament. As a consequence there was no public inquiry on the proposal.^[2]

The villagers created the Capel Celyn Defence Committee, which debated and denounced the scheme all over Wales through newspapers, radio and television. The villagers marched twice to Liverpool in 1956 to make their objections known. However, Liverpool councillors voted overwhelmingly to proceed.^[3]

When the valley was flooded in 1965, the village and its buildings, including the post office, the school, and a chapel with cemetery, were all lost. Twelve houses and farms were submerged, and 48 people of the 67 who lived in the valley lost their homes.^[4]

Notable residents

• Elizabeth May Watkin Jones was born here where her family kept the local post office. She was one of the protest leaders together with Dafydd Roberts.^[5]

References

1. Lloyd, Delyth (21 October 2015). "Tryweryn: 50 years after 'drowning'". BBC News. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
2. "History of devolution". Senedd. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
3. Green, Matthew (12 February 2024). "The drowned village that turned the Welsh against the English". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
4. Thomas, Einion (2007). Capel Celyn, Ten Years of Destruction: 1955–1965. Cyhoeddiadau Barddas and Gwynedd Council. ISBN 978-1-900437-92-9.
5. "JONES (MROWIEC), ELIZABETH MAY WATKIN (1907 - 1965), teacher and campaigner". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 28 May 2023.