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History
of Capel Curig - the Heart of Snowdonia
Capel Curig tourist information and
accommodation guide - hotels, guest houses, bed & breakfast,
camp sites and self catering cottages, shops, places to eat, outdoor
pursuits, attractions and much more |
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Much
of Capel Curig’s history revolves around the development of
roads in the area - roads constructed by the Romans in their
campaign to destroy the power of the druids, packhorse trails
that were the principle means of access pre 18th century and
turnpike/coach roads that brought the first passenger carrying
vehicles to the village at the end of the 18th century . |
Early travellers to the area
were botanists such as Thomas Johnston who accompanied by three
friends arrived in 1639. Others such as Edward Llwyd, Samuel Brewer
and J.J.Dilcenius followed and they all added considerably to the
botanical knowledge of Snowdonia
Thomas Pennant popularized the
area with his three volumed work on "Tours of Wales"
written in 1778. Other early tourists who wrote about Snowdonia were
Fenton, Longville and Roscoe.
The breathtaking beauty of the area was a magnet to many famous
artists including Turner.
In the early 17th century Capel Curig was renowned for its harp
making
The old Turnpike road or Capel Curig Trust Road (now the A5) used
gates and tollbars. Thomas Telford undertook the work of building a
new and better road and work began in the Autumn of 1815.
The
Plas y Brenin National Mountaineering Centre includes the Capel
Curig Inn built by Lord Penrhyn in 1800 as the first fashionable
hotel in the area. The site was chosen some way off the high road to
take advantage of the well known view over the twin lakes of Llynnau
Mymbyr towards the Snowdon horseshoe. A stable block to the left
accommodated the carriages and horses of guests whilst the original
hotel building with its pump room is nearest to the lake. The hotels
popularity led to expansion in the village. In 1808 the Shrewsbury
to Holyhead mail coach (named the Ancient Briton) was re-routed away
from the North Wales coastal route to run via Capel Curig. Queen
Victoria and Kings Edward VII, George V and Edward VIII all stayed
at the inn which changed its name to the Royal Hotel in 1870.
The
back bar and cellar of the Tyn-y-Coed Hotel date from over 300 years
ago. Quarrymen walking from Trefriw would use the pub on their way
to and from the Siabod quarry. Opposite the hotel is an old coach -
the Yorkshire Rose which acts as a reminder of Capel Curig’s
heyday from 1808 when the new Holyhead Mail Started to run along the
"Great Irish Road" - this era ended in 1849 with the
advent of railways
The small church of St Julitta
is among the oldest in Snowdonia - built in the 13th or 14th century
it is now cared for by the "Friends
of St Julitta". Until 1848, Capel Curig formed a chapelry
in the parish of Llandegai but was administered by the priest from
Dolwyddelan. with the growing number of visitors to Capel Curig in
the 19th century the old church became too small to accommodate the
congregation and a new church was opened in 1883. The new church was
dedicated to St. Curig, the boy martyr and the dedication of the old
church was then changed to St. Julitta - Curig's mother
Nant y Benglog congregational
chapel in the Ogwen Valley was opened in 1853 and is one of the
smallest congregational chapels in Wales and continues to have
regular services.
All around the area can be found the remnants of old slate mines -
reminders of a major industry in days gone by.
Today the population of Capel Curig extends to just over two
hundred. Tourism and Agriculture are the main sources of employment
- each complementing the other |
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