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BBC Homepage Wales Home Recording Vyrnwy's History more from this section Last updated: 19 March 2008 Llanfyllin In March 2008, St Wddyn's Arts Connection Church secretary, David Japanese Garden Llanfyllin FC Rowlands, sent us some old Llanfyllin Photo Tour postcards published to raise Llanfyllin Senior Citizen's Day Centre BBC Local money for the church and told Pen Portrait Mid Wales us about a dvd that Recording Vyrnwy's History Things to do Syrcas Circus comes to town documents Lake Vyrnwy's Ten Years of The Valleys Film Society People & Places history: The Lonely Tree Nature & Outdoors The Salmon Test History Useful Info "I moved to Llanwddyn from Welshpool in 1948 at the age of Vyrnwy - Postcards Religion & Ethics 14 and have long been interested in local history. I worked Workhouse Festival 2009 Arts & Culture on the undertaking for 20 years. I was Church Treasurer for Workhouse Festival photos 2008 Music 34 years and am now secretary. I always sought to raise Workhouse Gallery Your Town TV & Radio money to support the church from as wide a field as possible Local BBC Sites since, in a small community, there are many bodies News competing for limited resources. Sport Weather The Church has previously Travel published three booklets about Lake Vyrnwy which are still in Neighbouring Sites North East Wales print and available. Two years North West Wales ago a friend suggested that we South East Wales should make a DVD. South West Wales

Related BBC Sites Wales Quite by chance Roger Jordan, who is Secretary of The Wyre Cymru Forest Camcorder Club, and who, with his wife Mary have Canolbarth had a caravan nearby for many years, approached me with exactly the same idea.

It was particularly timely since we have to have the Church rewires and the income from the sales of the DVD will be especially valuable to us at this time. The DVD runs for 65 minutes and is in three sections.

The first uses photographs of of the old village and is an imaginary walk through it mentioning the residents, some of whom are taken from the 1881 census and some from the reminiscences of David Jones', the special constable appointed to the village at the commencement of the works.

You will then hear about some of these characters and their way of life. The emphasis then turns to Liverpool and explains how the growth of the city overwhelmed the limited water resources then available with the consequent outbreaks of disease. How they searched for suitable sites in the Lake District and North Wales before deciding on the upper Vyrnwy valley.

The middle section records the decision to build in masonry rather than building an earth dam thus creating the first high masonry dam in Britain. It describes the opening of the quarry and the building of the Dam but is not so technical as to make it inaccessible to the general public.

The end section is an account of Vyrnwy as seen today by a visitor and is introduced by Mary Jordan. As far as possible current pictures have been interspersed with the pictures of the vally before construction of the dam.

For more information about the dvd or our book of postcards take a look at the website listed on the right of this page.

Article by David Rowlands your comments

Olwen George North Shropshire I was very interested in the comment from Tony Ford of Oxford about the memorial Obelisk at Lake Vynrwy and do agree with his comments about it being poorly maintained and hidden away. One of my ancestorse (George Mason) was also killed during the contruction of the dam and is named on the monument. I understand the Obelisk is listed and as such there is a requirement to maintain it. I believe through my research that there is a current dispute about whose responsibility it is - Severn Trent or the current owner of the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel. Thu Feb 4 10:16:23 2010

Tony Ford from Oxford One of my distant relations was killed whilst working on the dam. It is a pity the memorial obelisk to those 44 men who died in its construction is hidden away and poorly maintained. Thu Oct 8 10:14:32 2009

Jean Briffet from Llangollen I found it very difficult to stay in the location of the lake...there was a great sadness and heaviness for me. I had to leave. This is why I am researching the lake because I wasn't aware that the village had been flooded and I wondered what was going on! Tue Jul 28 14:51:39 2009

Peter Cahill, Liverpool I bought David's DVD at a Visitors Centre near Oswestry on Thursday last. It is a splendid piece of work and he should be congratulated for it. I wonder if Nonie Murch's father was Arthur Murch who worked for LCWW at their Dale Street offices. I worked in the next office to Arthur Murch when I was 16! He had an assistant called ? Atherton. Mon May 19 09:12:12 2008

Nonie Murch My father worked for the Liverpool Corporation Waterworks all his life bar war service. I have some coloured postcards and also Phillips Guide to Lake Vervwy (price 1s6d). If it has any historical use for anyone please let me know.Ii is full of facts and information on the building of Lake Vernwy. Tue Apr 1 05:27:56 2008

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