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Pennal is a village and community on the A493 road in southern Gwynedd, Wales, on the north bank of the Afon Dyfi/River Dovey, near Machynlleth.

Pennal
St Peter ad Vincula church, Pennal
Pennal Location within Gwynedd
Population	404 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	SH699003
Community	Pennal
Principal area	Gwynedd
Ceremonial county	Gwynedd
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Machynlleth
Postcode district	SY20
Dialling code	01654
Police	North Wales
Fire	North Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
List of places UK Wales Gwynedd 52.585°N 3.921°W / 52.585; -3.921

It lies in the historic county of Merionethshire/Sir Feirionnydd and is within the Snowdonia National Park.

Roman fort

It was the site of a small Roman fort, known as Cefn Caer in Welsh, probably guarding a ford or ferry crossing of the Dyfi on the Sarn Helen Roman road. The remains of the fort lie under the 14th-century house of Cefn Caer, overlooking the village.

Price Family of Esgair Weddan

Just outside Pennal is the farmstead of 'Esgair Weddan' which from the 14th century until the mid 18th was the home of the Price (ap Rhys) family of Esgair Weddan, patrilineal descendants of Dafydd ap Llywelyn, son of Llywelyn fawr (the great) Prince of Wales (1240–1246). Their home was called Plas yn y Rofft in Elizabethan times and was located in a field behind the present farmhouse above the village of Cwrt, (originally Pont y Cwrt), meaning "court", near to Mynydd Esgairweddan.

Owain Glyndŵr

Pennal is known for its historical association with Owain Glyndŵr. In Pennal Owain composed the famous Pennal Letter of 1406, a letter to the King of France setting out his plans for an independent Wales – the only document which stands as a policy document for an independent Wales in the Middle Ages. The letter was briefly returned to Wales from France for an exhibition at the National Library of Wales in 2000, and a campaign has started for it to be returned permanently to Wales and be put on show at the National Assembly building in Cardiff.

Anwyl Family of Llugwy

Just outside Pennal, on the banks of the Dyfi opposite the hamlet of Morben, is "Llugwy", the home of the Anwyl family since 1682. This family have patrilinear descent from Rhodri Mawr through Anarawd, his eldest son, and Owain Gwynedd (king of Gwynedd c.1137 – 1170) to the present day.

Recent history

In the early 19th century there were quays on the Dyfi where slate from the quarries around Corris, Aberllefenni and Abergynolwyn was brought by packhorse for loading onto seagoing vessels. This trade died out when the Corris Railway to Machynlleth and the Talyllyn Railway to Tywyn were built. The Cwm Ebol quarry operated a mile north west of the village between 1868 and around 1906. A 3 ft (914 mm) gauge tramway[2] (later converted to 2 ft (610 mm) gauge) operated between the quarry and the village. Between 1918 and 1920 part of the tramway was reused in another 2 ft (610 mm) gauge railway, serving timber felling operations at Cwm Dwr, two miles north of the village. The early internal combustion locomotive Baguley 774 was used on the line.[3]

The village also has a place in music history, as it was at nearby Bron-Yr-Aur cottage that Robert Plant was living when he wrote the Led Zeppelin classic, "Stairway to Heaven".

References

External links

• Description and photos of the Church
• Cefn Caer website – occasional residence of Owain Glyndŵr
• Owain Glyndŵr Society's page about the Pennal letter
• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Pennal and surrounding area

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