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Carrog Village:
History : The village of Carrog is situated in the valley of the River Dee, which flows eastward through inland North Wales from Llyn Tegid at Bala some 90 miles to the sea at Chester. The original name, Llansantffraid Glyndyfrdwy was replaced by 'Carrog' when the railway came along the valley in the mid 19th century and a station was built having the shorter name. The village probably grew as the result of the bridge crossing the Dee at this point in 1661. A village had existed here before this time but little is known about it other than that there was a church of St Ffraid ( St Bridget ) in the valley before it was washed away in 1601 replaced by the present church built in 1611-15. Two centuries before, the valley formed part of the estate of Owain Glyndwr, a local landowner who led a patriotic stand against the English barons' advance into North Wales, in the name of the Crown. In the village there exist, what are purported to be the site of his prison and nearby the location his fortified manor house. The A5 London to Holyhead road runs along the Dee Valley, now regarded as an historic route - little wider than when Thomas Telford built it, but carrying traffic and loads far in excess of the stagecoaches it was built to serve! The railway ran along the valley to Barmouth until 1964 when it was closed under the 'Beeching cuts.' The track has been restored between Llangollen and Carrog and a limited rail service exists as a tourist and railway enthusiast attraction. The village grew to serve the farming and slate quarrying community. In the locality a church, a mill, a smithy, several chapels and shops, pubs, a school, a post office, once thrived but many are now gone. During the earlier part of the 20th century the railway brought the new wealthier entrepreneurs of Merseyside and the Midlands who built several large houses as country retreats. Rhaggatt Hall Estate overlooking the Dee a mile to the west was once the estate of Owain Glyndwr's brother. |