In the mid-1870s, a narrow-gauge railway was built to bring slates from the quarries on Moel Tryfan and the Gwarfai valley to the mainline railway at Dinas. A new station with extensive exchange sidings was built, and to house, the workers needed to transfer the slates from one railway to the other, the London and North Western Railway built a row of five cottages.

 

Fron Heulog is one of these cottages, and since it was substantially bigger than the others, it may well have been for the yard foreman. Adjacent to these cottages were five much older and rather smaller cottages, some of which may well have been almshouses for the nearby Church. The cottages became a thriving community, and within living memory, people recall families with five or more children living in them. Over the years, the slate industry declined and first the narrow gauge line closed and later the mainline fell victim to the “Beeching Axe”. In the past twenty-five years, the railway has been reopened and extended back to Caernarfon and in the other direction to Porthmadog.

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In the 1870’s, people didn’t have cars, and nowadays parking provision is limited to one car per property in the courtyard. We have a dedicated parking place but if you have a second car, then please park on the lane outside the courtyard

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