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Machynlleth
Machynlleth photos
Displaying the first of 35 old photos of Machynlleth. View all Machynlleth photos
Machynlleth maps
Historic maps of Machynlleth and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Machynlleth maps
Machynlleth area books
Displaying 1 of 0 books about Machynlleth and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Machynlleth
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Machynlleth.
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Wartime in Macynlleth
I don't suppose there are many of us left now! I was an evacuee, and attended the County School. I was there for four years. How I remember the photographs of Maengwyn Street, Penrallt Street and the town clock - where the farmers used to congregate on Saturday afternoon and evening. The wooden benches at the front of the Powys cinema which cost 6d (when we had the money). Running to school (always late), with the headmaster shouting through the laboratory window "come along people". My surname was Williams, in those days. I remember the Americans parading through the streets, they threw sweets and oranges for the children. I have visited twice since my return home. I found the place to be bigger, and I did not see anyone I would recognise.
Powys memories
My Life in The 50's & Early 60's
I was the last of our family ( the Panto's ) to be born at Ceinws Villa, now Ceinws Bach I believe, on the 6th Nov 1947. my taid. mother and I moved to Tai Isa' just after nain died.I went to school in Corris and then Mach. I remember the great exitment when Ael y Bryn were built & we had # 20. We used to play knock off ginger there and jump over the fence, down the field, over afon Glesyrch and up to the camp.We were fit !! By then my mother had married and soon I had 2 sisters and later on a little brother. My taid was the postman there for many years.There is an excellent book written about the village by Julia & her husband with some fantastic pictures as well.I'm sure most of the village would have starved in the 50's without the help & support of the small shop ran by Nora. We were all poor and all would go to the... Read more
Esgairgeiliog as A Kid
Reading Gwynfor's memories, reminded me of my childhood in Esgairgeiliog . I lived in 'Awelon' or as commonly known 'Yr Efail'. The blacksmith's forge was our wash house and above was my father's workshop. A few years ago my wife and I had the pleasure to be shown around by Julia. What a fantastic home she and her husband had created, and what an excellent book she has also written. I was born in Ceinws in the 1943 before the camp has been converted to houses and the new housing estate had not been built. My parents were both English speakers - one of three families in the village then. My mother was a dressmaker and people would come for miles to see her. My father was a carpenter on the railway. They kept to themselves. My main memory of being young was of playing cricket or football on the bridge with a stone wicket and others for goal posts. Clifford was the usual instigator of these games and he lived in... Read more
Village Life in The 1950s
I have read with interest the memories of Gwynfor and Colin. I moved to the village in the early 1950s and resided with my parents, brother and sister in Heulfryn (The Camp), this small estate if I'm not mistaken was formerly a borstal, then during the 1940s taken over by the Forestry Commision. I have fond memories of Esgairgeiliog, on reflection it was a great time growing up there. In those days it was a lively little community, the village hall situated in the camp held dances, concerts, film shows, whist drives, dramas etc, the two chapels Ebenezer and Tabernacle were always well attended, the village shop Era Stores always had something for a sweet tooth, there was also the Post Office run from a local house. There was plenty to do, football, cricket, cowboys and indians were some of the games, ventures into the woods where we climbed the trees, up the mountains, the quarries, I don't recollect being bored. Like Colin I remember exploring... Read more
Slate Quarry
I have fond memories of working in a slate mine as a 20year old. Only for a short period servicing and checking a Tilghmans compressors which supplied compressed air inside the mountain. I vividly remember being in the mine and told to stay inside a cutout whilst blasting.
48 years on and still the thrill is like yesterday.
Dolcorsllwyn Hall
Dolcorsllwyn Hall is an imposing, Elizabethan-style , family mansion, situated on the banks of the River Dovey between the villages Cemmaes Road and Mallwyd. The Hall is situated in its own grounds with access via a short tree-lined drive from the main road. At its entrance is the privately owned Old Coach House. The Hall is now owned by the trustees of the Dolcorsllwyn Hall Association and used as a residential centre for Merseyside children. My memories of Dolly Hall go back to the 1960s and 1970s when I accompanied parties of children from Brookfield School, Kirkby. It was an ideal centre for studying Biology (my subject), Geography, and Local History. Visits included the seaside resorts of Aberystwyth and Aberdovey; the rural town of Machynlleth; the villages of Mallwyd and Cemmaes Road, and the Cader Idris mountain. Mallwyd was an interesting place - its parish church had a whale bone (found in the River Dovey) above its entrance. Nearby is... Read more
Red Cottage
I have very happy memories of our 'second home' in the hamlet at Llonio where we stayed at Red Cottage. Mrs James Jones ruled the roost in this hamlet and she employed a handyman named Howard who she summoned by ringing a large bell situated outside the property. Her daughter Anna Thorne subsequently took over Llonio and then moved into Froggy Pond which I now see is up for sale. I will post some more memories in due course. The locals were great, does anyone remember Roger,Barry and the two Johns?
