Cyfyng Chapel/school
In reply to Christine Conroy re. Cyfyng chapel/school, in the Wybrnant valley, Penmachno. Despite being a few yards on the Dolwyddelan side of Afon Wybrnant, the 'border' betwen Penmachno and Dolwyddelan parishes, Cyfyng school was opened in the chapel in 1900, for the benefit of children from the lower parts of Penmachno parish. It was one of SIX schools in this large parish just before the First World War, teaching a total of over 370 pupils. 25 pupils went through its doors on opening day in 1900, and a photo exists of that momentus gathering. At most, some 32 pupils attended Cyfyng school, during the 1920s. It closed down in 1958, with seven of the remaining eight pupils transferred to Penmachno primary school, and the other to Dolwyddelan, I believe. The remarkable thing is that the school was never connected to electricity, or mains water. Oil lamps and well water was the order of the day. What would health and safety officers say about that today! Cwm Penmachno primary school also closed, in 1964, due to the closure of the quarries and consequent depopulation. Penmachno remains the only school left in the parish, and hopefully, will remain open for many years to come. Nice to read memories, and names of some of the Cwm ex-pats, most of whom I knew well, and shared the old way of life in a thoroughly Welsh community. I only moved 'over the mountain' from Penmachno, to Blaenau Ffestiniog, in 1965, and hence have not forgotten my Welsh, thankfully. Have the rest, I wonder?
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RE: RE: Cyfyng Chapel/school
My father bought Cyfyng in 1958 when the chapel was still in use for monthly Sunday afternoon services. It was a magical place, we used to travel every weekend from Liverpool, and spent many happy holidays there. The services stopped in the early 60's and we planned to convert into an extension but then didn't. When my wife & I had 2 girls they where brought up playing in the stream, walking, and going to bed under giant eiderdowns! They were in heaven!! In the 70's we had a visitor - a lady from USA who went to school there in the 50's and she wanted to see the open range fire that was used along with the oven that cooked their lunch. She said one of her abiding memories was the custard always tasted of wood smoke!! She had so many happy memories of that school and cottage. By 1983 both my parents were finding the general running of the cottage and the journey was getting to much for them so very relunctantly we sold it to a friend of my brother-in-law who put in electric, central heating, running water - it just was not the same!!!
Comment from Geoff Bailey on Monday, 13th February 2012.