Rhayader
Rhayader is a small market town which lies on a crossing of the Wye river, almost in the centre of
Wales. It is the first town on the river Wye. Its name in Welsh is Rhaeadr Gwy which means Waterfall on the Wye.
A
band of hard rock created the waterfall and was a very early fording place on the river. The subsequent wooden bridge and waterfall were destroyed when the
bridge over the Wye was built in 1780, linking it to the village of Cwmdeuddwr, although some rocks still survive.
Rhayader Bridge and the remains of the waterfall
A Norman castle originally stood high above the river to defend the crossing point.
It is a market town and still has an important sheep & cattle market.
Cwmdeuddwr
Cwmdeuddwr, full name Llansanffraid Cwmdeuddwr, means land of the two waters for it is in Cwmdeuddwr parish That the Elen River joins the Wye. It is also in Cwmdeuddwr that the Gwynllyn stream joins the Wye. Although the village is small the parish is huge. It has its own church and the remains of a castle motte.
View of Cwmdeuddwr from Rhayader bridge showing New House farm in the distance
Elan Valley Reservoirs
The Elan and Claerwen valleys were compulsorily purchased in 1892 by Birmingham Corporation who then preceded to build 5 huge dams to supply water to Birmingham, 70 miles away.This was a massive undertaking, by far the biggest thing that had happened to the area. A huge village of wooden houses was built to house the workers, with substantial houses for the managers. Hundreds of workers and their families lived in Ellan Village, as it was called. It had a school, church and even a pub, but only for the men. The whole project took 10 years to complete with the Claerwen Dam being built much later.
more than 100 people living in the Elan Valley were moved out and all the
buildings demolished. These included three manor houses (two of which had
been stayed in by the poet Percy Shelley), 18 farms, a
school and a church. Only
landowners were given compensation.
The dams are now a major tourist attraction as well as still supplying Birmingham with water.
