The only constant is change. That has to be the premise. The town of Corwen in North Wales has enormous cultural significance in the context of the Wales and the Welsh culture. It was just outside Corwen in 1400 that Owain Glyndwr declared himself the Prince of Wales. A statue of him remains in the centre of Corwen and he remains the last native Welshman to be Prince of Wales. For 14 years he was a thorn in the side of successive English monarchs and has since become synonymous with the Welsh Independence cause. So Corwen can justifiably boast to be at the epicentre of Welsh culture.
The Eisteddfod is a Welsh festival of literature, music and performance. Although the first such event is reputed to have taken place in 1176, the first large national scale event is known to have taken place in Camarthen in 1451 just a few years after the death of Owain Glyndwr. By coincidence, it was in Camarthen in 1997 that the last votes were counted which ushered in the Welsh Assembly Government - the closest thing Wales has had to self rule since the days of Owain Glyndwr. It was not until 1789, the year of the famous French revolution, that members of the public were first granted entry to an Eisteddfod. That event took place in Corwen having been organised by Thomas Jones. Thus was the modern Eisteddfod revival born. In the first year after the end of the Great War in 1919, the now prestigious National Eisteddfod came to Corwen. First built a few years earlier in 1911, the Corwen Pavilion played host to that event and became a hugely important venue for many Welsh cultural events. Glyndwr was reputed to have died in 1415 but nobody knows for sure. What he did do was to achieve considerable victories against a much bigger ruler against considerable odds. Perhaps his greatest gift was his ability to rally support from across Wales.
On 20th June 1837, Queen Victoria ascended the English throne and would stay there until 1901. In the same month that the Victorian era was born, plans were approved to build a Poor Law Union Workhouse in Corwen. A census from 1881 reveals 51 inmates including the elderly, idiots, imbeciles, lunatics, labourers and other workers. It would be difficult to imagine such a place or such base descriptions of people today as we inhabit the era of freedom and equality.
In May 1865, a railway station was opened in Corwen by the Great Western Railway. This linked Corwen to Llangollen further up the Dee Valley or to Denbigh in the Vale of Clwyd. Although Corwen had always been an important stopping point on the coaching route from London to Holyhead, the railway was a Godsend for a town which is geographically isolated in the southern part of modern day Denbighshire. Of course, such branch lines were eventually closed following the Beeching Report of 1963 and so Corwen once more found itself isolated on the old A5 which had now been superceded by the dual carriageway A55 on the North Wales coast.
But what of the Corwen of today. Until recently, like Denbigh and Ruthin, it has had a care home for elderly residents run by the local County Council. The days of the Poor Law Work House are mercifully a thing of the past - or are they? Like many other Councils, the County Council in Denbighshire has been faced with cuts to funding. At the time of writing they have expressed their intention to close these facilities in a bid to save £700,000. At the same time, they are proceeding with a £4.2 million investment to a leisure centre in Prestatyn which, only last year, they declared unfit for purpose. Clearly, the plight of our frail elderly is not now as important as investing in a leisure centre which was not deemed worthy of support until very recently.
The Corwen Pavilion is being demolished as I write. A century of cultural events of enormous significance in the Welsh psyche are being bulldozed courtesy of the local County Council having been granted a compulsory purchase order. Economically, the years have been unkind to Corwen and so the recent actions of the local County Council would undoubtedly have incurred the wrath of Owain Glyndwr had he still been around today.
Which just leaves the railway - that icon of Victorian Britain. Well, in spite of County Council actions, the former steam railway has been restored by a dedicated team of volunteers over the last few years. In the last few weeks, the link to Corwen has been restored. But that link is far more symbolic than a train track. The link has been made possible by local people joining forces to effect a positive change just as they did for Owain Glyndwr in 1400. So Corwen now faces closure of it's Council run care home for the elderly. The pavilion is now being demoilished but the Victorian railway line has thrown a lifeline to a community badly let down by the modern system of local goverment. Let's hope that community unites like their forebears to reject closure of the care home because a community like theirs badly needs one and will value the support it gives to the elderly members who have given so much.
The Eisteddfod is a Welsh festival of literature, music and performance. Although the first such event is reputed to have taken place in 1176, the first large national scale event is known to have taken place in Camarthen in 1451 just a few years after the death of Owain Glyndwr. By coincidence, it was in Camarthen in 1997 that the last votes were counted which ushered in the Welsh Assembly Government - the closest thing Wales has had to self rule since the days of Owain Glyndwr. It was not until 1789, the year of the famous French revolution, that members of the public were first granted entry to an Eisteddfod. That event took place in Corwen having been organised by Thomas Jones. Thus was the modern Eisteddfod revival born. In the first year after the end of the Great War in 1919, the now prestigious National Eisteddfod came to Corwen. First built a few years earlier in 1911, the Corwen Pavilion played host to that event and became a hugely important venue for many Welsh cultural events. Glyndwr was reputed to have died in 1415 but nobody knows for sure. What he did do was to achieve considerable victories against a much bigger ruler against considerable odds. Perhaps his greatest gift was his ability to rally support from across Wales.
On 20th June 1837, Queen Victoria ascended the English throne and would stay there until 1901. In the same month that the Victorian era was born, plans were approved to build a Poor Law Union Workhouse in Corwen. A census from 1881 reveals 51 inmates including the elderly, idiots, imbeciles, lunatics, labourers and other workers. It would be difficult to imagine such a place or such base descriptions of people today as we inhabit the era of freedom and equality.
In May 1865, a railway station was opened in Corwen by the Great Western Railway. This linked Corwen to Llangollen further up the Dee Valley or to Denbigh in the Vale of Clwyd. Although Corwen had always been an important stopping point on the coaching route from London to Holyhead, the railway was a Godsend for a town which is geographically isolated in the southern part of modern day Denbighshire. Of course, such branch lines were eventually closed following the Beeching Report of 1963 and so Corwen once more found itself isolated on the old A5 which had now been superceded by the dual carriageway A55 on the North Wales coast.
But what of the Corwen of today. Until recently, like Denbigh and Ruthin, it has had a care home for elderly residents run by the local County Council. The days of the Poor Law Work House are mercifully a thing of the past - or are they? Like many other Councils, the County Council in Denbighshire has been faced with cuts to funding. At the time of writing they have expressed their intention to close these facilities in a bid to save £700,000. At the same time, they are proceeding with a £4.2 million investment to a leisure centre in Prestatyn which, only last year, they declared unfit for purpose. Clearly, the plight of our frail elderly is not now as important as investing in a leisure centre which was not deemed worthy of support until very recently.
The Corwen Pavilion is being demolished as I write. A century of cultural events of enormous significance in the Welsh psyche are being bulldozed courtesy of the local County Council having been granted a compulsory purchase order. Economically, the years have been unkind to Corwen and so the recent actions of the local County Council would undoubtedly have incurred the wrath of Owain Glyndwr had he still been around today.
Which just leaves the railway - that icon of Victorian Britain. Well, in spite of County Council actions, the former steam railway has been restored by a dedicated team of volunteers over the last few years. In the last few weeks, the link to Corwen has been restored. But that link is far more symbolic than a train track. The link has been made possible by local people joining forces to effect a positive change just as they did for Owain Glyndwr in 1400. So Corwen now faces closure of it's Council run care home for the elderly. The pavilion is now being demoilished but the Victorian railway line has thrown a lifeline to a community badly let down by the modern system of local goverment. Let's hope that community unites like their forebears to reject closure of the care home because a community like theirs badly needs one and will value the support it gives to the elderly members who have given so much.
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