Trefriw () is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It lies on the river Crafnant a few miles south of the site of the Roman fort of Canovium, sited at Caerhun. At the last three censuses, the population of the community has been recorded as 842 in 1999, 915 in 2001, and 783 in 2011 (from a total of 368 households).www.conwy.gov.uk Trefriw Census Profile
Trefriw lies on the edge of Snowdonia, on the B5106 road to the north-west of Llanrwst, and about 4½ miles north of Betws-y-Coed by road. It is located on the western slopes of the glaciated Conwy valley, below the ridge of Cefn Cyfarwydd, the village having been largely built in a semicircle at the point where the river Crafnant flows from its hanging valley to join the river Conwy. The river Crafnant still provides power for the woollen mill, and in the past provided power for a number of other industries based along its banks, such as a forge which provided quarry tools. The community includes the hamlet of Llanrhychwyn.
Most of the village lies within the Snowdonia National Park, the boundary running down the main street of the village.
Apart from its reputation as a good starting point for walks (the village has Walkers are Welcome status and stages an annual walking festival), Trefriw is today mostly known for its woollen mill, and for the nearby chalybeate spa, first known to have been used by the Romans and further developed in about 1700. Its waters were one of very few throughout Europe to have been classified as a medicine due to their high iron content.
History Romans
A major Roman road (Sarn Helen) ran southwards through Trefriw from the fort at Caerhun (between Trefriw and Conwy) to the fort at Tomen-y-mur (near Trawsfynydd), and beyond, ultimately reaching Moridunum at Carmarthen. It is likely that there were in fact two roads passing through the Trefriw area, a valley route, and a higher mountain route which went on to link to the smaller forts at Caer Llugwy (near Capel Curig) and Pen-y-Gwryd, near Snowdon. The actual lines of these roads through Trefriw can only be conjecture today, but the whole route is discussed in depth in the book Sarn Helen by J. Cantrell & A. Rylance (Cicerone Press, 1992).
Middle Ages Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great), Prince of North Wales and ruler of the Kingdom of Gwynedd (not to be confused with the modern-day county of Gwynedd), chose Trefriw as the site for a hunting lodge in the 12th century. Given that he had a number of strongholds in north-west Wales, it is not possible to know how much time he spent in the village, although it is reported that he preferred his lodge at Trefriw to his Palace at Aber. There are no remains to be seen today but it is now believed that it was on the site of the Ebenezer Chapel on the main hill. Llywelyn married Siwan or Joan, the youngest daughter of King John of England in 1204 or 1205, when she was only about 13. Despite her relative youth, she in time grew weary of the trek up the steep hill to the church at Llanrhychwyn (regarded by many as being the oldest in Wales), and as a result, in about 1230 Llywelyn endowed a church on the site where St Mary's, Trefriw now stands.
Llanrhychwyn (which takes its name from Rhochwyn, son of Helig ap Glannog) is now a small hamlet. In Llywelyn's time, however, and up to the early 19th century, it was larger than Trefriw itself, which consisted of "a few houses here and there".Hanes Trefriw, Morris Jones, 1879, published by W.J. Roberts, Llanrwst In Hanes Trefriw (English: History of Trefriw), Morris Jones writes in Welsh that Llywelyn "built a church for [his wife's] use, and for the use of the inhabitants, for their kindness towards him, and that he donated a number of farms from the parish of Llanrhychwyn, naming them as the parish of Tref Rhiw Las. It got this name from the slope on which it stood".
At the lower (northern) end of the village is located "Ffrwd Gwenwyn y Meirch" - ("Horse Poison Stream"). It is said that the stream was poisoned by a traitor, resulting in the deaths of many of Llywelyn's soldiers' horses, at a time when he was at war with the English.
The Red Book of Hergest (1375–1425) refers to "Kymwt Treffryw", the Commote (Cwmwd in Welsh) of Trefriw. This is possibly the earliest written reference to the village.
Stuart times
It seems probable that Trefriw has links with the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Thomas Wiliems, who was probably born in the village, and a nephew of Sir John Wynn of Gwydir, went to Brasenose College, Oxford, and returned to work as a physician. He was an authority on vegetarianism, and also published a Welsh/Latin dictionary. In 1573 he became Curate of Trefriw. He is reputed to have been a papist (he was certainly charged on that score at Bangor in 1607) and as such would probably have known of the plot to blow up Parliament. According to some sources it was he who, in warning his relative John Wynn not to go to the State Opening, was responsible to either a smaller or greater extent for the suspicions which ultimately caught Guy Fawkes. This story is the basis for a short historical novel written for children by Gweneth Lilly, entitled Treason at Trefriw (Gomer Press, 1993).
19th century In 1817 a free school was founded (and subsequently financially supported) in Trefriw by Lord Willoughby de Eresby, for the benefit of poor children of the village, and those from the adjoining parishes. The earliest mill (a pandy or fulling mill) dates back to the 15th century. In 1820 a new pandy was built, this still carrying the faded name "Vale of Conwy Woollen Mill". By early in the 19th century the village had a water-powered fulling mill (replacing the former cottage industry which dated back centuries), but serious development of the industry began only after it was bought by Thomas Williams in 1859. The current woollen mill is still owned by the descendants of Thomas Williams. The current roadside mill building, sited below the original buildings, was built in the 1970s.
David Cox Jnr. (1809–85) painted Trefriw near Llanrwst, with mill.
Following the construction of the Llanrwst to Conwy Toll Road in 1777, a toll house, Hen Dyrpeg, was built south of Trefriw, but this stood some 70m from the road on elevated ground, to avoid flooding. Following a fair degree of toll evasion, and the fact that traffic from the Gwydir Forest did not pass it, a replacement toll house, 'Gwydir Gate', was built in the 1820s nearer the village.The Conwy Valley, K. Mortimer Hart, Gutenberg Press, 2004 These toll houses were passed by traffic heading for the quay at Trefriw.
In the 19th century Trefriw was Wales' largest inland port, the river Conwy being tidal almost up to neighbouring Llanrwst. Given the fact that, at one time, Llanrwst was one of the ten largest towns in Wales, it can be seen that the Conwy Valley had great historical significance.
It was reported in 1833 that fairs were held annually on 12 May, 3 September and 7 November.
The parish of Trefriw was owned for a long period by the Gwydir Estate (although under continuous mortgage), but in 1895–96 most of Llanrhychwyn and Trefriw were sold off by the ruling Barons Willoughby de Eresby and the Earls of Ancaster.
The Quay
At the start of the 19th century, boats of around 5 tons could only reach Trefriw quay at or near high tides. It is not known when the first quay was built, but a storehouse existed there in 1754. The quay, which belonged to the Gwydir Estate and was ruled by a resident harbourmaster, was later extended (the present structure dates from about 1811–12), and became of great significance to Trefriw, its growth, and subsequent history. Subsequent rock blasting in the 19th century downstream at Tal-y-cafn, and dredging, enabled river boats of 50 tons and seagoing ships of 100 tons to reach Trefriw. The quays were sited opposite the Bellevue Hotel, now the Princes Arms Hotel, and remains can still be seen, best viewed from the walks on 'the Cob'.
From the quay was shipped out grain, wool, hide, oak, timber and metals from the mines of the Gwydir Forest. A considerable amount of slate was also shipped, this coming not just from Llnrhychwyn and Crafnant Quarries, but from as far away as Cwm Penmachno, where Penmachno, Rhiwbach and Blaen y Cwm quarries were major suppliers. However, wharfage prices were high at Trefriw (being non-Gwydir), and even before the opening of the Rhiwbach Tramway in 1863 (which linked to the Festiniog Railway at Blaenau Ffestiniog) it was decided that it was preferable (though less easy) to cart slate via Cwm Teigl down to the quays on the river Dwyryd, below Maentwrog. As a consequence slate shipments from Trefriw quay fell dramatically. (Between 1818 and 1835 slate had accounted for 70% of Trefriw's total exports; between 1857 and 1877 this fell to 20%.) However, not all the trade from the quay was material heading down-river—commodities such as food, wine (ordered by the region's gentry), coal and fertilizers (especially lime) were brought in.
Bangor University Archives holds some "Trefriw Port Books", which provide details of vessels, tonnages, masters, origins, destinations, cargoes by weight and fees. Two original manuscript volumes range in date from 3 April 1826 - 26 December 1835 and 1835–47.
In the early 19th century up to 450 vessels traded from the quay, to places such as Liverpool and Dublin. Trade totalled 1,548 tons in 1818, and peaked in 1862 at a total of 16,532 tons, after which the railways contributed to the decline of trade via the quays. In 1854 the main quay acquired a weighing machine and a crane, and there was a small shipyard in the village.
Sulphur was also shipped from the Cae Coch Sulphur Mine, prior to the construction of the railway line. The mine is discussed in detail in volume 7 of The Mines of The Gwydir Forest, by John Bennett & Robert W. Vernon (Gwydir Mines Publications, 1997). The other six volumes, whilst dealing with the mines beyond Trefriw itself, are also of interest in that these mines also provided much trade for the ships.
There were smaller quays further down the river, with the Gwydir Estate owning Coed Gwydir (for stone) and Cae Coch (sulphur). Below this, other non-Gwydir quays were at the Maenan Abbey, Porth Llwyd (Dolgarrog) and Tal-y-cafn, but Trefriw saw the most trade, by far.
The Artists' Colony The latter 19th century saw a number of artists living in Trefriw. The art movement, which had started in Betws-y-coed in the 1850s, popularized by David Cox, saw a movement down the valley following the arrival of the railway in Betws-y-coed. In 1871 William Barker lived in the village, and the 1881 census recorded another 8 artists living in the village, namely John Davies, Ben Fowler, Robert Goody, Julius Hare, Henry Hilton, John Johnson, James Morland and Henry Boberts.Artists in the Conwy Valley, by T. Ellis, 2010 Although artists continued to live here until after the turn of the century, like Betws-y-coed it became a victim of its own popularity. The movement therefore again re-established itself, this time at Tal-y-bont and Llanbedr-y-cennin, where its 40 members included those artists from Trefriw. Here in a building they set up an ‘Artists Club’, and its members were a strong influence on the formation of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, which moved into Plas Mawr, Conwy in 1886.The Betws-y-coed Artists' Colony, 1844-1914, by Peter Lord, Coast & Country, 1998, 2009.
Cae Robin Rock Cannon