Garndolbenmaen

Garndolbenmaen, known colloquially as Garn, is a village in the county of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies near the A487, approximately 6 miles north west of Porthmadog, in the community of Dolbenmaen, which has a population of 1,300.[1] The closest villages are Dolbenmaen and Bryncir. The Papur Bro, the local Welsh language paper, is called Y Ffynnon (The Source/Spring).

Garndolbenmaen
Garndolbenmaen village centre
Garndolbenmaen Location within Gwynedd
Population	1,300 (2001)
OS grid reference	SH497441
Community	Dolbenmaen
Principal area	Gwynedd
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GARNDOLBENMAEN
Postcode district	LL51
Dialling code	01766
Police	North Wales
Fire	North Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Dwyfor Meirionnydd

In 1856-7 Evan Jones of Garndolbenmaen built the Ynys-y-Pandy Mill on the nearby Gorseddau Junction and Portmadoc Railway.[2]

Blaen y Cae recording studios are located in the village, where Pep Le Pew's album, Un tro yn y Gorllewin and the last album by Gwyneth Glyn, Wyneb Dros Dro, were recorded. The producer and musician Dyl Mei also lives in Garndolbenmaen.

Approximately 50 pupils attend Ysgol Gynradd Garndolbenmaen,[3] many pupils travel from nearby villages including Pant Glas, Bryncir, Cwm Pennant and Golan. The number of pupils attending the school has remained consistent over the past 20 years.

Many of the old cottages in Garndolbenmaen have been turned into holiday homes.

There is a pub in the village, the Cross Foxes (this is now closed) . However at the turn of the 20th century there were several pubs including the Cross Pipes and Dafarn Faig, this was located on the "lôn gefn" (back road) leading to Bryncir.

The Gwynedd county councillor for the Dolbenmaen ward, Steve Churchman, a member of the Liberal Democrats, is the postmaster and he used to run a small shop (this is now closed).

The magazine Narrow Gauge and Industrial Railway Modelling Review is published by Roy C. Link in Garndolbenmaen

Famous residents

• Peter Jones (Pedr Fardd) (1775–1845), poet and hymn writer

References

1. "Office for National Statistics : Neighbourhood statistics : Census 2001 : Gwynedd". Archived from the original on 22 September 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
2. "YNYS-Y-PANDY SLATE MILL, CWMYSTRADLLYN;YNYSYPANDY;PONT-Y-PANDY". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. December 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
3. "School Inspection Report" (PDF). ESTYN. 2004.