Rhosllanerchrugog: Encyclopedia II - Rhosllanerchrugog - History

Rhosllanerchrugog - History

The development of the village may be largely attributed to the coal seams of North East Wales that pass beneath the village. A large mining community was established during the 18th century – local markets such as Bersham Ironworks guaranteed the prosperity of the village into the 20th century. A symbol of this prosperity is seen in the Miners' Institute of Broad Street. This fine structure was erected by the miners as a social and cultural centre for the community. It was built during the 1926 General Strike.

The Welsh Religious Revival of 1904 left a major impact on Rhosllanerchrugog. The famous bardic line Beibl a Rhaw i Bobl y Rhos (a Bible and a Spade - i.e. the mining implement - for the people of Rhos) reflect these two aspects of the village's heritage.

The influence of the - predominantly Welsh language - churches and chapels impacted greatly on the linguistic and cultural profile of the area, and until the early 1980s chapel-going was significantly higher in Rhos than in most other parts of Wales or the UK. One result of this is that although only nine miles from the English border and surrounded by English-speaking villages, Welsh is still spoken as a community language in Rhosllanerchrugog. Since the mid-1970s, a Welsh language community newspaper featuring local news and other features, Nene, has been produced in the village.

Rhos is also renowned for its rich musical heritage - Welsh composer of hymn-tunes Dr Caradog Roberts came from the village and Rhos is also home of many choirs, the best-known of which is probably the Rhos Male Voice Choir.

Rhosllanerchrugog hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1945 and 1961. The Celtic League was founded here in 1961 during the Eisteddfod.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki