Bwlchgwyn () is a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, on the A525 road, west of the city of Wrexham and south-east of the town of Ruthin. Bwlchgwyn is part of the community of Brymbo. In the 2011 Census the population of the village was 855.
Etymology
The placename Bwlchgwyn has in the past been translated into English as "White Pass", perhaps referring to the white limestone cliffs in the area. These limestone outcrops were more prominent, in the north of the village on the high ground of Fronheulog and over to Gwynfryn, before the days of quarrying. It has also been suggested that the original name was Bwlchgwynt; gwynt meaning wind. The translation "pass", however, does not entirely fit with the Welsh word bwlch in its usual usage in placenames across Wales. Meaning hollow, dip, gap, aperture or notch, when bwlch is used elsewhere in Wales, it is used as a prefix in a word describing a steep ravine. Other examples are Bwlch-y-Saethau, Bwlch Tryfan, Bwlch Main and Bwlch Eryl Farchog; all such cases are characterised by very steep-sided ravines. Bwlchgwyn has, at its edge, a deep-sided ravine Nant-y-Ffrith, a prominent geographical feature. Before the forestry commission days, the farming community of Bwlchgwyn included many parts of the steep valley.
One suggestion of the gwyn in Bwlchgwyn, meaning "white", points to the area being the first and last place in the district where snow settles. Similarly, nearby Gwynfryn literally means "white hill". Gwyn, literally white, can in Welsh be used to suggest something being fair or beautiful. Gwyn is also used where there are river rapids or waterfalls, therefore 'gwyn', it has been suggested could point to the 'ravine's' (Nant-y-Ffrith) many waterfalls.
The young organisers of the Bwlchgwyn Eisteddfod in 1903 referred to themselves as "'Gwyr Ieuainc y Bwlch" (the young men of the ravine), proudly associating themselves with this prominent feature.
Geography
At a height of 1,090 feet (333 m) above sea level, it claimed to be the highest village in Wales until December 2015, when it was discovered that Trefil in Blaenau Gwent is actually the highest by the Ordnance Survey. As such, the village will now be removing the signs claiming to be the highest village. As the village is so high, there is a good view of the Peak district, Frodsham Hill and the Cheshire Plain; with Jodrell Bank being seen on clear days.
Two rivers have their sources near the village: the River Gwenfro rises on the south side of the village and the Nant-y-Ffrith flows through a wooded valley to the north.
The village is built on Cefn-y-fedw sandstone, a type of Millstone Grit from the Carboniferous period. It contains veins of lead ore and various other minerals.
History
Bwlchgwyn has been inhabited since at least the Bronze Age when a hill fort was built there (now destroyed by quarrying). It is thought that the original Brythonic inhabitants and later the Romans worked the shallow lead veins of the Eisteddfod, with the small fort possibly being a base for these operations. It has been suggested (by Ivan Margary, pioneering historian of Roman roads) that the old road up from Glascoed and along the ridge above Nant-y-Ffrith is of Roman origin: followed, from Bwlchgwyn, by today's main road, it runs to the hamlet near Llandegla called Pen-y-stryt (“the end of the road“) and then across the moors. Ancient hedgerows, dating from this period can also be found opposite George Edwards and son bus depot.
