Machynlleth
From Free net encyclopedia
Machynlleth is a town in the traditional county of Montgomeryshire (Sir Drefaldwyn), north Powys in Wales. It is in the Dyfi Valley, and is at the intersection of the A487 and the A489. It had a population of about 2,000 people according to the 2001 census.
It was the seat of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh Parliament in 1404, and as such claims to be the "ancient capital of Wales". It applied for city status in the 2000 and 2002 competitions.
From 1859 to 1948 it was served by the narrow-gauge Corris Railway, which brought slate from the quarries around Corris and Aberllefenni for onward despatch to the markets.
Machynlleth main-line station was built by the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway, and continues to provide a link to Aberystwyth and the Cambrian coast to the west and Newtown and Shrewsbury to the east.
The daughter of local landowner Sir John Edwards married Viscount Seaham, the second son of the third Marquess of Londonderry, and they set up home in Plas Machynlleth. He became Earl Vane on the death of his father and the fifth Marquess on the death of his half-brother. To celebrate the 21st birthday of their son, Viscount Castlereagh, the townspeople subscribed to the erection (at the town's main road intersection) of the Clock Tower, which has become widely known as the symbol of Machynlleth. Another son, Lord Herbert Vane-Tempest, was the last member of the family to live at the Plas and was killed in the Abermule train collision on the Cambrian Railways, of which he was a director. The house was given to the townspeople after World War II. In recent years it was converted into Celtica.
It has become the home of the Centre for Alternative Technology and has a rapidly-expanding renewable energy industry. This, however, does not impact much on the lives of many of the townspeople and the rural populace.
Machynlleth hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1937 and 1981. It is twinned with Belleville, Michigan, USA.
The pronunciation of Machynlleth is approximately Ma-khun-khleth - it is also known as "Mach" for short.
Currently the Celtica site has permanently shut down due to lack of interest. The council will be taking suggestions on what to do with the large mansion-style building, but talk around town is it will probably become a new set of council offices.