A
short history of Y Groeslon
This was an agricultural area before the slate industry started. There was an
Inn, brewery, smithy and a turnpike. The first chapel
to be built here was Brynrodyn.
By the 19th century there were more quarrymen in Y Groeslon than farm workers,
but some still worked the land and kept small holdings.
In an article in the Herald 1938, Gilbert Williams
wrote about the way slate was carried in baskets either
side of a horse or donkey with women generally leading
them down the road to Allt y Pill, through Lloc field,
past Llwyn y Gwalch and on to Y Foryd to be exported.
Earlier small companies
used crowbars rather than powder in the Cilgwyn Quarry.
Historical records show that King Edward 1st stayed
in Ty Mawr Nantlle in 1283 and that slates from Cilgwyn
were used to roof this house.
Most of the quarrymen
from Y Groeslon worked in Cilgwyn, Penyrorsedd, Y Foel
and Dorothea so they had quite a long walk to reach
work every day. Over 1,000 men worked at Penyrorsedd
quarry at one time.
 The village grew around
the LMS train station which opened on the 2nd September
1867, but there was a narrow gauge railway here before
this which ran from Nantlle to Caernarfon, and which
opened in 1828
Photo: The platform and station at Y Groeslon
Slate and copper was carried in trucks pulled by horses. Gradually, with the
introduction of buses, cars and lorries, the use of
the train dwindled and the station closed in December
1964. The railway became a road for lorries / work
traffic and later on for bicycles and walkers when
Lon Eifion was opened.
Photo: A
train in Groeslon Station
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