Tregeiriog area place name : Rhewl

[Richard Isaac ap Edward]

Hello all,
I realise that Tregeiriog may well have been considered part of  Denbighshire & Montgomoryshire at different times but hoped the post would be okay here.

I have 3 relatives as blacksmiths at Tregeiriog in 1841 & 1851. The 1851 names the place as Rhewl & there are several if not more families said to be at Rhewl, Tregeiriog. Is this the farm Pen Rhewl (still there nowadays) or is it an area found on old maps South of Tregeiriog itself going towards Lllangadwaladr direction?

If anyone knows about the 1850's Ceiriog valley i would love to hear an opinion on this..   
Richard

[Gadget]

Hi Richard

I had some ancestors from that area and, at one stage, I lived not far away. I've never thought of what Rhewl meant before!  However, looking at the 1851 (Tregeiriog was  a detached part of Llangadwaladr parish), we get the following list of addresses:

Starting - HO107/2499/569/5
Tynrhyd
Rhewl
Shop
Penrhewl
Tanygraig
Rhewl
Rhewl
Tregeiriog
Rhewl
Rhewl
Rhewl
Rhewl
Rhewl
Tyisaf

It seems to suggest the main part of the village to me - so checked and found this:

"Rhewl" probably comes from "yr hewl" or "yr heol" which, in different areas, can mean the street, road, path, passage, sheepfold, farmyard or enclosure.

http://www.forumwales.com/fwforum/viewtopic.php?t=7600&f=45

Pen rhewl would (from this) translate as head or top of the street, etc.

Those more proficient in Welsh than I, might have other definitions 


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[Gadget]

Looking at this map:

http://tinyurl.com/a7r7wow

I would say that the addresses that I mentioned follow the yellow road that leads to the B4500 and across it to Tregeiriog farm


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[Richard Isaac ap Edward]

Thank s for adding the map link! I also thought that this 'Rhewl' meant the village proper in some way but could only find the references previously mentioned.... the area know as Rhewl I found was heading South towards Rhiwlas, round the base contours of a mountain in that area (with no other recollection & map somewhere on the internet). On a 1901 map of that place I've seen the smithy clearly marked at that crossroads in Tregeiriog proper, on the land next to where the Baptist Church is now. I've no references to show if it is the same smithy shown on the 1851 census though.
cheers
Richard

[Richard Isaac ap Edward]

I suppose one definite clue is in the the fact of the place names jumping in & out of Rhewl according to the sequence found on the census list you posted...
That 'might' mean ; Rhewl - in the village proper, then another farm up that road, then back to 'Rhewl' the village proper. The only point about that is you'd find Rhewl all over the shop wouldn't you? I do see a variety of Rhewls mind you but not enough to warrant a place name take-over.

Any Welsh speakers from a hundred odd years ago want to chime in   

R

[Gadget]

Hi again 

As I said in my earlier post, I think it's just the area that clusters around the yellow road on my linked map. If you go to the old maps site http://www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html and select the 1880 map of Tregeiriog, you'll see that the housing is very much ribboned along that road from Tyn y rhyd and I think it wouldn't go much beyong Tregeiriog Mill.

Ty Issa would be the lower house

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[Gadget]

In 1901 at RG13/5206/113/4,  the Smithy House (occupied by Thomas Humphreys) is between the C M Chapel and the Weslyan Chapel. In this year, the only mention of Rhewl (the Street) is in Penrhewl and each house//farm was named individually.

(I've found that in the small Welsh villages that many of my ancestors lived in, 'walking through' the census pages  with a map in hand, is a great help in getting a sense of the place. )


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[Richard Isaac ap Edward]

Much obliged for your input & info too. I also have many relatives buried in Welsh soil.... I say that rather than in a church because I've not found any graves yet. In the 1650s we copped for the surname Isaac after a chap called Isaac ap Edward..... a few years earlier & we'd have been an Edwards family, a few years later we'd have been Evans or Thomas. Not so unusual once you get used to the idea I suppose.
 Thanks again, have a good weekend!
Richard

[Gadget]

Hi Richard

Have you ever visited Tregeiriog?

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