Merioneth

Merioneth, Welsh Meirionydd, historic county of northwestern Wales, on Cardigan Bay north of the Dovey estuary. It extends from the coast along the Eden and Whion valleys into Snowdonia and the Berwyn mountains. Most of Merioneth lies within the present county of Gwynedd, but the northern portion of Merioneth is part of the present county of Denbighshire.

Merioneth (Meirionydd) is one of the oldest regional names in Wales. It derives from Meirion, grandson of Cunedda, who conquered northern and western Wales in the 5th century ce. In the post-Roman centuries, shut off by hills on all sides, Merioneth experienced little Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, or early Norman influence. In pre-Norman times the county was largely under the princes of Gwynedd. A Norman attempt to enter the county was repulsed in 1096. During the next 300 years there were many battles around Corwen, which commanded the entrance to the county at the Bala cleft. The seclusion of the region made it a gathering ground of Welsh resistance to the English. Glyndyfrdwry, a small village outside Corwen, was the home of the hero Owain Glyn Dŵr, who in the early 1400s was the last Welshman to actively challenge the supremacy of the English in Wales, and there are traditions that Glendower’s parliaments sat at Dolgellau.

There are records of gold mines in the Mawddach valley from early times, and copper and lead have been mined in the Ardudwy and Dyfi valleys, respectively. Merioneth was traditionally a sheep-rearing county with important flannel and woolen industries. In the 18th century Dolgellau was famous for its production of a Welsh tweed cloth, and at Bala stockings and woolen caps were made. The slate industry had its origins in the 16th century and came into prominence in the 18th. By the 19th century there were slate quarries at Ffestiniog, Corris, Aberllefenni, Pennal, Abergynolwyn, and Arthog, but most of these closed during the 20th century. Snowdonia National Park was established in the 20th century, and the county’s scenic beauty attracted growing numbers of tourists, who became important to the local economy. Dolgellau is the historic county town (seat) of Merioneth.