Foresters Arms, Gyffin

Foresters Arms, Gyffin in 1901

A reader of the blog contacted me after seeing my post about the Pubs of Conwy and kindly supplied an old photo of the Foresters Arms on Llanrwst Road in Gyffin, Conwy which, back in 1901, was run by her Grandparents, William and Charlotte Olive (nee Davies) Roberts, they also had a daughter called Olive. If anyone has any more information about the Roberts family at the Foresters Arms, in the early 1900s, please do leave a comment or email me and I will pass it on.

Writing this post reminded me of a story in a local guidebook about the Foresters Arms, namely that it was permanently shut down as a result of being the only Pub in Britain to open on the day of Queen Victoria's funeral in 1901. However, this appears to be nothing more than an 'old wives tale', as it stayed open until 1903.

I also remembered that I had taken a photo of a gravestone in the Churchyard at Gyffin, so I dug that out and it read that Elizabeth Williams, of the Foresters Arms, Gyffin, had died in 1899 at the age of 73. Could the Roberts family have taken over the pub then?

Nowadays, the Foresters Arms is a private house. Have a StreetView look at it if you like by clicking here.

Update - November 2010: Here is the Foresters Arms in 2010. The lady in the 2010 photo is the Grand daughter of the Couple in the 1901 photo:

Foresters Arms in 2010

The Candle Factory, Gyffin

Candle Factory at Gyffin (Photo Credit)

Although it looks like a traditional mill, this building by the Gyffin stream on the Henryd Road in Conwy was actually a Candle Factory. It was established in the late 19th Century to make tallow candles (they apparently drip significantly less than wax candles), mainly to supply candles to the miners in the numerous local lead mines.

Animal fat was collected from several slaughterhouses in the area by the owner, Owen Owen (and later Llywelyn Evans), melted down and then poured into dipping troughs. The wicks were attached to a rod hanging above the trough and then dipped into the fat until the required thickness was reached. Unfortunately, the early years of the 20th century brought a decline in local mining, the introduction of oil lamps and the onset of electricity - all of which sent the candle business into steep decline. The mill eventually closed around the time of World War I and appears to have been abandoned ever since.

Some stabilisation of the building was carried out by its owner, Daffydd Roberts, a local farmer, in around 2004/5 but there appears to be no plans to bring the building back into use. Without a roof to protect the structure, its long term survival appears uncertain.

I think it would make a great artist's gallery or a set of small craft workshops, maybe even including a candle maker?

Closer look at the building (Photo Credit)

Thanks to Stan Whittaker and Christopher Draper for the information used in this post. Christopher Draper has a great book called 'Walks From Conwy', which combine a series of gentle walks with lots of historical information.