Mochdre, Conwy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mochdre | |
| Welsh: Mochdre | |
  Mochdre shown within the United Kingdom |
|
| Population | 1,862 (2001 census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Principal area | Conwy |
| Ceremonial county | Clwyd |
| Constituent country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | COLWYN BAY |
| Postcode district | LL28 |
| Dialling code | 01492 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| European Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Clwyd West (UK Parliament constituency) |
| Welsh Assembly | Clwyd West (National Assembly for Wales constituency) |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Conwy | |
Mochdre is a village to the west of Colwyn Bay in Conwy county borough, north Wales. Originally part of the Municipal Borough of Colwyn Bay prior to local government reorganisation in April 1974, it is now a separate community (equivalent to a parish in England for local government purposes), whose population at the 2001 census was 1,862.
The name of the village comes from Welsh words meaning pig (moch) and town (tref). The origin of the name is explained in one of the mythological Welsh tales known as The Four Branches of the Mabinogi, which were first written down in the early middle ages, but which actually go much further back into the history of oral Welsh storytelling. An incident in one of these tales, Math fab Mathonwy, concerns the theft of a herd of sacred pigs. One of the places where the stolen animals were kept overnight became known as Mochdre ("Pigtown") as a result.
The village of Mochdre is famed for its parish church, which is actually the church of the parish of Llangwstennin (Cystennin being the Welsh version of Constantine Constantine I, the Roman Emperor who is reputed to have been born at the Roman settlement of Segontium in Caernarfon, north Wales), as it allegedly sits on the site of the oldest Christian church in Wales.
Mochdre has a place in railway history. Sited on the North Wales Main Line from Chester to Holyhead, it was the location of experimental trackside water troughs, from which passing steam locomotives could scoop up fresh water supplies without having to stop. These devices became commonplace around the world, but Mochdre was the first place they were ever used. Ironically the exact spot is now a stretch of the A55 dual carriageway, the railway line having been realigned slightly to the north when this section of the road was built in the mid-1980s. Here too was Mochdre and Pabo station, closed originally in January 1917 as a World War I economy measure, reopened in May 1919, and finally closed for good in January 1931. There is still a "Station Road".
