The drowning of Capel Celyn (Tryweryn)
Despite near-unanimous opposition from Welsh MPs, Parliament allows Liverpool to flood the Welsh-speaking village of Capel Celyn to build a reservoir, which opens in 1965.
- Tryweryn — National Library of Wales, National Library of Wales
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- A History of Wales — John Davies, Penguin (2007)
In 1957 Parliament passed a private bill allowing Liverpool Corporation to flood the Tryweryn valley near Bala to create a reservoir, drowning the village of Capel Celyn with its chapel, school, post office and farms. Almost every Welsh MP opposed it, but it passed anyway, and Llyn Celyn was opened in October 1965 amid protests.
- Tryweryn — National Library of Wales, National Library of Wales
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
The villagers, a close-knit Welsh-speaking community, marched through Liverpool to plead their case, and Gwynfor Evans of Plaid Cymru addressed Liverpool’s council. Nothing worked. Some turned to sabotage: in 1963 young nationalists damaged equipment at the site. The cause became a symbol of Welsh powerlessness and helped Gwynfor Evans win Plaid Cymru’s first parliamentary seat at Carmarthen in 1966.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- A History of Wales — John Davies, Penguin (2007)
The slogan Cofiwch Dryweryn, painted in the 1960s on a ruined wall beside the road near Llanrhystud, has been repeatedly restored after vandalism and copied on walls, T-shirts and murals across Wales.
- Tryweryn — National Library of Wales, National Library of Wales
Tryweryn proved that Wales could be overruled on anything, and that a Welsh-speaking community could be wiped off the map for English convenience; it was a turning point in the national awakening.
- Tryweryn — National Library of Wales, National Library of Wales
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
Liverpool Corporation argued it needed water for a growing city and its industry and followed the law; in 2005 Liverpool City Council formally apologised for its insensitivity.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- Tryweryn — National Library of Wales, National Library of Wales
Why it matters today
"Cofiwch Dryweryn", "Remember Tryweryn", is painted on walls all over Wales. The drowning of a Welsh-speaking community for an English city's water, over the objections of almost every Welsh MP, showed many people that Wales had no power over its own land, and it fed the rise of Plaid Cymru, the language movement and, eventually, devolution.