Penmorfa’s local history can be seen in several distinct traces: a church with a changing historical name, a farmstead with a distinctive architectural form, and the former Gorseddau Tramway. There is also a named drovers’ road and a section of National Cycle Network Route 8. When planning your trip, you can distinguish between building history and routes for walking or cycling.

The Church and Its Changing Name

St Beuno Penmorfa has richly carved interior features from the 19th century. The building is essentially a single-nave structure dating from the 15th century. The name of the church in Penmorfa also changed: on the 1888 map it was called St Beuno’s Church; between 1888 and 1901, it was renamed St Mary’s Church. The inscription “Built in 1847 by the Reverend G. Owen MA” is on the churchyard gate. The building’s age, its interior features, its change of name and the inscription thus refer to different historical periods. If you are interested in architecture, you can consider these details as different aspects of local history rather than reducing them to a single date.

The History of Gorllwyn-Uchaf

Gorllwyn-Uchaf in Penmorfa offers another way to explore building history. The farmstead is probably a two-storey building from the 16th century. It is a stone-walled, cruck-framed hall house incorporated into a two-unit house of the Snowdonian plan type. This description brings together the construction of the hall house and the layout of the larger house. A dendrochronological study indicates that the trees were felled in spring 1533. This should be distinguished from the probable date of the farmstead: it refers to the felling date, while the building as a whole is probably assigned to the 16th century. This offers a different focus from the church: here, the house form and the date established by the timber study are central.

Historic Routes and Cycling

The Gorseddau Tramway ran through Penmorfa and passed beneath the main road through a short tunnel. It is part of the village’s industrial history. Another kind of route is the old drovers’ road from St Beuno Penmorfa to St Cynhaearn Ynyscynhaearn. If you plan to take this walking route, check the path conditions and access locally.

For cycling, a minor road between Golan and Penmorfa is designated as part of National Cycle Network Route 8. Check the current route before your ride, as route descriptions may change. Route 8, also known as Lôn Las Cymru, runs for 436 kilometres between Cardiff and Holyhead, passing through Brecon, Builth Wells, Machynlleth, Porthmadog and Bangor, among other places. This long-distance route is on a different scale from the local minor road; both details help put Penmorfa’s cycling connections into context without confusing them with the drovers’ road.

Things to Focus on During Your Trip

If you choose Penmorfa primarily for its history, its church architecture, the change of name and the building form of Gorllwyn-Uchaf appeal to different interests. If you want to focus on getting outdoors, you can distinguish between the named walking route and the cycling section. This lets you choose the focus of your trip based on the topics actually mentioned: building history, a historic tramway, or a route for walking or cycling.

Discover more destinations: Tanygrisiau, Bala, Abersoch, Arthog, Llandderfel, Pwllheli, Rhiw, Aberdovey.

View the regional travel overview: Gwynedd.