OUR STORY

Ty’n Llan re-opens

Thanks mainly to the hard work of the volunteers, everything was in place just in time to reopen the bar, in its existing form. Work started on establishing a programme of community events for young and old alike – from coffee mornings to a walking club, and youth project ‘Ty’n Llan Ni’ to Welsh learners’ club. Ty'n Llan is buzzing with activity while further news on the refurbishment plans and funding are eagerly awaited.

Celebrating, clearing and planning

Volunteers immediately set about cutting the grass and tidying up the garden, and two days of outdoor celebrations in the garden gave us a taste of what was to come. Half a dozen sub-committees were created to coordinate volunteer work to prepare the building for re-opening in its existing form. There were several days of communal painting, repairing and clearing. Architect Elinor Gray-Williams was asked to start planning for the renovation and extension of the building and two possible options were presented for the public’s response. Applications were submitted for a number of grants to help fund these schemes. At the end of November a temporary manager was appointed and a group of enthusiastic young bar staff.

£464,800 of investment secured and purchase completed

The offer closed on 11 June 2021 and when counting and confirmation of all pledges were complete it was announced that the campaign had been a resounding success, raising a staggering £464,800 in community shares. These investments came from a total of 1013 members, half of whom came from the LL54 postcode (5 mile radius) and most of the rest from other parts of Wales. Investments also came in from 28 different countries around the world, demonstrating the international appeal of the story of our campaign to save our local pub. This was more than enough to enable us to complete the purchase of the building on 28 June 2021.

‘Menter Ty’n Llan Cyf’ created

Given the need to act quickly the first steps were to seek guarantees of short-term loans sufficient to allow a bid to be made for the property, and then to complete the formation and registration of the Society, elect a Committee and invite investment in shares in the venture. A questionnaire was circulated and over 200 responses received. The responses provided a very useful indication of what the community's priorities were for Ty'n Llan, and which services were most likely to be in demand. Following delivery of the survey, negotiations with the agent began and on 10 March 2021, our offer of £325,000 was accepted, subject to contract, and the property was withdrawn from the market.

Covid-19 world-wide pandemic

The world came to a stop in 2020 when the Coronavirus C-19 world-wide pandemic struck. Discussions about the future of Ty'n Llan temporarily stopped as well.

Welsh music hub

Edward H Dafis, Meic Stevens, Geraint Jarman, Crys, Brân, Hergest, Bando – just some of the big names of the Welsh rock scene who came to Ty’n Llan to relax, and sometimes even to write songs (quite often on the backs of beer mats!), while they were recording their albums at the Sain recording studio during the 1970s and later. The original studio was in old farm outbuildings at Gwernafalau some 300 metres from the village centre, and a new studio was later built on a former RAF site 1½ miles down the road.

‘highly commodious house’

The Victorian building

In the collection of the Glynllifon estate’s documents an architect’s design for Ty’n Llan is dated 1864 showing a plan for the two floors and views of the front of the building and of the garden-facing gable end. This strongly suggests that this is when the current premises were built. It may be that it was after this that the inn was given an English name as well as the Welsh one, since it is in 1865 that the first reference to the Harp Inn, Llandwrog is seen. Despite this, it was the Welsh name which was retained colloquially.

Eben Fardd poetry commissioned

It was at the beginning of this year that the poetry which appears on the slate plaque at the front of Ty’n Llan was paid for. On January 20, 1832, Eben Fardd (Ebenezer Thomas, 1802-1863), the poet and schoolmaster from Clynnog), notes in his diary that he has received ten shillings and sixpence ‘’being a gratuity from Lord Newborough [the owner of the Glynllifon estate], for some Welsh and English lines I had composed at his Lordship’s request, to be put over the door of a public house at Llandwrog.” It is possible, of course, that these englynion were not used until the new building was constructed.

Llandwrog developed as model village

When the second Lord Newborough came of age in 1823 he started to plan and build a ‘model village’ for servants and pensioners of the Glynllifon estate, starting with the row of single-chimney cottages to the east of the pub.

Ty’n Llan on the map

Ty’n Llan stood on land belonging to the extensive Glynllifon estate. A map of the estate in 1751 refers to Ty’n Llan as the ‘Church Ale House and Garden’, confirming that there was definitely a tavern there by then.