Bethesda, Wales
| Bethesda | |
|---|---|
 The former Capel Bethesda from Penybryn Road. |
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 Bethesda
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| Bethesda shown within Gwynedd | |
| Population | 4,735 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SH624667 |
| Community |
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| Principal area | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BANGOR |
| Postcode district | LL57 |
| Dialling code | 01248 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | |
| Welsh Assembly | |
Bethesda is a town on the River Ogwen and the A5 road on the edge of Snowdonia, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, colloquially called Pesda by the locals.
It all started in 1823 when the Bethesda Chapel was built and the town grew around it. The chapel was rebuilt in 1840 and has now been converted into flats and is known as Arafa Don.
The town grew around the slate and stone quarrying industries; the largest of the local quarries is the Penrhyn Quarry. At its peak, the town was exporting its purple slate all over the world, and in doing so gained a reputation for being the world's best. The town was the site of a three-year strike led by the North Wales Quarrymen's Union from 1900. This led to the creation of the nearby village of Tregarth, built by the quarry owners, which housed the families of those workers who had not struck.
Most of the town is to the east and north east of the A5 road, with housing packed onto the hillside in irregular rows. This was due to the A5 marking the border between Lord Penrhyn's land, and the freehold land. This can still be seen in the layout of the current high street, where all the public houses are found on one side of the road.
In 1884 a branch of the London and North Western Railway's network from Bangor was opened. The line closed to passengers in 1951 and to freight in 1963.
These days the trackbed of the Penrhyn Quarry Railway towards Porth Penrhyn is taken over by the Lôn Las Ogwen cycle path.
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Wikipedia