NEUADD EDEYRNION Well,thats it,officially-were losing the pavilion,a great Corwen landmark now in the first stages of being gutted then demolished,but then we still have this magnificent building,now better known as the one-stop shop.We know it in welsh as Yr Aelwyd,does that mean meeting-hall? Well its not that spectacular a building architecturally really compared to some small town-halls i know of but it has its merits and unique features nevertheless,and we Corwen people are very fond of it,especially us older ones due to the memories it holds!Before discussing what went on inside there lets take a quick look at its exterior architecture! Now,that roof is interesting,the part gable at the apex and the set-stone frontage with that curious curve to it-that guttering at the top if it was once cast iron ogee shaped as i believe it was,must have been specially made to follow that curve,in recent times it was re-guttered all round using a continuous preformed gutter system fabricated by a machine on a lorry for the purpose,i saw it being done-they have few joints and generally formed in one complete length,and therefore not likely to leak!-is it formed from a roll of alumimium strip fed into the machine roller-former,or some other material?....im not sure.Many years ago there was a public display of plans to revitalise Corwen-and we locals were invited to be there and asked for any ideas for things to do to enhance the town for both residents and visitors-in the form of written suggestions-some money was to be allotted to finance the project which never came fully into fruition as shown on the plans apart from maybe a re-paving of large parts of the square with stone cobbles complete with the wrought iron work c/w bus shelter and lamposts done in later years in the 1990ies.I was pleased to see a suggestion of mine had been one that was put forward for consideration,to have a twin-faced projecting ornamental clock set on a wrought iron frame just below that large bell on the front...also if finance allowed,possibly using that bell for an hour strike,i was a tad disappointed that idea never came off! (the town clock which then had broken strike mechanism at the church had been silent for years!)But no harm in suggesting that idea again one day...but nowadays in lean times financially,any finance is most likely needed for more important things here. The main doors were wood ones,each if i remember,with a diamond shaped section of glass to the top...i think a timber lorry once shed its load by there on the sharp bend when the metal load restraining posts failed... damaging the doors too i think,luckilly no one was too near there at the time as there could have been more serious consequences. So,what went on in there? My mum said it was called the assembly-rooms,and that her father,our taid who died before i was born would go in the evening to read the newspapers in the reading-room there,during the 1950ies there was also facilities there like darts,billiards and table tennis for young people-there were no youth clubs in those days...I think the late Mr M.O.Griffiths the school had a lot to do with running that as well as other functions there,he was for many years a town counciller too.And during that era,the Ysgol Penybryn school christmas concert was held up in there,we went with our parents to see it and sometimes take part...we did little sketches or plays for which costumes were made-and often we gave demonstrations of the school p.t. we did,with a vaulting horse and other things,the show would run for a couple of evenings...Gaynor and i were allowed to stay up late after it and mum made us all some chips...memories!The concert room was also a popular venue for jumble-sales or charity events,and even the local chapels i remember sometimes held services there if their premises were closed due to repairs or someother reason. And if you take a look at that small door around the corner to the right,(note the oddly shaped roof!) that was the staircase that led up to the large concert hall/function room there...it had a stage with small changing rooms behind,and in later years in the 1960ies there were beat-dances held,mostly on Saturday nights with a band or group from the district providing music-or sometimes a discotheque (is that spelt right?) later shortened to disco.I heard that fights often happened too due to the odd ones going there boozed up raring for trouble!It wasnt really my scene! And of course the Council Offices were there too,fully staffed then,our sister Marilyn was at the rents desk there,along with another local girl Gwenan...somewhere to the rear of there was also the council yard where the binmen and house repair crew had their headquarters.Iwonder if the top function-room still gets regular use? I have happy memories of the place,im sure many of you do as well!
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 18:51:39 +0000
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