COED Y BLEIDDIAU – AN 1860s LANDMARK IN RESTORATION
Unique property, now restored and available to let for holidays, is only accessible by train.
Completion of the restoration of Coed y Bleiddiau cottage on the Ffestiniog Railway as a holiday let by the Landmark Trust was marked by an open day for trustees, officers and supporters, on April 27. Remote from any roads, it is only accessible by train or on foot and was built alongside the FR in the 1860s to house the railway’s policeman-cuminspector Thomas Henry Hovendon and his family. Mr Hovendon had joined the railway in 1863 upon the introduction of steam locomotives, and remained with the company, sometimes prosecuting passengers found travelling without tickets, until his death in 1903. Between the wars, Coed y Bleiddiau was let out as a holiday home, with tenants including the musician Granville Bantock and his friend Harry St John Philby, father of the spy Kim Philby. In 1951, new tenants Bob and Babs Johnson moved in, Mr Johnson working at the nearby Trawsfynydd nuclear power station. He and his wife remained at Coed y Bleiddiau until the 1990s, the cottage deteriorating rapidly once it was uninhabited. In 2011 the Railway Heritage Trust suggested that the Landmark Trust, which specialises in buildings less likely to be of interest to the National Trust, could take it on. At first the trustees were reluctant, until they realised that its location made it unique. They also realised that it could form part of a portfolio of transport-related properties, and the trust is currently considering taking on Falsgrave signal box in Yorkshire, which could help broaden the trust’s appeal. In 2012, Cadw, the Welsh heritage agency, listed Coed y Bleiddiau as a Grade II property. Securing a 99-year lease from the FR, the trust started restoration work in 2016, all materials being moved to the site by train. For the April 27 event, the FR laid on a train top-and-tailed by Hunslet 2-4-0STTs Linda and Blanche to carry the guests from Tan-y-Bwlch to Coed y Bleiddiau. There, Landmark Trust guides showed visitors the cottage, its grounds and the locality. On April 28/29 the FR also ran shuttles to Coed y Bleiddiau to enable passengers to see the work carried out so far. The restoration will feature in a forthcoming TV programme about the work of the Landmark Trust.