Iconic Cofiwch Dryweryn sign appears on historic viaduct
ACOFIWCH Dryweryn sign has suddenly appeared on the massive royal memorial next to the
A470.
A banner with the phrase has appeared on the huge stone tower next to the busy road in Taffs Well.
The phrase was first painted on a wall in Llanrhystud in the 1960s, in response to the loss of Capel Celyn, a village in the Tryweryn Valley.
One passerby said the addition to the structure, which has become a memorial to the Queen’s golden and silver jubilee, was a “middle finger” to the royal family.
The latest sign is believed to have been put up yesterday – the 54th anniversary of when the reservoir was officially opened.
In 1965, residents of Capel Celyn were forced to abandon their homes after the UK Government flooded the area and created a reservoir – Llyn Celyn – which would supply water to Liverpool and the Wirral.
In February the original version was defaced in a number of attacks, which spurred on a number of other signs in Wales and across the world.
One passerby, who spotted the sign yesterday morning, said: “Personally I’m sort of pro-Welsh independence, so I knew straight away what it was.
“What was really striking about it is that it’s the old viaduct that they turned more into a monument for the royal family. It’s a bit of a middle finger to them. And I thought how the hell did they get up there.”
Images of the sign – which translates as Remember Tryweryn – have been shared across social media including by Welsh independence campaign group YesCymru.
Although its looks more like a monument or an old chimney, the large structure is all that remains of a viaduct.
The Walnut Tree Viaduct was built by the Barry Railway Company to bring coal and iron from the valleys.
In its day it was described as “one of the finest spans in the country” and when the time came to demolish it, it had to be taken down, almost entirely, by hand.
It had taken three years to build and stood at 36.6m high and was 472m long. It was made of huge seven iron girders and seven million bricks weighing 3,000 tons.
The Walnut Tree Viaduct spanned the valley between the ridges of the Garth and Castell Coch.
Contractors started demolishing the Walnut Tree Viaduct in 1969 and all but one of the pillars had to be dismantled by hand due to the valley below.