Bron-y-Garth
Bron-y-Garth is a house above Porthmadog. After the death of his wife in 1860, Charles Easton Spooner moved there[1] by April 1862 (previous owner George Smith Homfray - proprietor of iron mines) and it was home to his miniature railway with Topsy. The house gets its name (in English "View of Garth") from the headland named Y Garth below.[2] The headland blocked the extension of the slate quays. The house had previously been the home of Nathaniel N. Solley, agent to the Welsh Slate Company. Charles lived here long after his wife's death.[3] On Charles's death in in 1889 the house passed to his sons Percy & Charles Edwin. They lived in it for a while and then sold it to Randal Casson, a solicitor with the partnership Breese, Jones & Casson. It passed down through the Casson family to actors Lewis Casson and his wife Sybil Thorndike in 1933, who used it as a summer residence until it was finally sold out of the family in 1950. Diana Devlin, their granddaughter, was born there in 1941 and she would go on to write a book about the Cassons - The Casson Family in North Wales - published in 2019.
Boyd tells us that the 3.5 inch gauge miniature railway in the garden was laid out as a figure of eight and could be arranged with gradients of 1 in 11. It was much in evidence on fete days and the garden must have been a glorious location for these events if the weather was kind.[4]
On one occasion a boy was sent on an errand to Bron y Garth and was accused by Charles of walking through his very lovely garden. Denying this he was beaten though innocent. He later went on to become a well respected servant of the Company.[5]
Situated on the opposite side of the harbour to the FR station and high above the slate wharves on Y Garth it was, and still is, just about the most imposing house in Porthmadog. With a telescope it would have been possible to see much of what was going on at Boston Lodge. This is demonstrated by the third picture below which was taken by Graham Bond from Boston Lodge Top Yard and shows clear line of sight to Bron y Garth and its garden.
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The lodge of Bron-y-Garth. The main house is hard to see from Garth Road. -
The main house of Bron-y-Garth. The three gabled upper windows in this have commanding views over the Traeth Mawr. -
Bron-y-Garth is the house above Prince's tender in this shot from the 2025 Platinum Anniversary/Steam 200 event in June 2025. Between the train and the masts of yachts in the harbour lies Cei Ballast.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 1 - History and Route. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1167-X. OCLC 2074549. p47
- ^ Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 1 - History and Route. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1167-X. OCLC 2074549. p53
- ^ Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 1 - History and Route. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1167-X. OCLC 2074549. p142
- ^ Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 1 - History and Route. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1167-X. OCLC 2074549. p143
- ^ Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 1 - History and Route. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1167-X. OCLC 2074549. p144