Women's Institute, Minffordd

The Women's Institute Building is one of the buildings at the Ffestiniog Railway's Minffordd station.

History

It was donated to the Women's Institute (WI) in 1917 by Miss Alice Williams, daughter of local landowner and Liberal MP David Williams.^[1] The Women's Institute organisation was founded in Ontario in 1897 and the first WI created in the UK was in Wales in 1915. Alice Williams was a painter, author and welfare worker and prominent in the founding of the WI. The Williams family were closely connected with the Lloyd Georges. This building was the first in Wales to be owned by a WI and it remained in their use for over 100 years - only ceasing to host meetings during the Covid 19 epidemic. After some time out of use, the building was purchased by the Ffestiniog Railway in July 2025.

Potential future use

A likely use of the building is as a place to work on and store some of the FR archives. Plans for use and refurbishment are yet to be completed.

References

^ "The Minffordd Women's Institute Building", Ffestiniog Railway Magazine, Issue 271, page(s): 537-539

External links

Women's Institute Wikipedia article

[1] "The Minffordd Women's Institute Building", Ffestiniog Railway Magazine, Issue 271, page(s): 537-539

[1]