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Cadw Open Doors at Capel Celyn Memorial Chapel
Capel Celyn Memorial Chapel. The chapel was built
Penderyn offers tours of refurbished distillery
to commemorate the flooding of Capel Celyn village to
Penderyn opened the doors of its second distillery, in
construct a reservoir to provide a water supply for the
Llandudno, in May. It is situated in the former Old Board
Wirral and the city of Liverpool in 1965. The memorial,
School in Lloyd St. The Grade II listed building has been
designed by RL Gapper, was built from many of the stones
restored, and elements from the old school, the tiling, the
from the original chapel. It now stands on the banks of
parquet floors and the metal school staircase have been
Llyn Celyn overlooking where the old chapel stood. Welsh
refurbished. Since then, visitors have poured in, and
Water has recently invested in extensive conservation
the tours and masterclasses have had 5-star reviews all
work on the Grade II* listed building working closely
the way. What’s very satisfying is that former pupils of
with heritage specialists Phillips and Curry Ltd. The
the school have come in and made themselves known
original designer’s family have also been involved in the
to the staff. The tours start in the wonderful exhibition
project along with heritage consultant Peter Napier to
area (pictured), before moving to the large distilling hall,
make sure the addition of new windows and a door and
where Penderyn have a unique Faraday Still, which they
waterproofing, were in keeping with the building. Entry
also use at their headquarters in the Brecon Beacons.
on the day is free with no prebooking required. Covid
This still produces an alcohol at 92% abv, compared to
measures will be in place and we would kindly ask any
the industry average of around 70%. This means their
visitors to bear with us if there is a short wait to take a
whiskies are light, fruity and flavoursome. The tours end
look inside the building. The chapel is situated just off
in the tasting bar where a couple of tasters are offered,
the A4212 trunk road from Bala. It is on the left-hand
with miniatures for those driving. Tours are available
side when driving from Bala towards Trawsfynnydd,
seven days a week. The masterclass is a real in-depth
approximately 1.5 miles past the National White Water
look at Penderyn and whisky in general, and takes
Centre.
around two and a half hours and runs at weekends.
cadw.gov.wales/open-doors-capel-celyn
www.penderyn.wales
Welsh Water is once again taking part in Cadw’s Open Doors event on September 15th welcoming visitors to
NWM 2021 Page 89
