Painting unveiled to commemorate the 'Drowning of the Valley'

A painting's been unveiled marking 50 years since a valley in the Cambrian mountains was flooded to make way for a reservoir.

Local artist, Wynne Melville Jones, has completed an oil painting of the old farmhouse and chapel as they were before the area was submerged.

Today the original painting was unveiled at the National Library of Wales. A copy was presented to the pupils of Ysgol Syr John Rhys Ponterwyd last week and will be put on permanent display at the school.

The valley was drowned in 1964 to make way for the construction of the reservoir to meet the increasing demand for electricity.

The contents of the graveyard which was to be submerged were relocated to the chapel at Ponterwyd, and a number of cairns were painstakingly moved, some of which dated back as far as the Iron Age.

Wynne has also studied many old photographs of the area, TV films from the 60’s and has been assisted by local farmers in the area to get a better understanding of the lifestyle of the area.

Watch Kevin Ashford's report: