Rhosllanerchrugog, usually shortened locally to “Rhos,” is a large village a few miles from Ruabon, often described as the largest village in Wales. Its Welsh name breaks down as rhos (moor), llannerch (glade) and grugog (heathery) — “Moor of the Heathery Glade” — a name that recalls the open moorland landscape long before coal mining transformed the area.
The village's growth was driven almost entirely by coal: seams of the north-east Wales coalfield running near Rhos led to the development of large collieries, including Hafod Colliery, which operated from 1860 to 1968 and at its height employed around 1,900 people drawn from Rhos and neighbouring Johnstown and Ponciau. Generations of local families followed their fathers underground, and the pit's closure in 1968 marked the end of an era for the whole district.
The Welsh bardic phrase “Beibl a Rhaw i Bobl y Rhos” — “a Bible and a spade for the people of Rhos” — captures how central both coal-mining and nonconformist chapel life were to the village's identity. That cultural weight was recognised nationally when Rhos hosted the National Eisteddfod, Wales' premier festival of music and poetry, in both 1945 and 1961; the Celtic League, an organisation promoting links between the Celtic nations, was founded in Rhos during the 1961 Eisteddfod.
The former Hafod colliery site has since been transformed into Bonc yr Hafod, a country park built on the reclaimed coal tip, giving today's visitors a very different, greener experience of ground that was once at the heart of the coalfield described in Coal Mining Around Ruabon.
Rhosllanerchrugog is a short drive or bus ride from Ruabon, with regular local bus routes connecting the two via Wrexham. Bonc yr Hafod country park, on the former colliery tip, is open to the public free of charge at any time and offers walking routes with views across the former coalfield.
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