Copyright The Gate Hall: 2019
The village of Castell-y-Rhingyll, or more affectionately known by the locals as 'The Gate' is believed to have been given the title by virtue of the fact that a Toll Gate operated at the centre of the Hamlet. On Septenber 13th 1843, a protest meeting was held a short distance away at 'Llyn Llech Owain' where between 3,000 and 4,000 people attended protesting against the amount of Toll Gates that were in existence locally and the fees they levied off the population. The meeting, which included a reporter from The Times in London decided to send a petition to the Queen (Victoria) asking her to look at the issue. Following an article in The Times highlighting concerns of the public in Wales, Queen Victoria passed an Act limiting the amount of Toll Gates that could be operating in the area.
Following the protests, one Toll Gate was in place in the Mynydd Mawr area, one at Bryndu and the final one at the square of Castell-y-Rhingyll. The Toll Gate can still be seen today and was occupied until the 1970's. The road from Castell-y-Rhingyll to Pen-y-Groes has therefore always been known as Gate Road (Heol y Gat).
As a footnote, like many places locally there also existed a Colliery at Castell-y-Rhingyll. Known as Rock Castle Colliery (1884 - 1893), the mine was opened by Mr Dobelle of Birkenhead and although profitable when first opened, by 1893 it was considered unprofitable and closed.
The locality generally was very oversubscribed with Collieries and Open Casts by virtue of the fact that the area had, and presumably still has to a limited degree some of the highest quality anthracite coal desposits in the World.