Dolwyddelan ( ; ; ) – in Victorian times, often spelled Dolyddelen – is a village and community in Conwy county borough, Wales, on the main A470 road between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Betws-y-Coed. As a community, the population of Dolwyddelan was recorded in the 2001 Census as 427, and 55.8% of those residents could speak Welsh. The population increased to 474 in the 2011 census with the proportion of Welsh speakers falling to 50.8%. Name The spelling of the village's name has varied over the years, though there appear to be two primary spellings with two primary meanings. The common modern spelling "Dolwyddelan" is translated as "Gwyddelan's meadow", referring to Saint Gwyddelan, an Irish missionary of the 6th century, after whom the parish church is named. There is some question as to which came first, the castle or the name. Saint Gwyddelan is believed to have arrived around 600 AD. A variant of this spelling is Dolwyddelen, which was particularly used by the railway between 1880 and 1980. Before the First World War the alternate spelling "Dolyddelen" was in common use; it is translated as "Elen's meadow", named after Elen Luyddog. Elen's Castle Hotel, which is on the east of the village, is also named after Elen Llyddog. Gwydir Estate For many years, Dolwyddelan was part of the Gwydir Estate. The estate was founded in the 16th century and was owned by the Wynn family. The estate was centered on Gwydir Castle and it dominated north Wales. More than of the country, stretching almost from Blaenau Ffestiniog in the south to the edge of Conwy in the north was part of the estate. In 1678 it passed to the Barons Willoughby de Eresby, based in Lincolnshire, and in 1892 it became the property of Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster. By the early 19th century the estate largely comprised the parishes of Dolwyddelan (where the Wynns also had an ancestral home), Llanrhychwyn, Trefriw, and Gwydir, totalling some . Much of the estate was under mortgage, and in 1894 Dolwyddelan was sold off. Buildings of note The village is particularly noted for Dolwyddelan Castle, the reputed birthplace of Prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), although doubt has been cast on this as the stone keep was not built until around 1220. It has better transport links than most villages, with the small Dolwyddelan railway station on the Conwy Valley Line