Victorian Powys for primary schools
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Machynlleth
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  Comins Coch in 1903  
 

 
 

The above map is an enlarged section of an Ordnance Survey map produced at the end of Queen Victoria's reign.
The community appears to have grown slightly but there are not many more houses than there were on the 1837 map. The fulling mill (Pandy) is still in operation on the river bank. There are though, two great changes which have come to the community in the Victorian period which can be seen on the map.

 
The railway has come to the area, using the same valley as the road. This put Machynlleth and the small local communities in contact with towns and cities far away. Building it took tremendous organisation and labour.
In this small stretch of the valley the Cambrian railway crosses the river twice. This is because the railway cannot turn sharp corners, so engineers have to use cuttings and bridges to make the line go round a smoother bend.
  
 

The map above also shows that the hamlet has a school at the roadside. By the end of Queen Victoria's reign all the local children would have had an education up to 13. Most local children would spend their school lives in this one tiny building.
(To find out more about what Victorian school life was like in the area, click here).

Compare with Comins Coch in 1837...

  
 

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