The name of the village comes from Welsh language words meaning pig and town. The origin of the name is explained in one of the mythological Welsh tales known as the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, which were first written down in the early Middle Ages, but which actually go much further back into the history of oral Welsh storytelling. An incident in one of these tales, Math fab Mathonwy, concerns the theft of a herd of sacred pigs. One of the places where the stolen animals were kept overnight became known as Mochdre as a result.
History and amenities
The village of Mochdre is noted for its parish church, which is actually the church of the parish of Llangwstennin as it allegedly sits on the site of the oldest Early Christianchurch in Wales. It is the home of Mochdre Pigs football Club. Mochdre has a place in railway history. Sited on the North Wales Coast Line from Chester to Holyhead, it was the location of experimental trackside water troughs, from which passing steam locomotives could scoop up fresh water supplies without having to stop. The troughs were supplied with water from two square ponds to the south of the railtrack and in the fields of the old Eagles farm. The first infant School in Mochdre was held in the Methodist chapel schoolroom in Chapel Street. The station master's house was on the Llangwstennin side of the railway line. It was a two-storey redbrick building and the stationmaster in the 20s and early 30s was a Mr Stretton who, when the railway station closed, went to live in Tan-yr-allt Avenue, Mochdre. Above Llangwstennin Rectory was a shale quarry. The shale was crushed at the quarry and conveyed by a covered belt conveyor down to a rear residing just north of the main railway line where it was so store in silos to be taken to somewhere in England to extract paraffin wax. When the only road through Mochdre was along the old highway, Thornton steam lorries carrying ruby bricks used to stop on the bridge over the river and replenish their water tanks. These devices became commonplace around the world, but Mochdre was the first place they were ever used, around October 1860. Ironically the exact spot is now a stretch of the A55dual carriageway, the railway line having been realigned slightly to the west when this section of the road was built in the mid-1980s. Here too was Mochdre & Pabo railway station, closed originally in January 1917 as a World War I economy measure, reopened in May 1919, and finally closed for good in January 1931. The area has been established an industrial area with much industrial and wholesale retail activity, notably Quinton Hazell, a large automotive accessories manufacturer being their base in the village. Latterly this complex is home to the Quinton Hazell Enterprise Park, incorporating mixed office and industrial accommodation.
Governance
Mochdre is also the name of the electoral ward, whose boundaries are coterminous with the community. The ward elects a county councillor to sit on Conwy County Borough Council. It is currently represented by Cllr Adrian Tansley of the Welsh Labour Party. The ward also elects or co-opts up to twelve community councillors to Mochdre Community Council.
