Carrog is located about 11km west of Llangollen, on the northern side of the river Dee. The village used to be known as Llansantffraid Glyn Dyfrdwy, after the original church which stood on the banks of the Dee but was swept away by a flood in the early 17th century. The church was replaced in a different location in 1611 (NPRN 43875). Carrog did not acquire it’s current name until 1866, when it became one of three settlements moved from Corwen to create the new parish of Glyndyfrdwy. At around the same time the local railway station was also named Carrog, possibly because ‘Carrog’ was easier for travellers to pronounce than ‘Llansantffraid Glyn Dyfrdwy.’ ‘The river of the same name goes back to the late 13th century when it was documented as Carrau and a century later, in 1292-3 as Carrok, a Welsh term meaning ‘swift-flowing stream’ or ‘torrent’, and the vill of Carrog appears in medieval documents from at least the end of the 13th century.’

‘Lhuyd recorded 6 houses ‘scattered’ around the new church at the end of the 17th century. By the mid-19th century there was closer to a dozen dwellings, well spaced between the church and the bridge.’ According to the 2011 census, Carrog had 307 residents living in 139 households.

The six-inch Ordnance Survey map published in 1875 still names the settlement as ‘Llansantffraid Glyn Dyfrdwy.’ It shows that the village had a school, a church, a chapel, and a public house called ‘Blue Bell.’ By the time the 1901 edition is published, the village is labelled ‘Carrog’ and it has kept all of its amenities. The 1953 edition of the map shows very little change occurred in the village during the first half of the twentieth century. In the twenty-first century, Carrog no longer has a public house, although the church and the Welsh Baptist Chapel remain open. The primary school has around 35 pupils. Carrog also has a post office and a village hall.

Sources: Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust Report no. 1257 ‘Historic settlements in Denbighshire’ (March 2014); https://www.ukcensusdata.com/; Estyn report on Ysgol Gynradd Carrog (2012); historic six inch Ordnance Survey maps and Google maps

M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 4th November 2020