Plassey Street or Heol y Plase, Bala
The southern ‘back lane’ of Bala High Street continues westwards from Mount Street as Plassey Street. The lane was originally a feature of the medieval town.
As the population of Bala grew in the 18th century, new housing was extended into this street, which became known as Plassey Street. The name was probably chosen in commemoration of the Battle of Plassey in 1757, in which the British East India Company defeated Bengali forces. The victorious British were led by Lt Col Robert Clive, “Clive of India”, whose son Edward later bought Powis Castle, Welshpool (where you can see some of the treasures Robert seized for himself in India).
Many people worked at various premises along Plassey Street, including an abattoir and a tannery. Opposite the car park is the rear of the town's original workhouse, later a barracks and clothing factory.
Capel y Plase, now the Heritage Centre, was built in 1874. It was partly funded by the Great Western Railway to provide a place for local railway workers to worship. The congregation came mainly from the town’s poorer households.
Before Bala’s flood defences were improved in the 1950s, houses in Plassey Street were sometimes flooded. In February 1946 resident Robert Roberts waded into the kitchen of his home to fetch food for his family – and caught a fish which was swimming in the floodwater there!
Postcode: LL23 7SW View Location Map
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