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Aberdaron
Aberdaron (Welsh pronunciation: [abɛrˈdarɔn]) is a community, electoral ward and former fishing village at the western tip of the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It lies 14.8 miles (23.8 km) west of Pwllheli and 33.5 miles (53.9 km) south-west of Caernarfon; as of 2021, it has a population of 896. The community includes Bardsey Island (Welsh: Ynys Enlli), the coastal area around Porthor, and the villages of Anelog, Llanfaelrhys, Penycaerau, Rhoshirwaun, Rhydlios, Uwchmynydd and Y Rhiw. It covers an area of just under 50 square kilometres.
Y Rhiw and Llanfaelrhys have long been linked by sharing rectors and by their close proximity, but were originally ecclesiastical parishes in themselves. The parish of Bodferin/Bodverin was assimilated in the 19th century. The village was the last rest stop for pilgrims heading to Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli), the legendary "island of 20,000 saints". In the 18th and 19th centuries, it developed as a shipbuilding centre and port. The mining and quarrying industries became major employers, and limestone, lead, jasper and manganese (Mango) were exported. There are the ruins of an old pier running out to sea at Porth Simdde, which is the local name for the west end of Aberdaron Beach. After the Second World War, the mining industry collapsed and Aberdaron gradually developed into a holiday resort. The beach was awarded a Seaside Award in 2008.
The coastal waters are part of Pen Llŷn a'r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation, one of the largest marine designated sites in the United Kingdom. The coast itself forms part of the Aberdaron Coast and Bardsey Island Special Protection Area and was designated a Heritage Coast in 1974. In 1956, the area was included in Llŷn Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Conservation Areas have been created in Aberdaron, Bardsey Island and Y Rhiw; the area has been designated a Landscape of Historic Interest.
Aberdaron means "Mouth of the Daron river", a reference to the river (Welsh: Afon Daron) which flows into the sea at Aberdaron Bay.
The river itself is named after Daron, an ancient Celtic goddess of oak trees, with Dâr being an archaic Welsh word for oak. As such, the name shares an etymology with Aberdare and the Dare river (Welsh: afon Dâr).
The area around Aberdaron has been inhabited by people for millennia. Evidence from the Iron Age hillfort at Castell Odo, on Mynydd Ystum, shows that some phases of its construction began unusually early, in the late Bronze Age, between 2850 and 2650 years before present (BP). The construction was wholly defensive but, in later phases, defence appears to have been less important; in the last phase, the fort's ramparts were deliberately flattened, suggesting there was no longer a need for defence. The Bronze and Iron Age double-ringed fortification at Meillionnydd was occupied intensively from at least the 8/7th to the 3rd/2nd century BCE and was also deliberately flattened. It appears that Aberdaron became an undefended farming community. Ptolemy calls the Llŷn Peninsula Ganganorum Promontorium (English: Peninsula of the Gangani); the Gangani were a tribe of Celts also found in Ireland and it is thought there may have been strong ties with Leinster.
The church at Aberdaron had the ancient privilege of sanctuary. In 1094, Gruffudd ap Cynan, the exiled King of Gwynedd, sought refuge in the church while attempting to recapture his throne; he escaped in the monastic community's boat to Ireland. He regained his territories in 1101 and, in 1115, Gruffydd ap Rhys, the exiled prince of Deheubarth, took refuge at Aberdaron to escape capture by Gwynedd's ruler. Henry I of England had invaded Gwynedd the previous year and, faced by an overwhelming force, Gruffudd ap Cynan had been forced to pay homage and a substantial fine to Henry. The King of Gwynedd, seeking to give up the exiled prince to Henry, ordered that the fugitive prince be dragged from the church by force, but his soldiers were beaten back by the local clergy; Gruffydd ap Rhys escaped under cover of night and fled south to join up with his supporters in Ystrad Tywi.
Following the conquest of Gwynedd, in 1284, Edward I set about touring his new territories. He visited the castles at Conwy and Caernarfon. Court was held at Nefyn, at which his new subjects were expected to demonstrate their loyalty; he visited Aberdaron on his way to Bardsey Abbey.
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Aberdaron
Aberdaron (Welsh pronunciation: [abɛrˈdarɔn]) is a community, electoral ward and former fishing village at the western tip of the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It lies 14.8 miles (23.8 km) west of Pwllheli and 33.5 miles (53.9 km) south-west of Caernarfon; as of 2021, it has a population of 896. The community includes Bardsey Island (Welsh: Ynys Enlli), the coastal area around Porthor, and the villages of Anelog, Llanfaelrhys, Penycaerau, Rhoshirwaun, Rhydlios, Uwchmynydd and Y Rhiw. It covers an area of just under 50 square kilometres.
Y Rhiw and Llanfaelrhys have long been linked by sharing rectors and by their close proximity, but were originally ecclesiastical parishes in themselves. The parish of Bodferin/Bodverin was assimilated in the 19th century. The village was the last rest stop for pilgrims heading to Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli), the legendary "island of 20,000 saints". In the 18th and 19th centuries, it developed as a shipbuilding centre and port. The mining and quarrying industries became major employers, and limestone, lead, jasper and manganese (Mango) were exported. There are the ruins of an old pier running out to sea at Porth Simdde, which is the local name for the west end of Aberdaron Beach. After the Second World War, the mining industry collapsed and Aberdaron gradually developed into a holiday resort. The beach was awarded a Seaside Award in 2008.
The coastal waters are part of Pen Llŷn a'r Sarnau Special Area of Conservation, one of the largest marine designated sites in the United Kingdom. The coast itself forms part of the Aberdaron Coast and Bardsey Island Special Protection Area and was designated a Heritage Coast in 1974. In 1956, the area was included in Llŷn Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Conservation Areas have been created in Aberdaron, Bardsey Island and Y Rhiw; the area has been designated a Landscape of Historic Interest.
Aberdaron means "Mouth of the Daron river", a reference to the river (Welsh: Afon Daron) which flows into the sea at Aberdaron Bay.
The river itself is named after Daron, an ancient Celtic goddess of oak trees, with Dâr being an archaic Welsh word for oak. As such, the name shares an etymology with Aberdare and the Dare river (Welsh: afon Dâr).
The area around Aberdaron has been inhabited by people for millennia. Evidence from the Iron Age hillfort at Castell Odo, on Mynydd Ystum, shows that some phases of its construction began unusually early, in the late Bronze Age, between 2850 and 2650 years before present (BP). The construction was wholly defensive but, in later phases, defence appears to have been less important; in the last phase, the fort's ramparts were deliberately flattened, suggesting there was no longer a need for defence. The Bronze and Iron Age double-ringed fortification at Meillionnydd was occupied intensively from at least the 8/7th to the 3rd/2nd century BCE and was also deliberately flattened. It appears that Aberdaron became an undefended farming community. Ptolemy calls the Llŷn Peninsula Ganganorum Promontorium (English: Peninsula of the Gangani); the Gangani were a tribe of Celts also found in Ireland and it is thought there may have been strong ties with Leinster.
The church at Aberdaron had the ancient privilege of sanctuary. In 1094, Gruffudd ap Cynan, the exiled King of Gwynedd, sought refuge in the church while attempting to recapture his throne; he escaped in the monastic community's boat to Ireland. He regained his territories in 1101 and, in 1115, Gruffydd ap Rhys, the exiled prince of Deheubarth, took refuge at Aberdaron to escape capture by Gwynedd's ruler. Henry I of England had invaded Gwynedd the previous year and, faced by an overwhelming force, Gruffudd ap Cynan had been forced to pay homage and a substantial fine to Henry. The King of Gwynedd, seeking to give up the exiled prince to Henry, ordered that the fugitive prince be dragged from the church by force, but his soldiers were beaten back by the local clergy; Gruffydd ap Rhys escaped under cover of night and fled south to join up with his supporters in Ystrad Tywi.
Following the conquest of Gwynedd, in 1284, Edward I set about touring his new territories. He visited the castles at Conwy and Caernarfon. Court was held at Nefyn, at which his new subjects were expected to demonstrate their loyalty; he visited Aberdaron on his way to Bardsey Abbey.