Llanddona fish weir | |
---|---|
Gorad Llanddona | |
Type | fish weir |
Location | Anglesey, Wales |
Coordinates | 53°18′29″N4°08′38″W / 53.308°N 4.144°W |
OS grid reference | SH 5725 8116 |
Official name | Llanddona Fish Weir |
Designated | 31 October 2002 |
Reference no. | AN137 |
Llanddona fish weir (also known as Welsh : Gorad Llanddona or Welsh : Gorad Fona) is a post-medieval fish trap sited in Llanddona, on the Isle of Anglesey. The fish weir is a scheduled monument.
Llanddona fish weir is at the far eastern end of the beach at Red Wharf Bay where a band of rocks turns to sand, and is near the estuary of the brook that passes near St Dona's church. [1] [2] [3] The fish weir lies at the edge of the Penmon Historic Landscape Area. [4]
Llanddona fish weir is a V-shaped trap, typically used when trapping fish in tidal waters. [5] [6] The two arms of the V run down the beach, starting below the high-water line and almost meet at the tip of the V just above the low-water line, where the fish are caught in a net or a trap when the tide recedes. [7] The sides of the V-shaped trap can be made of stone, wattle fencing, or both. [7]
At Llanddona the sea is north of the beach, so the western arm, about 300m long, points north-east, and the eastern arm, about 100m long, starts at the edge of the beach and points north-west. [3] [2]
Llanddona fish weir is first mentioned in the 17th century in the records of the Baron Hill estate and is also shown on a chart of 1748 by Lewis Morris, a hydrographer, surveyor and author from Anglesey. [6] [1] [8]
Near the weir there are two buildings named as Godreddi Bach and Godreddi Mawr. The names seem to be a corruption of Goreddi (the plural of gored, meaning weir). [9] This possibly associates the buildings with the weir, and that there may have been more than one weir. [9] Additionally, a double line of stones has been identified on an aerial photograph which may be part of the original construction or part of later rebuilding. [1]
Llanddona fish weir was designated as a scheduled monument in 2002 as being of national importance to improve understanding of medieval or post-medieval maritime agricultural practices and possibly containing archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. [6]
Llanddona fish weir, like most of the beach at Red Wharf Bay, is covered by the sea at high tide, and even at low tide the apex of the weir is still underwater. [3] The Llanddona circular walk passes near the site of the weir. [10]
Bodedern is a village and community in the west of Anglesey, Wales. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,074, decreasing slightly to 1,051 at the 2011 census. The community includes the settlements of Llanllibio and Pen-llyn.
Pentraeth is a village and community on the island of Anglesey, North Wales, at grid reference SH523786. The Royal Mail postcode begins LL75. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 1,178. The village itself having a population of 557.
Moelfre ( ) is a village, a community and, until 2012, an electoral ward on the north-east coast of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. The community area covers the village and harbour, and several smaller, dispersed settlements. It includes six scheduled Iron Age hut groups and many other sites of archaeological interest. The harbour was formerly a local fishing port; a lifeboat station has been based here since 1854. Among many shipwrecks off the coast was that of the Royal Charter in 1859. Near the modernised lifeboat station is the RNLI Seawatch Centre. The coastline includes a rocky headland north of the village and a large sandy beach at Lligwy Bay, both traversed by the Anglesey Coastal Path. The 2011 census measured the village population as 710. It was estimated at 614 in 2019.
A fishing weir, fish weir, fishgarth or kiddle is an obstruction placed in tidal waters, or wholly or partially across a river, to direct the passage of, or trap fish. A weir may be used to trap marine fish in the intertidal zone as the tide recedes, fish such as salmon as they attempt to swim upstream to breed in a river, or eels as they migrate downstream. Alternatively, fish weirs can be used to channel fish to a particular location, such as to a fish ladder. Weirs were traditionally built from wood or stones. The use of fishing weirs as fish traps probably dates back prior to the emergence of modern humans, and have since been used by many societies around the world.
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St Dona's Church, Llanddona ) is a small 19th-century parish church in the village of Llanddona, in Anglesey, north Wales. The first church on this site was built in 610. The present building on the site dates from 1873, and was designed by the rector at the time. It reuses earlier material including a decorated 15th-century doorway and a 17th-century bell.
Llaneilian is a village and community in Anglesey, Wales. It is located in the north east of the island, 2.2 miles (3.5 km) east of Amlwch, 16.5 miles (26.6 km) north west of Menai Bridge and 12.5 miles (20.1 km) north of Llangefni. The community includes the villages and hamlets of Dulas, Llaneilian, Pengorffwysfa, Cerrig Man and Penysarn, Gadfa and Nebo, and at the 2001 census had a population of 1,192, decreasing slightly to 1,186 at the 2011 Census. The parish is crowned by its hill, Mynydd Eilian, a HuMP, popular with walkers and ramblers, and its beach, Traeth Eilian, which is popular with holidaymakers and for watersport activities. At the north easternmost point is Point Lynas,, while Ynys Dulas lies off the North East coast of the island, east of Dulas Bay.
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Gwynedd is a large rural county in North Wales. The northern half includes the high mountains of Snowdonia and the mixed farmland and hills of the Llŷn peninsula, which between them make up much of the former county of Caernarfonshire. The southern part of Gwynedd is the softer coastal and upland landscapes of the former county of Merionethshire. Gwynedd, the second-largest county in Wales, has a total of 497 scheduled monuments. That is too many to have on a single list article, so for convenience the list is divided into three. The 365 prehistoric sites are in two lists, covering 171 sites in former Merionethshire, and 194 sites in former Caernarvonshire. The 132 sites dating from Roman to modern times are included in a single list covering the whole of the county. Gwynedd is a unitary authority comprising most of the two historic counties. In 1974 it also merged with Anglesey, and the merged county was also called Gwynedd. Since 1996 Anglesey has been a separate county again.
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