Menai Bridge

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Menai Bridge
Menai bridge mist November 2004.jpg
Menai Bridge in mist
Isle of Anglesey UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Menai Bridge
Location within Anglesey
Population3,376 
OS grid reference SH555725
Community
  • Menai Bridge
Principal area
Preserved county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town MENAI BRIDGE
Postcode district LL59
Dialling code 01248
Police North Wales
Fire North Wales
Ambulance Welsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
Website menaibridge.org
List of places
UK
Wales
Anglesey
53°14′N4°10′W / 53.23°N 4.16°W / 53.23; -4.16

Menai Bridge (Welsh : Porthaethwy; usually referred to colloquially as Y Borth) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in north-west Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thomas Telford, just over the water from Bangor. It has a population of 3,376. [1] [2]

Contents

There are many small islands near the town, including Church Island. The Menai Heritage Bridges Exhibition celebrates the Menai Suspension Bridge, built by Thomas Telford, and the Britannia Bridge, built by Robert Stephenson.

Description and attractions

At the eastern edge of the town is Cwm Cadnant Dingle which is now by-passed by a modern bridge constructed in the 1970s. The Afon Cadnant drains into the Menai Strait at this point and this small estuary provides a natural haven for small boats crossing from the mainland. This was the location of the landing stage for the Bishops of Bangor who had their residence at Glyn Garth on Anglesey but whose cathedral was in Bangor on the mainland.

There are a number of small islands in the Menai Strait some of which are connected to the town by causeways, including Ynys Faelog, Ynys Gaint, Ynys Castell and Ynys y Bîg east of the suspension bridge and Church Island (Ynys Tysilio in Welsh) west of the bridge. The Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path passes along the waterfront.

Menai Bridge has several churches and chapels, including an English and Welsh Presbyterian church and a Catholic church. The town also has a primary school, Ysgol y Borth, and a large bilingual comprehensive school, Ysgol David Hughes.

Menai Bridge is home to the School of Ocean Sciences, part of Bangor University. Their research ship, the Prince Madog, is based at the pier when not at sea. [3]

Attractions in Menai Bridge include the 14th-century Church of St Tysilio, St George's Pier, a butterfly house, Pili Palas, and the Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens, a 200-acre (80 hectare) estate originally developed as a picturesque garden in the 1800s. The garden had been the site of restoration for twenty years. In December 2015, heavy rains caused flooding which washed away rare plants representing twenty years of work by Anthony Tavernor. [4] [5] Tavernor received some help to restore the garden, enabling him and his small staff to begin rebuilding and replanting the garden. The garden was able to reopen by Easter, 2016. [6]

Listed buildings

There are over 30 buildings listed by Cadw of being of special importance. These include the suspension bridge itself, St. Mary's Church, the church of St. Tysilio, the Victoria Hotel, and the War memorial on Church Island and several individual houses and buildings [7]

Glyn Garth

Menai Bridge includes the development along Beaumaris Road known as Glyn Garth. This was a favoured location for holiday houses for the wealthy from the Manchester and Liverpool areas in the late 19th century, and many large houses of that period remain. This was also where the Bishop of Bangor had his palace. [8] The palace was demolished in the early 1960s and replaced by a block of flats, Glyn Garth Court, completed in 1966.

History

The town existed as Porthaethwy for centuries and still has a house which dates from the 17th century. The name derives from Porth (harbour) + Daethwy (the name of a local Celtic tribe and later of a local medieval commote). It is likely that a community existed here in Roman times as it is the shortest crossing of the Menai Strait.

In the 9th century, St Tysilio lived here as a hermit on Church Island.

A ferry across the Menai was first recorded in 1292. When the bridge opened in 1826, the ferry closed, but connections with the sea remained through the import, export and shipbuilding trades.

Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass (1872) mentions the Menai Bridge in chapter 8 in a nonsense song.

From 1877 to 1920, the ship HMS Clio was docked at Menai Bridge; it was lent to the North Wales Society to teach young men the ways of seafaring. [9] Many local people believed the ship was used for some type of prison, but this was not entirely true. The ship was home to young men who were in need of discipline to keep them from getting into serious trouble; some were sent to the Clio against their will. [9] The young men on the Clio were not permitted to leave the ship; some of the corporal punishment administered was cruel. Stories about life on the Clio were commonplace among the residents of Menai Bridge; for many years, some mothers threatened their misbehaving children with being sent to live on the ship. [9]

In 1914, Belgian refugees from Mechelen, who had settled in the area, built a promenade out of gratitude for the town's hospitality. The promenade was built along the Menai Strait from Ynys Tysilio (Church Island) to Carreg yr Halen and was completed in 1916. It was rebuilt in 1963. The ceremonial reopening in 1965 was performed by the only surviving refugee, Eduard Wilhelms. Most of the refugees lived at three houses in Menai Bridge, with 12 housed at the Village Hall in Llandegfan. Most of the men were skilled in marquetry. [10]

On 12 November 1918, Major Thomas Elmhirst (later Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst), commanding officer of RNAS Anglesey, flew airship SSZ73 under the Menai Bridge following the armistice at the end of World War I.[ citation needed ]

TV location

Welsh-language production company, Rondo Media, has converted a disused garage into a fake row of shops in the centre of Menai Bridge as a film set for the soap opera Rownd a Rownd , shown on the Welsh-language channel S4C. They also film the show in schools in the town, Ysgol y Borth, and around the town itself.

Fair

The large car park to the north of the High Street is the "fair field". This is a piece of common land set aside for the holding of an annual fair called Ffair Borth, a tradition dating back to 1691. It started as a horse fair, and livestock trading was carried out until the 1970s. It was also a hiring fair. It was one of the year's great occasions for the folk of Anglesey and Arfon. The fair now features traditional fair rides. It comes to Menai Bridge on 24 October every year, unless it falls on a Sunday, in which case it is held on either 23 or 25 October. The fair stalls also take over most of the roads and streets in the town, making passage through the town very difficult.

A traditional verse goes:

'Mae Ffair y Borth yn nesu,
Caf deisen wedi ei chrasu,
A chwrw poeth o flaen y tân,
A geneth lân i'w charu.'

( Hen Benillion , edited by T. H. Parry-Williams, no. 218)

"The Porthaethwy fair is getting near,
The cake is out of the oven,
In front of the fire is warm beer,
And a fair maid for loving."

Governance

At the local level Menai Bridge is governed by Menai Bridge Town Council. Fourteen town councillors are elected from the two wards of Braint and Tysilio. [11]

Prior to 2013 the town wards of Braint and Tysilio were also county wards to the Isle of Anglesey County Council, electing one county councillor each. Following the 2012 Isle of Anglesey electoral boundary changes Braint and Tysilio were merged with neighbouring wards to create a larger multi-councillor ward of Aethwy. [12]

Notable people

Related Research Articles

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Bangor is a cathedral city and community in Gwynedd, North Wales. It is the oldest city in Wales. Historically part of Caernarfonshire, it had a population of 15,100 at the 2021 census. Landmarks include Bangor Cathedral, Bangor University and Garth Pier. The Britannia and Menai Suspension bridges connect the city to the Isle of Anglesey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menai Strait</span> Tidal water between Anglesey and mainland Wales

The Menai Strait is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The strait is about 25 km (16 mi) long and varies in width from 400 metres (1,300 ft) between Fort Belan and Abermenai Point to 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) between Puffin Island and Penmaenmawr. It contains several islands, including Church Island, on which is located St Tysilio's Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llangefni</span> County town of Anglesey, Wales

Llangefni is the county town of Anglesey in Wales. At the 2011 census, Llangefni's population was 5,116, making it the second-largest town in the county. The community includes the village of Rhosmeirch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menai Suspension Bridge</span> Historic bridge between Anglesey and mainland Wales

The Menai Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the world's first major suspension bridge. The bridge still carries road traffic and is a Grade I listed structure.

Menai may refer to the following places:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ynys Gored Goch</span> Island in Menai Strait, Wales

Ynys Gored Goch, sometimes Ynys Gorad Goch, is a small island in the Menai Strait between Gwynedd and Anglesey in north Wales. It is situated in the stretch of the strait called the Swellies between Thomas Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge and Robert Stephenson's Britannia Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swellies</span> Stretch of the Menai Strait, North Wales

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ynys Castell</span> Island near Anglesey, Wales

Ynys Castell is a small island in the Menai Strait which separates Anglesey and mainland Wales. It is an extruding piece of Precambrian schist lying to one side of the Afon Cadnant estuary. It lies between Ynys y Bîg and Ynys Gaint. There is a causeway running to the island that is covered at high tide. On the island there is a private house. Ynys Castell means Castle Island in Welsh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ynys y Bîg</span> Island near Anglesey, Wales

Ynys y Bîg is a small private island in the Menai Strait attached to the island of Anglesey, in North Wales, by a wooden bridge. The bridge runs from the grounds of a private house, itself also called Ynys y Bîg, preventing any public access. The bridge fell into disrepair but was reconstructed in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afon Cadnant</span> River on Anglesey, Wales

The Afon Cadnant is a small river on Anglesey, North Wales, which drains to the Menai Strait about 1 km north-east of the Menai Suspension Bridge. The river drains a largely agricultural area from Llandegfan to Llansadwrn and beyond, with feeder tributaries extending up towards Pentraeth forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church Island (Anglesey)</span> Island in Anglesey, Wales

Church Island, also known as Llandysilio Island, is a small island in the Menai Strait on the shores of Anglesey to which it is attached by a short causeway that is reachable only on foot. The dominant feature of the island is with St Tysilio's Church, constructed in the 15th century, its churchyard, and a grade-II listed war memorial. The 20th-century bard Cynan is among several notable people buried in the churchyard. The Anglesey Coastal Path passes the head of the causeway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglesey Coastal Path</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Anglesey County Council</span> Local government authority in north-west Wales

The Isle of Anglesey County Council is the local authority for the Isle of Anglesey, a principal area with county status in Wales. Since 2022 the council has 35 councillors who represent 11 multi-member electoral wards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ysgol David Hughes</span> Secondary school in Anglesey, Wales

Ysgol David Hughes is a bilingual secondary school on Anglesey, Wales. The school building was completed and opened in Menai Bridge in 1963 by Anglesey County Council which, ten years earlier, had become the first education authority in the UK to adopt non-selective comprehensive education.

Y Borth may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglesey</span> Island county in Wales

The Isle of Anglesey is a county off the north-west coast of Wales. It is named after the island of Anglesey, which makes up 94% of its area, but also includes Holy Island and some islets and skerries. The county borders Gwynedd across the Menai Strait to the southeast, and is otherwise surrounded by the Irish Sea. Holyhead is the largest town, and the administrative centre is Llangefni. The county is part of the preserved county of Gwynedd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanfairpwllgwyngyll</span> Village on Anglesey, Wales

Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, or Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, is a village and community on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales. It is located on the Menai Strait, next to the Britannia Bridge. At the 2011 Census the population was 3,107, of whom 71% could speak Welsh. It is the sixth largest settlement in the county by population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cwm Cadnant</span> Community in Anglesey, Wales

Cwm Cadnant is a community and former electoral ward in Anglesey, north Wales. Named after the local river, Afon Cadnant, which flows through it, the community takes in the area between the Menai Bridge and Beaumaris. The community includes the villages of Llandegfan, Hen Bentref Llandegfan and Llansadwrn as well as the settlement of Bryn-minceg and at the 2001 census it had a population of 2,222, increasing slightly to 2,254 at the 2011 census.

The Isle of Anglesey electoral boundary changes in 2012 reduced the numbers of electoral wards to the Isle of Anglesey County Council from 40 to 11. This led to the postponement of local government elections in the county by 12 months. The changes were confirmed by the Isle of Anglesey Order 2012 in October 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aethwy (electoral ward)</span> Electoral ward in Anglesey, Wales

Aethwy is the name of an electoral ward in the south of Anglesey, Wales, created in 2012. It contains the population centres of Menai Bridge and Llanfair PG.

References

  1. ↑ Office for National Statistics : Neighbourhood Statistics : Census 2011 : Isle of Anglesey
  2. ↑ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Menai Bridge Built-up area (W37000348)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Bangor University, Ocean Sciences
  4. ↑ "'Devastation' at Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens flood". BBC News. 27 December 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "'Tidal wave' devastates Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens". BBC News. 27 December 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens to be rebuilt after floods". BBC News. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Listed buildings". Cadw. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  8. ↑ Bishops Palace - Anglesey Council
  9. 1 2 3 "HMS Clio". Menai Bridge Society. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Belgian Promenade, Menai Bridge". History Points. 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  11. ↑ "Members". Menai Bridge Town Council. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  12. ↑ "Isle of Anglesey (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2012" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives . Retrieved 28 March 2019.
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