Bangor-on-Dee

Bangor-on-Dee Welsh:Bangor-is-y-coed or Bangor Is-coed
The high street in Bangor-on-Dee
Map of the community.
Bangor-on-Dee Location withinWrexham
Population	1,110 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SJ388454
Community	Bangor is-y-Coed
Principal area	Wrexham
Preserved county	Clwyd
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WREXHAM
Postcode district	LL11
Dialling code	01978
Police	North Wales
Fire	North Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Clwyd South
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Clwyd South

Bangor-on-Dee(Welsh:Bangor-is-y-coedorstandardisedBangor Is-coed) is a village andcommunityinWrexham County Borough,Wales,on the banks of theRiver Dee.Until 1974 it was in theexclaveofFlintshireknown as theMaelor Saesneg,and from 1974 to 1996 in the county ofClwyd.

Thecommunityhad a population of 1,110 at the 2011 Census.

Etymology

Theanglicisedname refers to the village's proximity to theRiver Dee.However, the olderWelshname,Bangor-is-y-Coed(orBangor Is-Coed) literally means "Bangor" (a settlement with awattleenclosure) "below the wood/trees". This form was first recorded in 1699, while an alternative name of the parish, "Bangor Monachorum" ( "Bangor of the monks" ), was first recorded in 1677.

History

Amonasterywas established at Bangor in about AD 560 bySaint Dunod(or Dunawd) and was an important religious centre in the 5th and 6th centuries.The monastery was destroyed in about 613 by the Anglo-Saxon kingÆthelfrith of Northumbriaafter he defeated the Welsh armies at theBattle of Chester,which probably took place near Bangor-on-Dee; a number of the monks then transferred toBardsey Islandand appear among lists of saints.Before the battle, monks from the monastery had fasted for three days and then climbed a hill to witness the fight and pray for the success of the Welsh; they were massacred on the orders of Æthelfrith.The scholarBedewrote that 1200 monks were slaughtered and only 50 escaped.Other accounts are very different in terms of the numbers killed and the date: theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle,for example, states that 200 priests were slain at Chester in 607.More than a millennium later, the massacre was recounted in a poem entitled "The Monks of Bangor's March" byWalter Scott,and put to music byLudwig van Beethoven.Today no trace of the monastery remains and even its site is uncertain; it is possible that all the buildings, including the church, were built of wattle and daub.

The settlement at Bangor is likely to have continued after the destruction of the monastery, although it was not mentioned in theDomesday Book,and it was an important site for pilgrims. A village was certainly in existence by 1300, when the present church of Saint Dunawdis believed to have been built.By the late 1690s, the historianEdward Lhuydrecorded that the village still had only 26 houses, but by the end of the 19th century it had significantly expanded, including a free school, acoaching inn,a shop, further houses and abrewery.

TheBangor-on-Dee Bridge,a five-arched stone arch bridge across the River Dee, dates its reconstruction to 1658 and it is believed to have been reconstructed to the designs ofInigo Jonesand replaced an older medieval bridge.A 1903suspension bridgebyDavid Rowell & Co.is nearby at Pickhill Meadows.

Transport

The former railway station as it was in 1962

Five-arched stone bridge spans the River Dee

Bangor had astationon theCambrian Railways'Wrexham to Ellesmere linewhich crossed the River Dee via an iron bridge to the north of the village. This line was opened in 1895 and ran through an entirely rural area. The line closed for passenger services in 1962.

Recreation

South-west of the village there isBangor-on-Dee racecourse,aNational Hunt racecourse.There are also two pubs, a basketball court and river activities such as fishing and rafting.

See also

• St Dunawd's Church, Bangor Is-coed

External links

• The racecourse
• Map sourcesfor Bangor-on-Dee
• The Monks of Bangor's March
• photos of Bangor-on-Dee and surrounding area on geograph