Harlech
| Harlech | |
|---|---|
 Harlech from the beach area; the castle is seen centre-left | |
  Harlech Location withinGwynedd | |
| Population | 1,263 (2021 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SH581312 |
| Community |
|
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HARLECH |
| Postcode district | LL46 |
| Dialling code | 01766 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Harlech(Welsh pronunciation:[ˈharlɛχ]) is aseaside resortandcommunityinGwynedd,North Wales,and formerly in thehistoric countyofMerionethshire.It lies onTremadog Bayin theSnowdonia National Park.Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 1974 County of Gwynedd. Its landmarkHarlech Castlewas begun in 1283 byEdward I of England,captured byOwain Glyndŵr,and in the 1480s, a stronghold ofHenry Tudor.[2]Once on a seaside cliff face, it is now half a mile (800 m) inland.[3]New housing has appeared in the low town and in the high town around the shopping street, church and castle. The two are linked by a steep road called "Twtil".[4]Of its 1,447 inhabitants, 51 per cent habitually speakWelsh.[5]The built-up area withLlanfairhad a population of 1,762 in the 2001 census, over half of whom lacked Welsh identity,[6]and the electoral ward which includesTalsarnau1,997 in the 2011 census. The estimate in 2019 was 1,881.[7]The population of the community, which includes just the village, was 1,263 as of the 2021 census.[8][better source needed]
Etymology
[edit]The exact derivation of the nameHarlechis unclear. Some, mostly older sources, derive it fromArddlech,i.e.ardd(high) +llech(rock),[9][10]referring to the prominent crag on which the castle stands. Recent sources prefer a simpler derivation from the two Welsh wordshardd(fair/fine) andllech(slate/rock).[11]
As late as the 19th century, some texts referred toHarddlechandHarddlech Castle.[12][13]This name appears in the mid-19th century translation of theMabinogion:"And one afternoon he was at Harddlech in Ardudwy, at a court of his. And they were seated upon the rock of Harddlech overlooking the sea." Contemporary documents from the time of theMabinogiondo not mention Harlech, referring only to Llywelyn building his castle "atArdudwy".[14]
History
[edit]In 2007, aLockheed P-38 Lightning(aWorld War II-erafighter aircraft) was rediscovered on Harlech beach. It has been described as "one of the most important WWII finds in recent history." TheInternational Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery(TIGHAR) expressed an interest in salvaging the wreck of theU.S. Army Air Forcesplane, known as theMaid of Harlech.[15]
However, in August 2019,Cadw,the Welsh government's historic environment service, gave the remainsscheduledstatus, making it the first legally designated military aircraft crash site in the UK to be protected for its historic and archaeological interest.[16]The site is also controlled under theProtection of Military Remains Act 1986.The aircraft came down in September 1942 when it was on a gunnery practice mission. The pilot was Second Lt Robert F Elliott, 24, ofRich Square,North Carolina,survived the crash, only to be reported missing in action a few months later.[17]
Governance
[edit]Anelectoral wardin the same name includesTalsarnaucommunity. The ward population at the 2011 census was 1,997.[18]
Transport
[edit]Harlech railway stationis a stop on theCambrian Coast Line.Services run betweenPwllheliandMachynlleth,operated byTransport for Wales.[19]
Local bus services are operated byLloyds Coaches,with services toPorthmadogandBarmouth.[20]
The town containsFfordd Pen Llech,a street down the rock spur to the north of the castle. It is the steepest signed, public paved road in the United Kingdom[21][22]and one of the steepest in the world.[nb 1][23][24][25]
Educational facilities
[edit]Ysgol Ardudwyis the countysecondary schoolfor children aged 11–16. Ysgol Tanycastell is the town'sprimary schoolfor children aged 3–11. Wales's only long-term adult residential college,Coleg Harlech,also known as the "college of second chance", existed in the town from 1927 to 2017. It was renowned for its mixed classical andbrutalistarchitecture.[26][27]Harlech's library, previously run by Gwynedd Council, also closed in 2017.[28]Harlech's Old Library Institute runs as Harlech Hwb, offering cost-of-living support and click-and-collect library books from Gwynedd Libraries.[29]
Demographics
[edit]The 2011 census recorded 1,762 usual residents. The village is fairly Anglicised, with 48% of residents having been born in Wales and 46.9% born in England. Correspondingly, only 42.6% reported having a Welsh national identity.[30]
Recreation
[edit]Harlech has a beach backed withsand dunesand the Royal Saint David's Golf Club, which hosted its fifthBritish Ladies Amateurin 2009. TheRhinogydd(or Rhinogs) range of mountains rises to the east.
Harlech has aScout hut,which acts as a base for outdoor recreational activities.[31]
In traditional and popular culture
[edit]- A street in Harlech,Ffordd Pen Llech,was recognised in 2019 byGuinness World Recordsas the steepest residential street in the world with a gradient of 1:2.67 (37.45%); however,Baldwin StreetinDunedin,New Zealand,was then recognised with a gradient of 1:2.86 (35%).[25]The steepness was determined by measuring consistently on the lower side of the street – the left or right, whichever was lower. It was later decided that measuring consistently in the middle of the street would be more accurate. This gave Baldwin Street a gradient of 34.8% and Ffordd Pen Llech one of 28.6%, so the title returned to Baldwin Street.[32]
- In the second branch of theMabinogi( "Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr"), Harlech is the seat ofBendigeidfran,Branwen's brother and king of theIsle of the Mighty.[33]
- The songMen of Harlechis traditionally said to describe events during the seven-year siege of the castle in 1461–1468.[34][35]
- ITV Wales & Westwas formerly known as HTV/Harlech Television after its founderLord Harlech.
Notable residents
[edit]In birth order:[36]
- Owain Glyndŵr(c. 1359– c. 1415), Welsh Rebellion leader, was the last Welshman to claim the titlePrince of Wales.
- Ellis Wynne(1671 in Lasynys Fawr – 1734), Welsh-language author and clergyman
- Alfred Perceval Graves(1846–1931), poet,bardand songwriter. He and a large family, including his son the poetRobert Graves,spent summers at Erinfa, a large house north-east of Harlech.[37]
- George Davison(1854–1930), photographer
- Margaret More(1903–1966), composer, was born here.
- Elinor Lyon(1921–2008), children's writer, retired here in 1975 with her schoolteacher husband.[38]
- David Gwilym Morris Roberts(1925–2020), civil engineer, was born here.
- Mari Strachan(born 1945), novelist and librarian, attended secondary school here.
- Philip Pullman(born 1946), children's novelist, attended secondary school here.
Gallery
[edit]-
Harlech Castlewith flags at half mast after the death ofQueen Elizabeth the Queen Motherin 2002 -
Harlech Castle gatehouse -
The Two Kings (sculptor Ivor Robert-Jones, 1984) near Harlech Castle, Wales. Bendigeidfran carries the body of his nephew Gwern. -
Harlech Beach at low tide -
Harlech College with Harlech Castle in background
See also
[edit]- Morfa Harlech sand dunes
- Harlech Castle
- St David's Hotel
- Lord Harlech
- HTV– Harlech Television
References
[edit]- ^"Harlech Community Council".Retrieved15 November2020.
- ^Memoirs of Owen Glendower, (Owain Glyndwr): with a sketch of the history of the ancient Britons, from the conquest of Wales by Edward the First, to the present time, illustrated with various notes, genealogical & topographicalatGoogle Books
- ^Codrington, Stephen (2005).Planet Geography.Solid Star Press. p. 207.
- ^Probably from the English "Toothill" ( "look-out hill" ).
- ^"Town population and Welsh speakers".Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved16 May2015.
- ^UK Census(2011)."Local Area Report – Harlech Built-up area (W37000162)".Nomis.Office for National Statistics.Retrieved12 December2019.
- ^City Population site. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^"Notices Illustrative of Cambrian History and Antiquities",The New Monthly Magazine,Volume 10 – p. 307, 1818.
- ^The Celtic Review:Volumes 9–10, Donald MacKinnon, E. C. Carmichael Watson, 1975.
- ^Mills, Anthony David (1991).Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names.Oxford: OUP.
- ^The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher, and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog, and the Ancient Lords of Arwystli, Cedewen, and Meirionydd:Volume 6,Jacob Youde William Lloyd,1887.
- ^The Poetical Works of Lewis Glyn Cothi: A celebrated bard,p. 21, Lewis Glyn Cothi, 1837.
- ^Jones, Thomas (1955).Brut y Tywysogion/Chronicle of the Princes, Red Book of Hergest.Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
- ^Charity hopes to lift World War II fighter plane from seaWalesOnline, 8 May 2010
- ^Harlech P-38 now a Scheduled MonumentCadw, 11 Nov 2019.
- ^Morris, Steven (12 November 2019)."WW2 wreck of fighter plane off Welsh coast gets protected status".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved12 November2019.
- ^"Ward population 2011".Retrieved16 May2015.
- ^"Timetables".Transport for Wales.May 2023.Retrieved10 October2023.
- ^"Harlech Bus Services".Bus Times.2023.Retrieved10 October2023.
- ^Ainsley, Rob (June 2008)."50 Quirky Bike Rides > 28 Ffordd Pen Llech".Eye Books.Retrieved15 October2013.
- ^"Around the network – Facts and figures".Roads UK. Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2013.Retrieved16 October2013.
- ^"Dunedin's Baldwin St loses battle for steepest street to Welsh town".Radio New Zealand.Radio New Zealand. 16 July 2019.Retrieved16 July2019.
- ^"Harlech street takes record as steepest in the world".BBC News.16 July 2019.
- ^abSuggitt, Connie (16 July 2019)."Welsh town claims record title for world's steepest street".Guinness World Records.Retrieved16 July2019.
- ^"Shock at closure of historic college site".Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2017.Retrieved8 August2017.
- ^Harwood, Elain (8 November 2022)."Elain Harwood turns to Brutalist Britain".www.ribaj.com.Retrieved9 July2024.
- ^"Resident's anger at closure of 'much-loved library'".June 2017.
- ^"Click and collect library link to launch in Harlech".North Wales Chronicle.28 May 2021.Retrieved9 July2024.
- ^"Custom report - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics".www.nomisweb.co.uk.Retrieved4 November2022.
- ^"1st Harlech".The Scout Association.Retrieved20 February2024.
- ^Morris, Steven (8 April 2020)."Welsh street loses world's steepest title after New Zealand rival's appeal".The Guardian.Retrieved8 April2020.
- ^Ford, Patrick K. (1977).The Mabinogi and other Medieval Welsh Tales.Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 57–72.
- ^The Oxford Companion to British History.Oxford: OUP. 1997. p. 454.
- ^Bennett, Matthew (2001).The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient & Medieval Warfare.Hodder and Stoughton.
- ^This is a list of people with a Wikipedia page who were born, bred, long resident and/or died in Harlech.
- ^Graves, Richard P.Robert Graves: The Assault Heroic 1895–1926.Macmillan. p. 67.
- ^Introduction by Elinor Lyon,The House in Hiding,Fidra Books,Edinburgh, 2006, p. v.
Notes
[edit]- ^More details can be seen in the 'In traditional and popular culture' section below
External links
[edit]
- Harlech Tourism Association
- geograph.co.uk– photos of Harlech and surrounding area
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