Tywyn

Tywyn (Welsh: ; in English often ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the location of the Cadfan Stone, a stone cross with the earliest known example of written Welsh, and the home of the Talyllyn Railway.

Toponymy

The name derives from the Welsh ''tywyn'' ("beach, seashore, sand-dune"): extensive sand dunes lie to the north and south of the town.

In Middle Welsh, the spelling was generally ''Tywyn''. In the Early Modern period, however, the spelling ''Towyn'' became common in Welsh in order to reflect a slight change in pronunciation at that time. That also came to be the usual spelling in English up to the latter part of the twentieth century. The modern spelling ''Tywyn'' better reflects the current pronunciation in modern Welsh as spoken in north Wales. With the standardisation of the orthography of the Welsh language in the first part of the 20th century, the spelling ''Tywyn'' came to dominate. A referendum was held in 1968, with residents being asked to decide between Tywyn or Towyn. In the 1970s Tywyn was accepted as the official name of the town in both languages.

In Welsh, the town is sometimes referred to as ''Tywyn Meirionnydd''. In origin, this usage probably refers to the cantref of Meirionnydd, but is now generally understood as referring to the historical county of the same name. In English, during the late 19th century and until the middle of the 20th century, the town was sometimes called ''Towyn-on-Sea''. The place-name element ''tywyn'' is found in many other parts of Wales, most notably Towyn near Abergele. and Porth Tywyn (Burry Port).

History

Tywyn was the location of the first religious community administered by the Breton saint Cadfan upon his arrival in Gwynedd in the early 6th century, prior to his departure to found a monastery on Bardsey Island off the Llyn Peninsula. The church contains some early material (see below).

Location

The town's historic centre lies about a kilometre from the beach, around St Cadfan's Church. In the second half of the 19th century the town expanded considerably, mainly towards the sea.

To the north of the town lie the reclaimed salt marshes of Morfa Tywyn and Morfa Gwyllt, beyond which lie the Broad Water lagoon and the mouth of the Afon Dysynni. To the north-east lie the rich farmland of Bro Dysynni and the village of Bryncrug, and to the east the hills of Craig y Barcud and Craig Fach Goch. To the south towards Aberdyfi is the mouth of the Afon Dyffryn Gwyn and Morfa Penllyn.

The Tywyn coastal defence scheme, officially unveiled on 24 March 2011 by Jane Davidson (then Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing), provides a rock breakwater above the low-tide level, rock groynes, and rock revetment to protect 80 sea-front properties. The costs of this civil engineering project was £7.62M, shared between the Welsh Assembly Government (£4.135M) and the European Union's Regional Development Fund (£3.485M).

Demography and language

At the time of the 2001 census, 40.5% of the population were recorded as Welsh speakers. By the 2011 census this had decreased to 37.5%. An Estyn inspection report in 2016 noted that about 22% of the children at the school came from Welsh-speaking homes.

The town's Welsh dialect has several notable features, with one Victorian observer stating that three languages were spoken there: English, Welsh and 'Tywynaeg'. During the 1860s, in the town's British School, a 'Welsh stick' (a version of the Welsh Not) was used to punish children who were caught speaking Welsh in school. Yet Welsh was the dominant language in Tywyn until the middle of the 20th century. L T C Rolt in his book 'Railway Adventure' recounts walking up the track of the Talyllyn Railway in 1950, and stopping to speak to railway workers only to discover they spoke no English. Tywyn is now a very anglicised town, with the majority of its population (52.8%) having been born in England according to the 2011 census. Likewise, slightly more respondents claimed an English-only identity (35.0%) than a Welsh-only identity (33.7%).

Transport and tourism

The church is of interest for two medieval effigies, and for a stone inscribed with what is believed to be the oldest known writing in the Welsh language, dating back to the 8th century AD, and rescued from a local gateway in the 18th century.Simon Jenkins, 2008, ''Wales: churches, houses, castles'', Allen Lane, London, p. 244

Improved transport links during the 19th century increased Tywyn's appeal as a tourist destination. In the early decades of that century, a creek of the river Dysynni allowed ships to approach the town's northern fringes, where there was a shipbuilding yard. The draining of the salt marsh and the channelling of the river brought this industry to an end, but during the early part of that century the town was made more accessible by building new roads along the coast to Aberdyfi and Llwyngwril.

The railway arrived in the mid-1860s (first as the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway, then as Cambrian Railways), and had a significant effect on the town. Tywyn railway station opened in 1863. The station is still open, and is served by the Cambrian Line.

Slate-quarrying in the Abergynolwyn area led to the building in 1865 of the Talyllyn Railway, a narrow-gauge line designed to carry slates to Tywyn. Two stations were opened in the town. Tywyn Wharf railway station was originally opened to enable slates to be unloaded onto a wharf adjacent to the main railway line. It is now the Talyllyn's western terminus and principal station. Pendre railway station was originally the passenger station, and now houses the locomotive and carriage sheds and works.

Notable visitors who stayed at Tywyn in the 19th century include:
* Thomas Love Peacock (1811, at Botalog)
* Thomas Fremantle, 1st Baron Cottesloe (1818)
* Ignatius Spencer (1818)
* Charles Darwin (1819, at Plas Edwards)
* William Morris (1875)
* Elizabeth Blackwell (exact date uncertain, at Brynarfor)

The beach and its extensive promenade have long been key attractions. In 1877, a pier was built at Tywyn, but the structure only lasted a few months. The street called 'Pier Road', which leads from the town to the beach, offers a suggestion as to its location. The promenade was completed in 1889 at the cost of some £30,000, paid for by John Corbett (1817–1901) of Ynysymaengwyn.

There has been extensive bungalow and caravan development in the vicinity.

Other industries

Apart from tourism, agriculture has long been the most important industry in the area. Lead and copper used to be mined in the town's hinterland.

The Marconi Company built a Long Wave receiver station in Tywyn in 1914, working in duplex with the high-power transmitter station near Waunfawr. In 1921 the Tywyn and Waunfawr stations initiated a transatlantic wireless telegraph service with a similar RCA wireless transmitting station in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA and RCA's receiver station in Belmar, New Jersey

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