Benllech () is a village on the

Isle of Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It is in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf () is a parish and community in Anglesey, Wales including the small seaside town of Benllech. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 3,382. Local buildings include the medieval St Mary's Church, where ...

, which has a population of 3,382. The name of Benllech village had been removed by the time of the 2011 census with the community being listed under Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf with the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

being listed under Llanddyfnan.

Description

The

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

Benllech is perhaps a mutated form of ''penllech'', literally "head slab" or "head rock", i.e. "capstone" or "head of the rock", or possibly meaning 'on slate', shortened from the Welsh term 'ar ben llech'. Benllech is a seaside resort and beach holiday destination. The Village also has a range of businesses which include public houses and hotels, camping and caravan sites and several

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

s. The community has a primary school, Ysgol Goronwy Owen; library, doctors' surgery, chemist, several churches, hardware store, two community centres, police and fire station, tennis court and bowling green, a number of supermarkets (Spar, Cooperative and Tesco Express), restaurants and a petrol service station. Between 1909 and 1950 there was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

close to the village which was the terminus of the

Red Wharf Bay branch line The Red Wharf Bay branch line was a standard gauge railway line in Anglesey, Wales, a branch off the Anglesey Central Railway. It opened fully in 1909, but closed to passengers in September 1930.Richards, Melville: An Atlas of Anglesey, page 99 ...

. The old station house and several railway bridges can be seen along the road approaching the village. Situated on the outskirts of Benllech lies the Scheduled Monument Pant-Y-Saer enclosed hut group, otherwise known as "Cytiau'r Gwyddelod" (Irish Huts). The monument consists of a complex of mainly circular huts and parts of an associated substantial enclosure wall lying on a slightly elevated limestone plateau area beside an old lane running from Llanbedrgoch to Llanfair Mathafarn Eithaf, about 0.6 km S of the modern settlement of Benllech. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric/ Romano British settlements. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structures themselves may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. Benllech Beach Anglesey

Notable residents

* William Jones (1675–1749), mathematician who was the first to use the Greek letter π for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, was born in the parish of Llanfihangel Tre'r Beirdd * Goronwy Owen (1723–1769), poet, a native of

; Benllech named its village hall and its primary school, Ysgol Goronwy Owen, after him. *

Melville Richards Grafton Melville Richards (1910-1973) was a Welsh scholar in the field of Welsh language and literature and Celtic studies. Early life He was born on 29 September 1910 as the third son of William and Elizabeth Richards (his father was a railway for ...

(1910–1973), scholar of Welsh language and literature and Celtic studies, lived and died in Benllech *

Lemmy Kilmister Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...

(1956–1962), lead singer, bassist and guitarist of

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

, lived here from the age 10 to age 16. *

Carwyn Ellis Carwyn Meurig Ellis (born 9 August 1973) is a Welsh musician, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is known as the frontman of Welsh alternative band Colorama, as a member of the Pretenders and as a long-time colla ...

(born 1973), lead singer for Colorama moved about before his family settled in Benllech.

Location

Benllech is located approximately 8 miles along the A5025 coast road from both bridges which cross from the island to the mainland including via the A55 North Wales Expressway. The nearest mainline railway station is

Llanfairpwll Llanfairpwllgwyngyll or Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll (), often shortened to Llanfairpwll and sometimes to Llanfair PG, is a village and community (Wales), community on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales. It is located on the Menai Strait, next to the Britann ...

which can be reached in under half an hour on the bus services which run through the village or under 20 minutes by car. The city of Bangor and the town of

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

are less than half an hour's drive away. The Royal Mail postal code for the area is LL74.

Events at Benllech

In 1956, West Kirby Sailing Club and the National Firefly Association joined forces to hold one of the largest dinghy sailing championships held up to that time in England or Wales. There were 109 boats competing, with two people in each boat, which meant 218 competitors, there would have been a management team from the Wirral of at least 20 more people. Many stayed in tents and a marquee was erected in which all the competitors were entertained at night and in which they held a dinner and prizegiving on the final night.Firefly Championship 1956- list of competitors

References

External links

*
photos of Benllech and surrounding area on geographVideo of Benllech Past and Present by Dafydd Jones
{{authority control Coast of Anglesey Villages in Anglesey Seaside resorts in Wales Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf Recipients of Civic Trust Awards Blue Flag beaches