Menai Bridge (; usually referred to colloquially as ''Y Borth'') is a town and

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 ...

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 ...

in north-west

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 overlooks the

Menai Strait 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 s ...

and lies by the

Menai Suspension Bridge The Menai Suspension Bridge ( or ) 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. Th ...

, built in 1826 by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

, just over the water from Bangor. It has a population of 3,376. There are many small islands near the town, including Church Island. The

Menai Heritage Bridges Exhibition The Menai Heritage Bridges Exhibition is a museum based in the Canolfan Thomas Telford Centre in Menai Bridge, Anglesey, Wales. It is dedicated to the two bridges across the Menai Strait; the Menai Suspension Bridge and the Britannia Bridge, as w ...

celebrates the

, built by

, and the

Britannia Bridge Britannia Bridge () is a bridge in Wales that crosses the Menai Strait between the Isle of Anglesey and city of Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor. It was originally designed and built by the noted railway engineer Robert Stephenson as a tubular bridge of ...

, built by

Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson , (honoris causa, Hon. causa) (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of hi ...

Description and attractions

At the eastern edge of the town is ''

Cwm Cadnant Cwm Cadnant is a community (Wales), community and former Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Anglesey, north Wales. Named after the local river, Afon Cadnant, which flows through it, the community takes in the ...

'' 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 A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

who had their residence at Glyn Garth on

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 ...

but whose

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

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 Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

) west of the bridge. The

Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path The Anglesey Coastal Path (formally the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path, ) is a long-distance footpath around the island of Anglesey () in North Wales. The route is part of the Wales Coast Path. Description The path mainly follows the coast. E ...

passes along the waterfront. Menai Bridge has several churches and

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

s, including an English and Welsh

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church and a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church. The town also has a primary school, Ysgol y Borth, and a large bilingual

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

Ysgol David Hughes Ysgol David Hughes (meaning: ''David Hughes School'') 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 (in 1953), had bec ...

. Menai Bridge is home to the School of Ocean Sciences, part of

Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

. Their research ship, the Prince Madog, is based at the pier when not at sea. Attractions in Menai Bridge include the 14th-century Church of St Tysilio, St George's Pier, a

butterfly house A butterfly house, conservatory, or lepidopterarium is a facility which is specifically intended for the breeding and display of butterflies with an emphasis on education. They may also be used to support local populations through butterfly rel ...

, 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. 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.

Listed buildings

There are over 30 buildings listed by

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...

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

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 The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Diocese of Bangor of the Church in Wales. The Episcopal see, see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Bangor Cathedral, Cathedral Church of Sa ...

had his palace. 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 Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times as it is the shortest crossing of the

. 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 Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

's ''

Through the Looking Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, University of Oxford. It was the sequel to h ...

'' (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. 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. 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. On 12 November 1918, Major

Thomas Elmhirst Air Marshal Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst, (15 December 1895 – 6 November 1982) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century and the first commander-in-chief of the Royal Indian Air Force upon Indian indepe ...

(later Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst), commanding officer of

RNAS Anglesey Royal Air Force Mona, or more simply RAF Mona, is a Royal Air Force station near Bodffordd on the island of Anglesey, Wales. It is primarily used as a relief landing ground for RAF Valley. RAF Mona is also the home of Mona Flying Club who oper ...

, flew airship SSZ73 under the Menai Bridge following the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Carreg yr Halen

Carreg yr Halen is a small

tidal island A tidal island is a raised area of land within a waterbody, which is connected to the larger mainland by a natural isthmus or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide, causing the land to switch between being ...

in the

. Its centre lies approximately 20 metres offshore from the Belgian Promenade just upstream of the suspension bridge. Only the rocky tip of the island is visible at high spring tide but at low tide area of rock, sand and some seaweed are exposed which provides feeding ground for a variety of wading birds including

oystercatcher The oystercatchers are a group of waders forming the family (biology), family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, ''Haematopus''. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and Sout ...

, redshank, and

curlew The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been infl ...

. It is the site of one of the many ferry crossings of the Menai Strait which were in use prior to the construction of the suspension bridge in 1826 In 1914,

Belgian refugees Following the creation of Belgium as a nation state, Belgian people have sought refuge abroad on several occasions. From the early days of independence and the threat of The Netherlands or France, to two World Wars and the Independence of Congo, B ...

from

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

, who had settled in the area, built a promenade (the ''Belgian 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 Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of wood veneer, veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns or designs. The technique may be applied to case furn ...

. A special celebration was held in 2014 at Menai Bridge to celebrate to centenary of the construction of the promenade.

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 A set is artificially constructed scenery used in film and television. In the last two cases there are many reasons to build or use a set instead of travelling to a real location, such as budget, time, the need to control the environment, or the ...

for the soap opera ''

Rownd a Rownd ''Rownd a Rownd'' (''Round and Round'') is a Welsh language, Welsh-language soap opera created by Rondo Media (formerly Ffilmiau’r Nant) and shown on S4C since 11 September 1995. It was claimed to be the first Celtic-related language soap spec ...

'', shown on the Welsh-language channel

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

. 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 Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

set aside for the holding of an annual

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

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:

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Menai Bridge, at

(town) and

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

level: Menai Bridge Town Council and

Isle of Anglesey County Council The Isle of Anglesey County Council () is the local authority for the Isle of Anglesey, a principal areas of Wales, principal area with county status in Wales. Since 2022 the council has 35 councillors who represent 14 multi-member electoral war ...

. The town council is based at Canolfan Coed Cyrnol on Mona Road.

Administrative history

The community of Menai Bridge corresponds to the

ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Llandysilio, which had its parish church at St Tysilio's Church on Church Island. In 1884 the parish was made a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

, administered by an elected local board. Although its area was defined as the parish of Llandysilio, the local government district took the name Menai Bridge. The local board also took over the functions of the Llandysilio

improvement commissioners Boards of improvement commissioners were ''ad hoc'' urban local government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its predecessors the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irel ...

, which had been established in 1879 to manage certain areas of former common land in the parish. Such local government districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

. Menai Bridge Urban District was abolished in 1974, with its area instead becoming a community called Menai Bridge. District-level functions passed to Ynys Môn-Isle of Anglesey Borough Council, which in 1996 was reconstituted as a county council.

Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to create the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as ...

Notable people

Hugh Williams Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent. Early life and career Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (nicknamed "Tam") was born at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex to Hugh Dafydd Antho ...

(1843–1911), a Welsh church historian, college tutor and Presbyterian minister. *

Gwendolen Mason Gwendolen Mason, OBE (24 May 1883 – 2 July 1977) was a Welsh harpist. She was born in Menai Bridge, Anglesey, the daughter of John Eilan Mason Parry and his wife Sarah. She studied at the Royal College of Music with John Thomas. In April 1915 s ...

(1883-1977), Welsh harpist *

Jane Helen Rowlands Jane Helen Rowlands (Helen o Fôn; 3 April 1891 – February 1955) was a Welsh linguist, scholar and missionary. Educated at Bangor University, Newnham College, Cambridge, St Colm College, Calcutta University, and the Sorbonne, she served in In ...

(1891–1955), scholar and missionary *

Alun Owen Alun Davies Owen (24 November 1925 – 6 December 1994) was a Welsh playwright, screenwriter and actor, predominantly in television. However, he is best remembered by a wider audience for writing the screenplay of The Beatles' debut feature f ...

(1925–94), screenwriter who wrote the script for

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' A Hard Day's Night

References

External links

Ysgol y Borth WebsiteMenai Bridge Website
Menai Bridge Town Partnership Website with details on the news, council, events and businesses of Menai Bridge
Menai Heritage
A community project and museum celebrating the two bridges and the town of Menai Bridge
Photos of Menai Bridge and the surrounding area on GeographUniversity of Wales, Bangor : School of Ocean Sciences

Gallery

File:Menai_Bridge_High_street_Jan_2005.jpg, Menai Bridge High Street looking east File:Cadnant_dingle_Jan_2005.jpg, Cadnant Dingle January 2005 File:Smallest house menaibridge.jpg, Smallest house in Menai Bridge File:Menai Bridge at dusk.jpg, 2.5 second exposure of the Menai Suspension Bridge in the evening File:Menai_Suspension_Bridge.jpg, The Menai Suspension Bridge from a viewpoint on the A4080 near the Britannia Bridge File:Entrance of the Menai Bridge - From the Anglesey Shore.jpeg, Entrance of the Menai Bridge: From the Anglesey Shore, ca 1840 by W Crane, fl. ca. 1835-1850 File:Entrance of the Menai Bridge - from the Carnarvon shore.jpeg, Entrance of the Menai Bridge: from the Carnarvon shore ca 1840 File:Menai Bridge, near Bangor Carnarvonshire.jpeg, 'Menai Bridge, near Bangor Carnarvonshire' by D Graham, engraver and D Graham, artist File:Menai Bridge.jpeg, 'Menai Bridge' ca 1830 by John Newman, fl. 1838-1880 {{authority control Towns in Anglesey