Llanddaniel Fab (or Llanddaniel-fab; formerly Llanddeiniol-fab) is a village 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 ...
in the south 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 ...
. At the 2001 census it had a population of 699, increasing to 776 at the 2011 census.
The village is at the highest point of a low ridge running SW/NE: this is one of a series of Precambrian rock units oriented in that direction.
It is near the
prehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
monument of
Bryn Celli Ddu
Bryn Celli Ddu () is a prehistoric site on the Wales, Welsh island of Anglesey located near Llanddaniel Fab. Its Welsh placenames, name means 'the mound in the dark grove'. It was archaeologically excavated between 1928 and 1929. Visitors can ge ...
which was constructed in the
Late Neolithic
In the Near Eastern archaeology, archaeology of Southwest Asia, the Late Neolithic, also known as the Ceramic Neolithic or Pottery Neolithic, is the final part of the Neolithic period, following on from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and preceding th ...
period. In the east of the community, by 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 ...
, stands the country seat of the
Marquess of Anglesey,
Plas Newydd, parts of which date from the 14th century. The house has been owned by the
National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
since 1976.
In the 16th century the poet
Catrin ferch Gruffudd ap Hywel
Catrin ferch Gruffudd ap Hywel () was a Welsh poet from Anglesey who, as a devout Catholic and Recusant, wrote poetry extensively as a critic of the Protestant Reformation. Many of her poems still survive due to preservation by the National Libra ...
lived here. Her Welsh poems are preserved and they include an
awdl with a religious theme written in 1555.
During the
2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth crisis, many sheep and cattle were slaughtered in the area.
The village has its own
community council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.
In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...
and its county council representative is Hywel Eifion Jones, who has held the post since May 1999. Amenities include a post office, a primary school (Ysgol Parc y Bont), and a 12-hole golf course.
Probably the village's most famous son is
Tecwyn Roberts (1925–1988), who became
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
’s first
Flight Dynamics Officer with
Project Mercury
Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
that put the first American into space. Roberts was born at Trefnant Bach cottage in Llanddaniel Fab and was a former pupil of Ysgol Parc y Bont. After serving as a member of the
Avro Arrow
The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a Delta wing, delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The CF-105 held the promise of Mach number, Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding and was intended to serve as the Royal ...
project team and the
Space Task Group, Roberts transferred to NASA where he eventually became chief of the Manned Flight Support Division, chief of the Network Engineering Division during the
Apollo Program
The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...
and later Director of Networks at
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C., in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC ...
.
The village is on
National Cycle Route 8 (Lôn Las Cymru).
The village was struck by
an F1/T2 tornado on 23 November 1981, part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day.
Church
St Deiniol's Church is a small 19th-century church in the village. The first church in this location is said to have been established by St Deiniol Fab (to whom the church is dedicated) in 616.
The current building incorporates some material and fittings from its predecessor, which probably dated from about the 16th century.
[ The church is no longer in use, and the village is now served by a church in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll.]Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
, a designation given to "buildings of special interest, which warrant every effort being made to preserve them",
References
External links
A Vision of Britain Through Time
British Listed Buildings
Geograph
Llanddaniel
Office for National Statistics
{{Authority control