Llandegai
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Llandygai (, ; ; also Llandegai) is a small 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 ...
on the
A5 road A5 Road may refer to: ;Africa * A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan * A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Bulawayo ;Americas * Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada * County Route A5 (California) or Bowm ...
between Bangor and Talybont in
Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...
, Wales. It affords a view of the nearby
Carneddau The (lit. 'the cairns'; is a Welsh language, Welsh plural form, and is sometimes anglicised to ''Carnedds'') are a group of mountains in Snowdonia, Wales. They include the largest contiguous areas of high ground (over or high) in England and W ...
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
range. The population of the community taken at the 2011 Census was 2,487. Llandygai community includes nearby
Tregarth Tregarth is a village between the town of Bethesda and the city of Bangor in Gwynedd, North Wales. It is in Llandygai Community. It had a population of over 1,300 as of the 2011 census. History The village grew around the local slate indus ...
and
Mynydd Llandygai Mynydd Llandygai (also spelled Mynydd Llandegai; , ; ) is a small, partly forested hill in Gwynedd, North Wales. It forms the start of the Glyderau ridge. It is also the name of the quarry village at the base of the hill situated at the edge of ...
and also the pass of
Nant Ffrancon The Nant Ffrancon Pass ( Welsh: ''Bwlch Nant Ffrancon'') in Snowdonia, North Wales is at at Pont Wern-gof, about one-third of a mile beyond the eastern end of Llyn Ogwen. The A5 road crosses it between Llyn Ogwen and Bethesda, Gwynedd. Geo ...
.


Prehistory

There is evidence of human occupation of this site from
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
times. Excavations in the 1960s at the site of the current Industrial Estate uncovered two large
henge A henge can be one of three related types of Neolithic Earthworks (archaeology), earthwork. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ditches ...
monuments and a series of hengiform pit circles from the late
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
period. Excavations in 2006 and 2007 at the Bryn Cegin site (extending the industrial estate) found an early Neolithic house and later, possibly
Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
, settlement


History

In 1648 during the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
the Battle of Y Dalar Hir was fought near Llandygai.
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
forces of 150 horse and 120 foot soldiers led by Sir John Owen engaged Parliamentarian forces led by Colonel Carter and Colonel George Twistleton.A.H. Dodd (1968) ''A History of Caernarvonshire'', Caernarvonshire Historical Society/Bridge Books The village of Llandygai is recorded at the beginning of the nineteenth century as consisting of eight or nine houses. The village was later developed by quarry owner The 1st Baron Penrhyn (1800-1886) as a ‘model village’ for his estate workers, in which ‘no corrupting alehouse’ was permitted. It lies immediately outside of the walls of the
Penrhyn Castle Penrhyn Castle () is a country house in Llandygai, Bangor, Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, constructed in the style of a Norman architecture, Norman castle. The Penrhyn estate was founded by Ednyfed Fychan. In the 15th century his descenda ...
demesne walls, with the entrance to the village being some from the castle's Grand Lodge. Lord Penrhyn, a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
aristocrat, had inherited the Penrhyn Estate from his father-in-law,
George Hay Dawkins-Pennant George Hay Dawkins-Pennant (born George Hay Dawkins; 20 February 1764 – 17 December 1840) was a British politician who represented Newark and New Romney in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1814 to 1830. Early life George Hay ...
(1764-1840), in 1840. This model village was mostly constructed in the 1840s in a ‘vernacular revival’ style which conformed to the
Picturesque Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...
ideal. The model village was built within the loop of the road to
Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...
from where it branched off
Telford Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern b ...
’s newly built Holyhead to London road. Each house was built in a similar style but none was to be identical. They were furnished with ample gardens and the layout was such that no house’s front door faced another.


Llandygai Church

A church was founded by ''
Saint Tegai Saint Tegai (sometimes spelt Tygai) is the patron saint and founder of Llandygai in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. According to Enwogion Cymru, Tegai was a saint who lived in the early part of the sixth century He was one of the sons of Ithel Ha ...
'' (or ''Tygái'' or simply ''Cai'') in the fifth century.
Relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
of the Saint, including a stone
coffin A coffin or casket is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, for burial, entombment or cremation. Coffins are sometimes referred to as caskets, particularly in American English. A distinction is commonly drawn between "coffins" a ...
and a cross bearing his name, are kept at the church. The present
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
dates to around 1330 and was much restored and extended by the diocesan architect, Henry Kennedy, in 1853. The church is of
cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...
structure with a central tower. It is a 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, Hi ...
. The church has six bells. The bells naturally sound very loud inside the ringing chamber (from where the bells are rung); to combat this the bells are permanently fitted with leather muffles on both sides of the clapper. When ringing the bells they have a strange sound because of this; almost as if they are ringing inside a large tank of water. In the church is a
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
monument to Archbishop John Williams, the
Lord Keeper of the Great Seal The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This position evolved into that of one of the Great Officers of ...
during the reign of
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334†...
. There is also monument by
Richard Westmacott Sir Richard Westmacott (15 July 17751 September 1856) was a British sculptor. Life and career Westmacott studied with his father, also named Richard Westmacott, at his studio in Mount Street, off Grosvenor Square in London before going to R ...
to the first Lord Penrhyn, in which the sarcophagus is flanked by a quarryman and peasant woman, described by
Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (''Th ...
as "the earliest sculpted proletarians".
Christopher Bethell Christopher Bethell (21 April 1773 – 19 April 1859) was Bishop of Bangor. Bethell was the second son of the Reverend Richard Bethell, the rector of St Peter's Wallingford, Berkshire, who died 12 January 1806 having married his wife Ann in 177 ...
,
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 ...
, is buried in the
churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...
. The ecclesiastical
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of Llandygai follows the Ogwen valley southwards, giving its name also to the village of
Mynydd Llandygai Mynydd Llandygai (also spelled Mynydd Llandegai; , ; ) is a small, partly forested hill in Gwynedd, North Wales. It forms the start of the Glyderau ridge. It is also the name of the quarry village at the base of the hill situated at the edge of ...
.


Education

There are accounts of schooling for twelve children under the
Welsh Trust 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 ...
in the late seventeenth century, and later a circulating school established in the area in 1750. Shortly after her husband's death, the first Lady Penrhyn set up a school for girls in the village in what is now Neuadd Talgai. A school for boys was built in 1843. The boys school, now with a twentieth century extension, forms the present-day
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
, Ysgol Llandygai. It is a
Voluntary Controlled A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy th ...
school with around 170 pupils.


The village today

The model village, within the loop of the former line of the
A55 road The A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway (), is a major road in Wales and England, connecting Cheshire and North Wales. The vast majority of its length from Chester to Holyhead is a dual carriageway primary route, with the exception o ...
, retains much of its original character, despite some more recent additions, having been declared a conservation area in 1974. The village is next to the Grand Lodge affording the principal entrance to
Penrhyn Castle Penrhyn Castle () is a country house in Llandygai, Bangor, Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, constructed in the style of a Norman architecture, Norman castle. The Penrhyn estate was founded by Ednyfed Fychan. In the 15th century his descenda ...
, the former seat of the Penrhyn family, now a
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 ...
property open to the public. Outside the model village are also to be found – * Off the A5 towards Bangor: ** Llandygai Gypsy Site ** Llandygai Industrial Estate ** Ty Newydd probation hostel ** Bangor Cricket Club (Ty Newydd ground) * Off the A5 towards Bethesda: ** Parc Cegin business park (in development) * Off the former line of the A5, now a narrow lane: ** Bangor Rugby Football Club The Holyhead to Chester railway passes by the village through the Llandygai Tunnel, which is 442 yards in length, before emerging onto the Ogwen Viaduct to the east of the village.


Spelling

The correct
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...
spelling is ''Llandygái'', with the accent signifying that the last syllable is stressed as opposed to the last-but-one, the usual pattern. It is commonly spelled ''Llandygai'' (without the accent), or also ''Llandegai'', in English


See also

* Arllechwedd (electoral ward)


References


External links


www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llandygai and surrounding area





Llandygai Church
{{Portal bar , United Kingdom , Wales Llandygai Gwynedd