Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf () is a parish 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
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 ...
including the small seaside town of
Benllech
Benllech () is a village on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. It is in the community of Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf, 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 b ...
. The community population taken at the
2011 census was 3,382.
Local buildings include the medieval
St Mary's Church, where the 18th century poet
Goronwy Owen once served as curate. The parish has five Scheduled Monuments, including two collections of hut circles and the stone remains of a
dolmen
A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...
type
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 ...
burial mound, called the
Pant-y-Saer Cromlech. The remains of a
Viking Age
The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...
settlement have also been found in the parish.
The parish lies on an area of
Carboniferous Limestone and supports a variety of wildlife, including
red squirrel
The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris''), also called Eurasian red squirrel, is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is an arboreal and primarily herbivorous rodent and common throughout Eurasia.
Taxonomy
There have been ...
s. The
Cors Goch nature reserve is a rich fenland habitat in the west of the parish and is designated an
SSSI
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
.
Other settlements include
Brynteg,
Llanbedrgoch
Llanbedrgoch () is a hamlet and post town, a mile south of the town of Benllech and west of Red Wharf Bay, on the island of Anglesey (), north Wales. The parish church is St Peter's Church, Llanbedrgoch, a Grade II* listed building that dates ...
,
Tyn-y-Gongl, and
Red Wharf Bay.
Notable people
*
Goronwy Owen (1723–1769) a notable Welsh poet
*
Howel Harris Hughes (1873–1956), theologian,
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 ...
minister and Principal of the
United Theological College in
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
was born in the parish.
[Howel Harris Hughes]
on the ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography
The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...
''
References
External links
Llanfair Mathafarn Eithaf Community CouncilAncient Monuments UK - Pant-y-Saer Hut CirclesGwynedd Archaeological Trust - description of Viking Age settlementRed Squirrels Trust WalesNorth Wales Wildlife Trust - Cors Goch
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