Nefyn (, archaically anglicised as Nevin) 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 northwest coast of the

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( or , ) is a peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, with an area of about , and a population of at least 20,000. It extends into the Irish Sea, and its southern coast is the northern boundary of the Tremadog Bay inlet of Cardigan Ba ...

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 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 ...

. Nefyn is popular with visitors for its sandy beach, and has one substantial hotel, a community pub and a beach cafe. The A497 road terminates in the town centre. The community includes Edern and Morfa Nefyn. In 2011, the population was 2,602, with Nefyn itself having 1,373 people.

History

The history of the area can be traced back to 300 BC with the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

of Garn Boduan overlooking Nefyn. The remains of 170 round stone huts and ramparts are still visible on top of the hill. The earliest known reference to Nefyn in documents dates from the latter part of the 11th century, when it is mentioned as a landing place of the Welsh prince,

Gruffudd ap Cynan Gruffudd ap Cynan (–1137) was List of rulers of Gwynedd, King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to House of Normandy, Norman rule. As a descen ...

Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...

, writing in his account of a journey around Wales in 1188, says that he slept at Nefyn on the eve of

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...

. Nefyn was the location of the court of the

commote A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...

of Dinlaen: part of the cantref of Llŷn.

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

held a

jousting Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

in the town in 1284 to celebrate his victory over the Welsh, emphasising its importance at that time as a trading town. In 1355, it became a free

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

and remained an important centre of commerce. The sea was always an important part of the economy of Nefyn; and fishing, particularly for

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

, became the prime trade for most of the 18th and 19th centuries: so much so that the town's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

bears three herrings. Herring were locally referred to as "Nefyn beef". In 1910, Nefyn had 40 herring fishing boats, but herring fishing ceased around the time of the

First World War 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 ...

. The area nurtured many ships' captains in the age of sail, and shipbuilding was also an important local industry. About 3 miles to the south-west is Madryn Castle, home of Sir Love Jones-Parry, 1st Baronet, one of the founders of the settlement of Puerto Madryn in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Parish church and origin of the name Nefyn

The foundations of the old St Mary's

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

date from the 6th century, although the present building was erected in 1827. It would have been an important staging post for

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

s to Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island). The old church is no longer a place of worship but houses a museum dedicated to the maritime history of Nefyn. Since 2013, archaeologists have been investigating the area under the church and have uncovered a 13th–14th century brooch and the remains of a lady buried sometime between 1180 and 1250 in an older form of entombment called a

cist In archeology, a cist (; also kist ; ultimately from ; cognate to ) or cist grave is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. In some ways, it is similar to the deeper shaft tomb. Examples occur ac ...

grave. The place name is of uncertain origin. It is recorded as ''Newin'' in 1291, and as ''Nefyn'' in 1291. It may represent a personal name. The official spelling of the name was changed from Nevin to Nefyn in 1955. The Romans recorded a tribe occupying the peninsula called the 'Gangani', who are also recorded as a tribe in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

20th century and after

Nefyn & District Golf Club was formed in 1907. The course added a further 9 holes in 1912 and a third set of 9 holes in 1933. The current course is made up of a front ten with a choice of two back eights. It is set high on the sea cliffs of the narrow peninsula overlooking Porthdinllaen bay. Since 1929, Nefyn has played host to a Beach Mission, which runs for two weeks at the beginning of August each year. Nefyn football club, Nefyn United F.C., was formed in 1932 and has enjoyed some success over the years, winning numerous league titles. At present, the senior team competes in the Welsh Alliance League: it was promoted from the Gwynedd League in 2005–06. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

built a

Chain Home Chain Home, or CH for short, was the codename for the ring of coastal early warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during the Second World War to detect and track aircraft. Initially known as RDF, and given the off ...

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

station to the south-west of Nefyn. In 1977, the Llŷn Maritime Museum was opened in the Church of St Mary by a group of volunteers. It closed in 2000 on grounds of health and safety, but was redeveloped from 2007 and reopened in 2014. The area has a history of earth tremors and landslides. A tremor in the area on 12 December 1940 was reported by the '' Cambrian News'' as having caused two fatalities including John Thomas of Nefyn who died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. On 19 July 1984, an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

measuring 5.4 on the

Richter scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...

had an

epicentre The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a s ...

near Nefyn. This was one of the strongest tremors recorded in Britain in recent times but caused little structural damage. A fatal landslide occurred at Y Lôn Gam on 2 January 2001. On 19 April 2021, a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

resulted in a cliff collapse, which affected gardens in Rhodfa'r Môr, but there were no casualties. A further landslide on 29 October 2021 blocked vehicular access to the beach at Y Lôn Gam and the adjacent cliff path was closed. Nefyn is twinned with Puerto Madryn, a town in

Chubut Province Chubut ( from Tehuelche language, Tehuelche 'transparent'; ) is a provinces of Argentina, province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa ...

(see Welsh settlement in Argentina).

Demographics

Welsh language

According to the 2011 Census, Nefyn is the community with the 28th highest percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales. 74.2% of residents aged three and over reported being able to speak Welsh in the 2011 Census, as compared to 77.9% reporting being able to do so in the 2001 Census.

Governance

There are two Nefyn

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ''ward (subnational entity), ward'' is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil pa ...

(Nefyn and Morfa Nefyn). The population of Nefyn Ward at the 2011 census was 1,373.

Nefyn landslide, April 2021

Nefyn marine landslide - coastal erosion as a result of Climate Change - Wales 19 April 2021 09.jpg Nefyn marine landslide - coastal erosion as a result of Climate Change - Wales 19 April 2021 07.jpg Nefyn marine landslide -Nefyn, Gwynedd, Wales - looking towards yr Eifl - May 2021 03.jpg Nefyn marine landslide - coastal erosion as a result of Climate Change - Wales 19 April 2021 31.jpg Nefyn marine landslide - coastal erosion as a result of Climate Change - Wales 19 April 2021 23.jpg

Notable people

* Harpist John Parry (ca. 1710–1782), known as Parry Ddall Rhiwabon (Blind Parry of Rhiwabon). * Sir Thomas Duncombe Love Jones-Parry (1832–1891), 1st

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, Liberal MP and one of the founders of the Welsh settlement in Argentina, inherited the Madryn estate near Nefyn in 1853. * Elizabeth Watkin-Jones (1887–1966), author of children's books in the

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 ...

, was born in Nefyn on 13 July 1887. * Singer Duffy was born in Nefyn.

References

Office for National Statistics – Neighbourhood Statistics – Welsh Language – 2011 Census

Office for National Statistics – Neighbourhood Statistics – Full List – Parish of Nefyn – 2011 Censu

External links

Former Nefyn resident's relatives in America

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Nefyn and surrounding area
{{authority control Nefyn, Towns in Gwynedd