I.

Introduction

Isle of Anglesey, county and unitary authority, north-western Wales, separated from the mainland and the county of Gwynedd by the Menai Strait. The unitary authority includes Holy Island (Ynys Gybi), off the west coast, which is connected to Anglesey by a causeway. Anglesey was a county in its own right (including Holy Island) until 1974 when it became the Ynys Môn district of the former county of Gwynedd under the local government restructuring implemented in that year. The island once again became a separate administrative region in 1996 as a result of the Local Government Act 1994. This provided for the restructuring of local administration in Wales by replacing the two-tier system of county and district councils introduced in 1974 with a single-tier system of unitary authorities. The new unitary authority was named Isle of Anglesey, with the Welsh name, Sir Fôn. The Isle of Anglesey unitary authority has an area of 719 sq km (278 sq mi), including Holy Island.

II.

Land and Resources

Roughly square in shape, Anglesey island is connected to the Welsh mainland by the Menai road and the Britannia railway bridges. Holy Island is connected to Anglesey by a causeway carrying a road and railway line. Anglesey island is mostly flat or gently rolling, rising to a highest point of only 127 m (418 ft), but Holyhead Mountain, on Holy Island, reaches 220 m (720 ft). The geological structure of Anglesey is mainly of pre-Cambrian slates and schists, with considerable stretches of Carboniferous limestone. The large area of Red Wharf Bay, on the north-east coast, exposes extensive sand flats at low tide; the dunes at Newborough, on the south coast, have been planted with conifers by the Forestry Commission. Holy Island, with an area of about 39 sq km (16 sq mi), comprises largely barren rock.

The climate is somewhat humid, but mild. The temperature in January on average does not fall below 4° C (40° F) and in July reaches an average of about 18° C (64° F). Average annual rainfall is in the region of 750 to 1,000 mm (30 to 40 in).

III.

Population and Administration

The population of Anglesey (including Holy Island) is about 66,828 (2001). The main towns are Holyhead (population, 1991, 11,796) on Holy Island, Amlwch (1991, 3,519) on the north coast of Anglesey, Menai Bridge (1991, 3,175) and Beaumaris (1991, 1,561) on the south coast, and Llangefni (1991, 4,643), which is located in central Anglesey and is the administrative centre of the unitary authority. The county has one of the highest percentages (70 per cent) of Welsh speakers in Wales.

The police authority for the county is the North Wales Police, which has its headquarters in the town of Colwyn Bay in Conwy.

IV.

Places of Interest

The community of Menai Bridge was named after the famous suspension bridge (305 m/1,000 ft long), which was built by Thomas Telford in 1826 to connect Anglesey with the mainland (see Menai Bridge). The town of Beaumaris is a resort and yachting centre. Bryn Celli Ddu, a short distance west of Menai Bridge, is a Stone Age burial mound, with a chamber reached by a long passage. Aberffraw, on the south-west coast, was the capital of Gwynedd from the late 9th century until the 13th century.

Many species of birds can be seen at Newborough Warren, Llanddwyn Island, and South Stack Island. The entire coastline of Anglesey, except for breaks around the urban areas and in the vicinity of Wylfa, in the north, has been designated by the Countryside Agency as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the south-east of the island is the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, often shortened to Llanfair P.G., which boasts the longest placename in the United Kingdom. Plas Newydd, an 18th-century manor house featuring Gothic and Classical architectural styles, is located on the outskirts of the village. The estate, administered by the National Trust, houses an exhibition of the works of painter Rex Whistler and a military museum.

V.

Economy

Anglesey was traditionally the main grain-growing region, feeding much of Wales. Vegetables, especially potatoes, are now grown there, and the local dairy industry supplies Merseyside with milk. There is a nuclear power station at Wylfa Head on the north coast, and other industries on the island include aluminium smelting, food processing, timber, shipping lines, and some light manufacturing. Holyhead is an international container and ferry port, as well as a fishing port; it is the main ferry terminal for services to Dublin and Dún Laoghaire in the Republic of Ireland.

VI.

History

Holy Island has been settled since prehistoric times, and there are remains of both Celtic and Roman settlements; part of the walls of the original Roman fort can still be seen surrounding the 13th-century parish church of St Cybi in the town of Holyhead. The island of Anglesey was settled by the Celts by about 100 bc and became known as a centre of Druidism. The Romans conquered the island between ad 61 and 78; they called it Mona and suppressed the Druid religion. Anglesey was subsequently invaded by Vikings, Saxons, and Normans, and fell to Edward I, king of England, in the 13th century. He consolidated his control with the impressive castle at Beaumaris. The last and largest of Edward's Welsh castles, it was never completely finished. In the early 19th century the Roman road that ran from Holyhead to Llanfair P. G., near the south coast of Anglesey, became, with the building of the Menai Bridge, the main London-Holyhead road, and was extensively upgraded, leading to the modern development of Anglesey.