Port town in Isle of Anglesey, Wales
Human settlement in Wales
Holyhead
(
;
[3]
[4]
Welsh
:
Caergybi
Welsh pronunciation:
[k?ː?r???bi]
ⓘ
, "
Cybi
's fort") is the
largest town
and a
community
in the county of
Isle of Anglesey
,
Wales
, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census.
[1]
(including all of
Holy Island
). Holyhead is on
Holy Island
, bounded by the
Irish Sea
to the north, and is separated from Anglesey island by the narrow
Cymyran Strait
and was originally connected to Anglesey via the
Four Mile Bridge
.
[5]
In the mid-19th century,
Lord Stanley
, a local philanthropist, funded the building of a larger
causeway
,
[6]
known locally as "The Cobb", it now carries the
A5
and the
railway line
. The
A55 dual carriageway
runs parallel to the Cobb on a modern causeway.
[7]
The town houses the
Port of Holyhead
, a major Irish Sea port for connections towards
Ireland
.
[8]
The population as of the 2021 census was 12,084, an increase on the 2011 census.
[9]
[
better source needed
]
Etymology
[
edit
]
The town's English name,
Holyhead
, has existed since at least the 14th century. As is the case with many coastal parts of Wales, the name in English is significantly different from its name in Welsh. It refers to the holiness of the locality and has taken the form
Haliheved
,
Holiheved
,
Le Holyhede
and
Holy Head
in the past. The Welsh name,
Caergybi
, derives from the fortification around which the town developed. The locality was known by such names as
Karkeby
('seat of Cybi'),
Castro Kyby
('the fortified military camp of Cybi'), and
Kaer Gybi
(Cybi's resting place).
[10]
Prior to the influence of the fort on the name, the hamlets which came before it were likely known as
Llan y Gwyddel
('church/parish of the Irish') and
Eglwys y Beddi
('church of the graves').
[11]
History
[
edit
]
Prehistoric and Roman history
[
edit
]
Holyhead Old Town is built around St.
Cybi
's Church, which is built inside one of Europe's few three-walled
Roman forts
(the fourth boundary being the sea, which used to come up to the fort). The
Romans
also built a
watchtower
on the top of
Holyhead Mountain
inside Mynydd y Twr, a
prehistoric
hillfort
.
[12]
Settlements in the area date from prehistoric times, with circular huts,
burial chambers
and
standing stones
featuring in the highest concentration in Britain. The current lighthouse is on
South Stack
on the other side of Holyhead Mountain.
[13]
Soldiers Point Hotel, located near the breakwater park in Holyhead, was first established in 1848. The residence of an engineer was in charge of the government-sponsored alterations to Holyhead Harbour being carried out. It was badly damaged in a fire in 2011.
[14]
Transport history
[
edit
]
Port
[
edit
]
Clock Tower commemorating the extension of the Holyhead Docks between 1875 and 1880
In the early nineteenth century, it was still undecided which port would be chosen as the primary sea link along the route from
London
to
Dublin
:
Porthdinllaen
, on the
Ll?n Peninsula
, or Holyhead in
Anglesey
. In May 1806, a parliamentary bill approved new buildings in Porthdinllaen when it seemed that the town would be chosen. Porthdinllaen was almost as far west as Holyhead, but Holyhead was more accessible because of
Thomas Telford
's road developments. Porthdinllaen Harbour Company was formed in 1808 in preparation, but the bill before Parliament to constitute Porthdinllaen as a harbour for Irish trade was rejected in 1810.
[15]
Holyhead's maritime importance was at its height in the 19th century with a
1
+
3
⁄
4
-mile-long (2.8-kilometre)
sea breakwater
.
Holyhead Breakwater
, built to create a safe harbour for vessels caught in stormy waters on their way to
Liverpool
and the industrial ports of
Lancashire
, is the longest breakwater in the UK.
[16]
Road
[
edit
]
The post road built by
Thomas Telford
from London strengthened Holyhead's position as the port from which the
Royal Mail
was dispatched to and from Dublin on the
Mail coach
. The
A5
terminates at
Admiralty Arch
(1822?24), which was designed by
Thomas Harrison
to commemorate a visit by King
George IV
in 1821
en route
to Ireland and marked the zenith of Irish Mail coach operations. Holy Island and Anglesey are separated by the
Cymyran Strait
which used to be crossed on the
Four Mile Bridge
; so called, because the bridge was 4 miles (6 kilometres) from Holyhead on the old
turnpike
.
[5]
Railway
[
edit
]
With the opening of the railway from London to Liverpool, Holyhead lost the London-Dublin mail contract in 1839 to the
Port of Liverpool
. Only after the completion of the
Chester & Holyhead Railway
in 1850, and the building of
Holyhead railway station
, did the
Irish Mail
return to Holyhead, operated from
London Euston
by the
London & North Western Railway
.
[17]
Transport
[
edit
]
Holyhead railway station
The
Port of Holyhead
is a busy ferry
port
.
Stena Line
, Northern Europe's biggest ferry company, operates from the port, as do
Irish Ferries
. Ferries sail to
Dublin
.
Holyhead railway station
is the terminus of the
North Wales Coast Line
and is currently served by
Avanti West Coast
and
Transport for Wales
services. Avanti West Coast runs direct trains to
London Euston
via
Crewe
[18]
and Transport for Wales operate direct trains to
Cardiff
and
Birmingham International
, via
Wrexham
and
Shrewsbury
; they also operate on the route to
Manchester Piccadilly
, via
Warrington
.
[19]
'Seiriol Wyn' one of a series of glass mosaic panels created by artist
Gary Drostle
for the new Celtic Gateway bridge entrance
The rail and ferry terminals are connected (for pedestrians and cyclists) to the town centre by
The Celtic Gateway
bridge.
[20]
Stanley Embankment, looking towards
Holy Island
The
Stanley Embankment
, or
The Cob
, connects Anglesey and Holy Island. It carries the North Wales Coast Line railway and the A5 road. The embankment was designed and built by
Thomas Telford
. When the A5 was being constructed between London and the Port of Holyhead, a more direct route was needed. Construction started in 1822 and was completed a year later.
[21]
It gets its formal name after
John Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley of Alderley
, a significant local benefactor.
[6]
In 2001, work was completed on the extension of the
A55
North Wales Expressway from the
Britannia Bridge
to Holyhead, giving the town a
dual carriageway
connection to North Wales and the main British motorway network. The A55 forms part of
Euroroute
E22
. The Anglesey section was financed through a
Private Finance Initiative
scheme.
[22]
Local bus services are provided primarily by
Arriva Buses Wales
, who operate services around Anglesey and to
Bangor
.
[23]
Industry
[
edit
]
Until September 2009, Holyhead's main industry was the massive aluminium smelter on the outskirts of the town, operated by
Anglesey Aluminium
, a subsidiary of
Rio Tinto
. A large
jetty
in the harbour received ships from
Jamaica
and Australia, and their cargoes of alumina were transported on a rope-driven conveyor belt running underneath the town to the plant. The jetty is now available to dock visiting cruise ships.
[24]
The plant relied for its electricity supply on
Wylfa nuclear power station
, near
Cemaes Bay
. However, Wylfa was reaching the end of its life and had permission to generate only until 2012.
[25]
On 18 October 2010, the British government announced that Wylfa was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations.
[26]
Holyhead Port is a major employer, most of the jobs linked to ferry services to the Republic of Ireland operated by Stena and Irish Ferries. Other significant industrial/transport sector employers in Holyhead include Holyhead Boatyard, Gwynedd Shipping and Eaton Electrical, with the last of these having seen many job losses in 2009.
[27]
Until the end of 2020 the port, which employs 250 (in 2021), was the second busiest roll-on roll-off port in the UK after Dover with around 450,000 lorries taking ferries to Dublin. Following the
Brexit withdrawal agreement
, freight traffic from Ireland fell by 50% in January 2021.
[28]
Climate
[
edit
]
Like the rest of Wales and the
British Isles
, Holyhead has a
maritime climate
(
Cfb
according to the
Koppen climate classification
) with cool summers and mild winters, and often high winds exacerbated by its location by the Irish Sea. The nearest official weather observation station is at
RAF Valley
, about five miles (eight kilometres) southeast of the town centre.
[29]
On 23 November 1981, Holyhead was struck by two tornadoes during the record-breaking
1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak
. One of the tornadoes, rated as an F2/T4 tornado, was the strongest recorded out of 104 tornadoes in the entire outbreak, causing damage to around 20 properties in Holyhead and destroying a mobile home.
[30]
Climate data for Valley 10 m asl, 1981?2010
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
8.2
(46.8)
|
8.1
(46.6)
|
9.6
(49.3)
|
11.8
(53.2)
|
14.9
(58.8)
|
17.1
(62.8)
|
18.8
(65.8)
|
18.8
(65.8)
|
17.1
(62.8)
|
14.1
(57.4)
|
11.1
(52.0)
|
8.7
(47.7)
|
13.2
(55.8)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
3.6
(38.5)
|
3.0
(37.4)
|
4.5
(40.1)
|
5.7
(42.3)
|
8.2
(46.8)
|
10.7
(51.3)
|
12.8
(55.0)
|
12.9
(55.2)
|
11.4
(52.5)
|
9.0
(48.2)
|
6.3
(43.3)
|
3.9
(39.0)
|
7.7
(45.9)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
75.5
(2.97)
|
54.8
(2.16)
|
62.8
(2.47)
|
55.2
(2.17)
|
48.4
(1.91)
|
53.5
(2.11)
|
54.0
(2.13)
|
69.9
(2.75)
|
71.5
(2.81)
|
101.4
(3.99)
|
103.5
(4.07)
|
90.6
(3.57)
|
841.1
(33.11)
|
Mean monthly
sunshine hours
|
62.3
|
86.5
|
123.1
|
177.8
|
231.8
|
207.8
|
201.1
|
189.5
|
146.7
|
109.7
|
63.6
|
51.6
|
1,651.4
|
Source:
MetOffice
[31]
|
Governance
[
edit
]
Holyhead Town Hall
Holyhead Town Council
, which is based at
Holyhead Town Hall
, is the town's
community council
, comprising sixteen councillors elected from the seven community electoral wards.
[32]
For elections to the
Isle of Anglesey County Council
, the
Caergybi
electoral ward covers the majority of Holyhead and elects three county councillors every four years. In May 2017 the ward elected a
Labour Party
candidate and two
Independents
.
[33]
Notable people
[
edit
]
Glenys Kinnock
, 2012
Dawn French
, 2005
- Captain John Macgregor Skinner (1761?1832) moved to Holyhead from the US in 1793. Master on packet ships between Holyhead and Dublin but was washed overboard. The town erected an obelisk in his honour
[34]
and his house is an exhibit at the
Holyhead Maritime Museum
.
[35]
- John Walpole Willis
(1793?1877), a Welsh-born judge, and a judge of the Supreme Court of
New South Wales
- Sir Ralph Champneys Williams
(1848?1927) colonial governor of the
Windward Islands
&
Newfoundland
.
- Lillie Goodisson
(1860?1947), a Welsh Australian nurse and a pioneer of family planning in
New South Wales
- Francis Dodd
(1874?1949), a British portrait painter, landscape artist and printmaker
- John Russell
(1893?1917) winner of the
Victoria Cross
, was born in the town
- Ceinwen Rowlands
(1905?1983), a Welsh concert soprano and recording artist
- R. S. Thomas
(1913?2000), a Welsh poet and Anglican priest poet, grew up in Holyhead
- Cledwyn Hughes, Baron Cledwyn of Penrhos
(1916?2001) MP & politician; attended
Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi
- Barbara Margaret Trimble
(1921?1995) a British writer of over 20 crime, thriller and romance novels
- David Crystal
(born 1941)
linguist
and chair of the charity behind Holyhead's
Ucheldre Centre
, lives in Holyhead
- Glenys Kinnock
(born 1944) a politician, MEP, educated at
Holyhead High School
- Dawn French
(born 1957) comedian and actress, co-star in
French and Saunders
- Albert Owen
(born 1959) politician, MP for
Ynys Mon
from 2001 to 2019.
- Kevin Johnson
(born 1960) is a managing partner at Medicxi Ventures, a
venture capital
firm
- Jason Evans
(born 1968), a Welsh photographer and lecturer on photography
- Ben Crystal
(born 1977), an English actor, author, and producer brought up in the town
- Gareth Williams
(1978?2010) worked for
GCHQ
and SIS died in suspicious circumstances
Sport
[
edit
]
Culture and sport
[
edit
]
St. Mary's Help of Christians Church
View of Holyhead market; activities, stalls and Welsh dress
Holyhead, c 1850
Holyhead's arts centre, the
Ucheldre Centre
, is located in the chapel of an old convent belonging to the
order
of the
Bon Sauveur
. It holds regular art exhibitions, performances, workshops and film screenings. Holyhead Library is located in the
old market hall
. The
Holyhead Maritime Museum
is housed in what is claimed to be Wales's oldest
lifeboat
house. The lifeboat station was established in 1828.
[36]
The 1927
National Eisteddfod
was held in the town.
Holyhead High School
(previously County Secondary school) was the first comprehensive school in the UK.
[37]
According to the
United Kingdom Census 2001
, 47% of the residents in the town can speak
Welsh
. The highest percentage of speakers is in the 15-year-old age group, of whom 66% can speak the language. According to the 2011 Census, of those in the community who were born in Wales, 52.2% of the population could speak Welsh.
[38]
The town's main
football
team is called
Holyhead Hotspur
, and they play in the
Cymru North
, the second tier of Welsh football, with their reserves playing in the
Gwynedd League
. Caergybi F.C. plays in the sixth tier
Anglesey League
. Holyhead Sailing Club provides members with facilities for sailing and kayaking with swinging moorings, a dinghy park and a clubhouse with a restaurant and bar. It is on Newry Beach in the historic port of Holyhead. Holyhead & Anglesey Amateur Boxing Club was founded on 1 April 2012, located in Vicarage Lane, Holyhead. The club is open to anyone over the age of 10, having a class for male and female trainees. Holyhead's cliffs are used for
coasteering
, a water sport which involves jumping off cliffs at different heights. Holyhead is the start and finish point of the
Anglesey Coastal Path
.
[39]
Holyhead was officially twinned with
Greystones, County Wicklow
on 20 January 2012, and this is celebrated on a new road sign.
[40]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Parish Headcounts: Isle of Anglesey"
.
Neighbourhood Statistics
. Office for National Statistics
. Retrieved
15 March
2018
.
- ^
"Holyhead Town Council"
.
holyheadtowncouncil.com
.
- ^
Jones, Daniel
(2011).
Roach, Peter
;
Setter, Jane
;
Esling, John
(eds.).
Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary
(18th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
978-0-521-15255-6
.
- ^
Wells, John C.
(2008).
Longman Pronunciation Dictionary
(3rd ed.). Longman.
ISBN
978-1-4058-8118-0
.
- ^
a
b
Cathrall, William (1851).
Wanderings in North Wales: A Road and Railway Guide-book : Comprising Curious and Interesting Historical Information with a Description of the Ancient Castles and Ruins of the Northern Principality, Its Churches, Towns, Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, Railways, Etc
. William S. Orr and Company. p. 136.
- ^
a
b
Hughes, Margaret:
"Anglesey from the sea"
, page 73. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2001
- ^
"Aerial View of Llandudno, Clwyd"
. Getty Images
. Retrieved
27 November
2022
.
- ^
Phil Carradice
(20 June 2011).
"The opening of Holyhead's new harbour"
.
BBC Blogs - Wales
. Retrieved
26 April
2016
.
- ^
Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^
Owen, Hywel Wyn (2015).
The Place-Names of Wales
. University of Wales Press. p. 23.
ISBN
978-1783161652
.
- ^
Jones, Gwilym; Roberts, Tomos (1996).
Enwau Lleoedd Mon : The Place-Names of Anglesey
. Bangor, Wales: University of Wales Press. pp. 122?123.
ISBN
0-904567-71-0
.
- ^
"Holyhead Mountain Hut Group"
. Pegasus Archive
. Retrieved
27 November
2022
.
- ^
"South Stack Lighthouse"
.
trinityhouse.co.uk
. Retrieved
15 February
2020
.
- ^
"Soldiers Point Hotel (15867)"
.
Coflein
.
RCAHMW
. Retrieved
27 November
2022
.
- ^
"Porthdinllaen Harbour Company Records"
.
Archifau Cymru
. National Library of Wales. 1806?1911. Archived from
the original
on 13 April 2014
. Retrieved
15 February
2022
.
- ^
Denton, A., & Leach, N. (2008).
Lighthouses of Wales
. Landmark Publishing Ltd.
ISBN
978-1-84306-459-6
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Famous named trains abolished
The Railway Magazine
issue 1216 August 2002 page 14
- ^
"Our latest timetable and ticket info"
.
Avanti West Coast
. May 2023
. Retrieved
28 May
2023
.
- ^
"Timetables"
.
Transport for Wales
. May 2023
. Retrieved
28 May
2023
.
- ^
"The Celtic Gateway Bridge"
. Structurae
. Retrieved
27 November
2022
.
- ^
"Thomas Telford: The Road to Holyhead"
.
cyclingnorthwales.co.uk
.
- ^
"A55 Llandegai to Holyhead Trunk Road"
. PPP Forum
. Retrieved
27 November
2022
.
- ^
"Bus Services"
.
Bus Times
. May 2023
. Retrieved
28 May
2023
.
- ^
"Acquisition of former Anglesey Aluminium site welcomed"
. Isle of Anglesey County Council. 21 September 2022
. Retrieved
27 November
2022
.
- ^
"Wylfa to continue generating until 2012"
.
Nuclear Engineering International
. Archived from
the original
on 5 March 2012
. Retrieved
13 December
2011
.
- ^
"Nuclear power: Eight sites identified for future plants"
.
BBC News
. BBC. 18 October 2010
. Retrieved
18 October
2010
.
- ^
"Holyhead factory closure could put 265 jobs at risk"
.
Daily Post
. 19 April 2013
. Retrieved
26 May
2017
.
- ^
Partridge, Joanna (20 February 2021).
"Ports feel the chill as trade re-routes around Brexit Britain"
.
The Observer
.
ISSN
0029-7712
. Retrieved
21 February
2021
.
- ^
"Severe Weather Payments"
. Hansard. 19 January 1987
. Retrieved
27 November
2022
.
- ^
Apsley, Miriam L.; Mulder, Kelsey J.; Schultz, David M. (2016).
"Reexamining the United Kingdom's Greatest Tornado Outbreak: Forecasting the Limited Extent of Tornadoes along a Cold Front"
(PDF)
.
Weather and Forecasting
.
31
(3): 853?875.
Bibcode
:
2016WtFor..31..853A
.
doi
:
10.1175/WAF-D-15-0131.1
.
- ^
"Valley 1981?2010 averages"
.
MetOffice
. Archived from
the original
on 12 August 2014
. Retrieved
11 August
2014
.
- ^
"Councillors"
. Holyhead Town Council
. Retrieved
5 December
2017
.
- ^
"Election results for Caergybi ? Local Elections May 2017 ? Thursday, 4th May, 2017"
. Isle of Anglesey County Council. 4 May 2017
. Retrieved
5 December
2017
.
- ^
Holyhead.com
Archived
24 September 2015 at the
Wayback Machine
Accessed 15 February 2015
- ^
Holyhead Maritime Museum
Accessed 15 February 2015
- ^
"RNLI: Holyhead"
. Retrieved
16 February
2016
.
- ^
"Are comprehensive schools still working for our pupils?"
. ITV. 19 December 2014
. Retrieved
27 November
2022
.
- ^
"O'r rhai a anwyd yng Nghymru, % yn gallu siarad Cymraeg"
.
Statiaith
.
- ^
"Anglesey Coastal Path"
.
Long Distance Walkers Association
. Retrieved
3 February
2021
.
- ^
Everett, Cliff (23 January 2012).
"Twinning Oath Signed"
.
holyheadtowncouncil.com
. Holyhead Town Council. Archived from
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on 12 March 2016
. Retrieved
8 February
2012
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Holyhead
.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for
Holyhead
.
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