Menai Bridge is a small town and
communityA community is the lowest level of local government structure in Wales, corresponding to a civil parish in England.Until 1974, Wales was divided into civil parishes. These were abolished by section 20 of the Local Government Act 1972, and replaced by communities by section 27 of the same Act. The...
on the Isle of Anglesey in north
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
. It overlooks the
Menai StraitThe Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales....
and lies by the
Menai Suspension BridgeThe Menai Suspension Bridge, or Pont Grog y Borth in Welsh, is a suspension bridge between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it is one of the first modern suspension bridges in the world.-Construction:Before the bridge was completed...
, built in 1826 by
Thomas TelfordThomas Telford was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
. It is the
third largest settlement on the island, with a population of 3,146, and occupies the area of the former parish of Llandysiliogogo, whose former church continues in use as a mortuary chapel (see below).
It has existed as
Porthaethwy for many centuries and it still has a house in current use which dates from the 17th century.
Menai Bridge is a small town and
communityA community is the lowest level of local government structure in Wales, corresponding to a civil parish in England.Until 1974, Wales was divided into civil parishes. These were abolished by section 20 of the Local Government Act 1972, and replaced by communities by section 27 of the same Act. The...
on the Isle of Anglesey in north
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
. It overlooks the
Menai StraitThe Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales....
and lies by the
Menai Suspension BridgeThe Menai Suspension Bridge, or Pont Grog y Borth in Welsh, is a suspension bridge between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it is one of the first modern suspension bridges in the world.-Construction:Before the bridge was completed...
, built in 1826 by
Thomas TelfordThomas Telford was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
. It is the
third largest settlement on the island, with a population of 3,146, and occupies the area of the former parish of Llandysiliogogo, whose former church continues in use as a mortuary chapel (see below).
It has existed as
Porthaethwy for many centuries and it still has a house in current use which dates from the 17th century. It is likely that a community has existed at the location of Menai Bridge since
RomanRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
times simply because this is the shortest crossing of the
Menai StraitThe Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales....
. There is a range of buildings including the old court house, a number of old pubs and the buildings associated with the wood-yard (in the process of being converted to houses).
The large car park to the north of the high street is the 'fair field'. This is a
commonCommon land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel. By extension, the term "commons" has come to be applied to other resources which a...
piece of land set aside for the holding of an annual
fairA fair is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. Activities at fairs vary widely...
, which, to the locals, is called "Ffair Borth.". When the fair comes to Menai Bridge on 24 October every year (unless it falls on a Sunday, in which case it is either held on 23 October or 25 October) it takes over the fair field and most of the other roads and streets in the town making passage through the town very difficult. This is an ancient tradition which attracts people from across the island who ignore the generally inclement weather to enjoy the traditional fair rides.
A television company has converted a disused garage into a fake row of shops in the centre of Menai Bridge as a film set for a children's programme
Rownd a rownd shown on the Welsh-language channel
S4CS4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fourth oldest British terrestrial television channel S4C , currently...
. They also film the show in the schools in the town, Ysgol y borth and
Ysgol David HughesYsgol David Hughes is the largest Secondary School in Anglesey, Wales. It was founded in 1603, originally as a free Grammar School in Beaumaris...
Menai Bridge Rugby Club (www.menaibridgerugby.co.uk) was established in 1975 and played at numerous pitches in the area until, in 1999; the club found its home at Llyn-Y-Felin (opposite the Shell Garage), one of the most picturesque pitches in Wales. The Club plays in the newly formed division 4 North after having promotion form the Gwynedd League in 2008. It also sports a ladies team and a junior tag team. The clubs most famous former player is Robin McBryde, former Llanelli captain, Welsh international, 2003 Lion and current Wales’s forwards coach. The team is coached by Darren Owen (a qualified UKCC Level 3 coach) and is assisted by Huw Percy (backs coach) and Andrew Brogden (forwards coach). Training is held every Thursday night at 7p.m and there is always welcome to new players at any age and skill!
On 12 November 1918
Air MarshalAir Marshal is a 3 star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries...
Sir
Thomas ElmhirstAir Marshal Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst KBE, CB, AFC, DL, RAF was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century and the first commander-in-chief of the newly independent Indian Air Force where he organised the funeral of Mahatma Gandhi following his assassination...
flew airship SSZ73 under the Menai Bridge following the
armisticeAn armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
at the end of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
.
At the eastern edge of the town is
Cwm Cadnant Dingle which is now by-passed by a modern bridge constructed in the 1970s. The
Afon CadnantThe Afon Cadnant is a small river on Anglesey, North Wales draining to the Menai Strait about 1 km north-east of the Menai suspension bridge...
drains into the Menai Strait at this point and this small estuary provides a natural haven for small boats crossing from the mainland. This was the location of the landing stage for the
Bishops of BangorThe Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor.The diocese covers the counties of Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and a small part of Montgomeryshire. The see is in the city of Bangor where the seat is located at Cathedral Church of Saint...
who had their residence at Glyn Garth on
AngleseyThe Isle of Anglesey , is an island and county off the northwest coast of Wales, with a predominantly Welsh-speaking population. It is connected to the mainland by two bridges spanning the Menai Strait: the original Menai Suspension Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford in 1826; and the newer...
but whose
cathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
was in
BangorBangor is a city in Gwynedd, Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of the City...
on the mainland. Regrettably, the Bishop's palace has been destroyed in recent years and replaced by a block of flats.
There are a number of small islands in the Menai Strait some of which are connected to the town by causeways, including Ynys Faelog,
Ynys GaintYnys Gaint is a small island in the Menai Strait connected to the town of Menai Bridge on Anglesey by a causeway.Ynys Gaint lies close to the Anglesey shore at OS reference SH561725, between Ynys Faelog and Ynys Castell...
and
Ynys CastellYnys Castell is a small island in the Menai Strait which separates Anglesey and mainland Wales. It is an extruding piece of Precambrian schist lying to one side of the Afon Cadnant estuary. It lies between Ynys y Bîg and Ynys Gaint. There is a causeway running to the island that is covered at high...
east of the suspension bridge and
Church IslandChurch Island is a small island in the Menai Strait on the shores of Anglesey to which it is attached by a short causeway that is reachable only on foot off the Belgian Promenade. The whole of the island is taken up with St Tysilio's ancient church and the churchyard...
(
Ynys Tysilio in
WelshWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh border and in the Welsh immigrant colony in the Chubut Valley in Argentine Patagonia....
) west of the bridge. The
Anglesey Coastal PathAnglesey Coastal Path cost £1.4 million and runs virtually within the length of the entire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on Anglesey, Wales. It is a network of public rights of way and some designated permissive paths....
passes along the waterfront.
Menai Bridge has a wide selection of churches and
chapelA chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds...
s including a most unprepossessing catholic church. The town also has a primary school, Ysgol y Borth, and a large bilingual
comprehensive schoolA comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. The term is commonly used in relation to the United Kingdom, where comprehensive schools were introduced in the late 1940s to the early 1970s. It corresponds broadly to the...
-
Ysgol David HughesYsgol David Hughes is the largest Secondary School in Anglesey, Wales. It was founded in 1603, originally as a free Grammar School in Beaumaris...
.
Attractions in Menai Bridge include the 14th-century Church of St Tysilio, St Georges Pier and a butterfly house - Pili Palas.
External links