Aberaeron, previously

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

as Aberayron, is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

, and

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

between

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

and Cardigan, in

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Ceredigion County Council Ceredigion County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Ceredigion) is the governing body for the county of Ceredigion, since 1996 one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The council's main offices are in Aberaeron. History The current council was created ...

offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

for ''mouth of the Aeron'', derived from the

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...

', "slaughter", which gave its name to Aeron, who is believed to have been a Welsh god of war. The population was 1,520 in 2001, and 1,422 in 2011.

History and design

In 1800, there was no significant coastal settlement here. The present town was planned and developed from 1805 by the Rev. Alban Thomas Jones Gwynne. He built a

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

which operated as a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

and supported a

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

industry in the 19th century. A group of workmen's houses and a school were built on the harbour's north side, but these were reclaimed by the sea.Aberaeron 1807–2007: Aberaeron Town Trail, celebrating our heritage
Heritage Treftadaeth, 2007 (under building 1 - General Storehouse) Steam ships continued to visit the harbour until the 1920s but, in later years, it evolved into a small half-tide harbour for recreational craft. The estuary is also crossed by a wooden pedestrian

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

. Crafts were an important part of village life. Information recorded in trade directories shows that in 1830, although it was not yet fully developed as a port, in Aberaeron there were one woollen manufacturer, one

bootmaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as ''cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen an ...

, one

baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

, one corn miller, one

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, one blacksmith and shovel maker, two

shipwrights Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

, one

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

and one hatmaker. In the late 1890s, a hand-powered cable car, the

Aeron Express The Aeron Express was the name used for a hand-powered aerial cable ferry that was built to ferry people across the harbour in the West Wales coastal town of Aberaeron. The ferry was first built in 1880 to ferry labourers from the Liverpool quay o ...

, was built to ferry workers across the harbour when the bridge was demolished by floods. The structure was recreated in 1988 as a tourist attraction that ran until the end of summer 1994, when it was closed under health and safety regulations. The

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

of Aberaeron is unusual in this part of rural Wales, being constructed around a principal square, Alban Square, of Regency style buildings grouped around the harbour. This was the work of

Edward Haycock Sr. Edward Haycock Sr. (29 July 1790 – 20 December 1870) was an English architect working in the West Midlands and in central and southern Wales in the late Georgian and early Victorian periods. Biography Haycock was the grandson of William Hay ...

, an architect from

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

. His designs also included the former Aberaeron Town Hall, which was completed in 1846 and became

County Hall, Aberaeron County Hall ( cy, Neuadd y Sir Aberaeron), formerly Aberaeron Town Hall ( cy, Neuadd y Dref Aberaeron), is a municipal building in Market Street, Aberaeron, Ceredigion, Wales. The structure, which is now used as a public library, is a Grade II ...

in 1910. Some of the architecture was of sufficient interest to feature on British postage stamps. Aberaeron Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1923. It continued until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when the course was turned over to agriculture to aid the war effort. Post-war attempts to reinstate the club failed.

Castell Cadwgan

Castell Cadwgan, a 12th-century

ringwork A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles without the motte. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch and bank surrounding the sit ...

fortification around a probable wooden structure, was by the shore at Aberaeron, but has long since been claimed by the sea. Of the few traces left are some mounds of earth, the remains of the enclosure bank, most of the site having been eroded.

Henry Gastineau Henry Gastineau (1791–1876) was an English engraver and prolific painter in water-colours. He was born in London to a family of Huguenot descent. One of his daughters, Maria Gastineau, painted in a similar style. Life He was a student at the ...

's ''Wales Illustrated in a Series of Views'' (1810) mentions the site: "Near the town are some remains of an ancient fortress called Castell Cadwgan, thought to have been erected by King Cadwgan, about the year 1148." However, Cadwgan is recorded as having been killed in 1111. ''Welsh Minstrelsy: Containing the Land beneath the Sea'' (1824) says "Just where Sarn Ddewi juts out from the shore is an old fort, called Castell Cadwgan."

Local government

Aberaeron is a relatively new settlement and lacked borough status like other towns in the county. In 1894, the town achieved the status of being an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

until the local government reorganisation of 1974. The first representative for Aberayron on the

Cardiganshire County Council Cardiganshire County Council was the local government authority for the county of Cardiganshire, Wales, between 1889 and 1974. It was superseded by Dyfed County Council. Overview The administrative county of Cardigan and its local authority, the C ...

from 1889 was

John Morgan Howell John Morgan Howell (1855-1928) was a prominent figure in the public life of Cardiganshire in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A supporter of the Liberal Party, he represented Aberaeron as a county councillor for over thirty years ...

, who became a prominent figure in the political life of the county. Following his election in January 1889, bonfires were lit to celebrate his victory. Since 1995 the Aberaeron ward has elected one councillor to

. Since 2008 the ward has been represented by Elizabeth Evans for the

Welsh Liberal Democrats The Welsh Liberal Democrats ( cy, Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru) are a branch of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats that operates in Wales. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who served as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from August to Decemb ...

Education

The town and surrounding areas are served by Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron, a bi-lingual secondary

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

. Although there is no provision for higher education in the town, three university towns are within easy travelling range, namely

( away),

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, ...

(), and

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

().

Location and features

Aberaeron is located between Cardigan and Aberystwyth on the

A487 The A487, officially the Fishguard to Bangor Trunk Road, is a trunk road in Wales that follows the coast from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in the south, to Bangor, Gwynedd, in the north. Route The road starts at a junction with the A40 i ...

, at a junction with the A482 leading south-east to the university town of

. It lies on the

Ceredigion Coast Path The Ceredigion Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Ceredigion) is a waymarked long distance footpath in the United Kingdom, on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales. It is in length, running along the coast of Cardigan Bay from Cardigan to ...

, part of the

Wales Coast Path The Wales Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Cymru) is a designated long-distance trail which follows, or runs close to, the coastline of Wales. Launched in 2012, the footpath is long and was heralded as the first dedicated coast path in the wor ...

. The shoreline consists of generally steep

storm beach A storm beach is a beach affected by particularly fierce waves, usually with a very long fetch. The resultant landform is often a very steep beach (up to 45°) composed of rounded cobbles, shingle and occasionally sand. The stones usually have an ...

es of

pebble A pebble is a clast of rock with a particle size of based on the Udden-Wentworth scale of sedimentology. Pebbles are generally considered larger than granules ( in diameter) and smaller than cobbles ( in diameter). A rock made predominant ...

s, although fine sand is visible at low

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

levels. Aberaeron south beach was awarded the Blue Flag rural beach award in 2005. It contains the

Harbourmaster Hotel Harbourmaster Hotel is a Grade II listed building, Grade II listed boutique hotel on the quay in the coastal town of Aberaeron, Ceredigion, west Wales. It is located in a distinctive French blue painted building, formerly the harbourmaster's home ...

. The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

is mild and

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

, largely conditioned by the proximity of the relatively shallow

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

. However, Aberaeron can suffer from occasional winter

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

s when cold air descends the Aeron valley from the upland parts of Ceredigion.

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

's links with Aberaeron,

New Quay New Quay ( cy, Cei Newydd) is a seaside town (and electoral ward) in Ceredigion, Wales, with a resident population of around 1,200 people, reducing to 1,082 at the 2011 census. Located south-west of Aberystwyth on Cardigan Bay with a harbour a ...

and

Talsarn Talsarn is a hamlet in the community of Nantcwnlle, Ceredigion, Wales. It lies some 16 miles (26 km) south of Aberystwyth, 64 miles (103 km) north-west of Cardiff, and 178 miles (286 km) from London. It is situated almost half-way ...

have been documented. The

Dylan Thomas Trail The Dylan Thomas Trail ( cy, Llwybr Dylan Thomas) runs through places associated with the poet Dylan Thomas in Ceredigion, west Wales. It was officially opened by Aeronwy Thomas, Dylan's daughter, in July 2003. It also featured in the celebrat ...

runs through Ceredigion, passing through Aberaeron and ending in New Quay. There are 248

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s in Aberaeron community, most in the town itself. An annual festival of Welsh ponies and cobs is held on Alban Square Field every August. A life-sized statue of a Welsh cob stallion, sculpted by David Mayer, was donated to the town in 2005 by the festival. An annual carnival takes place on the Monday bank holiday in August, with a procession of floats and a carnival queen moving from the Quay to Alban Square.

Public transport

In 1866, transport in Lampeter was greatly improved with the opening of the railway linking Carmarthen and Aberystwyth. In 1911, a branch line, the

Lampeter, Aberayron and New Quay Light Railway The Lampeter, Aberayron and New Quay Light Railway was an independent branch line railway in south west Wales. It connected Aberayron (later spelt Aberaeron) to the former Manchester and Milford Railway line at Lampeter; New Quay was never reached ...

, opened to Aberaeron. Following the nationalisation of the railways, the passenger service to and from Aberaeron ceased in 1951 and it closed to freight in 1965. A regular bus service links the town with Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Carmarthen, with several daily through services to

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. Another service connects with New Quay,

Aberporth Aberporth is a seaside village, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 2,374 a ...

and Cardigan from Monday to Saturday.Arriva_Cymru_(ARR)_-_Brodyr_Richards/ Arriva_Cymru_(ARR)_-_Brodyr_Richards/Richards_Bros
_(RB)">Richards_Bros">Arriva_Cymru_(ARR)_-_Brodyr_Richards/Richards_Bros
_(RB)_at_ceredigion.gov.uk

_Notable_people

*_Ron_Davies_(photographer).html" ;"title="Richards_Bros
_(RB).html" ;"title="Richards Bros">Arriva Cymru (ARR) - Brodyr Richards/Richards Bros
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Notable people

* Ron Davies (photographer)">Ron Davies, photographer * Sir Geraint Evans, opera singer, had a home in Aberaeron for more than 30 years * Seirian Sumner, entomologist and behavioural ecologist, professor at University College London * Eleri Siôn, BBC Radio Wales presenter

Gallery

File:DV405 no.160 Aberaeron.png, Early 19th-century sketch of Aberaeron File:Aeron2209e.JPG, River Aeron File:Black lion2268e.JPG, Black Lion Hotel on Alban Square File:Harb2359e.JPG, Harbour at low tide File:Footbridge over Aeron.jpg, Footbridge over the Aeron File:Harbour2263.JPG, Harbour and hills File:Workhouse2287e.JPG, Former workhouse File:Feathers2219e.JPG, Feathers Royal Hotel (former coaching inn) File:Cob2220lg Aberaeron.JPG, Welsh cob statue File:MarketSt2208e.JPG, Castle Hotel and Market Street File:Street2218e.JPG, Georgian houses File:Northgate Toll House SN4663 073.jpg, Northgate Toll House, File:Princes avenue.JPG, Prince's Avenue

References

External links

Aberaeron Town Council website

{{authority control Towns in Ceredigion Cardigan Bay Coast of Ceredigion Wards of Ceredigion Populated coastal places in Wales County towns in Wales Communities in Ceredigion