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, community, 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, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth of the

Aeron Aeron is used in several ways including: People ;Given name *Aeron Clement (1936–1989), American science fiction author ;Fictional characters *Aeron Azzameen, only daughter of the Azzameen family from the video game, '' Star Wars: X-Wing Allia ...

'', derived from the Middle Welsh ', "slaughter", which gave its name to

, 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 and supported a shipbuilding 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. 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, 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, one blacksmith and shovel maker, two shipwrights, 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 Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** Bi ...

, 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 of Aberaeron is unusual in this part of rural Wales, being constructed around a principal square, Alban Square, of

Regency style Regency architecture encompasses classical buildings built in the United Kingdom during the Regency era The Regency era of British history officially spanned the years 1811 to 1820, though the term is commonly applied to the longer perio ...

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 Hayco ...

, 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 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 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 until the local government reorganisation of 1974. The first representative for Aberayron on the Cardiganshire County Council from 1889 was John Morgan Howell, 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 Ceredigion County Council. Since 2008 the ward has been represented by Elizabeth Evans for the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

Education

The town and surrounding areas are served by

Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron is a bilingual comprehensive school for pupils aged between 11 and 18 years. The school is situated in the town of Aberaeron in Ceredigion, Wales. The school had 581 pupils on roll in 2022. 34% of pupils are from homes in ...

, 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 (), and Carmarthen ().

Location and features

Aberaeron is located between Cardigan and Aberystwyth on the A487, at a junction with the

A482 The A482 road is in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, Wales. It links Aberaeron at the junction with the A487 road with the A40 road at Llanwrda near Llandovery. It is long. History Originally, the road from Aberaeron to Lampeter was st ...

leading south-east to the university town of Lampeter. It lies on the Ceredigion Coast Path, part of the Wales Coast Path. The shoreline consists of generally steep storm beaches 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 levels. Aberaeron south beach was awarded the Blue Flag rural beach award in 2005. It contains the Harbourmaster Hotel. The climate is mild and temperate, largely conditioned by the proximity of the relatively shallow 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 and Talsarn have been documented. The Dylan Thomas Trail runs through Ceredigion, passing through Aberaeron and ending in New Quay. There are 248 listed buildings 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, 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 and Cardiff. 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/Richards Bros
(RB)">Richards Bros">Arriva Cymru (ARR) - Brodyr Richards/ Ron Davies, photographer * Sir Geraint Evans">Richards Bros
(RB) at ceredigion.gov.uk

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 Aberaeron, Towns in Ceredigion Cardigan Bay Coast of Ceredigion Wards of Ceredigion Populated coastal places in Wales County towns in Wales Communities in Ceredigion