Clynnog Fawr, often simply called "Clynnog", is a village and

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, t ...

on the north coast of

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. Mu ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, an ...

, north-west

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It is in the historic county of

Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

. The community includes

Pant Glas Pant Glas ( Welsh for ''Green Hollow'' - in Welsh, as in other Celtic languages, "glas" may mean both 'green' and 'blue') is a hamlet on the A487 road in Gwynedd, Wales, in the community of Clynnog. Historically in Caernarfonshire, it is locat ...

. Clynnog Fawr lies on the

A499 road The A499 road is the major road of the Llŷn peninsula in North Wales. Its northern terminus is a roundabout with the A487 trunk road between Llanwnda and Llandwrog It then runs south-westerly along the northern coast of the peninsula, throu ...

between

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor ...

and

Pwllheli Pwllheli () is a market town and community of the Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn) in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011 of whom a large proportion, 81%, are Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plai ...

, at , between the coast and a mountainous area including

Bwlch Mawr Bwlch Mawr is a hill near the northeastern corner of the Llŷn Peninsula in the community of Clynnog in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales. Its name is an odd one for a hill, as it means "big pass" in English. It forms the eastern half of a wi ...

. It had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of 130 in 1991, which had increased to 997 at the 2011 Census. The

covers an area of . The main feature of the village is the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

, dedicated to

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

Beuno Saint Beuno ( la, Bonus;Baring-Gould & Fisher, "Lives of the British Saints" (1907), quoted a Early British Kingdoms website by David Nash Ford, accessed 6 February 2012 640), sometimes anglicized as Bono, was a 7th-century Welsh abbot, ...

, which is much larger than would be expected in a village of Clynnog's size. The site is said to be that of a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

founded by Beuno in the early 7th century. Clynnog means 'the place of the holly-trees': compare Breton ''

Quelneuc Quelneuc () is a former commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the commune Carentoir. It developed into an important foundation and some

Welsh law Welsh law ( cy, Cyfraith Cymru) is an autonomous part of the English law system composed of legislation made by the Senedd.Law Society of England and Wales (2019)England and Wales: A World Jurisdiction of Choice eport(Link accessed: 16 March 202 ...

manuscripts specify that the Abbot of Clynnog was entitled to a seat at the court of the king of

Deial Haul Eglwys Beuno Sant Clynnog Fawr Sundial - geograph

The church is recorded as having been burnt in 978 by the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

and later burnt again by the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

. By the end of the 15th century it was a collegiate church, one of only six in Wales. The church was an important stopping place for

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s heading for

Bardsey Island Bardsey Island ( cy, Ynys Enlli), known as the legendary "Island of 20,000 Saints", is located off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", while its English name refers to the "Islan ...

and contains ''Cyff Beuno'', an ancient wooden chest hollowed out of a single piece of ash and used to keep alms given by the pilgrims. ''Maen Beuno'' or "Beuno's Stone" has markings reputed to be those of Beuno's fingers. Outside in the churchyard there is a canonical sundial dated between the late 10th century and the early 12th century. ''Ffynnon Beuno'' (St Beuno's Well) is a Grade II* listed structure at the south-west end of the village. The church is a major location on the

North Wales Pilgrims Way The North Wales Pilgrim's Way ( cy, Taith Pererin Gogledd Cymru) is a long-distance walking route in North Wales, running from near Holywell in the east to Bardsey Island ( cy, Ynys Enlli) in the west. The first half of the trail takes an inlan ...

. The church is open from 10am to 4pm every day. The area has been the site of a number of battles, including the

Battle of Bron yr Erw A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1075 when

Gruffudd ap Cynan Gruffudd ap Cynan ( 1137), sometimes written as Gruffydd ap Cynan, was King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was rememb ...

's first bid to become king of Gwynedd was defeated by Trahaearn ap Caradog, and the Battle of Bryn Derwin in 1255 when

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...

defeated his brothers

Owain Owain () is a name of Welsh origin, variously written in Old Welsh as Ougein, Eugein, Euguen, Iguein, Ou(u)ein, Eug(u)ein, Yuein, and in Middle Welsh as Ewein, Owein, and Ywein. Other variants of the name Owain include Ewein, Iguein, Owein, Ouein, Y ...

and

Dafydd Dafydd is a Welsh masculine given name, related to David, and more rarely a surname. People so named include: Given name Medieval era :''Ordered chronologically'' * Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd (c. 1145-1203), Prince of Gwynedd * Dafydd ap Gruffydd (12 ...

to become sole ruler of Gwynedd.

Modern era

Clynog Golf Club (now defunct) appeared only briefly after World War I. It had disappeared by the mid-1920s. Clynnog's population was 997, according to the 2011 census; this was a 15.9% increase since the 860 people noted in 2001. The 2011 census showed 73.2% of the population could speak

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 ...

, a rise from 67.2% in 2001. The Clynnog

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 ...

elects one councillor to sit on

Gwynedd Council Cyngor Gwynedd ( en, Gwynedd Council) is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language. History The county of Gwynedd was created in 1974 under ...

. Clynnog is covered by a Neighbourhood Policing Team based in the nearby village of Penygroes.

Notable people

Morus Clynnog Maurice Clenock ( Maurice Clenocke, Maurice Clennock; in Welsh: ''Morus Clynog'', ''Morys Clynog'', ''Morus Clynnog'', ''Morys Clynnog'') was a Welsh Roman Catholic priest and recusant exile. He was the first head of the English College, Rome. He ...

(ca. 1525 - 1581), Welsh Roman Catholic priest and recusant exile. * St. John Jones (ca. 1530 - 1598), a Franciscan friar, Roman Catholic priest, and martyr. *

Ebenezer Thomas Ebenezer Thomas (August 1802 – 17 February 1863), better known to Welsh speakers by his bardic name of Eben Fardd, was a Welsh teacher and poet. Eben Fardd was born in Llanarmon, Caernarvonshire, the son of a weaver, and educated at local scho ...

(1802–1863), a Welsh teacher and poet, bardic name of ''Eben Fardd'', moved to the village in 1827, where he lived opposite the church.

References

{{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Clynnog