Dwyfor was one of the five local government districts of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...

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 ...

from 1974 to 1996, covering the

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. ...

. Its council was based in Pwllheli.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. It covered the whole area of four former districts and parts of a fifth from the administrative county of Caernarfonshire, which were all abolished at the same time: * Beddgelert parish from

Gwyrfai Rural District Gwyrfai was a rural district in the administrative county of Caernarvonshire from 1894 to 1974. The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1894, taking over the area of the Carnarvon Rural Sanitary District. It was named after the ...

* Clynnog parish from Gwyrfai Rural District *

Criccieth Urban District Criccieth Urban District was an urban district in Criccieth, Caernarfonshire in existence between 1894 and 1974: replaced by Dwyfor Dwyfor was one of the five local government districts of Gwynedd, Wales from 1974 to 1996, covering the Llŷn ...

* Llŷn Rural District * Porthmadog Urban District * Pwllheli

Municipal Borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in ...

The new district was named after the river Dwyfor. Dwyfor was notable for being the last stronghold of the Sabbatarian

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

in Wales. Under the terms of the

Licensing Act 1961 A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

, local referendums prevented the opening of

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s on Sundays until 1996. Under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, the previous two tier system of counties and districts was replaced with new principal areas (each designated either a "county" or a "county borough"), whose councils perform the functions previously divided between the county and district councils. The Dwyfor area merged with Arfon and Meirionnydd to become a county which the government initially called "Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire". During the transition to the new system, the shadow authority requested a change of name from "Caernarfonshire and Meirionethshire" to "Gwynedd". The government confirmed the change with effect from 2 April 1996, one day after the new council came into being. The Dwyfor area remains in use as an area committee of Gwynedd Council.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973. The council operated as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Throughout the council's existence a majority of the seats were held by independents:

Premises

The council established its main offices on Embankment Road in Pwllheli. After the council's abolition in 1996 the building became an area office of Gwynedd Council.

References

{{Coord, 52.903, -4.460, display=title, region:GB_scale:500000 Districts of Gwynedd Former subdivisions of Wales Districts of Wales abolished in 1996 1974 establishments in Wales

History

Political control

Premises

See also

References