Ffestiniog () is a
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 ...
in
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, and C ...
in
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 ...
, containing several villages, in particular the settlements of
Llan Ffestiniog
Llan Ffestiniog, also known as Ffestiniog or simply Llan, is a village in Gwynedd (formerly in the county of Merionethshire), Wales, lying south of Blaenau Ffestiniog. Llan Ffestiniog is the older of the two communities, with its church and othe ...
and
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,00 ...
. It has a population of 4,875.
History
Ffestiniog was a parish in
Cantref
A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law.
Description
Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which were ...
Ardudwy
Ardudwy is an area of Gwynedd in north-west Wales, lying between Tremadog Bay and the Rhinogydd. Administratively, under the old Kingdom of Gwynedd, it was first a division of the sub kingdom (cantref) of Dunoding and later a commote in its own ...
; in 1284, Ardudwy became part of the county of
Merionethshire
, HQ= Dolgellau
, Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974)
, Origin=
, Status=
, Start= 1284
, End=
, Code= MER
, CodeName= ...
, which became an administrative county in 1888.
[
Mary Evans (1735–89) founded a sect in Ffestiniog around 1780, whose believers held that she had married ]Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
in a ceremony held in Ffestiniog church. The sect soon died out after her death.
The parish was created 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 ...
in 1894.[A Vision of Britain Through Time : ''Ffestiniog urban District'']
Retrieved 12 January 2010 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 ...
, ''Ffestiniog Urban District'' was abolished, becoming merged with other districts to form Meirionnydd District, which was itself abolished in 1996. Ffestiniog became a community with an elected town council.
Ffestiniog Golf Club was founded in 1893. The club closed at the end of March 2014."Ffestiniog Golf Club"
"Golf’s Missing Links".
Toponymy
Celtic place-name in ''*-ākon'' "place of", then, "place belonging to, territory of" > Old Welsh ''-auc, -awg'' > Welsh ''-og''. The form ''-iog'' with an additional /i/ can be explained by the preceding element, which is a personal name ending with ''-i-us'' : ''Festinius''. The whole name should be ''*Festiniākon''. Probably same name as Festigny (France, e.g.:
Festigny, Marne
Festigny () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the ...
, ''Festiniacus'' in 853)
See also
*
Festiniog and Blaenau Railway
The Festiniog & Blaenau Railway (F&BR) was a narrow gauge railway built in 1868 to connect the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales with the slate quarries around Tanymanod and the village of Llan Ffestiniog, to the south. At Blaenau Ffes ...
*
Ffestiniog power station
The Ffestiniog Power Station () is a 360 megawatts pumped-storage hydroelectricity scheme near Ffestiniog, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The power station at the lower reservoir has four water turbines, which can generate 360 MW of electricity wi ...
*
Ffestiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a heritage railway based on narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park.
The railway is roughly long an ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{authority control
Communities in Gwynedd
The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
cy:Ffestiniog