Rhoscolyn 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, tow ...

located on

Holy Island, Anglesey Holy Island ( cy, Ynys Gybi, 'the island of (Saint) Cybi') is an island () on the western side of the larger Isle of Anglesey, Wales, from which it is separated by the Cymyran Strait. It is called "Holy" because of the high concentration of ...

, Wales. It is just over five miles south of

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

and is the most southerly settlement on the island. The name Rhoscolyn is said to mean "The Moor" ''(Rhos)'' of The Column ''(colyn)'', referring to a pillar which the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

put up to mark the edge of their territories. The community population taken from the 2011 census was 542. The community includes the larger part of the village of Four Mile Bridge, which extends into the community of

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

on the other side of the

Cymyran Strait {{Location map, Wales Anglesey, mark=Green_pog.svg , lat=53.2820021, long=-4.5845404, width=250, float=center , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location ...

. A little to the west of the village is a

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

dedicated to St Gwenfaen beside which are the remains of a

drystone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. Dry stone structures are stable because of their construction me ...

well house measuring 4.5 m east–west by 5.5 m. The local church in the village itself is dedicated to the same saint and was first built in the 6th century.Hughes, Margaret: ''Anglesey from the Sea'', page 43, Carreg Gwalch, 2001 The present church was built in 1875 and enlarged by the addition of a chancel in 1879. See also Wikipedia entry S''t Gwenfaen's Church, Rhoscolyn'' Among the interior fittings is a fine copper memorial in Art Nouveau style to the Revd. John Hopkins, who was Rector from 1876 until his death in 1901. Hopkins was obviously an effective and well-loved priest. There exists a 10,000 word appreciation of Hopkins written by " His Honour Judge Parry", a summer visitor who got to know him well. This includes many fascinating anecdotes illustrating the nature of rural life in late nineteenth century Anglesey. Rhoscolyn is bordered to the south by a small enclosed bay called ''Borthwen'' which is bordered by a public

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

. There was once a

lifeboat station A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crew and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine. Lifeboats may be rigid, inflatable or rigid-inf ...

on Borthwen which was open between 1830 and 1929 which has been replaced by a navigational

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

on Ynysoedd Gwylanod ('''Gulls' Islands). Around these waters at the end of the 18th century was a thriving

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

catching industry, but this declined once the beds had been depleted.Hughes, Margaret: ''Anglesey from the Sea'', page 44, Carreg Gwalch, 2001 Existing buildings include the local pub, ''The White Eagle'' and the Ysgol Gynradd Santes Gwenfaen

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

which is found just over a mile north of the village. Probably the most significant lifeboat incident here was the launch to the ''Timbo''. On 1 December 1920 the small

coaster Coaster (stylized as COASTER) is a commuter rail service in the central and northern coastal regions of San Diego County, California, United States operated by the North County Transit District (NCTD). The commuter rail line features eight s ...

, was en route to Ireland from Holyhead when she was overcome by a storm off

South Stack South Stack ( cy, Ynys Lawd) is an island situated just off Holy Island on the northwest coast of Anglesey, Wales. Geology South Stack is an island known as a sea stack. It was formed by the wave erosion of sedimentary rocks that once conne ...

and began to drift down the coast. The lifeboat was launched, with great difficulty in the heavy seas, and made a number of attempts to get a line aboard her, without success, until the cox decided no more could be done and the lifeboat started its return journey, from a point close to

Ynys Llanddwyn Ynys Llanddwyn (also known as Llanddwyn Island) is a small tidal island off the west coast of Anglesey (Welsh language, Welsh: Ynys Môn), northwest Wales. The nearest settlement is the village of Newborough, Anglesey, Newborough. Geology and g ...

. The lifeboat capsized and 5 of the 13 man crew were lost, and, a little later, 4 men from the Timbo as well. The ship eventually became stranded at

Dinas Dinlle Dinas Dinlle is a small settlement in Gwynedd, north-west Wales which is also, historically, part of Caernarfonshire. Description Dinas Dinlle has a large sand and pebble beach with vast areas of sand from mid-tide level. The foreshore consist ...

, was eventually refloated with the use of tugs until she struck Carreg y Trai reef off Abersoch and was lost.

Notable people

* Sir Edward Atholl Oakeley, 7th Baronet of Shrewsbury (1900–1987), a British professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, known under the ring name ''Atholl Oakeley''.

References

External links

Rhoscolyn Community WebsiteYsgol Gynradd Santes Gwenfaen, Rhoscolyn SchoolPhotos of Rhoscolyn and surrounding area on geograph
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