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Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former
county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the
Menai Strait The Menai Strait ( cy, Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. It varies in width from from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to from ...
, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from the coast of North Wales. At the 2011 census, its population was 1,938. The community includes Llanfaes.


History

Beaumaris was originally a Viking settlement known as ("Port of the Vikings"), but the town itself began its development in 1295 when Edward I of England, having conquered Wales, commissioned the building of Beaumaris Castle as part of a chain of fortifications around the North Wales coast (others include Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech). The castle was built on a marsh and that is where it found its name; the Norman-French builders called it , which translates as "fair marsh". The ancient village of Llanfaes, a mile to the north of Beaumaris, had been occupied by Anglo-Saxons in 818 but had been regained by
Merfyn Frych Merfyn Frych ('Merfyn the Freckled'; Old Welsh ''Mermin''), also known as Merfyn ap Gwriad ('Merfyn son of Gwriad') and Merfyn Camwri ('Merfyn the Oppressor'), was King of Gwynedd from around 825 to 844, the first of its kings known not to have de ...
, King of Gwynedd, and remained a vital strategic settlement. To counter further Welsh uprisings, and to ensure control of the Menai Strait, Edward I chose the flat coastal plain as the place to build Beaumaris Castle. The castle was designed by the
Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...
ard mason Master
James of Saint George Master James of Saint George (–1309; French: , Old French: Mestre Jaks, Latin: Magister Jacobus de Sancto Georgio) was a master of works/architect from Savoy, described by historian Marc Morris as "one of the greatest architects of the European ...
and is considered the most perfect example of a
concentric castle A concentric castle is a castle with two or more concentric curtain walls, such that the outer wall is lower than the inner and can be defended from it. The layout was square (at Belvoir and Beaumaris) where the terrain permitted, or an irregu ...
. The 'troublesome' residents of Llanfaes were removed ''en bloc'' to Rhosyr in the west of Anglesey, a new settlement King Edward entitled "Newborough". Beaumaris was awarded a royal charter by Edward I, which was drawn up on similar terms to the charters of his other castle towns in North Wales and intended to invest only the English and Norman-French residents with civic rights. Native Welsh residents of Beaumaris were largely disqualified from holding any civic office, carrying any weapon, and holding assemblies; and were not allowed to buy houses or land within the borough. The charter also specifically prohibited Jews (who had been largely expelled from most English towns) from living in Beaumaris. From 1562 until the
Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...
, Beaumaris was a Rotten Borough with the member of parliament elected by the Corporation of the town which was in the control of the Bulkeley family. Beaumaris was the port of registration for all vessels in North West Wales, covering every harbour on Anglesey and all the ports from Conwy to
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 language, Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the pl ...
. Shipbuilding was a major industry in Beaumaris. This was centred on Gallows Point – a nearby spit of land extending into the Menai Strait about a mile west of the town. Gallows Point had originally been called "Osmund's Eyre" but was renamed when the town gallows was erected there – along with a "Dead House" for the corpses of criminals dispatched in
public executions In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
. Later, hangings were carried out at the town gaol and the bodies buried in a lime-pit within the curtilage of the gaol. One of the last prisoners to hang at Beaumaris issued a curse before he died – decreeing that if he was innocent the four faces of the church clock would never show the same time. According to historian Hywel Teifi Edwards, when the "Provincial Eisteddfod" was held at Beaumaris in
1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white plan ...
, a young Princess Victoria and her mother were in attendance. Beaumaris has never had a railway station built to the town, although the nearby village of
Pentraeth Pentraeth (; ) is a village and community on the island of Anglesey (''Ynys Môn''), North Wales, at . The Royal Mail postcode begins LL75. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 1,178. The village itself having a population of ...
had a
station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
on the former
Red Wharf Bay branch line The Red Wharf Bay branch line was a standard gauge railway line in Anglesey, Wales, a branch off the Anglesey Central Railway. It opened fully in 1909, but closed to passengers in September 1930.Richards, Melville: An Atlas of Anglesey, page 99 ...
which ran off the Anglesey Central Railway. It was roughly six miles west of the town by road. This station closed in 1930.


Architecture

Notable buildings in the town include the castle, a
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
built in 1614, the 14th-century St Mary's and St Nicholas's Church,
Beaumaris Gaol Beaumaris Gaol ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a disused gaol located in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales. Although no longer in use it remains largely unaltered and is now a museum open to visitors, with around 30,000 visiting each year. History The jail was ...
, the 14th-century Tudor Rose (one of the oldest original timber-framed buildings in Britain) and the Bulls Head Inn, built in 1472, which General Thomas Mytton made his headquarters during the "Siege of Beaumaris" during the second English Civil War in 1648. A native of Anglesey, David Hughes, founded
Beaumaris Grammar School Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from ...
in 1603. It became a non-selective school in 1952 when Anglesey County Council became the first authority in Britain to adopt comprehensive secondary education. The school was eventually moved to Menai Bridge and only the ancient hall of the original school building now remains.
Beaumaris Town Hall Beaumaris Town Hall ( cy, Neuadd y Dref Biwmares) is a municipal building on Castle Street, in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales. The structure, which is the meeting place of Beaumaris Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first m ...
was completed in 1785.
Beaumaris Pier Beaumaris Pier is a pier in Beaumaris, Anglesey, North Wales. Construction Designed by Frederick Foster, it had a concrete and stone neck, wooden piles supporting iron girders, and a wooden deck. After opening in 1846, it was rebuilt in 1872 ...
, opened in 1846, was designed by Frederick Foster and is a masonry jetty on wooden and concrete pilings. The pier was rebuilt and extended to after storm damage in 1872, and a large pavilion containing a cafe was built at the end. It was once the landing stage for
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
s of the Liverpool and North Wales Shipping Company, including the ''Snowdon'', ''La Marguerite'', ''St. Elvies'' and ''St. Trillo'', although the larger vessels in its fleet – the ''St. Seriol'' and ''St. Tudno'' – were too large for the pier and landed their passengers at Menai Bridge. In the 1960s, through lack of maintenance, the pier became unsafe and was threatened with demolition, but local yachtswoman and lifeboat secretary Miss Mary Burton made a large private donation to ensure the pier was saved for the town. A further reconstruction was carried out between 2010 and 2012. The Saunders Roe company set up a factory at Fryars (the site of the old Franciscan friary to the east) when it was feared that the company's main base on the Isle of Wight would be a target for World War II Luftwaffe bombers. The factory converted American-built PBY Catalina
flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
s. After the war, the company focused on their ship building produced at the site with fast patrol boats, minesweepers and an experimental Austin Float Plane. They also produced buses for London Transport (RT Double deckers) and single deck buses for Cuba.


Lifeboat

The first recorded rescue of people in difficulty at sea was in 1830 when 375 people were rescued from a foundered emigrant ship. A lifeboat station was established in 1891 and closed four years later when a neighbouring station was provided with a more powerful lifeboat. The station was reopened in 1914 and is operated by the
RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
.


Education

Beaumaris is served by one primary school. Its 300-year-old grammar school moved to nearby Menai Bridge in 1963 and became the comprehensive Ysgol David Hughes.


Events

The Beaumaris Food Festival is an annual food festival that has been held since 2013 in the town and castle grounds.


Notable residents

*
Sir Richard Bulkeley ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...
(1533–1621), politician and courtier of Elizabeth I, ''ex officio'' mayor (1561–1562) and mayor (1562–1563). * Catherine Davies (1773 – after 1841), governess to the children of the King and Queen of Naples and autobiographer. * Hugh Davies (1739–1821) botanist and Anglican clergyman, became rector of Llandegfan with Beaumaris in 1778. * Charles Allen Duval (1810–1872), portrait painter, photographer, illustrator and writer. *
Wayne Hennessey Wayne Robert Hennessey (born 24 January 1987) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and the Wales national team. Hennessey's first professional games saw him set a new Football ...
(born 1987),
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 ...
international footballer, approaching 300 club caps and 106 for Wales. * Hendrik Lek (1903–1985) painter and antique dealer, born in Antwerp, Belgium; lived in retirement in Anglesey. *
Richard Llwyd Richard Llwyd, also known as The Bard of Snowdon (1752 – 29 December 1835), was a Welsh author, poet and expert on Welsh heraldry and genealogy. His most notable work is the poem ''Beaumaris Bay'', which was published in 1800. Life history Llw ...
(1752–1835), author, poet and genealogist. * Reginald Wynn Owen (1876–1950) architect, worked for the
London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...
. *
Neil Sloane __NOTOC__ Neil James Alexander Sloane (born October 10, 1939) is a British-American mathematician. His major contributions are in the fields of combinatorics, error-correcting codes, and sphere packing. Sloane is best known for being the creator ...
(born 1939), mathematician noted for compiling integer sequences.


Namesakes

* Beaumaris, the suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and the small seaside town of Beaumaris in Tasmania, were both named after the town. * Beaumaris, the neighbourhood in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, was named after the castle, as was the village of Beaumaris in
Muskoka, Ontario The District Municipality of Muskoka, more generally referred to as the District of Muskoka or Muskoka, is a regional municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Muskoka extends from Georgian Bay in the west, to the northern tip of Lake Couchiching ...
.


See also

* Beaumaris town walls


References


External links

*
Beaumaris official website
{{authority control Beaumaris Former county towns in Wales Towns in Anglesey