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Penmon is a
promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...
, village and ecclesiastical parish on the eastern tip of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, about east of the town of Beaumaris. It is in the community of Llangoed. The
name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...
comes from cy, pen (which can mean "head", "end" or "promontory")  and ''
Môn Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island, ...
'', which is the Welsh word for Anglesey. It is the site of a historic monastery and associated 12th-century church. Walls near the well next to the church may be part of the oldest remaining Christian building in Wales. Penmon also has an award-winning beach and the
Anglesey Coastal Path The Anglesey Coastal Path (formally the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path) is a long-distance footpath around the island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn) in North Wales. The route is part of the Wales Coast Path. Description The path mainly follows the c ...
follows its shores. Quarries in Penmon have provided stone for many important buildings and structures, including
Birmingham Town Hall Birmingham Town Hall is a concert hall and venue for popular assemblies opened in 1834 and situated in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The hall underwent a major renovation between 2002 and 2007. It no ...
and the two bridges that cross 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 area is popular with locals and visitors alike for its monuments, tranquillity, bracing air and fine views of Snowdonia to the south across 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 ...
.


History

According to tradition, the community at Penmon grew up around a monastery () established in the early 6th century by
Saint Seiriol Seiriol was an early 6th-century saint, who created a cell at Penmon Priory on Anglesey, off the coast of north Wales. He later moved to Ynys Seiriol ( Puffin Island). Narrative Seiriol was a son of King Owain Danwyn of Rhos, and younger br ...
History of Penmon, Anglesey
anglesey-history.co.uk
on land provided by his brother Saint Einion, king of Llyn. Although Seiriol eventually removed himself to a hermitage on nearby Puffin Island, the monastery prospered and two
crosses Crosses may refer to: * Cross, the symbol Geography * Crosses, Cher, a French municipality * Crosses, Arkansas, a small community located in the Ozarks of north west Arkansas Language * Crosses, a truce term used in East Anglia and Lincolnshire ...
were set up at its gate.Penmon Priory
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In 971, Vikings destroyed much of Penmon. The two crosses and the decorated
font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...
remain from this time.Penmon Priory and Dovecot
During the 12th century, the abbey church was rebuilt under Gruffudd ap Cynan and Owain Gwynedd. In the 13th century, under Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, monasteries started a newer more regular kind of rule, and Penmon became an
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...
priory with conventional buildings. The priory expanded. After surviving the
conquest of Wales The conquest of Wales by Edward I took place between 1277 and 1283. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian Conquest of Wales,Examples of historians using the term include Professor J. E. Lloyd, regarded as the founder of the modern academi ...
by
King Edward King Edward may refer to: Monarchs of England and the United Kingdom * Edward the Elder (–924) * Edward the Martyr (–978) * Edward the Confessor (–1066) * Edward I of England (1239–1307) * Edward II of England (1284–1327) * Edward III o ...
, it was eventually dissolved in 1538. The buildings were transferred to the ownership of the Bulkeleys of Beaumaris, a prominent local family, and are still in use today. The Bulkeleys also used most of the land for a deer park, and built the dovecot near the church.


Climate

The average temperature and rainfall figures taken between 1971 and 2000 at the
Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...
weather station in Colwyn Bay, around 10 miles east of Penmon (and also by the sea) are set out in the table below. When compared to the corresponding figures for Wales as a whole, the area can be seen to be both warmer and drier than the average location in Wales throughout the whole year.Met Office average weather statistics for Wales 1971 to 2000


Demographics

The author of ''A History of Anglesey'', written in 1775, said of Penmon that there were "plenty of oysters, remarkable large, the poor find constant employ in the dredge, and in pickling the fish for foreign consumption."Ramage, Helen "Portraits of an Island: Eighteenth Century Anglesey", page 104, Anglesey Antiquarian Society, 2001 (2nd edition) The population in 1801 was 169. The 1831 census recorded that there were 51 adult males (over 20 years old) and that the majority of residents were labourers or servants, with over half the male adult workers being employed in agriculture. After reaching a high of 291 in 1821, the population declined to a low of 213 in 1871. The population rose thereafter so that it was 300 in 1931. The ''
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...
'' of 1870-2 noted that
millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...
, good limestone and marble were found in the area. It also recorded that the population was 240 and that there were 53 houses, with the property being "divided among a few". In fact, the number of houses in Penmon did not exceed 60 throughout the 19th century, first reaching 60 in 1901. At the time of the 2001 census, Llangoed ward (which includes the parish of Penmon) had a population of 1,275. About 60% of residents in the area had been born in Wales, with about 36% having been born in England. About 63% of residents were able to use the Welsh language to some degree.National Statistics information about Llangoed ward, which includes Penmon, from the 2001 census
/ref> 99.76% of residents identified as White, and 0.24% as Black or Black British. Compared to Anglesey as a whole, Llangoed ward had a lower proportion of residents aged 0–4 years (4.78% compared to 5.4%) and a higher proportion of residents aged 65 or over (25.02% compared to 18.86%). The general health of the population of Llangoed ward was poorer than that of Anglesey generally: 12.47% said that their health was "not good" (Anglesey: 10.53%) and 25.73% reported a "limiting long-term illness" (Anglesey:22.38%).


Places of interest

Penmon has some interesting buildings with histories to match. These buildings (the Priory and church, the dovecot and the well) are close together on the site of the old monastery. There is also an island of note nearby, Puffin Island.


Penmon Priory

The monastery (called St Seiriol's monastery) grew in size and had a wooden church building by the 10th century. This wooden building was, however, destroyed in 971 and then rebuilt in the 12th century in stone, from 1120 to 1123. The oldest parts of the
Priory Church of St Seiriol Penmon is a promontory, village and ecclesiastical parish on the eastern tip of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, about east of the town of Beaumaris. It is in the community of Llangoed. The name comes from cy, pen (which can mean "head", "end" ...
date to 1140. It survived the initial Norman invasion of Gwynedd between 1081 and 1100, defended by Prince Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd. The priory church was enlarged in the early 13th century, at the time of the Augustinian Rule. There are records for the election of Priors in the ''Calendar of Patent Rolls'' back to 1306, when one Iowerth the Prior is mentioned.Fairlamb, Rev. Neil (Rector of Beaumaris): "The Clergy of the Beaumaris Parishes" page 16. Unpublished pamphlet (available at the Church), 2007 The dining hall was on the first floor, with a cellar below and dormitory above. In the 16th century, a kitchen and a warming house were added at the east of the building. The eastern range of buildings has gone, but the southern one, containing the refectory with a dormitory above, still stands.
Llywelyn Fawr Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually "List of rulers of Wales, Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wal ...
and his successors made the church wealthy, giving it land. This was taken away at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 but the church survived. The priory was in decline before 1536 in any event, and had only the Prior and two other members at that time. St Seiriol's Church, which was the centrepiece of the monastery, is now part of the Rectorial benefice of Beaumaris, within the Diocese of Bangor. The church was given a grant by the Welsh Assembly Government of £20,570 in May 2004. This was to repair the leadwork, the rainwater goods, repointing and limewashing of the tower roof and the
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
of the building. Another building in Penmon, the Priory House (which is set around the cloister court of the church), received £21,600. This was to repair the chimneys, the walls, the windows and the roof of the house.


Penmon crosses

The two medieval crosses that once stood in front of the monastery (from the 10th century) are still in existence today, but are now inside the church. One cross is larger but badly weathered (because it stood outside until 1977, in a deer park). It is almost complete except for about 30 centimetres between the top of the shaft and the head. The other cross is smaller, not as weathered but has an arm of the cross cut off because it was used as a lintel for the refectory windows. It has a modern stone base unlike the other cross.


St Seiriol's Well

As was often the case with Celtic churches from this period, the church was associated with a well. It was built by the monks of Penmon and was believed to have healing powers by some people visiting it.Saint Seiriol's Well
ukattraction.com
It is probably one of the oldest buildings in Penmon. It has been said that the lower stone walls near the well were part of Seiriol's church in the 6th century; if so, this would make it the oldest remaining Christian building in Wales.
Williams, John Lasarus John Lasarus Williams (29 October 1924 – 15 June 2004), known as John L, was a Welsh nationalist activist. Williams was born in Llangoed on Anglesey, but lived most of his life in nearby Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. In his youth, he was a keen footba ...
. ''The Land of the Long Long Name''. Llyfrau Lleiniong, 1999.
A small chamber surrounds the well.St. Seiriol's Well
Cadw website page
In modern times, water from the well has been used as a symbol of Anglesey by the island's representatives at the launch ceremony of the 10th International Island Games (held in
Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
in June 2003) and the
11th Island Games The 2005 Island Games were the 11th Island Games, and were held in Shetland, Scotland, from July 9 to July 15, 2005. Medal table Sports The sports chosen for the games were: External links Island Games 2005 Island Games Island Island ...
(held in the
Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...
in July 2005).


Dovecot

The dovecot (also spelt dovecote) standing near the church was probably built in about 1600, in
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
times, by Sir Richard Bulkeley for housing pigeons for their eggs and meat. It has a large domed roof with a cupola on top so birds could fly in and out. Inside the dovecot were 1,000 nesting boxes, with a pillar in the centre supporting a revolving ladder to provide access to the nesting boxes. The central pillar remains, but the ladder is now gone.Penmon Priory and Dovecot.


Puffin Island

St Seiriol established a cell and a community on Puffin Island (in Welsh, ''Ynys Seiriol'' or ''Seiriol's Island'') half a mile from the coast at the same time as he founded the monastery. There is a tower of a 12th-century church on Puffin Island still. There is a tradition that St Seiriol and perhaps
Maelgwn Gwynedd Maelgwn Gwynedd ( la, Maglocunus; died c. 547Based on Phillimore's (1888) reconstruction of the dating of the ''Annales Cambriae'' (A Text).) was king of Gwynedd during the early 6th century. Surviving records suggest he held a pre-eminent position ...
(king of
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 the first half of the 6th century) were buried there. The island once had large numbers of puffins and guillemots. However, rats reduced the bird population to 40 in the 1890s. In 1748,
Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continen ...
made a hydrographic survey of the coast of Wales and suggested that the tower of the ruined church on the island be converted into a lighthouse.Morris, Lewis "Plans of Harbours, Bars, Bays and Roads in St George's Channel" 1748; cited in Ramage, Helen "Portraits of an Island: Eighteenth Century Anglesey", page 4, Anglesey Antiquarian Society, 2001 (2nd edition) However, this suggestion was not implemented. On 17 August 1831, '' The Rothesay Castle'', a wooden-hulled paddle steamer on a day trip from Liverpool, sank in very heavy seas. Of more than 140 on board, only 23 people survived. Afterwards, the Trwyn Du Lighthouse and a lifeboat station were built to try to prevent similar tragedies. The lifeboat station was closed in 1915 as it had been superseded by a lifeboat at Beaumaris. In its years of operation, the Penmon lifeboats saved at least 143 lives.


Beach

The beach at Penmon has been awarded a 2006
Seaside Award Keep Wales Tidy is a Welsh national voluntary environmental charity which works towards achieving "a clean, safe and tidy Wales". It works in partnership with Local Authorities, schools and community groups, and organisations such as Waste Awaren ...
by the "Keep Wales Tidy" group. To be awarded the yellow and blue flag, beaches have to meet mandatory standard water quality and must be clean, safe and well-managed. Penmon is classified for these purposes as being a "rural" beach and as a result the standards for a Seaside Award differ from those applied for "resort" beaches, which are expected to have a wider selection of facilities such as toilets and car parks. The beach has been awarded the flag from 2003 onwards.Seaside Award 2005


Popular culture

Penmon was featured in film when it was used (along with Snowdonia) as the setting for ''The Fever'', a 2004 film starring Vanessa Redgrave and Angelina Jolie.Filming locations for ''The Fever''
/ref> The region was used, at the choice of a London-based production company, to represent an Eastern Europe country. Jolie had filmed in North Wales in 2002 for '' Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life'' and had apparently been "enchanted" by the scenery. The scenes involving Jolie and Redgrave were shot in February 2003. Filming took place at the Priory and the dovecot was used to depict a deserted church. Extras from Gwynedd and Anglesey were also used in filming. Penmon Priory has also been used for the BBC programme ''
Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...
'', featuring Aled Jones (who comes from
Llandegfan Llandegfan (; ; meaning ''The Church of St Tegfan'') is a village on the east of island of Anglesey in Wales. It is part of the community of Cwm Cadnant.Davies (2008) p.180 Population is around 1,580. History and description The original villag ...
, a village about seven miles from Penmon) and also for filming the 1960s television show '' Danger Man'', starring
Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...
. In November 2020, Penmon hosted filming for the 20th series of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. The opening episode of the series showed celebrities such as Mo Farah, Jordan North and
Shane Ritchie Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is a British actor, comedian, television presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the charac ...
abseiling down the cliff face.


Notable residents

* Akira The Don, independent Pop and Hip-Hop musician, lived in the village for some time in his youth and blames the "bleak and depressing" nature of the landscape for making him "a moodly little bugger". icref>


Geology

There are many geological features in Penmon, including fossils of brachiopods, a tunnel under a cliff and the cliff itself. The cliff is made up of limestone and
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
, in alternating layers. It has been moved many times due to faults fracturing and moving the beds of rock, and there are distinct lines where the beds have been moved. The cliff is approximately eight metres high; however, the distribution of limestone and shale is different near the top and bottom of the cliff. There is a gradual change of shale to limestone; near the bottom there is a lot more shale per metre of rock and nearer the top there is a lot more limestone. The cliff has been struck by several faults, causing it to look unstable; rocks fall from it from time to time. Penmon is close to the sea, thus making it prone to erosion. Quite a lot of the cliff has been eroded away, thus causing an arch to form under the cliff. The shale has eroded away faster than the limestone beds, and as such, has caused thinner beds of limestone between to collapse. This is the reason the arch is only a few metres high and does not extend further, where there are less shale beds. Faults passing through the cliff have displaced the beds, one such fault almost 23 cm, causing a ledge halfway through the tunnel. The grey-brown veined limestone quarried in the area is known as "Penmon marble". Brachiopod fossils are sometimes found in it. The largest of the Penmon quarries, Dinmor Park, was worked for limestone by Dinmor Quarries Ltd from about 1898 until the 1970s. Penmon limestone (along with limestone from
Llanddona Llanddona (; ); ) is a village and community noted for its sandy beach in the Welsh county of Anglesey. Located between Benllech and Beaumaris, it is popular as a holiday destination, particularly for families. Llanddona has no shops; however, ...
, Moelfre and
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 ...
) was used to build
Birmingham Town Hall Birmingham Town Hall is a concert hall and venue for popular assemblies opened in 1834 and situated in Victoria Square, Birmingham, England. It is a Grade I listed building. The hall underwent a major renovation between 2002 and 2007. It no ...
and help with the reconstruction of Liverpool and Manchester following the destruction caused by World War II. The stone was also used in the construction of the
Menai Suspension Bridge The Menai Suspension Bridge ( cy, Pont y Borth, Pont Grog y Borth) is a suspension bridge spanning the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the world's f ...
(completed in 1826) and the Britannia Bridge (completed in 1850).Hughes, Margaret: "Anglesey from the Sea" page 106. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2001.


References


External links


An 1853 plan of the churchphotos of Penmon and surrounding area on geographBibliographical sources, history and images of the prioryFamily and Local history website of Penmon and surrounding area
{{authority control Llangoed Coast of Anglesey Villages in Anglesey Headlands of Anglesey Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation