Gwalchmai () is a village on
Anglesey
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 ...
in north
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 ...
, within the Trewalchmai
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 ...
.
The community's population in the
2011 census was 1009. The village is considered to be named after the 12th-century court poet
Gwalchmai ap Meilyr
Gwalchmai ap Meilyr ( fl. 1130 – 1180) was a Welsh-language court poet, connected with Trewalchmai in Anglesey. He was one of the earliest of the ''Gogynfeirdd'' ("less early poets") or ''Beirdd y Tywysogion'' ("Poets of the Princes"). He compos ...
, whose own name may be derived from that of the Welsh hero known as Gwalchmei ap Gwyar, who became the
Gawain
Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...
of later
Arthurian
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a Legend, legendary king of Great Britain, Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest tradition ...
legend.
Location
Gwalchmai is a village along the
A5 adjacent to the
A55, less than a mile from the Anglesey Show Ground and less than two miles from
RAF Mona
RAF Mona is a Royal Air Force station near Bodffordd on the island of Anglesey, Wales. It is primarily used as a relief landing ground for RAF Valley.
RAF Mona is also the home of Mona Flying Club who operate some evenings and most weekends.
H ...
.
Amenities and history
There are the remains of a windmill in the southern part of the village and a communications tower just north of the village. Llyn Hendref (''The Lake of Winter Dwelling'') is a small lake to the north-east. The village consists of two distinct parts, Gwalchmai Uchaf (Upper Gwalchmai) which is the south-east section and Gwalchmai Isaf (Lower Gwalchmai) which is the north-west section. On the village
clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...
are inscribed the names of the 29 people from the village who died in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the nine who died in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In 2015 the 90 year old memorial received a grant of £5,000 to be restored.
The local
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team,
C.P.D. Gwalchmai, won the 2009–2010
Gwynedd League
The Gwynedd Football League was a football league at the fifth level of the Welsh football league system in north-west Wales.
The league folded in 2020 due to a reorganisation of the Welsh football league pyramid, with many teams joining the No ...
championship and were promoted to the
Welsh Alliance League
The Welsh Alliance Football League (formerly the ''Lock Stock Welsh Alliance Football League'', for sponsorship reasons) was a football league formed in 1984, and discontinued in 2020 following the reorganisation of the Welsh football pyramid for ...
.
Gwalchmai facilities include a village shop, a pub called the Gwalchmai Hotel, a mechanic / car sales business, a doctors' surgery, a church, two chapels, and a community hall. The village primary school is called Ysgol y Ffridd. Features near the village include a recycling centre, a stone quarry, Anglesey Showground, Mona Business Park, and Mona Airfield..
According to the 2001 Census the community of Trewalchmai had 898 people and 367 dwellings. The area retains a strong Welsh character with 75% of the ward population being recorded as Welsh speakers in the 2001 Census.
The ward (which includes Gwalchmai and Bryngwran) is represented on Anglesey County Council by Councillor Bob Parry OBE, who leads the Plaid Cymru Group. Trewalchmai Community Council normally meets on a monthly basis to consider local issues.
The village hosted several matches of the
2019 Inter Games Football Tournament
The 2019 Inter Games Football Tournament was an association football tournament which was held between 15 and 22 June 2019 in Anglesey, Wales. It was organised due to the hosts of the 2019 Island Games, Gibraltar being unable to run a tournament ...
, a replacement football tournament for the popular
Island Games
The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent d ...
. The games were held in Gibraltar but due to lack of pitches there Anglesey was deemed to be a better host.
See also
*
St Morhaiarn's Church, Gwalchmai
References
External links
Gwalchmai on Multimap.comphotos of Gwalchmai and surrounding area on geograph
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Villages in Anglesey