Y Rhiw () is a small village on the south west tip of the

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn or , ) extends into the Irish Sea from North West Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the historic county of Caernarfonshire, and historic region and local authority area of Gwynedd. Mu ...

in Gwynedd in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. From the village there are fine views towards

Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the na ...

and nearby is the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

owned ''Plas yn Rhiw'',Aberdaron and District Tourist Link : ''Aberdaron''
Retrieved 2009-08-16 above which, on the slopes of ''Mynydd Rhiw'' is a late Stone Age burial chamber,Cyngor Gwynedd : ''Llŷn Coastal Path : Plas yn Rhiw to Llanbedrog''
Retrieved 2009-08-16 and

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

quarries. Nearby on ''Mynydd y Graig'' are three

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

s, several

hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...

s and terraced fields that are thought to date from the late

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

;Gwynedd Archaeological Trust : ''Rhiw and Penarfynydd''
Retrieved 2009-08-16 a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

cinerary urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

was uncovered in 1955. The village forms part of the

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, ...

of Aberdaron. Common land at ''Mynydd Rhiw'' and ''Mynydd y Graig'' was

enclosed Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

by Act of Parliament in 1811, and

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

and

oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...

were grown.

Manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

was discovered in 1827; donkeys carried the ore to ''Porth Cadlan'' and ''

Porth Neigwl Porth Neigwl, also known in English as "Hell's Mouth", is a broad bay, about 3 miles (5 km) wide, on the south coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales. The bay faces south-west and lies between the headlands of Mynydd Rhiw to the west an ...

'', and in the late 19th century houses were built for industrial workers. By 1914 an aerial ropeway had been constructed, passing over the growing village to a jetty on the shore at ''Porth Neigwl''. 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 ...

there was a great demand for

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

as a strengthening agent for steel, and the industry became a substantial employer in the village; over of ore were extracted during the lifetime of the mines, and in 1906 the industry employed 200 people.Rhiw : ''About''
Retrieved 2009-08-16 During

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 opposing ...

, coal miners, Cornish tin miners and a contingent of the

Royal Canadian Engineers The Canadian Military Engineers (CME; french: links=no, Génie militaire canadien) is the military engineering personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. The members of the branch that wear army uniform comprise the Corps of Royal Canadian Engi ...

were drafted in to work the mines.Mindat : ''Benallt Mine''
Retrieved 2009-08-16

Plas yn Rhiw

Plas yn Rhiw Plas yn Rhiw is an early 17th-century manor house in Y Rhiw, Gwynedd in northwestern Wales. The estate consists of a small house of Tudor/ Georgian style, a garden of just under one acre in size,Price, p. 3 and many wooded acres. Located at th ...

is a grade II* listed early 17th-century manor house, which contains a stone spiral staircase. The house is believed to be on or near the site of an earlier defended house, built by Meirion Goch in the 10th century to prevent incursions by

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...

into ''Porth Neigwl''.Rhiw : ''Plas yn Rhiw : The First Thousand Years''
Retrieved 2009-08-16 It was remodelled in 1820, when a third storey was built; a stair-wing added to the rear; and the front redesigned with a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

façade and 16 pane sash windows, above a ground floor verandah. The house was restored by the Keating sisters in 1939, with advice from

Clough Williams-Ellis Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, CBE, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales. He became a major figure in the development of Welsh architec ...

(who designed and built Portmeiron village), and is now owned by the ''

''. The garden lies below the house and is terraced into the slope, divided by hedges into several small compartments; there are views over ''Porth Neigwl'' and

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay ( cy, Bae Ceredigion) is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geo ...

, and in spring and summer there are displays of

snowdrops ''Galanthus'' (from Ancient Greek , (, "milk") + (, "flower")), or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leaves and a single ...

and bluebells. It is the only organic ''National Trust'' garden in Wales.

Other features

''St Aelrhiw's Church'' was built in 1860 on the footings of an earlier church. It consists of a small nave and short chancel, with aisles to the north and south, and has boulder built walls and a slate roof. The churchyard contains the graves of some of the many bodies that were washed up at ''Porth Neigwl'' during World War I. ''Capel Nebo'' was built in 1813 by the Congregationalists; the

Wesleyan Methodists The Wesleyan Church is a Methodist Christian denomination aligned with the holiness movement. Wesleyan Church may also refer to: * Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, the Australian branch of the Wesleyan Church Denominations * Allegheny We ...

followed in 1832Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru / Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales: Capel Pisgah
Retrieved 2014-11-14 at ''Capel Pisgah'';
Retrieved 2009-08-16 and the Calvinistic Methodists at ''Capel Tan y Foel''. ''Hen Felin'', an ancient mill, stood close to the shoreline at ''Porth Neigwl'', and was referred to in a Crown survey of 1352. A second mill stood above ''Plas yn Rhiw'', fed by the

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...

at ''Ffynnon Aelrhiw''. Aberdaron - Rhiw

''Bwlch y Garreg Wen'', built in 1731, is a typical agricultural worker's house of the period. It has one door, roughly in the centre of one long side, which is flanked by two small windows. The cottage has two bedrooms, one above the other, and a ladder would have been used to reach the upper room. This type of dwelling, known as a ''croglofft cottage'', was to be found throughout the Llŷn Peninsula. ''Tyn y Graig'' was built at the beginning of the 18th century, and is constructed of uncoursed boulders. It was originally thatched, but a slate roof was later substituted. It has two tall square capped chimneys, and contains a dairy with a loft above. ''Meillionydd Fawr'' dates from 1616, and is to the west of ''Mynydd Rhiw''. It is a three-storey building with boulder-built walls and a modern slate roof, which was much altered in the 19th century. ''Bryn Gwynt'' and ''Pen yr Ogof'' are examples of ''"Moonlight Cottages"''. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was common for young couples to squat on land; if they were able to build a cottage over night and have smoke coming from the chimney by dawn, they could keep both the house and surrounding land. Carduelis chloris 8 (Marek Szczepanek)

Birdlife is abundant around the village, with common blackbirds,

European robin The European robin (''Erithacus rubecula''), known simply as the robin or robin redbreast in Great Britain & Ireland, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that belongs to the chat subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family. About in len ...

dunnock The dunnock (''Prunella modularis'') is a small passerine, or perching bird, found throughout temperate Europe and into Asian Russia. Dunnocks have also been successfully introduced into New Zealand. It is by far the most widespread member of th ...

Eurasian wren The Eurasian wren (''Troglodytes troglodytes'') or northern wren is a very small insectivorous bird, and the only member of the wren family Troglodytidae found in Eurasia and Africa (Maghreb). In Anglophone Europe, it is commonly known simply a ...

s and both the

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

and mistle thrush.

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred ...

s nest in boggy patches and northern lapwings can be seen in the fields.

European greenfinch The European greenfinch or simply the greenfinch (''Chloris chloris'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. This bird is widespread throughout Europe, North Africa and Southwest Asia. It is mainly resident, but some north ...

es,

linnet The common linnet (''Linaria cannabina'') is a small passerine bird of the finch family, Fringillidae. It derives its common name and the scientific name, ''Linaria'', from its fondness for hemp seeds and flax seeds—flax being the English n ...

common whitethroat The common whitethroat or greater whitethroat (''Curruca communis'') is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winte ...

common chaffinch The common chaffinch or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued in ...

es and willow warblers all nest in the gorse bushes that flank the sheep pastures, along with

European stonechat The European stonechat (''Saxicola rubicola'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relat ...

and the

whinchat The whinchat (''Saxicola rubetra'') is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in central Africa. At one time considered to be in the thrush family, Turdidae, it is now placed in the Old World flycat ...

Barn swallow The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. ...

s, house martins and

common swift The common swift (''Apus apus'') is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between t ...

s nest in the farm buildings, alongside house sparrows and

white wagtail The white wagtail (''Motacilla alba'') is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws. The species breeds in much of Europe and the Asian Palearctic and parts of North Africa. It has a toehold in ...

s, while the woodlands are the haunt of the

Eurasian nuthatch The Eurasian nuthatch or wood nuthatch (''Sitta europaea'') is a small passerine bird found throughout the Palearctic and in Europe. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-gray upperparts and a black eye-strip ...

, common treecreeper, great spotted woodpecker and

European green woodpecker The European green woodpecker (''Picus viridis'') is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the ...

common wood pigeon The common wood pigeon or common woodpigeon (''Columba palumbus''), also known as simply wood pigeon, wood-pigeon or woodpigeon, is a large species in the dove and pigeon family (Columbidae), native to the western Palearctic. It belongs to the g ...

s, stock doves and

Eurasian collared dove The Eurasian collared dove (''Streptopelia decaocto'') is a dove species native to Europe and Asia; it was introduced to Japan, North America and islands in the Caribbean. Because of its vast global range and increasing population trend, it ha ...

s also breed in the woods, along with the

Eurasian woodcock The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes ...

. The

long-tailed tit The long-tailed tit (''Aegithalos caudatus''), also named long-tailed bushtit, is a common bird found throughout Europe and the Palearctic. The genus name ''Aegithalos'' was a term used by Aristotle for some European tits, including the long-tail ...

nests in dense thickets of

blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...

and gorse, while the

reed bunting The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a ...

common moorhen The common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail (bird), rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World. The common moorhen lives around well-v ...

and

common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution limit extends from Iceland ov ...

raise their young in the marshes. Three species of

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

nest around the village, and the Eurasian sparrowhawk,

common kestrel The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where n ...

, merlin and common buzzard can all be seen hunting. On the coastal cliffs, peregrine falcons and

red-billed chough The red-billed chough, Cornish chough or simply chough ( ; ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), is a bird in the crow family, one of only two species in the genus '' Pyrrhocorax''. Its eight subspecies breed on mountains and coastal cliffs from the w ...

are found, with rock pipits inhabiting the rocks above the tide line.

Great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...

s and

European shag The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mai ...

common guillemot The common murre or common guillemot (''Uria aalge'') is a large auk. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to ...

razorbill The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis im ...

s and

European herring gull The European herring gull (''Larus argentatus'') is a large gull, up to long. One of the best-known of all gulls along the shores of Western Europe, it was once abundant. It breeds across Northern Europe, Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern ...

s all nest on these cliffs, as does the

northern fulmar The northern fulmar (''Fulmarus glacialis''), fulmar, or Arctic fulmar is a highly abundant seabird found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. There has been one confirmed sighting in the Southern Hem ...

.Rhiw : ''Birds Found in Rhiw''
Retrieved 2009-08-16

References

{{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Aberdaron