Conwy#Abbey

{{About|the town|the principal area|Conwy County Borough|other uses}}

{{Infobox UK place

| country = Wales

| static_image_name = Conwy Castle, water view1.jpg

| static_image_caption = Conwy Castle and the three bridges over the River Conwy

| welsh_name =

| constituency_welsh_assembly = Aberconwy

| official_name = Conwy

| population = 14,723

| population_ref = (2011)

| coordinates = {{coord|53.28|-3.83|display=inline,title}}

| unitary_wales = Conwy

| community_wales = Conwy

| lieutenancy_wales = Clwyd

| constituency_westminster = Bangor Aberconwy

| post_town = CONWY

| postcode_district = LL31, LL32

| postcode_area = LL

| dial_code = 01492

| os_grid_reference = SH775775

| module= 240px
Map of the community

}}

Conwy ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɒ|n|w|i}}, {{IPA|cy|ˈkɔnʊɨ|lang|LL-Q9309 (cym)-Jason.nlw-Conwy.wav}}), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on the east bank. The town formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. The community, which also includes Deganwy and Llandudno Junction, had a population of 14,753 at the 2011 census.{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122285&c=LL32+8BZ&d=16&e=62&g=6489349&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=0&s=1432214504702&enc=1|title=Town population 2011|access-date=21 May 2015|archive-date=13 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413214755/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122285&c=LL32%208BZ&d=16&e=62&g=6489349&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=0&s=1432214504702&enc=1|url-status=dead}}

Postal addresses do not follow the community boundaries. On the east bank of the river, Deganwy forms part of the Conwy post town, but Llandudno Junction is a separate post town. The ward on the west bank of the river had a population of 4,065 at the 2011 census.{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/conwy-w05000119#sthash.QOX59C63.dpbs|title=Ward population 2011|access-date=21 May 2015}}

The resident population of the wider Conwy County Borough was estimated to be 116,200 in an ONS-estimate.{{Cite web |url=http://www.conwy.gov.uk/section.asp?cat=1863 |title=Population - Conwy County Borough Council |access-date=3 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104020255/http://www.conwy.gov.uk/section.asp?cat=1863 |archive-date=4 November 2016 |url-status=dead }}

The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh words cyn (chief) and gwy (water), the river being originally called the 'Cynwy'.Llandudno: its history and natural history, 1861, Richard ParryA guide through North Wales, 1860, William Cathrall & Andrew Crombie RamsayTransactions, 1822, Cymmrodorion societyThe pedestrian's guide through North Wales, 1838, George John Bennett

History

File:(Castle and suspension bridge, Conway (i.e. Conwy), Wales) (LOC) (3752435594).jpg

=Castle and town walls=

File:Conwy walled town.jpg.|alt=]]

Conwy Castle and the town walls were built, on the instructions of Edward I of England, between 1283 and 1289, as part of his conquest of the principality of Wales.{{cite web|title=Conwy Castle Facts and Information|url=http://historykids.net/history/conwy-castle-facts-and-information/|website=History for Kids}} The church standing in Conwy has been marked as the oldest building in Conwy and has stood in the walls of Conwy since the 14th century. However, the oldest structure is part of the town walls, at the southern end of the east side. Here one wall and the tower of a llys (palace/court house) belonging to Llywelyn the Great and his grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffydd have been incorporated into the wall. Built on a rocky outcrop, it has a prominent apsidal tower.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T06uBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20|title=The Medieval Castles of Wales|first=John|last= Kenyon|year=2010|page=20|publisher=University of Wales Press|isbn=978-0708323632}}

The walls are part of a World Heritage Site, Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd.{{cite web | url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/374| title=Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd| access-date=15 November 2012 | publisher= UNESCO}}

People born within the town walls of Conwy are nicknamed "Jackdaws", after the jackdaws which live on the walls there. A Jackdaw Society existed until 2011.{{cite web |title=Joining the Jackdaws |date=September 2009 |work=BBC Northwest Wales |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/sites/conwy/pages/jackdaws.shtml |access-date=4 April 2012}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-wales-north-west-wales-12714684|title=Jackdaw Society for those Born within Conwy Walls Folds|last=Evans|first=Kath|date=11 March 2011|work=BBC Northwest Wales|access-date=4 April 2012}}

The population of the town in 1841 was 1,358.The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol.III, (1847) London, Charles Knight, p.1,018

=Abbey=

Conwy was the original site of Aberconwy Abbey, founded by Llywelyn the Great. Edward and his troops took over the abbey site and moved the monks up the Conwy valley to a new site at Maenan, establishing Maenan Abbey.{{cite web|title=Aberconwy Abbey|url=http://www.snowdoniaheritage.info/en/location/146/aberconwy-abbey/|website=Ein Treftadaeth (Our Heritage)|access-date=27 January 2017}} The parish church St Mary & All Saints still retains some parts of the original abbey church in the east and west walls.{{Cite web|title=St Mary and All Saints, Conwy|url=https://churchheritagecymru.org.uk/church-heritage-record-st-mary-and-all-saints-conwy-2059#Building|access-date=2021-08-27|website=churchheritagecymru.org.uk|language=en-GB}}

=Suspension bridge=

Conwy has other tourist attractions. Conwy Suspension Bridge, designed by Thomas Telford to replace the ferry, was completed in 1826 and spans the River Conwy next to the castle.{{cite web|title=Conwy Suspension Bridge|url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=60|website=Engineering Timelines|access-date=27 January 2017}} Telford designed the bridge's supporting towers to match the castle's turrets. The bridge is now open to pedestrians only and, together with the toll-keeper's house, is in the care of the National Trust.{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/conwy-suspension-bridge |title=Conwy Suspension Bridge information |publisher=The National Trust|access-date=27 November 2022}}

=Railway bridge=

The Conwy Railway Bridge, a tubular bridge, was built for the Chester and Holyhead Railway by Robert Stephenson. The first tube was completed in 1848, the second in 1849.{{cite web|title=Conwy Tubular Bridge|url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=383|website=Engineering Timelines|access-date=27 January 2017}} The bridge is still in use on the North Wales Coast Line, along with the station, which is located within the town walls. In addition to a modern bridge serving the town, the A55 road passes under the river in a tunnel, Britain's first immersed tube tunnel, which was built between 1986 and 1991.{{cite web|title=Conwy Immersed Tube Tunnel|url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=381|website=Engineering Timelines|access-date=28 January 2017}} The old mountain road to Dwygyfylchi and Penmaenmawr runs through the Sychnant Pass, at the foot of Conwy Mountain.{{cite web|url=http://www.greatorme.org.uk/sychnant.html|title=The Sychnant Pass|publisher=Great Orme|access-date=27 November 2022}}

=Aberconwy House=

The National Trust owns Aberconwy House, which is Conwy's only surviving 14th-century merchant's house, one of the first buildings built inside the walls of Conwy.{{cite web|title=Aberconwy House|url=http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/place/aberconwy-house|website=National Trust Collections|access-date=28 January 2017|archive-date=18 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218042627/https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/place/aberconwy-house|url-status=dead}}

= Plas Mawr =

File:Plas Mawr (original).jpg

Plas Mawr is an Elizabethan house built in 1576 by the Wynn family, which has been extensively refurbished to its 16th-century appearance and is now in the care of Cadw and open to the public.{{Cite web|url=http://www.conwy.com/place/plas-mawr/|title=Plas Mawr - Elizabethan Mansion House Conwy|website=www.conwy.com}}

=Smallest house in Great Britain=

File:The Smallest House in Great Britain.jpg

The house named in the Guinness Book of Records as the Smallest House in Great Britain, with dimensions of 3.05 × 1.8 metres, can be found on the quay. It was in continuous occupation from the 16th century (and was even inhabited by a family at one point) until 1900 when the owner (a {{convert|6|ft|adj=on}} fisherman – Robert Jones) was forced to move out on the grounds of hygiene. The rooms were too small for him to stand up in fully. The house is still owned by his descendants today, and visitors can look around it for a small charge.{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/history-smallest-house-great-britain-12191046|title=History of the smallest house in Great Britain|last=Jones|first=Mari|date=2016-11-18|work=northwales|access-date=2017-05-26}}

= Vardre Hall =

Vardre Hall is a 19th-century Grade II listed building directly opposite to Conwy Castle. It was erected by Conservative Buckinghamshire MP William Edward FitzMaurice in the mid 1850s. In 1869 the building was sold to solicitor William Jones. The building was used as a solicitor's office until 1972, when it was bought out and became The Towers Restaurant.{{Cite web|url=http://historypoints.org/index.php?page=footnotes-vardre-hall-conwy|title=History Points – Footnotes Vardre Hall, Conwy|website=historypoints.org|access-date=1 October 2018}} After lying empty for a number of years Vardre Hall changed hands again, and in 1999 was refurbished as a shop.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theknightshop.com/about-us/|title=About Us – The Knight Shop {{!}} The Knight Shop|website=www.theknightshop.com|access-date=1 October 2018}}

=Medieval watchtower=

Across the estuary is Bodysgallen Hall, which incorporates a medieval tower that was possibly built as a watch tower for Conwy Castle.{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.bodysgallen.com/history/|website=Bodysgallen Hall & Spa|access-date=28 January 2017}}

Notable locations

Conwy Morfa, a marshy spit of land on the west side of the estuary, was probably the location where golf was first played on Welsh soil.{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.conwygolfclub.com/club/history/|website=Conwy Golf Club|access-date=28 January 2017}} It was also the place where Hugh Iorys Hughes developed, and later built, the floating Mulberry Harbour, used in Operation Overlord in World War II.{{cite web|title=Engineer Biography: Hugh Iorys Hughes|url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/who/Hughes_HI/hughesHughIorys.asp|website=Engineering Timelines|access-date=28 January 2017}}

Conwy Hospital closed in 2003 and has since been demolished.{{cite web|url=https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/e22080e9-f54a-3a79-a196-8f8bbad00ca8|title=Conwy Hospital Collection|publisher=Archives Hub|access-date=26 February 2019}}

Transport

File:Conwy railway station in 2008.jpg

Conwy railway station opened in 1848.{{cite book |last=Butt |first=R.V.J. |title=The Directory of Railway Stations |year=1995 |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |location=Yeovil |isbn=1-85260-508-1 |id=R508 |page=68 }} It is located on the North Wales Coast Line, between Crewe and Holyhead. There are through services westbound to Bangor and Holyhead. Eastwards, services travel to Chester, via Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Prestatyn and Flint; after arrival at Chester, most trains go forward to either Crewe, Cardiff or Birmingham International. Services are operated by Transport for Wales.{{Cite web|work=Transport for Wales|title=Timetables |date=May 2023 |access-date=27 May 2023 |url= https://tfw.wales/service-status/timetables |quote=}}

Bus services in Conwy are operated mostly by Arriva Wales, with some by Llew Jones Coaches. Routes link the town with Bangor, Caernarfon and Llandudno.{{Cite web|work=Bus Times|title=Bus Services |date=May 2023 |access-date=27 May 2023 |url= https://bustimes.org/localities/conwy |quote=}}

Lifeboat

A lifeboat station was established by the RNLI in 1966 and currently operates the D-class inshore lifeboat, the May-Bob, (D–765).{{cite web|title=RNLI: Conwy|url=http://rnli.org/findmynearest/station/Pages/Conwy-Lifeboat-Station.aspx|access-date=16 February 2016}}

Governance

File:Conwy Guildhall, Castle Square - geograph.org.uk - 2224123.jpg]]

There are two tiers of local government covering Conwy, at community (town) and county borough level: Conwy Town Council (Cyngor Tref Conwy) and Conwy County Borough Council. The town council is based at Conwy Guildhall on Rose Hill Street.{{cite web |title=Cyngor Tref Conwy Town Council |url=https://www.conwytowncouncil.gov.uk/home |access-date=23 November 2024}}

=Administrative history=

Conwy was an ancient parish and an ancient borough, having been given a charter by Edward I of England in 1284.{{cite web |title=Conway Ancient Parish / Civil Parish |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10048620 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=29 November 2024}}{{cite book |title=Parliamentary Papers |date=1838 |page=13 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Parliamentary_Papers/TgZEAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA2-PA13&printsec=frontcover |access-date=23 November 2024}} The borough covered a larger area than the parish, also including the Deganwy area in the parish of Eglwys Rhos on the east bank of the river, and parts of the parishes of Gyffin, Llangelynnin, and Dwygyfylchi west of the river.{{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Norman |title=Conway and its Story |date=1960 |page=9 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Conway_and_Its_Story/elwKAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=deganwy&dq=history%20of%20conway%20borough%20deganwy&printsec=frontcover |access-date=29 November 2024}}{{cite book |title=Parliamentary Papers |date=1838 |page=13 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Parliamentary_Papers/TgZEAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA2-PA13&printsec=frontcover |access-date=29 November 2024}}{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Henry |title=Carnarvon contributory borough of Conway, 1868 |url=https://viewer.library.wales/6070816#?xywh=-2924%2C-1%2C10360%2C6122 |website=The National Library of Wales |access-date=29 November 2024}}

Unlike most such boroughs, it was not reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and so the old borough corporation continued to exist and run the town. By 1876 the borough corporation was seen as an archaic and unaccountable impediment to the proper management of the town. The town's residents organised a petition to convert the town into a municipal borough with an elected corporation to take responsibility for public health and local government.{{cite news |title=The inhabitants of Conway |url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3288343/3288346/9/ |access-date=9 November 2022 |work=Llangollen Advertiser |date=25 February 1876 |page=3}} A royal charter incorporating the town as a municipal borough was issued in December 1876, and the new borough corporation took over the running of the town from March 1877.{{cite news |title=Conway: Its charter and corporation |url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4515213/4515217/21/ |access-date=9 November 2022 |work=North Wales Chronicle |date=17 March 1877 |location=Bangor |page=4}} The urban parishes within the borough boundary were reorganised in 1894 to comprise Conwy and Gyffin on the west bank and Llanrhos on the east bank.{{cite web |title=Conway Municipal Borough |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10013525 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=9 November 2022}}

In 1972 the borough council voted to change the spelling of the town's name from "Conway" to "Conwy". The change was agreed by the Secretary of State for Wales and took effect on 1 August 1972.{{cite news |title=Borough of Conway |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ |access-date=12 November 2022 |work=North Wales Weekly News |date=29 June 1972 |location=Conwy |page=10 |quote=Wheras by resolution of the Council of the Borough of Conway the name of the Borough was changed from "Conway" to "Conwy." And whereas pursuant to the provisions of Section 59 of the Local Government Act 1958, the Secretary of State for Wales has signified his consent to the said change of name, Notice is hereby given that with effect from the first day of August, 1972, the name of the Borough shall be Conwy.}} The municipal borough was abolished in 1974, with the area becoming part of the Aberconwy district in the new county of Gwynedd. A community called Conwy was established at the same time covering the area of the former borough.{{cite web |title=Conway Valley Registration District |url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/conway%20valley.html |website=UKBMD |access-date=9 November 2022}} Further local government reorganisation in 1996 saw Aberconwy abolished and the town transferred to the new Conwy County Borough, named after the town but covering a much larger area.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0e8gCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT8|title=Conwy & District Pubs|first1=Peter |last1=Johnson|first2= Catherine|last2= Jefferis |year= 2016|publisher=Amberley Publishing|isbn=978-1445653136}}

Gallery

Images showing changes over time

File:Conway Castle from the e(ast) 1795.jpg|Conwy castle before the bridge was built, 1795

File:Conway Town and Castle.(Plan).jpeg|Conway Town and Castle, 1800

File:Conway Castle - from the wood opposite.jpeg|'Conway Castle: from the wood opposite', 1823

File:Conway Castle N. Wales.jpeg|Conwy Castle, 1838

File:Conway Bridge (Carnarvonshire, North Wales).jpeg|Conway Bridge and Castle ca 1840

File:Conway Bridge and Castle, North Wales.jpeg|The river bank at Conwy with the castle and bridge in the background ca 1850

File:The Town Of Conway - Its Church, Plas Mawr, Wall, Tower, &c, as seen from the battlement of the castle.jpeg|Conway c.1850

File:Conway Bridge & Castle.jpeg|'Conway Bridge & Castle' ca 1850

File:Conwymap1947.png|Map of Conwy from 1947

File:Conwy Castle - bridge view.jpg|Conwy Castle - bridge view 2007

File:Conwy bridges.jpg|Conwy bridges in 2012

File:Mock Tudor in Conwy.jpg|Mock Tudor in Conwy, 14 January 2022

References

External links

[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/128 A Vision of Britain Through Time]
[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wales/conwy/conwy British Listed Buildings]
[http://www.conwyriverfestival.org/ Conwy River Festival]
[http://www.visitconwytown.co.uk/ Conwy Town Tourism Association]
[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CAE/Conway/index.html Genuki]
[https://www.geograph.org.uk/browse.php?p=339716 Geograph]
[http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0009179 International Database and Gallery of Structures]
[http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadSByASelectScotNI.do?a=7&c=Conwy&d=16&i=1001x1002&m=0&r=1&s=1366019629510&enc=1&areaId=11122285&OAAreaId=6489349 Office for National Statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063614/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadSByASelectScotNI.do?a=7&c=Conwy&d=16&i=1001x1002&m=0&r=1&s=1366019629510&enc=1&areaId=11122285&OAAreaId=6489349 |date=4 March 2016 }}
[http://www.greatorme.org.uk/sychnant.html The Sychnant Pass]
[http://www.greatorme.org.uk/conwy.html Welcome to Conwy]

Category:Fortified settlements

Category:Towns in Conwy County Borough