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Gwynedd | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): | |
 Gwynedd shown withinWales | |
| Coordinates:52°50′N3°55′W / 52.833°N 3.917°W /52.833; -3.917 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Wales |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1996 |
| Administrative HQ | Council Offices, Caernarfon |
| Government | |
| • Type | Principal council |
| • Body | Gwynedd Council |
| • Control | Plaid Cymru |
| • MPs | 2 MPs |
| • MSs | 2 MSs (Mid and West +North) |
| Area | |
• Total | 979 sq mi (2,535 km2) |
| • Rank | 2nd |
| Population (2024)[2] | |
• Total | 120,813 |
| • Rank | 14th |
| • Density | 120/sq mi (48/km2) |
| Welsh language(2021) | |
| • Speakers | 64.4% |
| • Rank | 1st |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-GWN |
| GSS code | W06000002 |
| Website | gwynedd |
Gwynedd (Welsh:[ˈɡwɨnɛð]) is acounty in thenorth-west ofWales. It bordersAnglesey across theMenai Strait to the north,Conwy,Denbighshire, andPowys to the east,Ceredigion over theDyfi estuary to the south, and theIrish Sea to the west. The city ofBangor is the largest settlement, and the administrative centre isCaernarfon. Thepreserved county of Gwynedd, which is used for ceremonial purposes, includes theIsle of Anglesey.
Gwynedd is the second largest county in Wales but sparsely populated, with an area of 979 square miles (2,540 km2) and a population of 117,400. After Bangor (18,322), the largest settlements are Caernarfon (9,852),Bethesda (4,735), andPwllheli (4,076). The county has the highest percentage ofWelsh speakers in Wales, at 64.4%, and is considered aheartland of the language.[4]
The geography of Gwynedd is mountainous, with a long coastline to the west. The county contains much ofSnowdonia (Eryri), anational park which contains Wales's highest mountain,Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa; 3,560 feet, 1,090 m). To the west, theLlŷn Peninsula is flatter and renowned for its scenic coastline, part of which is protected by the LlŷnAONB. Gwynedd also contains several of Wales's largest lakes and reservoirs, including the largest,Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid).
The area which is now the county has played a prominent part in the history of Wales. It formed part of the core of theKingdom of Gwynedd and the nativePrincipality of Wales, which under theHouse of Aberffraw remained independent from theKingdom of England untilEdward I'sconquest between 1277 and 1283. Edward built the castles atCaernarfon andHarlech, which form part of theCastles and Town Walls of King Edward in GwyneddWorld Heritage Site. During theIndustrial Revolution theslate industry rapidly developed; in the late nineteenth century the neighbouringPenrhyn andDinorwic quarries were the largest in the world, and the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales is now a World Heritage Site. Gwynedd covers the majority of the historic counties ofCaernarfonshire andMerionethshire.
In the past, historians such asJ. E. Lloyd assumed that the Celtic source of the wordGwynedd meant 'collection of tribes' – the same root as the Irishfine, meaning 'tribe'.[5] Further, a connection is recognised between the name and the IrishFéni, an earlyethnonym for the Irish themselves, related tofían, 'company of hunting and fighting men, company of warriors under a leader'. Perhaps*u̯en-, u̯enə ('strive, hope, wish') is the Indo-European stem. The Irish settled in NW Wales, and inDyfed, at the end of the Roman era.Venedotia was the Latin form, and inPenmachno there is a memorial stone fromc. AD 500 which reads:Cantiori Hic Iacit Venedotis ('Here lies Cantiorix, citizen of Gwynedd').[5] The name was retained by the Brythons when the kingdom of Gwynedd was formed in the 5th century, and it remained until the invasion of Edward I. This historical name was revived when the new county was formed in 1974.
Gwynedd was an independent kingdom from the end of theRoman period until the 13th century, when it was conquered byEngland. The modern Gwynedd was one of eight Welsh counties created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972. It covered the entirety of thehistoric counties ofAnglesey andCaernarfonshire, and all ofMerionethshire apart fromEdeirnion Rural District (which went toClwyd); and also a few parishes ofDenbighshire:Llanrwst,Llansanffraid Glan Conwy,Eglwysbach, Llanddoged, Llanrwst and Tir Ifan.
The county was divided into fivedistricts:Aberconwy,Arfon,Dwyfor,Meirionnydd andAnglesey.
TheLocal Government (Wales) Act 1994 abolished the 1974 county (and the five districts) on 1 April 1996, and its area was divided: theIsle of Anglesey became an independent unitary authority, and Aberconwy (which included the former Denbighshire parishes) passed to the newConwy County Borough. The remainder of the county was constituted as a principal area, with the nameCaernarfonshire and Merionethshire, as it covers most of the areas of those two historic counties. As one of its first actions, the Council renamed itselfGwynedd on 2 April 1996. The present Gwynedd local government area is governed byGwynedd Council. As aunitary authority, the modern entity no longer has any districts, but Arfon, Dwyfor and Meirionnydd remain asarea committees.
The pre-1996 boundaries were retained as apreserved county for a few purposes such as theLieutenancy. In 2003, the boundary withClwyd was adjusted to match the modern local government boundary, so that the preserved county now covers the two local government areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey. Conwy county borough is now entirely within Clwyd.
AGwynedd Constabulary was formed in 1950 by the merger of the Anglesey, Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire forces. A further amalgamation took place in the 1960s when Gwynedd Constabulary was merged with theFlintshire andDenbighshire county forces, retaining the name Gwynedd. In one proposal for local government reform in Wales, Gwynedd had been proposed as a name for a local authority covering all of north Wales, but the scheme as enacted divided this area between Gwynedd and Clwyd. To prevent confusion, the Gwynedd Constabulary was therefore renamed theNorth Wales Police.
TheSnowdonia National Park was formed in 1951. After the 1974 local authority reorganisation, the park fell entirely within the boundaries of Gwynedd, and was run as a department of Gwynedd County Council. After the 1996 local government reorganisation, part of the park fell underConwy County Borough, and the park's administration separated from the Gwynedd council. Gwynedd Council still appoints nine of the eighteen members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority; Conwy County Borough Council appoints three; and theWelsh Government appoints the remaining six.
There has been considerable inwards migration to Gwynedd, particularly from England. According to the 2021 census, 66.6% of residents had been born in Wales whilst 27.1% were born in England.[6]
The county has a mixed economy. An important part of the economy is based on tourism: many visitors are attracted by the many beaches and the mountains. A significant part of the county lies within theSnowdonia National Park, which extends from the north coast down to the district of Meirionnydd in the south. But tourism provides seasonal employment and thus there is a shortage of jobs in the winter.
Agriculture is less important than in the past, especially in terms of the number of people who earn their living on the land, but it remains an important element of the economy.
The most important of the traditional industries is the slate industry, but these days only a small percentage of workers earn their living in the slate quarries.
Industries which have developed more recently include TV and sound studios: the record companySain has its HQ in the county.
The education sector is also very important for the local economy, includingBangor University and Further Education colleges,Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor andColeg Menai, both now part ofGrŵp Llandrillo Menai.
Gwynedd has the highest proportion of people in Wales who can speakWelsh. According to the 2021census, 64.4% of the population aged three and over stated that they could speak Welsh,[7] while 64.4% noted that they could speak Welsh in the2011 census.[8]
It is estimated that 83% of the county's Welsh-speakers are fluent, the highest percentage of all counties in Wales.[9] The age group with the highest proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd were those between ages 5 and 15, of whom 92.3% stated that they could speak Welsh in 2011.[9]
The proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd declined between 1991 and 2001,[10] from 72.1% to 68.7%, even though the proportion of Welsh speakers in Wales as a whole increased during that decade to 20.5%.[10]
TheAnnual Population Survey estimated that as of March 2023, 77.0% of those in Gwynedd aged three years and above could speak Welsh.
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