A market day in Bangor, 1856Looking down on Bangorc. 1860An early design for theMenai Suspension Bridge constructed in 1826 connecting Bangor with Anglesey
The origins of the city date back to the founding of a monastic establishment on the site ofBangor Cathedral by theCelticsaintDeiniol in the early 6th century AD.'Bangor' itself is anold Welsh word for a wattled enclosure,[5] such as the one that originally surrounded the cathedral site. The present cathedral is a somewhat more recent building and has been extensively modified throughout the centuries. While the building itself is not the oldest, and certainly not the biggest, thebishopric of Bangor is one of the oldest in the UK.
In 973,Iago, ruler of theKingdom of Gwynedd, was usurped byHywel, and requested help fromEdgar, King of England, to restore his position. Edgar, with an army, went to Bangor and encouraged both Iago and Hywel to share the leadership of the realm. Asserting overall control however, Edgar confirmed liberties and endowments of theBishop of Bangor, granting land and gifts. From 1284 until the 15th century, Bangor bishops were granted several charters permitting them to hold fairs[6] and govern the settlement, later ones also confirming them asLord of the Manor.[7]
Bangor remained a small settlement until the start of the 18th century. The mainmail coach route fromLondon toDublin viaHolyhead passed to the east of Bangor, crossing theLavan Sands to reach a ferry across the Menai Strait toBeaumaris. In 1718 a sub-postmaster was appointed based in Bangor and the mail coach route was diverted to pass through Bangor on its way to the alternativePorthaethwy ferry. Being on the mail coach route considerably increased the trade passing through Bangor and encouraged its growth.[8][7] Development was further spurred by slate mining at nearbyBethesda, beginning in the 1770s byRichard Pennant, becoming one of the largest slate quarries in the world. The route between London and Holyhead was much improved byThomas Telford building theA5 road; it runs through the centre of the city and over theMenai Suspension Bridge, which was also completed to his designs in 1826.Bangor railway station opened in 1848.
Bangor's status grew due to further industry, such as shipbuilding,[9] as well as travel, not just from Telford's road, but through tourism mainly from Liverpool viasteamboat.[10]
Friars School was founded as a freegrammar school in 1557 and the University College of North Wales (nowBangor University) was founded in 1884. In 1877, the formerHMS Clio became a school ship, moored on the Menai Strait at Bangor and had 260 pupils. Closed after the end of hostilities ofWorld War I, she was sold for scrap and broken up in 1919.
A map of Bangor from 1947
InWorld War II, parts of theBBC evacuated to Bangor during the worst of theBlitz.[11] The BBC continue to maintain facilities in the city (seeMedia).
Bangor is the only place in Wales which continues to holdcity status by ancient prescriptive right, due to its long-standing cathedral and past privileges granted.[12]St Davids had also been a city by prescriptive right, but lost its status in the 1880s and was only formally restored to city status in 1994.[13] In 1927 a government list was drawn up detailingwhich settlements were cities, with Bangor being included as the only medieval Welsh city with extant rights.[14]
By means of various measures, Bangor is one of the smallest cities in the UK. Using 2011 statistics, comparing Bangor to:
Population of city council areas in Wales, is third smallest (18,322 residents)[15] withSt Davids (1,841) andSt Asaph (3,355).
City council area size within Wales, is the second smallest city (2.79 square miles (7.2 km2)) behind St Asaph (2.49 square miles (6.4 km2)).
Urban areas within Wales, is third smallest, placed (1.65 square miles (4.3 km2)) behind St Davids (0.23 square miles (0.60 km2)) and St Asaph (0.50 square miles (1.3 km2))
City council area size within the UK, is fourth smallest after theCity of London (1.12 square miles (2.9 km2)),Wells and St Asaph.
Urban areas within the UK, is fifth smallest.
Population of city council areas within the UK, is sixth smallest.
Bangor lies on the coast ofNorth Wales near theMenai Strait, which separates the island ofAnglesey from Gwynedd, the town ofMenai Bridge lying just over the strait. The combined population of the two amounted to 22,184 at the 2011 census.Bangor Mountain at 117 metres (384 ft) lies to the east of the main part of the city, but the largehousing estate ofMaesgeirchen, originally built ascouncil housing, is to the east of the mountain nearPort Penrhyn. Another ridge rises to the north of the High Street, dividing the city centre from the south shore of the Menai Strait; this area is known as Upper Bangor (Bangor Uchaf).
The Bangor community area includes the suburbs of Garth and Hirael both immediately north of the city centre; Upper Bangor north west of the centre; West End, Glan-adda, Bryn Llwyd and Coed Mawr to the south west; Y Maes to the south; Glantraeth, Tan-y-bryn and Maesgeirchen are to the east. The suburbs of Penhros-garnedd, Treborth and Minffordd are within the community ofPentir adjoining the city to the south and south west.Port Penrhyn and the tiny estate of Plas-y-coed, adjoin the city within theLlandygai community.
Bangor has two rivers within its boundaries. TheRiver Adda is a largely culverted watercourse which only appears above ground at its western extremities near theFaenol estate, whilst theRiver Cegin enters Port Penrhyn at the eastern edge of the city. Port Penrhyn was an important port in the 19th century, exporting theslates produced at thePenrhyn Quarry.
Penrhyn Hall, Fford Gwynedd, with former Diocesan Registry building to right; meeting place and offices of Bangor City Council
There are two tiers of local government covering Bangor, atcommunity (city) andcounty level:Bangor City Council (Cyngor Dinas Bangor) andGwynedd Council (Cyngor Gwynedd). The city council meets at Penrhyn Hall on Fford Gwynedd and has its offices in the adjoining building, which was built in 1866 as the Diocesan Registry.[16][17][18]
In 2021,Owen Hurcum was unanimously elected asmayor, making history as the youngest-ever mayor in Wales at 22, as well as the first evernon-binary mayor of any UK city.[19]
In 2012, Bangor was the first city in the UK to impose a night-time curfew on under-16s throughout its centre. The six-month trial was brought in by Gwynedd Council and North Wales police, but opposed by civil rights groups.[20]
Bangor was anancient parish, which historically included a large rural area to the south and south-west of the city itself.[21] The city was sometimes described as anancient borough and was said to hold certain privileges.[22] However, Bangor had nomunicipal charters and anycorporation it may have had in medieval times did not endure. Agovernment survey of boroughs in 1835 noted that it was plausible that Bangor may once have had a corporation, but found no evidence of any such corporation having operated for many years. Instead, Bangor was governed by the parishvestry and the Bishop of Bangor in his capacity aslord of the manor until the 19th century.[23][22]
In 1832, aparliamentary borough of Bangor was established as one of the boroughs which made up theCarnarvon Boroughs constituency.[24] The area of the parliamentary borough of Bangor was made alocal board district in 1850, with an elected local board to govern the city.[25] Over time the local board gained more powers for managing local affairs, but by the 1870s it was seen as ineffective. A petition was made for the city to be formally incorporated as amunicipal borough, which would give it more extensive powers of local government. Amunicipal charter incorporating the city was duly granted in 1883.[26][27] TheLocal Government Act 1894 directed that parishes could no longer straddle borough boundaries and so the part of Bangor parish outside the borough became the separate parish ofPentir.[28]
The municipal borough of Bangor was abolished in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972. A community called Bangor was created instead, covering the area of the abolished borough. District-level functions passed toArfon Borough Council, which was in turn replaced in 1996 by Gwynedd Council.[29][30] As part of the 1974 reforms, Bangor's city status, which had been held by the abolished borough, was transferred to the new community.[31]
Bangor is ethnically diverse, with 85% of the population identifying as White British, followed by 8% Asian or Arab, 3% Mixed Race, 2% Black and 2% other ethnic. This makes Bangor 85% white and 15% non-white, which means the city has one of the highest ethnicity populations in Wales for its population of over 15,000.[32][33]
In religion,Christianity was followed by 8,816 residents,Islam followed by 892 residents, and 6,526 residents not identifying with any religion or identifying with other religions. Christianity is the most prominent religion but the second largest group followed no religion.[32] In 2021, Muslims in Bangor complained that restrictions imposed in the city had left women unable to worship at the mosque during Ramadan, while arrangements, such as outdoor prayers, had been made in other parts of Wales .[34]
TheA5 runs through the centre of Bangor; it connects Holyhead,Shrewsbury andLondon. TheA55 runs immediately to the south of Bangor, providing a route to Holyhead andChester.
The head office ofGwynedd Archaeological Trust is located on Garth Road.[37] The Trust was established in 1974 and carries out surveys, outreach and education, and excavations acrossGwynedd andAnglesey.
Classical music is performed regularly in Bangor, with concerts given in the Powis and Prichard-Jones Halls as part of the university's Music at Bangor concert series. The city is also home to Storiel (the new name for the Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery), which is located inBangor Town Hall.[39] A new arts centre complex,Pontio, the replacement for Theatr Gwynedd, was scheduled for completion in the summer of 2014,[40] but the opening was delayed until November 2015.[41]
Bangor hosted theNational Eisteddfod in 1890, 1902, 1915, 1931, 1940 (through the medium ofradio), 1943, 1971 and 2005, as well as an unofficial National Eisteddfod event in 1874.
Garth Pier is the second longestpier in Wales and the ninth longest in the British Isles, at 1,500 feet (460 m) in length. It was opened in 1893 and was a promenade pier for the amusement of holiday-makers, who could stroll among the pinnacle-roofed kiosks.
In 1914, the pier was struck by a vessel that had broken free of its moorings. The damaged section was repaired temporarily by theRoyal Engineers but, when in 1922 a permanent repair was contemplated, it was found that the damage was more severe than had been thought. The repairs were made at considerable cost and the pier remained open until 1974, when it was nearly condemned as being in poor condition. It was sold for a nominal price to Arfon Borough Council who proposed to demolish it, but theCounty Council, encouraged by local support, ensured that it survived by obtainingGrade II Listed building status for it.[42]
When it was listed that year, the British Listed Buildings inspector considered it to be "the best in Britain of the older type of pier without a large pavilion at the landward end."[43] Restoration work took place between 1982 and 1988, and the pier was re-opened to the public on 7 May 1988.[42] In November 2011, essential repair work was reported to be required, the cost being estimated at £2 million. A grant from theHeritage Lottery Fund was sought but the application was rejected.[44]
The Cathedral Church of St Deiniol is aGrade I Listed building and is set in a sloping oval churchyard. The site has been used for Christian worship since the sixth century but the present building dates from the twelfth century. It has a two-bay chancel, transepts, a crossing tower, a seven-bay nave and a tower at the west end.[45]
The 344-seat Theatr Gwynedd was opened on Deiniol Road in 1975 by the university and closed in 2008; the building was demolished in 2010.[46] Prior to Theatr Gwynedd, Bangor was home to the County Theatre, a converted chapel on Dean Street. The building was altered in 1912 for theatrical productions and converted to a nightclub in 1986, currently known asTrilogy Nightclub.[47]
The Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre by Bangor University on Deiniol Road, opened in 2015, has a theatre and a one screen cinema.
The Electric Pavilion – later Arcadia Cinema – stood on the High Street close to the station from about 1910 to 1930. This site was redeveloped for The Plaza Cinema, which operated from 1934 to 2006.[49] A new building was built on the site and is now occupied by Ty Willis student accommodation and aDomino's Pizza branch.
The City Cinema opened in 1919, at 130–132, High Street. Building work started in 1914, but was likely delayed because of the war. The cinema closed in 1983, although the building is still there and is now occupied by a dance academy and a snooker club.[50]
A one-screen cinema opened as part of the Pontio building in 2015.
Bangor has the longestHigh Street in Wales at 1.265 km (0.79 mi).[51] Bangor has a central shopping area around the High Street and retail outlets on Caernarfon Road, on the outskirts of the city. One of these is St. David's Retail Park, built on the site of the demolishedSt David's maternity hospital.
In 1865, MorrisWartski, a refugee from the Tsarist pogroms, first established a jewellery business on Bangor's High Street and then a drapery store. His son, Isidore, went on to develop the drapery business and to create a large, fashionable store. He also redeveloped the Castle Inn on High Street in Bangor, which then became the high-class Castle Hotel. Wartski was a very popular mayor of the city and a great patron of local sports and charities. Wartski Fields were bequeathed to the city and people of Bangor by his widow, Winifred Marie, in memory of Isidore Wartski.[citation needed]
Gwynedd is the mostWelsh-speaking county in Wales, with 65.4% of people saying they could speak it at the2011 Census, although Bangor has been significantly more anglicised than its hinterland and the rest of Gwynedd, mostly because of the large student population. While nearby towns in Gwynedd, such asBethesda andCaernarfon, were still 75–80% Welsh speaking in 2011,[52] Bangor was already only 53.4% Welsh speaking as early as 1971.[53]
In 2011, only 36% of the population of Bangor said they could speak Welsh; a significant decrease from the 46% recorded at the 2001 Census.[54][55] In 2015, of primary school pupils 5 years and over, the following percentages spoke Welsh fluently at home:[56]
Ysgol Ein Harglwyddes – < 3%
Ysgol Cae Top – < 3%
Ysgol Hirael – 10%
Ysgol Glancegin – 14%
Ysgol Llandygai – 17%
Ysgol Y Faenol – 23%
Ysgol Y Garnedd – 61%
The city has long been the most cosmopolitan settlement in Gwynedd, attracting incomers from both England and further afield, withBangor University being a key institution. At the 2011 Census, 49.3% of Bangor's population was born outside Wales.[54][55] Nevertheless, Welsh was the majority vernacular of the city in the 1920s and 1930s; at the 1921 Census, 75.8% of Bangor's inhabitants could speak Welsh with 68.4% of those aged 3–4 being able to, indicating that Welsh was being transmitted to the youngest generation in most homes.[57] The 1931 Census showed little change, with 76.1% of the overall population being able to speak Welsh.[58]
Bangor University andColeg Menai are located in the city. There are a few secondary schools, these includeYsgol Friars,Ysgol Tryfan and St. Gerard's School. There are also a number of primary and infant schools. Ysgol Y Faenol, Ysgol Y Garnedd and Ysgol Cae Top are all primary schools. As of 2019 the Coleg Menai sight in Bangor has closed but a new site known as Coleg Menai Parc Menai has opened just off the A55 motorway.
The former Caernarfon and Anglesey General Hospital[60] operated from 1809 to 1984 in Upper Bangor, on the site now occupied by aMorrisons supermarket.
Bangor has a long-establishedfootball team,Bangor City F.C. which currently competes in theCymru North, the second tier of Welsh football. Bangor City won theWelsh Premier League on three occasions (1994, 1995, 2011) and were continuous members of the league from its inception until 2018. Bangor City have also won theWelsh Cup eight times, most recently inthe 2010 competition. Before 1992, they were members of theEnglish football pyramid, peaking with theNorthern Premier League title in 1982 and beingFA Trophy runners-up in 1984. They have also competed in theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup three times (including its final season,1998–99, before being merged into theUEFA Cup),UEFA Champions League twice and UEFA Cup five times, though they have not progressed far in any of the European competitions.
Fans wanting to protect football in the city, formed a breakaway club calledBangor 1876 F.C. in the summer of 2019 and, on 19 June 2019, the FAW announced the new club had been accepted into the Gwynedd League for the 2019–20 season.
Bangor is also home torugby union teamBangor RFC who play in theWRU Division Two North league. As well as the city's team, the university boasts a very competitive rugby union team, which won the title in itsBUCS league in the 2015-16 season and also undefeated in 2022 and 2023. The university's rugby team shares a performance and development programme with Rygbi Gogledd Cymru (RGC), who are the regional representative club for the North Wales Rugby Development Region.
The Bangor Aye is an independent online news and information service for the city and surrounding area.
Bangor is home to a smallBBC broadcasting centre, producing a large amount of output forBBC Radio Cymru. The studios are also the main North-West Wales newsroom for television, radio and on-line. The BBC's Light Entertainment Department moved to Bangor during World War II and many classic programmes (likeIt's That Man Again) came from Bangor.
Bangor was also previously home to two commercial radio stations,Heart Cymru (now Capital Cymru) (serving Anglesey and Gwynedd) and the now-defunctHeart North Wales Coast (now Capital North West and Wales) (serving the North Wales Coast), which shared studio facilities on the Parc Menai office complex; the studios were closed in August 2010 after the stations were moved toWrexham.
Bangor University also has its own student radio station calledStorm FM, which broadcasts to theFfriddoedd Site and from their website.
In 1967,The Beatlescame to Bangor, staying in Dyfrdwy, one of the halls comprising Adeilad Hugh Owen (Hugh Owen Building), now part of the Management Centre, for their first encounter withMaharishi Mahesh Yogi, during which visit they learned of the death of their managerBrian Epstein.[61][62]
The town is mentioned in theFiddler's Dram 1979 hit single "Day Trip to Bangor". The release was shrouded in controversy after reports that the song was actually inspired by a trip to nearbyRhyl; there were rumours of an outcry among local councillors and businesses in Rhyl about the missed opportunity for tourism which would have been generated. Songwriter Debbie Cook stated that the song was specifically written about Bangor.[63]
TheUnited States town ofBangor in theLehigh Valley region of easternPennsylvania draws its name from Bangor, Gwynedd. It was settled around 1760 by Robert M. Jones, an emigrant from Bangor, Gwynedd who went on to be influential in the development of the town'sslate industry. Slate quarries still exist in the small Pennsylvania town, but only a few are still functioning. A life-sized statue of Jones, dedicated on 24 September 1914, remains in the town centre.[64] The influence of Bangor, Gwynedd is visible in the stone walls, square gardens, flowers, and greenery that mirror those of itsWelsh namesake. Also like Bangor (Wales), Bangor (Pennsylvania) has piles ofslate residue and shale reminiscent of the area.[65]
John Francon Williams (1854–1911), editor, journalist, geographer, historian, cartographer and inventor; born inLlanllechid and lived in Bangor as a child.
^"Life at the BBC".bbc.com.The BBC is bombed – Hitler said that in war, words are actions. It is not surprising then that his bombers targeted Broadcasting House in London or that the BBC had contingency plans for just such an event. These involved evacuating whole departments out of London. So Music went to Bedford, and Drama and Variety were based in Bristol until that city too came under fire, and Variety was transferred to Bangor in North Wales.
^"THE LONDON GAZETTE, 4TH APRIL 1974"(PDF).The QUEEN has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm, bearing date the 1st day of April 1974, to ordain that the Town of Bangor shall have the status of a City.
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