92-494: The North Wales Hospital ( Welsh : Ysbyty Gogledd Cymru ) is a Grade II* listed building in Denbigh , Denbighshire , Wales . Designed by architect Thomas Fulljames , building started in 1844 and completed in 1848. Initially a hospital for up to 200 people with psychiatric illness, by the mid-20th century it housed 1,500 patients. The institution was wound down as a healthcare facility from 1991, finally closing in 1995. There
184-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
276-594: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
368-425: A baby out of wedlock and being left with suicidal and disturbed patients and others having epileptic fits. A large number of patients suffered from epilepsy which was regarded as a mental illness and having no effective treatment, imagine the fear they must have felt with the danger of suffocation during a fit and no one available to assist. From the outset and for many years thereafter, attendant staff were selected on
460-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
552-596: A central clock tower housing a chapel was installed; the latter was the gift of Joseph Ablett's widow, Ablett having died early in 1848 prior to the hospital opening. Other structures, including a later chapel, nurses home, isolation hospital and Erddig Ward, have been listed as Grade II. The new chapel, designed in the Gothic style by Lloyd Williams and Underwood , dates from 1862, may have been amended by 1899. Lighting initially came from candles and oil lamps, with heating by coal fire. During 1862–1865, when Lockwood's new wing
644-441: A clerk, cook, kitchen maid, housemaid, smith/engineer and two laundry maids. Until 1860, the patients were left to their own devices between 10 pm and 6 am, when no staff were assigned to duties; thereafter, for many years one member of staff was assigned during those hours to each side of the hospital. Clwyd Wynne, who has studied the history of the hospital, says Imagine being one of those admitted for no other reason than having
736-577: A dangerous structures notice. The Council spent over £930,000 in resolution of the emergency work required by the notice but the owners refused to recompense, claiming several concerns including the actual amount being claimed. From around 2012, Denbighshire Council were intending to compulsorily purchase the property and then transfer ownership to the North Wales Building Preservation Trust (NWBPT), which had been established in 2012 specifically to enable conservation of
828-424: A grant of £130,000 in 2017 to assist with cataloguing and preservation of the hospital records, which form the largest single such collection held by Denbighshire Archives. Comprising material such as patient records, annual reports and committee minutes, financial records, plans and staff records, much of the material has limited access arrangements due to issues relating to patient confidentiality. The hospital site
920-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
1012-413: A small number were elsewhere. The total number of people actually in need of treatment far exceeded the number in English institutions, and thus costs associated with the hospital became a burden on public finances rather than a relief. Charges levied by the hospital varied according to the classification of the patient: private patients paid as much as 46 shillings per week (£120 per annum) in 1849 whilst at
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#17327810129501104-459: A stone monument born out of public guilt aroused by the revelations of neglect and cruelty. This massive stone structure ... suggests permanence and security rather than cure and therapy. The original 1840s main range of North Wales Hospital building, constructed from local limestone in the Jacobean style , is listed as Grade II*. The range had three wings round a quadrangle and subsequently
1196-1041: Is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
1288-592: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Lunacy Act 1890 Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1380-688: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
1472-511: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
1564-732: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
1656-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
1748-466: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
1840-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
1932-756: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
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#17327810129502024-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
2116-594: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
2208-461: The "soothing influence of his own tongue". In return, the subscribers promised "a weekly saving of at least five shillings per head", and cure and early return to the community was implied. Despite these hopes, some of which were indeed achieved when the hospital opened, the enterprise remained reliant on private subscription almost until its target was achieved, with the Welsh county authorities refusing to take any financial responsibility until late in
2300-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
2392-465: The 1880s, at Denbigh's town cemetery. Plans for closure were drawn up in 1987 as part of the national Care in the Community initiative which could trace its roots to the thoughts of Enoch Powell when he was Minister for Health in the 1960s. The North Wales Hospital was eventually closed in sections from 1991 to 2002, with the main unit being shut down in 1995. The Wellcome Foundation provided
2484-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
2576-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
2668-573: The Council successfully took over ownership under the terms of the compulsory purchase order. By that time, the Council was intending to work in concert with Jones Bros. Civil Engineering, a construction company based in Ruthin that was partnering with NWBPT. The decision to prefer this solution to that proposed by Signature Living had been made in April of that year. Plans for development of 300 houses on
2760-463: The Denbigh Asylum in 1848. Prior to this time the belief had been that the afflictions of insane people should be dealt with by such methods as bloodletting and flagellation to disperse their inner demons, together with seclusion and manacling as means of control if they posed some sort of threat. There were privately operated care institutions of dubious merit but such civic responsibility as
2852-550: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
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2944-496: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
3036-704: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
3128-667: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
3220-526: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
3312-487: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
3404-630: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
3496-545: The basis of their musical and/or sporting ability, size and ability to speak the Welsh language . They first received training in 1892, when 42 passed the examinations of the St John Ambulance Association . Male and female patients were housed in separate wings and those who were able were employed in tasks within the hospital grounds. The males worked in the gardens and on the on-site farm, as well as being engaged in tailoring, shoemaking and joinery;
3588-400: The buildings into apartments, demolish others and also a part of the main listed structure, and build up to 200 houses and business units in the grounds. A counter-proposal emerged in April 2018, involving the construction of two hotels and some housing by Signature Living , who claimed that unlike the other proposals theirs would retain all of the extant original buildings. In September 2018,
3680-543: The candles and lamps but was proving to be inadequate. The Frân Wen theatre company, based at Menai Bridge , is touring a play titled "Anweledig" around various Welsh venues in 2019. The play has been inspired by patient records and an accompanying exhibition of artworks is intended to be based on the individual and familial memories of people whose lives were affected by the hospital. Notes Citations Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] )
3772-460: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
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3864-871: The comments of the Medical Superintendent of the time that the baths were intended to treat the body odours that he thought to be a symptom of insanity. The hospital spent more on alcohol than on drugs until the early 1900s. It was from around the same time, with the arrival of a new Assistant Medical Officer, that social events expanded to include sports such as tennis and football . There were also dramas and magic lantern shows, as well as picnics, concerts and dances. That doctor, Frank Jones, later became Medical Superintendent (1913-1940) and encouraged many other changes, including to treatment and training, which resulted in what Wynne describes as "a more liberal attitude towards mental illness". Patients who died were initially buried at Llanfarchell and later, from
3956-448: The counties of Anglesey , Caernarvonshire , Denbighshire , Flintshire and Merionethshire were persuaded to become parties to the project and the law was changed to enable them to combine for that purpose. Designed by architect Thomas Fulljames and constructed on 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land donated by a local benefactor, Joseph Ablett of Llanbedr Hall, the hospital was initially intended to accommodate 200 patients. The capital cost
4048-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
4140-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
4232-479: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
4324-457: The females were assigned duties in the wash-house and with sewing. Other labouring tasks were assigned at various times, such as painting and decorating the structure, while those patients who might abscond were in the early years made continuously to pump water so that they could be more easily monitored. Wynne notes that "The only 'treatments' available for many years were employment, recreational and spiritual activities and physical care", and that
4416-491: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
4508-469: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
4600-476: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
4692-456: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
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#17327810129504784-438: The hospital departmental infrastructure would not have been able to function if the patient labour had not been available. Aside from employment within the hospital and social activities, such as dances and concerts, which often were led by the staff but also involved visits from or to external organisations, treatment was initially limited to sedation using chloral hydrate and, from 1871, Victorian Turkish baths . It seems from
4876-406: The hospital would have to be demolished due to them being beyond repair. Some of the early damage to the structures following closure, such as the blowing up of doors, was a consequence of the site being used for a joint exercise by North Wales Police and the armed forces. "Enabling" planning permission was granted to the owners, with the purpose of development being to provide the funds to restore
4968-412: The hospital would provide a sympathetic environment for restorative treatment rather than just being a costly unwelcome dumping ground away from general society, as the workhouses were deemed to be. A change in national concerns from emphasis on conditions of care to that of protecting wider society, which ultimately led to the 1890 Lunacy Act , meant that the hospital assumed a character similar to that of
5060-595: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
5152-506: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
5244-555: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
5336-583: The listed buildings. This permission, which involved construction of up to 280 houses, together with business and community facilities, lapsed in 2009. The developers, Freemont, said that the world economic downturn from the late 2000s had stymied their plans; they had also refused to take action to remedy the deterioration of the structures, which resulted in Denbighshire Council serving an urgent works notice in June 2011 and then soon after issuing
5428-416: The location, whilst geographically central for the counties that it served, was remote from the point of view of many potential visitors and that this may have impeded social interaction, which is nowadays considered an important element of mental health care. He said that the building, though impressive, is as are the majority of mental hospitals, inappropriate as a therapeutic centre. Today, it appears as
5520-622: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
5612-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
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#17327810129505704-484: The original site in 1881, between 1895 and 1910 and in 1931. By 1956, the hospital was catering for 1500 patients. Subsequent to that time, patient numbers decreased. Aside from the desires of the founders being impeded by changing attitudes to function, their belief that the hospital would also save the public purse also proved to be misguided. The problem in that instance was a misunderstanding: their forecast that savings of five shillings per week per patient were possible
5796-485: The other extreme the pauper lunatics from contributing authorities were charged at nine shillings. Until the formation of the National Health Service in 1948, the hospital was governed by a Committee of Visitors comprising representatives of the five subscribing counties and also other individual subscribers. These people were influential outside the hospital as well as within it. Day-to-day management
5888-473: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
5980-551: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
6072-436: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
6164-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
6256-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
6348-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
6440-433: The possibility of building another asylum to cater for three of the counties and thus spread the load. There were substantial extensions between 1862 and 1865 that resulted in a new wing designed by Thomas Lockwood to house an additional 150 patients, then additional adjoining farms were purchased to improve hospital self-sufficiency and Glanywern Hall was purchased as overflow accommodation. There were further expansions on
6532-405: The process and amidst much legal wrangling. Determined to proceed despite their petition to the authorities having failed at first instance, progress in raising funds was initially slow but received a significant fillip following an inspired appeal to the royal family, from whom they received in excess of £200 and then many other donations from elsewhere as a consequence of that patronage. Eventually,
6624-409: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
6716-550: The resolutions of this meetings as clearly stating the founder's view of conditions in North Wales and their aspirations to reform an untenable situation. They demanded that the North Wales Counties unite and establish a Welsh hospital, and the replacement of abandonment, neglect and coercion of a large number of Welsh pauper lunatics with "kind management", and treatment through "advancing medical science" and
6808-651: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
6900-496: The site were revealed in December 2018, with the proposals expected to require demolition of half of the remaining listed structures. The site at that time was reported to comprise around 35 acres (14 ha), although an earlier report at the time of the auction had stated 50 acres (20 ha). George Maitland Lloyd Davies , nonconformist minister and pacifist politician, died there in 1949. Writing in 1974, Olsen noted that
6992-408: The site. NWBPT's non-profit status was claimed to provide a means of doing so in a situation where the costs were such that margins were too slim to make the project commercially viable; however, Freemont kept raising the asking price for transfer of ownership. A compulsory purchase order had been granted against Freemont in 2015 after they had failed to comply with a Repairs Notice but the completion of
7084-428: The total of those who were discharged or died. That the capacity was set at 200 beds when the number of identified cases in the six counties of North Wales was then around 450 may have reflected the initial optimism of treatment rather than custody. Following the initial building works of 1844–1848, there were ongoing, sometimes acrimonious, debates concerning the extent of overcrowding and how to resolve it, which included
7176-535: The transfer was still subject to procedural niceties. The owners had unsuccessfully attempted various appeals to overturn the costs and compulsory purchase orders. They then tried to sell the site at auction in May 2016, which would have necessitated the council pursuing the new owners for compulsory purchase, but it failed to reach its £2.25m reserve price. Working in partnership with The Prince's Regeneration Trust , NWBPT obtained enabling planning consent to convert some of
7268-461: The true ownership, with one person at various times claiming to be involved with all three of those companies and at other times claiming otherwise. Since closure, the hospital buildings have been subject to wide-scale looting and vandalism, as well as numerous arson attacks, such as those of November 2008 and April 2018. Fires in February and July 2017 resulted in an announcement that sections of
7360-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
7452-431: The workhouse. Patient welfare and therapeutics became of little importance when set against the primary requirement of a strict admissions procedure and a custodial role, leading to stigmatisation of those who were admitted. According to Olsen, the tendency towards a custodial role is evident in the increased density of the patient population: in all but 15 of the years between 1848 and 1938, more patients were admitted than
7544-488: Was almost no civic provision for care of the insane in Wales, the condition and treatment of whom was often appalling. However, a meeting of some of the great and the good of North Wales - nobility, gentry and clergy - at Denbighshire Infirmary in October 1842 had resolved that they should subscribe to action for improved care and that this should take the form of a hospital for the insane. Historian M. Rolf Olsen summarised
7636-412: Was around £27,500, including the £2,000 value attributed to the land. This was reasonable when compared to other asylums of the time but, at £137 per bed, was substantially greater than the £40 cost per person that applied to workhouse accommodation. In one significant aspect, the new hospital soon took on some of the characteristics of the system that it intended to replace. The subscribers had hoped that
7728-622: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
7820-651: Was constructed, a separate house was also built for the Medical Superintendent. The expansion of 1881 saw a new dining hall capable of seating 440 people and also a new wing to house 160 males. The substantial further expansion that took place between 1895 and 1910 required demolition of some existing facilities and provided new wards, accommodation for staff, an isolation hospital, new kitchen and laundry facilities, and boilers. These complex works, involving designs by Lockwood's firm and that of Ellison and Son, of Liverpool , also saw plans to convert to electric lighting: coal gas lights supplied from an on-site gasworks had replaced
7912-596: Was felt to exist was deemed to be within the purview of the penal and Poor Law systems until the passing of the County Asylums Act in 1808, which provided for publicly administered specialist facilities. Treatment remained degrading, loosely monitored and poor until the passing of the 1845 Lunacy Act but the intervening years saw an increased recognition, both in parliament and elsewhere, that something needed to be done to harmonise and improve standards of care. Official reports as late as 1844 noted that there
8004-416: Was much damage caused to the structure and its contents in the years subsequent to closure. The site was compulsorily purchased by Denbighshire Council in 2018 and plans were announced late that year for its redevelopment as housing. The origins of North Wales Hospital lay in a reform movement for care of insane people that began in the late 18th century and continued until a few years after its opening as
8096-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
8188-517: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
8280-592: Was sold in 1999 for £155,000, after various proposals to convert it for use as a college, hotel or army barracks had come to nothing; a subsequent suggestion around 2012 that it might be used as the site for a new super-prison also faltered. It was purchased by Acebench Investments in 2003 for £310,000, then transferred to an offshore company, Freemont, that was registered in the British Virgin Islands , and then to Freemont (Denbigh) Limited. There were claims of obfuscation and "playing silly games" regarding
8372-457: Was the responsibility of the Medical Superintendent, who was assisted by the holder of the office of Steward and Clerk. The Commissioners in Lunacy , which was an inspectorate that existed from around 1845 to 1913, regularly criticised the hospital's staffing arrangements and overcrowding. At the time of opening, the hospital had a staff of 20, including a married couple who acted as gatekeepers,
8464-434: Was undermined by the reality that, at the time of foundation, very few Welsh people in need of treatment were in fact being treated and thus the absolute costs involved in such treatment were trivial. For example, contemporary records indicated that only 36 "pauper lunatics" were being treated in the equivalent English county asylums, paid for by the Welsh public purse, in 1842 while 1,010 were recorded as living with friends and
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