104-519: The River Dwyryd ( Welsh : Afon Dwyryd ), is a river in Gwynedd , Wales which flows principally westwards; draining to the sea into Tremadog Bay , south of Porthmadog . The Dwyryd rises in the hills to the north of Ffestiniog . At its most northern extent, water draining from Moelwyn Mawr drains into Llyn Ystradau, the outflow of which forms the source of the Afon Goedol. This is joined by
208-617: A Marilyn . The town's temperate maritime climate is influenced by the Gulf Stream . Borth-y-Gest, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Porthmadog, is built in a shallow bowl sweeping down to a sheltered bay, with hidden sandy coves and cliffs. Ships were built here before Porthmadog was established and houses, still known as "pilot houses", were erected at the mouth of the harbour so that pilots could watch for ships needing them. The village and its rows of Victorian houses have retained much of its atmosphere and charm. Stryd Mersey leads up from
312-441: 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
416-594: 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
520-663: 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
624-554: A community centre on High Street adjoining the harbour bridge. The building also incorporates the town's tourist information centre. From 1950 to 2010, Porthmadog was part of Caernarfon parliamentary constituency. In 2010 the town became part of the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency. In the Senedd , it has since 2007 formed part of Dwyfor-Meirionnydd constituency. It is represented by Mabon ap Gwynfor . It forms part of
728-507: A construction material in the English industrial cities and transported to the new port by horse-drawn tramways. The Ffestiniog Railway , opened in 1836 as a gravity railway with horses hauling empty slate waggons back up to the quarries, was converted to steam operation in 1863; trains ran straight onto the wharves. By 1873 116,000 tons (117,800 t) of slate were being shipped out of Porthmadog and other trade developed. The Carnarvonshire and Merionethshire Steamship Company formed in 1864 purchased
832-479: A heritage centre, a shop and a cafe. Kerfoots, in a Victorian building on Stryd Fawr, is a small department store founded in 1874. It contains a unique spiral staircase, chandeliers and slender cast-iron columns to support the upper floors. The Millennium Dome, constructed by local craftsmen in 1999 to mark the store's 125th anniversary, is made of stained glass depicting scenes from Porthmadog in 1874. The Royal Sportsman Hotel (Welsh: Gwesty'r Heliwr) on Stryd Fawr
936-486: A local poet, Eliseus Williams (Eifion Wyn) , has 204 pupils. It moved into new premises in 2003. There are units for children with special educational needs or with language difficulties. At the last school inspection by Estyn in 2004, 9 per cent of pupils were entitled to free school meals and 72 per cent came from homes where Welsh was the main spoken language. Ysgol Borth-y-Gest in Stryd Mersey, Borth-y-Gest,
1040-479: 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
1144-408: A thousand ships. Several shipbuilders were active at this time. They were known particularly for their three-masted schooners called Western Ocean Yachts, the last of which was launched in 1913. By 1841 the trackway across the reclaimed land had been straightened. It would develop into Stryd Fawr, the main commercial street of the town, with a range of shops and public houses and a post office, but
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#17327831002581248-519: A wide beach, Black Rock Sands (Welsh: Traeth Morfa Bychan), with Graig Ddu, a rocky headland, at its western end. At low tide, rock pools and caverns are exposed. The beach is popular with windsurfers, and is unusual in allowing vehicles onto the sands. Sand dunes behind the beach form part of Morfa Bychan and Greenacres Nature Reserve. Standing in a field is Cist Cerrig, a dolmen , near which are rocks containing cup marks . In 1996 there were protests backed by Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg against
1352-500: A wide valley formed by glaciation , with a broad flat base formed from glacial moraines and riverine gravel deposits . The valley, the Vale of Ffestiniog , has much agriculture but is subject to routine winter flooding. The Afon Tafarn-helyg has its confluence about one mile (1.6 km) further downstream. This tributary rises south of Gellilydan and just north of the reservoir of Llyn Trawsfynydd but does not receive any water from
1456-1041: 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
1560-479: Is a coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd , Wales , and the historic county of Caernarfonshire . It lies 5 miles (8 km) east of Criccieth , 11 miles (18 km) south-west of Blaenau Ffestiniog , 25 miles (40 km) north of Dolgellau and 20 miles (32 km) south of Caernarfon . The community population was 4,185 in the 2011 census and was put at 4,134 in 2019. It grew in
1664-658: 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. Porthmadog Porthmadog ( Welsh: [pɔrθˈmadɔɡ] ), spelt Portmadoc until 1972 and known locally as "Port",
1768-688: 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
1872-511: 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
1976-527: Is the largest tributary of the Dwyryd, entering its left bank in the tidal section downstream of Maentwrog. It rises in the hills to the east of Trawsfynydd and flows past the southern end of the village to enter Llyn Trawsfynydd , a large reservoir close to the A470 . Prior to construction of the dam in the 1920s for hydroelectric power, the river had wandered across a broad upland marsh here known as Cors Goch. It
2080-409: Is the only inland water in the UK that has been used as a source of cooling water for a nuclear power station. The Afon Prysor resumes its course below the dam, to flow down to the Dwyryd through the steeply wooded valley of Ceunant Llennyrch which is at the core of a national nature reserve . Most of the flow from the reservoir is channelled through the hydro-electric power station close to Maentwrog;
2184-665: Is the smallest of the three with 70 pupils. A 2009 report by Cyngor Gwynedd , Excellent Primary Education For Children In Gwynedd, set out the future for county primary schools. That of Ysgol Borth-y-Gest, built in 1880, had been in doubt. In 2006, at the last inspection by Estyn , 3 per cent of pupils were entitled to free school meals and 20 per cent came from homes where Welsh was the main spoken language. Ysgol y Gorlan in Tremadog has 122 pupils. When Estyn last inspected in 2008, ten per cent of pupils were entitled to free school meals and some 50 per cent came from homes where Welsh
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#17327831002582288-732: 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
2392-500: 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
2496-466: 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
2600-616: The Cambrian Coast Line between Pwllheli and Machynlleth is served by Transport for Wales for Shrewsbury , Wolverhampton and Birmingham . Porthmadog Harbour at the southern end of Stryd Fawr, has been the Ffestiniog Railway terminus since passenger services started in 1865. Since 2011 it is also the southern terminus of the rebuilt Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon . The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway has its main station and visitor centre near
2704-538: 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
2808-571: The Fishguard and Bangor . The A498 runs north from Porthmadog to Beddgelert , for access to Snowdonia . The A497 runs west through the southern Llŷn Peninsula to Criccieth and Pwllheli . In 2008 the Welsh Assembly Government issued plans for a A487 Porthmadog, Minffordd and Tremadog Bypass to reduce through traffic. This officially opened on 17 October 2011. Of the town's three railway stations, Porthmadog on
2912-756: 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
3016-665: The Rebecca to carry stores from Liverpool to supply the growing town. The First World War marked the end of Porthmadog's exports. No new ships were built, several were sunk by enemy action, and most of the survivors were sold. The arrival at Blaenau Ffestiniog of the LNWR in 1879 and the GWR in 1883 brought a steady decline in the slate traffic carried by the Festiniog Railway and Portmadoc shipping. Some slate had been carried via
3120-640: 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
3224-469: The electoral region of Mid and West Wales . The Porthmadog area historically formed part of the parish of Ynyscynhaiarn (or Ynyscynhaearn). The parish church was St Cynhaearn's Church , which stands in an isolated location 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Porthmadog. The parish was in two separate parts: an eastern part including the Porthmadog and Tremadog area, and a western part which included
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3328-594: 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
3432-482: The 10–14 age range at 96.3 per cent. Almost all community activities are held in Welsh. Porthmadog hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1987. Y Ganolfan on Stryd Fawr, built in 1975, is a venue for concerts, exhibitions and other community events. It has also hosted televised wrestling matches. Porthmadog Maritime Museum on Oakley Wharf occupies an old slate shed. It has displays of schooners built in
3536-469: The 1820s in reference to shipping, well before the opening of the Ffestiniog Railway and the town's later growth. The name first appeared on an Ordnance Survey map in 1838. There are two tiers of local government covering Porthmadog, at community (town) and county level, with both councils using Welsh as their primary language: Cyngor Tref Porthmadog (Porthmadog Town Council) and Cyngor Gwynedd (Gwynedd Council). The town council meets at Y Ganolfan,
3640-596: 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
3744-536: 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 ,
3848-479: The 19th century as a port for local slate , but as the trade declined, it continued as a shopping and tourism centre, being close to Snowdonia National Park and the Ffestiniog Railway . The 1987 National Eisteddfod was held there. It includes nearby Borth-y-Gest , Morfa Bychan and Tremadog . Porthmadog came about after William Madocks built a sea wall, the Cob, in 1808–1811 to reclaim much of Traeth Mawr from
3952-486: 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
4056-525: The Cob was breached again and took several months to repair. In 2012, 260 metres of the embankment were widened on the seaward side of the Porthmadog end to allow a second platform to be added to the Ffestiniog Railway's Harbour Station. The former tollhouse at the north-western end of the Cob has slate-clad walls. It is one of few buildings to retain the interlocking slate ridge-tiles devised by Moses Kellow, manager of Croesor Quarry . The toll
4160-600: The Festiniog Railway, the Croesor & Portmadoc Railway and the Cambrian Railways after the latter's line had been opened between Barmouth and Pwllheli in 1867; this traffic was diverted to the exchange yard established between the Festiniog Railway and the Cambrian Railways at Minffordd in 1872. By 1925 less than five per cent of Ffestiniog 's slate output went out by sea. The final load of slate delivered by rail left by sea from Porthmadog in 1946. Two months later
4264-550: 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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4368-683: The River Bowydd at grid reference : SH695438 . At Rhyd-y-Sarn, the Afon Goedol is joined by the Afon Teigl (originating from Manod Mawr). Thereafter, the river is called the Afon Dwyryd. Below Rhyd y Sarn by Pont Dolymoch, the river is joined by the Afon Cynfal which flows from the east down a deep wooded gorge which includes the spectacular Rhaeadr Cynfal (Cynfal waterfall ) south of Ffestiniog . The main river then flows through
4472-496: 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,
4576-704: 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
4680-615: 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
4784-526: 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
4888-487: 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
4992-630: 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
5096-467: The age of 16 and 23.6 per cent were over 65 years of age; 69.5 per cent of households were in owner-occupied accommodation and 24.6 per cent were renting. Holiday homes accounted for 12.5 per cent of dwellings. According to the 2011 census, 71% of residents were born in Wales and 24.5% in England. At the 2001 census, 44.3 per cent of the working-age population were employed, 11.5 per cent self-employed, 5.3 per cent unemployed and 20.4 per cent retired. Of
5200-445: The bay, flanked by terraced cottages. Before Porthmadog was developed, this was the starting point of a major crossing over the wide and dangerous Glaslyn estuary. Locals earned money by guiding travellers across the treacherous sands of Traeth Mawr to Harlech . Parc y Borth is a local nature reserve in deciduous woodland dominated by ancient Welsh oaks . Green woodpeckers , tawny owls and pied flycatchers can be seen among
5304-442: The branches. On the shore is another nature reserve, Pen y Banc, a mixture of coastal rocks, secluded sandy coves and mixed woodland. Established in 1996, it is a good spot to see wading birds. Its beaches attract many visitors. The mild climate results in a wide variety of vegetation, from gorse and heather through to blackthorn , crab apple , and birch . Morfa Bychan , 2.1 miles (3.4 km) south-west of Porthmadog, has
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#17327831002585408-426: The building of 800 houses at Morfa Bychan. These followed a High Court decision that planning permission granted in 1964 remained valid. The owners of the site later entered a legal agreement with Cyngor Gwynedd , allowing a caravan site and nature reserve to be placed on part of the site, which ensured that the 1964 permit could no longer be implemented. The council also settled a compensation claim by developers for
5512-460: 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
5616-414: 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
5720-489: 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
5824-479: 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
5928-419: The embankment was breached by high tides and Madocks's supporters had to drum up money and men from all Caernarfonshire to repair the breach and strengthen the whole embankment. By 1814 it was open again, but Madocks's finances were in ruins. By 1836 the Ffestiniog Railway had opened its line across the embankment. It then become the main route for Ffestiniog slate to reach the new port at Porthmadog. In 1927
6032-454: The employed, 33.0 per cent worked in the distribution, hotel and catering trades and 23.5 per cent in public administration, education and health. Porthmadog expanded rapidly as a slate-exporting port. Slate had already reached King's Lynn and the Port of Wisbech by 1830 and was shipped further inland in barges for use in late Georgian era development. Welsh slate was also in high demand as
6136-464: The estuary of the Afon Glaslyn , where it runs into Tremadog Bay . The estuary, filled with sediment deposited by rivers emptying from the melting glaciers at the end of the last ice age , is a haven for migrating birds. Oystercatchers , redshanks and curlews are common, as are summer flocks of sandwich terns . To the west looms Moel y Gest , rising 863 feet (263 m) above the town as
6240-503: The flow then re-joins the Prysor just before the confluence. At no point is the river deep enough to accommodate sea-going ships, but in the second half of the 18th century a number of quays were constructed west of Maentwrog from which small vessels took cargoes of timber and, increasingly, slate to be transferred to sea-going ships in deeper water southwest of what would become Porthmadog , transferring to Porthmadog itself when its harbour
6344-491: 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
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#17327831002586448-495: The former islands reclaimed from Traeth Mawr . Taking the form of a Celtic cross and standing 16 feet (4.9 m) high, it was fashioned from Trefor granite and unveiled "in memory of ninety-seven fallen war heroes of Madoc Vale" in 1922. On Moel y Gest , a hill above the town, is an Iron Age stone-walled hill fort. The town has three local primary schools . The bilingual Ysgol Eifion Wyn in Stryd Fawr, named after
6552-469: 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
6656-476: 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
6760-456: 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
6864-527: 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
6968-431: 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
7072-449: 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 )
7176-474: The last hundred years. As a consequence, many of the tributaries are highly acidic as a result of atmospheric acidification . This has constrained the quality of the fishery and the biodiversity in many tributaries. Some of these problems have been exacerbated by past industrial activities including metal mining, slate mining, animal skin processing and the use by the army of a gunnery range with large amounts of emplaced metal cartridge shells. The Afon Prysor
7280-489: The later 19th century, Porthmadog flourished as a port, its population rising from 885 in 1821 to over 3,000 by 1861. The rapidly growing cities of England needed high-quality roofing slate , which was brought to the new port by tramway from quarries in Ffestiniog and Llanfrothen . The Ffestiniog Railway opened in 1836, followed by the Gorseddau Tramway in 1856 and the Croesor Tramway in 1864. By 1873 over 116,000 tons (117,800 t) were exported through Porthmadog in over
7384-538: The lucrative German market for slate collapsed. The 19th-century wharves survive, but the slate warehouses have been replaced by holiday apartments and the harbour is used by leisure yachts. The name Porthmadog derives from its English spelling, Portmadoc, the official name until 1972. This was a conjunction of Port and Madocks , although some believe it is named after a folklore character, Madog ab Owain Gwynedd , whose name appears also in "Ynys Fadog" ("Madog Island"). The earliest references to "Port Madoc" are from
7488-622: 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
7592-448: 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,
7696-511: The official spelling of the name from Portmadoc to Porthmadog at a meeting on 9 May 1972. Porthmadog Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 . A community called Porthmadog was created instead, covering the area of the abolished urban district. District-level functions passed to Dwyfor District Council , which was in turn replaced in 1996 by Gwynedd Council. Porthmadog lies in Eifionydd , on
7800-526: The open green retained. A mineral railway to Tremadog ran along what would become Heol Madog. To the north was an industrial area of foundries, timber saw mills, slate works, a flour mill, a soda-pop plant and gasworks. Porthmadog's role as a commercial port, already reduced by the opening of the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway in 1867, was effectively ended by the First World War , when
7904-456: The parish church and the village of Pentrefelin. The small parish of Treflys separated the two parts of Ynyscynhaiarn parish. Ynyscynhaiarn formed part of the ancient commote of Eifionydd , which in 1284 was made part of the new county of Caernarfonshire under the Statute of Rhuddlan . Following the development of Porthmadog and neighbouring Tremadog in the early nineteenth century, there
8008-473: 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
8112-551: 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 ,
8216-429: The plan consisted of a Manufactory, Loomery, fulling mill and corn mill , all worked by water power. To the north is Tan-yr-Allt, a property bought by Madocks for the first Regency house in Gwynedd . The sloping garden consists mainly of lawns planted with trees and shrubs. It includes a memorial to Percy Bysshe Shelley . At the 2001 census, Porthmadog had a population of 4,187, of whom 18.2 per cent were below
8320-436: 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
8424-471: 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
8528-502: 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
8632-407: 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
8736-544: The railway ceased commercial operations. Before construction of the Cob in 1812, ships had been built at locations round Traeth Mawr . As the town developed, several shipbuilders from the Meirionnydd side moved to the new port, building brigs , schooners , barquentines and brigantines . After the arrival of the railway there was a reduction in trade, but a new type of ship, the Western Ocean Yacht ,
8840-444: The reduced parish and urban district of Ynyscynhaiarn just covering the eastern part of the old parish, which included Porthmadog and Tremadog. In 1915 the county council changed the urban district's name from Ynyscynhaiarn to Portmadoc at the urban district council's request. In 1934 part of the area was transferred to Dolbenmaen and a smaller area was taken in from Treflys, which was abolished. The urban district council changed
8944-409: 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
9048-535: The reservoir. There are a number of small lakes and reservoirs in the woodlands north of Plas Tan y Bwlch which also drain south into the river. These lakes include Llyn y Garnedd, Llyn Hafod y Llyn and Llyn Mair . At Maentwrog the Dwyryd becomes a long and sandy tidal estuary , flowing under the road and railway line at Pont Briwet , before joining with the estuary of the River Glaslyn and then entering into Porthmadog Bay . The Afon y Glyn which drains
9152-483: The sea for farming use. Diversion of the Afon Glaslyn caused it to scour out a new natural harbour deep enough for small ocean-going sailing ships, and the first public wharves appeared in 1825. Quarry companies followed, with wharves along the shore almost to Borth-y-Gest, while slate was carted from Ffestiniog down to quays along the Afon Dwyryd , then boated to Porthmadog for transfer to seagoing vessels. In
9256-651: 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
9360-519: The ship owners and sea captains. A School of Navigation was also built. Melin Yr Wyddfa ("Snowdon Mill") on Heol Y Wyddfa is a former flour mill built in 1862. A scheme of renovation and conversion to luxury flats began there, but has yet to reach completion. The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway , not to be confused with Welsh Highland Railway , is a three-quarter-mile (1.2 km) heritage railway. It includes an award-winning miniature railway,
9464-569: The southwest catchment from Llyn Tecwyn Uchaf and Llyn Tecwyn Isaf enters the southern side of the Glaslyn estuary at the south end of a large extent of salt marsh known as Glastraeth ( green beach ) on its south bank and opposite the village of Portmeirion . The whole of the river drains off igneous and ancient rocks of the Cambrian and Ordovician which are all base-poor . Much of the catchment has also been used for commercial forestry during
9568-531: The town and the men who sailed them. The Cob is a prominent embankment built across the Glaslyn estuary in 1811 by William Madocks to reclaim land at Traeth Mawr for agriculture. It opened with a four-day feast and Eisteddfod celebrating the roadway connecting Caernarfonshire to Meirionnydd , which figured in Madocks's plans for a road from London to his proposed port at Porthdinllaen . Three weeks later,
9672-402: The town's prosperity. It supplied slate-working machinery and railway equipment to all but one of the slate quarries operating in England and Wales. A lucrative sideline was the production of drains and manhole covers for Caernarfonshire 's roads. Porthmadog is a mainly Welsh-speaking community: 74.9 per cent of the inhabitants speak it regularly. The highest proportion of Welsh speakers is in
9776-526: 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
9880-401: The way the matter had been handled. Tremadog , a planned settlement 0.9 miles (1.4 km) north of Porthmadog, was built on land reclaimed from Traeth Mawr by William Madocks . In 1805 the first cottages appeared in what Madocks called Pentre Gwaelod ("Bottom Village"), which was designed to give an impression of a borough , with a central Town Hall and Dance Room. Industry included in
9984-411: Was a need for more formal structures of local government. In 1858 the parish of Ynyscynhaiarn was made a local board district , governed by an elected local board. Such local board districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894 . In 1896 the western part of Ynyscynhaiarn, which was known as the township of Uwchyllyn, was transferred to the parish of Treflys, leaving
10088-506: Was abolished in 2003 when the Welsh Assembly Government bought the Cob. Pen Cei, to the west of the harbour was a centre of the harbour's commercial activities. Boats were built and repaired. There were slate wharves for each quarry company with tracks connecting to the railway. Bron Guallt, built in 1895, was the Oakeley Quarry shipping agent's house. Grisiau Mawr ("Big Steps") connected the quay to Garth and houses were built for
10192-412: Was built in 1862 as a staging post on the turnpike road to Porthdinllaen . The arrival of the railway five years later brought rising numbers of tourists, and the hotel soon became famous for its liveried carriage and horses to take guests to local sightseeing spots. The building is of Ffestiniog slate; the original stone and slate fireplaces remain. The War Memorial stands on top of Ynys Galch, one of
10296-622: 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
10400-620: Was developed for the salt cod industry in Newfoundland and Labrador . Shipbuilding came to an end in 1913, the last vessel built being the Gestiana , which was lost on its maiden voyage. In the 19th-century Porthmadog had at least three iron foundries. The Glaslyn Foundry opened in 1848, and the Union Iron Works in 1869. The Britannia Foundry, opposite Porthmadog Harbour Railway Station appeared in 1851 and grew rapidly with
10504-533: Was opened in 1824. The river was and remains so shallow that viable cargoes could only be carried at spring tides . Some of the quays remain to this day, used by anglers. The opening of the Ffestiniog Railway in 1836 dealt a mortal blow to the Dwyryd traffic, which ended completely by 1860. 52°58′32″N 3°56′42″W / 52.97562°N 3.94496°W / 52.97562; -3.94496 Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] )
10608-518: 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
10712-517: 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
10816-467: Was the main spoken language. Ysgol Eifionydd in Stryd Fawr is a bilingual comprehensive school for ages 11–16, founded about 1900. It has 484 pupils. At the last Estyn inspection, in 2006, 8 per cent of pupils were entitled to free school meals and Welsh was the main home spoken language of about 50 per cent. One per cent had an ethnic minority background. Porthmadog lies on the A487 trunk road between
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