82-644: The River Teme (pronounced / t iː m / ; Welsh : Afon Tefeidiad ) rises in Mid Wales , south of Newtown , and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of Bucknell and continuing east to Ludlow in Shropshire . From there, it flows to the north of Tenbury Wells on the Shropshire/ Worcestershire border on its way to join
164-441: 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
246-594: 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
328-680: A boat that had broken loose from its mooring so there must have been at least one boat on the river at that time. The guide, Tenbury Wells and the Teme Valley includes a photograph taken at Little Hereford described as "Boating on the Teme in 1905". The author mentions two gentlemen from Oxford who in 1894 travelled up the Teme from Worcester to Ludlow in 17.5 hours, and returned (downstream) in 9 hours. Another book, Down Along Temeside , includes an account of travelling by boat from Ludford Mill to Orleton (a couple of miles upstream of Stanford Bridge) in
410-605: 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
492-434: A copy of a charter from around 770, where the name takes the forms Tamede and Temede . This name is similar to those of many other rivers in England - testament to their ancient origin - including River Team , River Thames , River Thame , River Tame and River Tamar . Scholars now believe that these and the older names Temese and Tamesis derive from Brythonic Tamesa , possibly meaning 'the dark one'. The river source
574-405: 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 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
656-560: A few boat houses along the river in Worcestershire. Billings Directory 1855 mentions Boat House, evidently a farmhouse, five miles downstream of Tenbury Wells, and Boat House Farm still exists in Eastham . In addition, the boathouse at Newnham Bridge (three miles downstream of Tenbury Wells) was large enough, and substantial enough, to be converted later into a house. At Tenbury Wells in 1886, people were rescued during floods using
738-550: A height of about 450 metres above sea level at its source to just 14 metres above sea-level at its downstream confluence. A Site of Special Scientific Interest throughout its length, it is a clean river and after many years of decline the population of otters is recovering, but obstructions keep salmon numbers at a low level. Fishing is a popular sport on many parts of the River Teme, with its barbel fishing being particularly noted. Leisure boats have long been used on
820-505: A link between a line from Worcester to South Wales, that in the end was never built, and the recently opened Tenbury and Bewdley Railway , from which there was a connection to Ludlow via the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway . Lacking funds or any particular need for such a line through sparsely settled agricultural land, however, the plan came to nothing. A river that changes from season to season, not to mention having changed course over
902-399: 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 the language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded,
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#1732772528232984-483: A number of areas, including Leintwardine, Tenbury Wells and Ludlow, although the watercourse that flooded the last location was a tributary, the River Corve. The Lower Teme has a deep channel cut in a wide alluvial plain across which it meanders. It responds rapidly to rainfall and cut-offs have been numerous along the river's course, where backchannels and old oxbows can clearly be seen. The River Corve flows into
1066-439: A passing mention of the river's name in A Shropshire Lad , but that ensured its incorporation into the song cycle Ludlow and Teme (1923) when Ivor Gurney set some of the poems to music. However, the musician who received his greatest inspiration from the Teme was Edward Elgar , whose favourite spot on the river was at Knightwick . It was there that he composed much of The Dream of Gerontius ; and childhood reminiscences of
1148-539: A river and boats (thought to date from c. 1830), such as a painting allegedly of Dinham Bridge, Ludlow, are probably at least partly derived from the artist's imagination. This subject was debated at length in 2006 in the Journal of Railway and Canal Historical Society . A school inspector in the mid-19th century, wishing to visit the endowed school at Shelsley Beauchamp where the Teme turns to run south through wooded hills, found that he must travel there on horseback in
1230-479: 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
1312-511: A small distance above Powick Bridge. The river having considerable declivity its navigation is soon interrupted by shoals and shallows" Except for its lowest reaches, there is no substantial evidence that the river was navigable by barges. Claims have been made that traffic on the Teme began in Roman times and "continued in Norman times, when it is known the stone for the mill at Ashford Carbonel
1394-653: Is a minor river in south Shropshire , England . It is sometimes referred to as the River Ledwyche and spelled variously, including "Ledwich" or "Ledwych". The brook is a tributary of the River Teme . Its sources are just south of Brown Clee Hill , in the vicinity of Stoke St. Milborough , from where it flows southwest to Middleton , after which it turns southwards, passing under the A4117 road at Henley, where it passes by Henley Hall . The B4364 road runs along
1476-612: 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. Ledwyche Brook Ledwyche Brook
1558-420: 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 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
1640-627: Is in Mid Wales, on the western side of Bryn Coch in the hills near the village of Kerry , Dolfor to the south of Newtown, Powys . Two other rivers - the River Ithon and the River Mule - rise within 500 metres. It is roughly coincident with the border between England and Wales for several miles downstream from the Powys village of Felindre , passing Beguildy , Lloyney and Knucklas on
1722-638: 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 the Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of
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#17327725282321804-500: 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
1886-466: 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
1968-683: 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 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
2050-538: 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
2132-519: 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 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
2214-686: 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 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
2296-543: The River Onny . From there to its confluence with the River Severn, about 40 miles/65 km downstream at Worcester, it flows through the counties of Herefordshire , Shropshire and Worcestershire. The upper reaches of the river are usually steep with fast flowing but relatively shallow waters. There are some water mills , and a number of weirs , including several at the historic town of Ludlow. Below Tenbury Wells
2378-541: The River Severn south of Worcester . The whole of the River Teme was designated as an SSSI by English Nature in 1996. The river is crossed by a number of historic bridges including one at Tenbury Wells that was rebuilt by Thomas Telford following flood damage in 1795. It is also crossed, several times, by the Elan aqueduct . The first known mention of the River Teme is in an eleventh-century manuscript containing
2460-640: 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
2542-542: 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
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2624-473: 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
2706-596: 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
2788-536: 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 ,
2870-486: 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
2952-684: The Avon. Having failed to recover the Avon after the Restoration , Sir William Sandys and his son undertook work on the Wye and Lugg . Ferries formerly existed at Rochford, at Cotheridge and at Clifton on Teme. Some very local navigation is indicated by a newspaper advertisement in 1750 that the miller at Stanford-on-Teme had a boat for sale, capable of carrying 10 tons. However, with no locks available, this vessel would have been unable to pass mill weirs. Pictures, allegedly of Ludlow or its castle with
3034-517: 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 ) is the label attached to the Welsh of
3116-737: 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 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
3198-550: 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
3280-560: The Ledwyche valley from its junction with the A4117 to where it runs around Brown Clee Hill. The river avoids the River Teme at Ludlow , running instead to the east of the town, resulting in a peninsula of land one mile 1 mile (1.6 km) wide between the two watercourses, at the Sheet . Ledwyche Brook then flows in a southeast direction, passing through Caynham and afterwards passing to
3362-571: The Powys side and Llanfair Waterdine on the Shropshire side before flowing past the small Powys town of Knighton . It continues to shadow the border eastwards as far as the vicinity of Bucknell and Brampton Bryan . The Teme is joined by the River Clun at Leintwardine in north Herefordshire, then embarks on a circuitous course southeast then northeast to Bromfield , where it is joined by
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3444-617: The Teme just outside Ludlow and the Ledwyche Brook flows into the Teme at Burford , close to the Herefordshire/Shropshire/Worcestershire tripoint . The Kyre Brook flows into the Teme at Tenbury Wells, and the River Rea flows into the Teme at Newnham Bridge , Worcestershire, a few miles south of Cleobury Mortimer . The Teme is the second largest tributary to the River Severn, falling from
3526-405: The Teme' on the title page of his volume of Poems (Worcester, 1825), "hopes you will consider him to rank among the first uneducated poets" when reading his topographical tributes to his chosen river. A few years later an anonymous Ludlow poet submits "the production of a young man…to the public with becoming deference", including among them a "Sonnet to the River Teme". A. E. Housman made only
3608-730: The Teme, he also said, were contained in the trio in the second movement of his first symphony . Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] ) 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
3690-430: The Teme. However, unlawful canoeing does occur and there are many claims about the resulting conflict. As a result of its character, the demand for canoeing is seasonal, when there is enough water in the river, and is more in the upper reaches where the faster water can be found. However, this part of the river is also the most valuable for fishing, with riparian owners keen to protect their interests and prevent canoeing, on
3772-496: 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,
3854-704: 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
3936-895: 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 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
4018-526: 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
4100-487: 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
4182-630: 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
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#17327725282324264-412: The absence of either coaches or railway. There had, indeed, been a slightly earlier proposal for a railway line that followed the lower course of the river. Under the name of the Worcester, Tenbury and Ludlow Railway, this was submitted to Parliament in November 1846, but by 1849 the scheme had been wound up. More or less the same course was proposed for the Teme Valley Railway in 1866. This was planned as
4346-403: 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 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
4428-408: 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
4510-414: 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
4592-408: 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
4674-424: The early 20th century. Up at Leintwardine, a 'Teme coracle' has been locally made since the late 1980s and such craft may have been in existence earlier, near the start of that century - or earlier still, as a distant successor to the coracles once used to transport lead down to Worcester from Dre-fach Felindre in Roman times. The final 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Powick bridge and Mill to its confluence with
4756-431: 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
4838-438: The grounds that the Teme is not suited to canoeing under any circumstances. While there is probably less conflict below Tenbury, there is also less interest in canoeing, and probably less opportunity, given the water levels. Information on canoeing on the Teme in the Ludlow area is available here and on the Tenbury Wells to Broadwas area here. Historical evidence of leisure boating mentions in Victorian publications. Old maps show
4920-411: 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
5002-413: 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
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#17327725282325084-431: 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
5166-402: 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, 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 ,
5248-495: 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 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
5330-468: 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
5412-433: 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 , 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 ,
5494-503: 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 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
5576-402: 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
5658-471: 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
5740-502: 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
5822-407: 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
5904-409: 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
5986-473: The river Severn that the Teme is (or was) navigable . There was a coal wharf near Powick Bridge, belonging with the mill, whose owner had the right to use a towing path to the river Severn. In the 18th century, pig iron was brought up the river to Powick forge (as the mill then was). In 1810 it was reported that "The Teme is also navigable for barges from its junction with the Severn near Powick upwards to
6068-515: The river and rowing boats can still be hired at The Linney Park, Ludlow . An annual coracle regatta has been held on the Teme. In June 2005 it was held at Leintwardine . In June 2006, the 12th regatta was held at Mortimer's Cross A Countryside Agency report in September 2003 entitled Improving access for canoeing on inland waterways: A study of the feasibility of access agreements stated: There are no formal access agreements for canoeing on
6150-460: The river in the foreground, while Edmund John Niemann looked down on another bridge into the town from the high ground above. The 18th century landowner Richard Payne Knight had his grounds at Downton Castle , not far away on the banks of the Teme, laid out in the picturesque style of the time, and there the river was incorporated into the design, notably at the ‘alpine bridge’ which he commissioned Thomas Hearne to portray among other views of
6232-419: The river is more tranquil but still shallow, with strong cross currents. During its journey the river flows over Upper Ludlow shales and Devonian sandstones . Water levels in the Teme are highly variable, something which has been made worse in recent years through increases in water extraction for agriculture use. However, the Teme has also often burst its banks too. June and July 2007 saw serious floods in
6314-528: The site. In the following century, George Price Boyce was noted for the Pre-Raphaelite precision of his landscape paintings, some of which featured the high banks of the river. Later on, Worcester-born Harry William Adams (1868–1947) painted the Teme's lower reaches, specialising in atmospheric effects such as a snow scene above the valley or overhanging woodland at sunset. The river has had its poets too. Richard Gardner, who terms himself 'the poet of
6396-526: 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
6478-459: The west of Greete . It finally discharges into the Teme at Burford . Just before its confluence the A456 road bridges the brook. For approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) between Caynham and Burford the brook forms the border between the counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire . The tripoint between the counties of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire is just upstream of the Teme from
6560-419: The years, coexists with the land that encloses it. In the eyes of those who have painted the Teme, it has often been features on its banks which were their main subjects – nowhere more so than at Ludlow Castle, where the river is only incidentally pictured flowing at its base by Samuel Scott and David Cox . For his 1800 view of the castle, Joseph Mallord William Turner preferred to place Dinham Bridge crossing
6642-532: Was brought from Caen in the 14th century, using water transport all the way". However no unequivocal documentary or archaeological evidence has been adduced in support of this. William Sandys who between 1636 and 1639 made the Avon navigable from Tewkesbury to Stratford-upon-Avon was at the same time also authorised to improve the Teme between Worcester and Ludlow. There is however no evidence that he did so, perhaps due to his having used up all his resources on
6724-518: 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
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