Anglesey
Anglesey. Island county of north-west Wales, separated from the mainland by the Menai Straits. In 1974 it became the district of Ynys Môn in the county of Gwynedd, but was reconstituted as a county in 1996. Its location, together with the protective barrier of the Snowdonian mountains, made it a traditional centre of resistance to invaders, Roman and Norman. But after conquest by Edward I it was created a county of the principality of Wales in 1284, a status confirmed at the Act of Union of 1536.
Anglesey is a low plateau with hills rising no more than 500 feet. It was known as ‘Môn mam Cymru’ (Môn, mother of Wales) because of its productive cereal-growing, but present farming is primarily dairy. Economic development is also related to the major road/rail crossings of the island to the port of Holyhead, the major British link to Ireland. Two bridges cross the Menai Straits; Telford's Menai suspension bridge (1819–20) and Stephenson's Britannia tubular bridge (1846–50), originally rail but now both rail and road. Copper was mined on Anglesey but recent economic activity is related to a nuclear power station at Wylfa Head and an aluminium smelter. Tourism is also a significant employer, mainly along the coastline.
The population of the county was 69,149 in 1991. The island has been one of the cores of Welsh speech: 91.7 per cent spoke Welsh in 1901, a figure fallen to 62.0 per cent in 1991.
Anglesey is a low plateau with hills rising no more than 500 feet. It was known as ‘Môn mam Cymru’ (Môn, mother of Wales) because of its productive cereal-growing, but present farming is primarily dairy. Economic development is also related to the major road/rail crossings of the island to the port of Holyhead, the major British link to Ireland. Two bridges cross the Menai Straits; Telford's Menai suspension bridge (1819–20) and Stephenson's Britannia tubular bridge (1846–50), originally rail but now both rail and road. Copper was mined on Anglesey but recent economic activity is related to a nuclear power station at Wylfa Head and an aluminium smelter. Tourism is also a significant employer, mainly along the coastline.
The population of the county was 69,149 in 1991. The island has been one of the cores of Welsh speech: 91.7 per cent spoke Welsh in 1901, a figure fallen to 62.0 per cent in 1991.
Harold Carter
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Anglesey