1 History

Historically, Anglesey has long been associated with the Druids. In c. AD 60 the Roman general Suetonius Paullinus, determined to break the power of the druids, attacked the island, destroying the shrine and the sacred groves. The Romans called the island Mona. Following the Romans, the island was invaded by Vikings, Saxons, and Normans before falling to King Edward I of England, in the 13th century.

Anglesey is fertile and relatively low-lying with slight risings such as Parys, Cadair Mynachdy (or Monachdy, i.e.. "chair of the monastery"; there is a Nanner, "convent," not far away) and Holyhead Mountain. It was known as the breadbasket of Wales, referred to during the Middle Ages as Anglesey Mother of Wales (Welsh: Môn Mam Cymru). This gave it substantial strategic importance during the struggles between the English kings and the Welsh princes.

There are a few lakes, such as Cors cerrig y daran, but rising water is generally scarce. The climate is humid, the land poor for the most part compared with its old state of fertility, and there are few industries.

2 Geology

As regards geology, the younger strata in Anglesey rest upon a foundation of very old pre-Cambrian rocks which appear at the surface in four areas:—-

1. a western region including Holyhead and Llanfaethlu,
2. a central area about Aberffraw and Trefdraeth,
3. an eastern region which includes Newborough, Caerwen and Pentraeth and
4. a coastal region at Glyn Garth between Menai Bridge and Beaumaris

These pre-Cambrian rocks are schists and slates, often much contorted and disturbed. The general line of strike of the formations in the island is from north-east to south-west. A belt of granitic rocks lies immediately north-west of the central pre-Cambrian mass, reaching from Llanfaelog near the coast to the vicinity of lanerchymedd . Between this granite and the pre-Cambrian of Holyhead is a narrow tract of [Ordovician]] slates and grits with Llandovery beds in places; this tract spreads out in the north of the island between Dulas Bay and Carmel Point. A small patch of Ordovician strata lies on the northern side of Beaumaris. In parts, these Ordovician rocks are much folded, crushed and metamorphosed, and they are associated with schists and altered volcanic rocks which are probably pre-Cambrian. Between the eastern and central pre-Cambrian masses carboniferous rocks are found. The carboniferous limestone occupies a broad area south of Ligwy Bay and Pentraeth, and sends a narrow spur in a south-westerly direction by Llangefni to Malltraeth sands . The limestone is underlain on the north-west by a red basement conglomerate and yellow sandstone (sometimes considered to be of Old Red Sandstone age). Limestone occurs again on the north coast about Llanfihangel and Llangoed ; and in the south-west round Llanidan on the border of the Menai Strait. Puffin Island is made of carboniferous limestone. Malldraeth Marsh is occupied by coal measures, and a small patch of the same formation appears near Tall-y-foel Ferry on the Menai Straits. A patch of granitic and felsitic rocks form Parys Mountain , where copper and iron ochre have been worked. Serpentine (Mona Marble) is found near Llanfaerynneubwll and upon the opposite shore in Holyhead. There are abundant evidences of glaciation, and much boulder clay and drift sand covers the older rocks. Patches of blown sand occur on the south-west coast.

3 Geography

Anglesey has many small towns scattered all around the island, making it quite evenly populated. Beaumaris (Welsh: Biwmares), to the south of the island, features Beaumaris Castle, built by Edward I as part of his campaign in North Wales. The town of Newborough (Welsh: Niwbwrch), created when the townfolk of Llanfaes were relocated to make way for the building of Beaumaris Castle, houses the site of Llys Rhosyr , the court of the mediaeval Welsh princes, which features one of the oldest courtrooms in the United Kingdom. Beaumaris also has a large marina, and acts as a yachting centre for the region. Llangefni is located in the centre of the island and is also the island's administrative centre. The town of Menai Bridge (Welsh: Porthaethwy) grew up when the first bridge to the mainland was being built, in order to accommodate workers and construction. A short distance from this town lies Bryn Celli Ddu, a Stone Age burial mound. The town of Amlwch is situated in the northeast of the island and was once largely industrialised, having grown during the 18th century thanks to the now-vacated copper mining industry.

The island also has the village with the second longest place name in the United Kingdom, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

The Anglesey Sea Zoo is also a local tourist attraction, providing a look at and descriptions of local marine wildlife from lobsters to conger eels. All the fish and crustaceans on display are caught from around the island and are placed in reconstructions of their home habitat. They also make salt (evaporated from the local sea water) and commercially breed lobsters, for food, and oysters, for pearls, both from local stocks.

The island's entire rural coastline had been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and features many sandy beaches, especially along its eastern coast between the towns of Menai Bridge and Amlwch. This leads to the island's principal industry being tourism. Agriculture provides the secondary source of income for the island's economy, with the local dairies being amongst the most productive in the region. There is also a nuclear power station, Wylfa Power Station , at Wylfa Head on the north coast, as well as factories for timber production, aluminium smelting and food processing.

The island is also on one of the major routes from the mainland of Great Britain to Ireland, via ferries from Holyhead, off the west of Anglesey on Holy Island, to Dun Laoghaire and Dublin Port.

4 Politics

Until 1974 Anglesey (together with Holy Island) was one of the thirteen counties of Wales. In 1974 it formed a district of the new large county of Gwynedd, until in the 1996 reform of local government it was restored as a county. The county council is a unitary authority and is named "Isle of Anglesey County Council / Cyngor Sir Ynys Môn". At the latest local elections in 2004, while there is still a majority of independent councillors (28 out of 40), the notion that the council is controlled by independents is incorrect. Technically, there is council is under no overall control - the independents, along with some of the party-backed members, are divided into three factions, the largest of which consists of some 14 councillors.

Other places in Anglesey include Cemaes.

Môn (a cow) is the Welsh name of Anglesey, itself a corrupted form of Old English, meaning the Isle of the Angles. Old Welsh names are Ynys Dywyll ("Dark Isle") and Ynys y cedairn (cedyrn or kedyrn; "Isle of brave folk"). It is the Mona of Tacitus (Ann. xiv. 29, Agr. xiv. 18), Pliny the Elder (iv. 16) and Dio Cassius (62). It is called Mam Cymru by Giraldus Cambrensis. Clas Merddin, Y vel Ynys (honey isle), Ynys Prydein, Ynys Brut are other names. According to the Triads (67), Anglesey was once part of the mainland, as geology proves. The island was the seat of the Druids, of whom 28 cromlechs remain, on uplands overlooking the sea, e.g. at Plâs Newydd. The Druids were attacked in 61 by Suetonius Paulinus , and by Agricola in 78. In the 5th century Caswallon lived here, and here, at Aberffraw, the princes of Gwynedd lived till 1277. The present road from Holyhead to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll is originally Roman. British and Roman camps, coins and ornaments have been dug up and discussed, especially by the Hon. Mr. Stanley of Penrhos. Pen Caer Gybi is Roman. The island was devastated by the Danes (Dub Gint or black nations, gentes), especially in 853.

• Photos of the Parys Mountain Copper Mine near Amlwch, Anglesey

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