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I live in the beautiful Isle of Anglesey.
The South West of Anglesey to be precise.
On the edge of Newborough Warren.
The Warren is a large sand dune area - half covered in grass the other part covered by Newborough Forest.
Nearby we have a nature reserve, forest walks, a forest drive, a lake with
hides to watch the birds, the River Braint flowing into the Menai Strait, Llanddwyn Island which can be reached on foot
most of the time and not forgetting the magnificant views of Snowdonia and the Lleyn Peninsula.
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Potted History of Newborough
The village of Newborough (Niwbwrch) is over 700 years old. The "new borough"
was created when the English king, Edward I, removed local people from Llanfaes in the South East of the island
so his builders could get on with the construction of Beaumaris Castle which guards the eastern end of the Menai Strait (Afon
Menai) and at the time served to control Gwynedd.
The new borough was laid out on Rhosyr land, slightly to the east of the Rhosyr
settlement. Newborough received its charter in 1303. In the winter of 1320, 211 acres of land were overwhelmed
by sea and sand and eleven cottages were lost. By 1330 Rhosyr was overwhelmed. Parts of some of the houses can
still be seen around Newborough Forest. The name Rhosyr still survives however, in matters dealing with the local
council, etc.
The manufacture of ropes, nets and matting from marram grass (mohresg)
was a local industry. A law, passed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, prohibited the uprooting of marram
in an attempt to prevent the encroachment of sand on to farmed fields. In the 16th century, Newborough was the county town
of Anglesey and returned Members of Parliament for the borough.
The new village is further inland than Rhosyr - probably why
the church appears to be at one end of the village - on the way to the wonderful beach. The church was sacked by Norman
invaders in the mid 12th Century.
In 1902 The Prichard Jones Institute was donated to the village by Sir
John Prichard Jones (the Jones of Dickins and Jones, the famous store in London) who was born in Newborough and was a great
local benefactor. Opened in 1905 it houses the library and community rooms for the village. It has a clock tower
and as a building it gets good use as a community centre not only for the local population of around 1100 but also for
the outlying villages of Malltraeth, Llangaffo, Llangeinwen and Llanidan.
Could Newborough have been the capital of Wales?
In 1992 excavations in Cae Llys (Palace Field), near St. Peter's Church
on the hill at the west of the village, began to uncover the foundations of Llys Rhosyr, a palace of the Princes of Gwynedd. This is one of the largest excavations of its kind in Wales. There is an
exhibition in the Pritchard Jones Institute (see above). The site is a world heritage site and brown tourist signs have
been erected.
Llandwyn Island - our beautiful island at the end of Newborough Forest
The film Halflight was made on the island.
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Modern Newborough
Modern Newborough is a village focussed mainly around the crossroads and spreading outwards from there.
There's a pub, local shops including a store and off licence, cafe, post office and chippy, a school, the church and chapels, Pritchard Jones Institute housing the library and meeting rooms and there is
a small industrial estate. Local agriculture is important. Older businesses such as the bank and petrol station have
long since gone but attractions such as the museum at Tacla Taid, the Model Village, White Lodge Nursery (caravan park
and garden centre) have replaced them. There's even a vineyard nearby at Ty Croes, Llangeinwen, near Dwyran
Newborough Forest is one of the few forests in the UK set next to the sea. For the jewel
in the crown follow Beach Road, west from the village centre, which goes past St Peter's Church on the hill to Newborough
Forest (toll road and lots of opportunity for walking) and eventually to one of the best beaches in Wales. Don't believe me? Look at "A winter walk through Newborough and Llanddywyn"
If you think it's going to be a good sunset just stand on the beach at Newborough or Llanddwyn Island and
wait for the magic ......
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