Porthdinllaen
Encyclopedia
Porthdinllaen is a small coast
al village
in the Dwyfor
locality on the Llŷn Peninsula
within Gwynedd
, North Wales
, previously in Caernarfonshire
. It is near the larger village of Morfa Nefyn
.
It has been owned by the National Trust
since 1994. With views across to Yr Eifl
and Snowdonia
, Porthdinllaen, with Nefyn
and Morfa Nefyn
, form a magnificent two miles (3 km) of sweeping bay. There are only about two dozen buildings at Porthdinllaen, with the Ty Coch pub the centre of the village.
Vehicular access to the village is restricted to residents with a car permit; visitors must walk across the beach from Morfa Nefyn or across the golf course
on top of the headland, past the Iron Age
hillfort.
.
In May 1806, a parliamentary bill approved new buildings when it seemed that Porthdinllaen would be chosen over Holyhead
, Anglesey
, as the route to Ireland
. The location was almost as far west as, but less accessible than Holyhead with Thomas Telford
's road developments. Porthdinllaen Harbour Company was formed in 1808 in preparation by the Jones Parry family of the Madryn estate (the company's assets included the village and the harbour), but the bill before Parliament to constitute Porthdinllaen as a harbour for Irish trade was rejected in 1810.
Pig
farming was important to the economy of the Llŷn Peninsula, and Porthdinllaen was the main point of export to Liverpool
. In 1830, the farmers and merchants asked the Madryn estate to build a bigger pier, but the estate refused. The first steamer, the "Vale of Clwyd", did not therefore enter service until 1832. Apart from goods intended for the local population and the farmers, Porthdinllaen imported large quantities of salt
to create the Nefyn
herring
.
to request that a lifeboat
be positioned in the harbour.
The boat shed and slip were commissioned in 1864. Manned constantly since, Porthdinllaen lifeboat station is the only lifeboat station where Welsh is the normally spoken language of the crew. The current coxswain
is Mike Davies, who has served as coxswain since 2004. The current Tyne class lifeboat
is called "Hetty Rampton," and she has been in service since April 27, 1987.
fishing village for the Demi Moore
romantic thriller Half Light
.
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the Dwyfor
Dwyfor
Dwyfor was one of the five local government districts of Gwynedd, Wales from 1974 to 1996, covering the Llŷn peninsula. Its council was based in Pwllheli....
locality on the Llŷn Peninsula
Llŷn Peninsula
The Llŷn Peninsula extends into the Irish Sea from north west Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the modern county and historic region of Gwynedd. The name is thought to be of Irish origin, and to have the same root Laigin in Irish as the word Leinster...
within Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
, previously in Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire , historically spelled as Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire in English during its existence, was one of the thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county of Wales....
. It is near the larger village of Morfa Nefyn
Morfa Nefyn
Morfa Nefyn is a small village located on the northern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Wales.-Location & Amenities:It lies on the crossroads of the B4417 and B4412 and has been a traditionally undiscovered destination...
.
It has been owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
since 1994. With views across to Yr Eifl
Yr Eifl
Yr Eifl is a mountain on the north coast of the Llŷn peninsula in Gwynedd, north-western Wales.It has three summits, each quite separate from the others, and this is often supposed to be the source of the English name The Rivals...
and Snowdonia
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
, Porthdinllaen, with Nefyn
Nefyn
Nefyn is a small town and community on the north west coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 2,619. Welsh is the first language of almost 80% of its inhabitants. The A497 road terminates in the town centre.-History:...
and Morfa Nefyn
Morfa Nefyn
Morfa Nefyn is a small village located on the northern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Wales.-Location & Amenities:It lies on the crossroads of the B4417 and B4412 and has been a traditionally undiscovered destination...
, form a magnificent two miles (3 km) of sweeping bay. There are only about two dozen buildings at Porthdinllaen, with the Ty Coch pub the centre of the village.
Vehicular access to the village is restricted to residents with a car permit; visitors must walk across the beach from Morfa Nefyn or across the golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
on top of the headland, past the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hillfort.
Port
Porthdinllaen was originally a fishing port, based around a natural harbour at the west end of a bay over a mile and a quarter (2 km) across, and with over one hundred acres (40 ha) of safe anchorage. The harbour is sheltered by a headland jutting out to the north from all but a north-easterly wind, and as the only such haven on the Llŷn Peninsula, it has been used for many centuries of trading, and as a place to run to for shelter in a stormStorm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
.
In May 1806, a parliamentary bill approved new buildings when it seemed that Porthdinllaen would be chosen over Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
, Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, as the route to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The location was almost as far west as, but less accessible than Holyhead with Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
's road developments. Porthdinllaen Harbour Company was formed in 1808 in preparation by the Jones Parry family of the Madryn estate (the company's assets included the village and the harbour), but the bill before Parliament to constitute Porthdinllaen as a harbour for Irish trade was rejected in 1810.
Pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
farming was important to the economy of the Llŷn Peninsula, and Porthdinllaen was the main point of export to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. In 1830, the farmers and merchants asked the Madryn estate to build a bigger pier, but the estate refused. The first steamer, the "Vale of Clwyd", did not therefore enter service until 1832. Apart from goods intended for the local population and the farmers, Porthdinllaen imported large quantities of salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
to create the Nefyn
Nefyn
Nefyn is a small town and community on the north west coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 2,619. Welsh is the first language of almost 80% of its inhabitants. The A497 road terminates in the town centre.-History:...
herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
.
Railway
Various proposals were made to build railways to serve the harbour at Porthdinllaen, although none were eventually constructed:- 1808 - Point of embarkation to Ireland
- 1830 - Samuel Holland, a slate quarry owner at RhiwRhiwY Rhiw is a small village on the south west tip of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd in Wales. There are fine views towards Snowdonia. Nearby is the National Trust owned Plas yn Rhiw, above which, on the slopes of Mynydd Rhiw is a late Stone Age burial chamber, and neolithic quarries...
, joined Henry Archer, a businessman from Dublin, to promote the Ffestiniog RailwayFfestiniog RailwayThe Ffestiniog Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park....
, incorporated by Act of Parliament on 23 May 1832 - 1845 - The Worcester and Porth-Dynllaen Railway informed the Rev. T. Parry Jones Parry of an application to Parliament of a railway track from WorcesterWorcesterThe City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
to Porthdinllaen - 1845 - The North Wales Railway Co. planned to construct 28 miles (45.1 km) of track from BangorBangor, GwyneddBangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
to Porthdinllaen - 1860 - The Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast RailwayAberystwyth and Welsh Coast RailwayThe Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was a standard gauge railway built in 1863 connecting major towns on the Welsh coast.- History :...
Company wanted to construct a line from AberystwythAberystwythAberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
to Porthdinllaen. The line to PwllheliPwllheliPwllheli is a community and the main market town of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It has a population of 3,861, of which a large proportion, 81 per cent, are Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plaid Cymru was founded. It is the birthplace of Albert Evans-Jones -...
was completed c.1876 but the final five miles were not built. - 1877 - The Cambrian RailwaysCambrian RailwaysCambrian Railways owned of track over a large area of mid-Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904...
Act revived the powers conferred by the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway Act 1862 for the final 5 miles from Pwllheli
Lifeboat station
In the 19th century, North Wales lacked good roads, and so the sea was the easiest way to access many places. Porthdinllaen, on the northern coast of the Llŷn peninsula, with its sheltered north facing bay, became important as a harbour of refuge and a busy port, with over 700 ships passing through the port in 1861. After storms in 1863, the local parish priest wrote to the Royal National Lifeboat InstitutionRoyal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
to request that a lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
be positioned in the harbour.
The boat shed and slip were commissioned in 1864. Manned constantly since, Porthdinllaen lifeboat station is the only lifeboat station where Welsh is the normally spoken language of the crew. The current coxswain
Coxswain
The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ...
is Mike Davies, who has served as coxswain since 2004. The current Tyne class lifeboat
Tyne class lifeboat
Tyne class lifeboats were designed to serve the shores of the UK and Ireland as a part of the RNLI fleet. They are named after the River Tyne in north-east England....
is called "Hetty Rampton," and she has been in service since April 27, 1987.
Film location
Due to its highly preserved and yet maintained status, Porthdinllaen regularly acts as a film and television shooting location. In September 2004 it posed as a ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
fishing village for the Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
romantic thriller Half Light
Half Light
Half Light is a 2006 Mystery/Horror Film starring Demi Moore and Henry Ian Cusick in the lead role. It was directed by Craig Rosenberg, who also penned the screenplay.The score was composed by Craig's brother, Brett Rosenberg.-Plot:...
.