Conwy
| Conwy | |
 Conwy Castle and the bridges |
|
  Conwy Conwy shown within Conwy | |
| Population | 14,208 (2001) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SH775775 |
| Community | Conwy |
| Principal area | Conwy |
| Ceremonial county | Clwyd |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CONWY |
| Postcode district | LL32/LL31 |
| Dialling code | 01492 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Aberconwy |
| Welsh Assembly | Aberconwy |
Conwy (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkɔnʊɨ]; formerly known in English as Conway) is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. The community, which includes Deganwy and Llandudno Junction, had a population of 14,208 at the 2001 census,[1] and is a popular tourist destination. The Welsh language can still be heard in widespread, casual and official usage.
Conwy Castle and the town walls were built, on the instruction of Edward I of England, between 1283 and 1289, as part of his conquest of the principality of Wales. Conwy was the original site of Aberconwy Abbey, founded by Llywelyn the Great. Edward and his troops took over the abbey site and moved the monks down the Conwy valley to a new site at Maenan, establishing Maenan Abbey. The parish church still retains some parts of the original abbey church in the east and west walls. English settlers were given incentives to move to the walled garrison town, which for decades the Welsh were forbidden from entering.
Across the estuary is Bodysgallen Hall, which incorporates a medieval watchtower that was later used as a signal place for Conwy Castle.
Conwy has other tourist attractions that help draw visitors to the town. Conwy Suspension Bridge, designed by Thomas Telford to replace the ferry, was completed in 1826 and spans the River Conwy next to the castle. Telford designed the bridge's supporting towers to match the castle's turrets. The bridge is now open to pedestrians only and, together with the toll-keeper's house, is in the care of the National Trust.
The Conwy Railway Bridge, a Tubular bridge, was built for the Chester and Holyhead Railway by Robert Stephenson in 1849. The bridge is still in use on the North Wales Coast Line, along with station, which is located within the town walls. In addition to a modern bridge serving the town, the A55 road passes under the river by a tunnel which was built between 1986 and 1991. The old mountain road to Dwygyfylchi and Penmaenmawr runs through the Sychnant Pass, at the foot of Conwy Mountain.
The National Trust also owns Aberconwy House, which is Conwy's only surviving 14th-century merchant's house, one of the first buildings built inside the walls of Conwy. Another fine house open to the public is Plas Mawr, an Elizabethan house built in 1576 by the Wynn family, which has been extensively refurbished to its original 16th-century appearance and is now in the care of Cadw.[2]
The church standing in Conwy, has been marked as the oldest building in Conwy and has stood in the walls of Conwy since the 14th century. However, the oldest structure is part of the town walls, at the southern end of the east side. Here one wall and the tower of Llewellyn the Great's Llys [court house] have been incorporated into the wall. Built on a rocky outcrop, with an aspidal tower, it is a classic, native, Welsh build and stands out from the rest of the town walls, due to the presence of 4 window openings. It dates from the early 13th century and is the most complete remnant of any of his Llys.
The house named in the Guinness Book of Records as The Smallest House in Great Britain, with dimensions of 3.05 metres x 1.8 metres, can be found on the quay. It was in continuous occupation from the 16th century (and was even inhabited by a family at one point) until 1900 when the owner a (6 ft fisherman – Robert Jones) was forced to move out on the grounds of hygiene. The rooms were too small for him to stand up in fully. The house is still owned by his descendants today, and you can go on a tour around it for a small charge.
Conwy Morfa, a marshy spit of land on the west side of the estuary, was probably the location where golf was first played on Welsh soil. It was also the place where Hugh Iorys Hughes developed, and later built, the floating Mulberry Harbour, used in Operation Overlord in World War II.
References
External links
Media related to Conwy (town) at Wikimedia Commons
- A Vision of Britain Through Time
- British Listed Buildings
- Conwy River Festival
- Conwy Town Tourism Association
- Genuki
- Geograph
- International Database and Gallery of Structures
- Office for National Statistics
- The Sychnant Pass
- Welcome to Conwy
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