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Bardsey Island
Bardsey Island seen from Mynydd Mawr
OS grid referenceSH122218
Community
Principal area
Preserved county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townPWLLHELI
Postcode districtLL53
Dialling code01758
PoliceNorth Wales
FireNorth Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Gwynedd

Bardsey Island (Welsh: Ynys Enlli), the legendary "Island of 20,000 saints", lies 1.9 miles (3.1 km) off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd.[1] The Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", although its English name refers to the "Island of the Bards",[2] or possibly the island of the Viking chieftain, "Barda". It is 0.6 miles (1.0 km) wide and 1.0 mile (1.6 km) long. The north east rises steeply from the sea to a height of 548 feet (167 m) at Mynydd Enlli,[3] while the western plain is low and relatively flat cultivated farmland; to the south the island narrows to an isthmus, connecting to a peninsula.[4] Since 1974 it has been included in the community of Aberdaron.[5] It is about 508 acres (206 ha) in extent (about 2.05 square km).[citation needed] It is the fourth largest offshore island in Wales.

The island has been an important religious site since Saint Cadfan built a monastery in 516.[6] In medieval times it was a major centre of pilgrimage and, by 1212, belonged to the Augustinian Canons Regular.[7] The monastery was dissolved and its buildings demolished by Henry VIII in 1537,[8] but the island remains an attraction for pilgrims to this day.[8]

Bardsey Island is now as famous for its wildlife and rugged scenery. A bird observatory was established in 1953, largely due to the island's position on important migration routes.[9] It is of European importance, cited as a nesting place for Manx shearwaters and choughs, its rare plants, and habitats undisturbed by modern farming practices.[10] It is one of the best places in Gwynedd to see grey seals, and the waters around the island attract dolphins and porpoises.[9]

The spirituality and sacredness of the island, its relative remoteness, and its legendary claim to be the burial site of King Arthur, have given it a special place in the cultural life of Wales, attracting artists, writers and musicians to its shores.[11] It has inspired award winning literature,[12] and attracted internationally renowned singers.[13] On 31 July 2011 the island was featured on BBC television's Countryfile, Helen Skelton visiting.

Geology

Like the western and northern parts of nearby Llŷn the island is formed from rocks of the late Precambrian Gwna Group, itself a part of the Monian Supergroup. The rocks are a mélange, often referred to as the Gwna Mélange, which contain an extraordinary mix of clasts of all sizes up to 100m across and of very varied types, including both sedimentary and igneous origin. Blocks of sheared granite within this melange are visible in the northwestern coastal cliffs of the island. Elsewhere clasts of quartzite, limestone, sandstone, mudstone, jasper and basalt can be found. The deposit is interpreted as an olistostrome, a giant underwater landslide possibly triggered by an earthquake some time after 614 million years ago.

A dolerite dyke of Ordovician age intrudes the melange at Trwyn y Gorlech in the north whilst an olivine dolerite dyke of Tertiary age is seen at Cafn Enlli in the southeast. Further dykes occur in the cliffs at Ogof y Gaseg and at Ogof Hir.

A thin spread of glacial till stretches across the centre of the island, a relict of the late Devensian Irish Sea Icesheet. There is a small patch of blown sand at Porth Solfach on the west coast and a landslip at Briw Cerrig at the foot of the cliffs on the east coast.[14][15]

History

The island was inhabited in Neolithic times, and traces of hut circles remain. During the fifth century the island became a refuge for persecuted Christians,[citation needed] and a small Celtic monastery existed.[16] In 516 Saint Cadfan arrived from Brittany and, under his guidance St Mary's Abbey was built.[17] For centuries the island was important as "the holy place of burial for all the bravest and best in the land". Bards called it "the land of indulgences, absolution and pardon, the road to Heaven, and the gate to Paradise",[citation needed] and in medieval times three pilgrimages to Bardsey Island were considered to be of equivalent benefit to the soul as one to Rome.[18] In 1188 the abbey was still a Celtic institution, but by 1212 it belonged to the Augustinians.[7] Many people still walk the journey to Aberdaron and Uwchmynydd each year in the footsteps of the saints,[19] although today only ruins of the old abbey's 13th-century bell tower remain.[7] A Celtic cross amidst the ruins commemorates the 20,000 saints reputed to be buried on the island.[20]

Saint Deiniol, the bishop of Bangor, was buried on the island in 584.[21] Saint Dyfrig was also buried on Bardsey Island, although in 1120 his remains were transferred to Llandaff.[citation needed]

A gnarled and twisted apple tree, growing by the side of Plas Bach, is believed to be the only survivor of an orchard that was tended by the monks who lived there a thousand years ago.[22][23][24] In 1998, experts on the varieties of British apples at the National Fruit Collection in Brogdale stated that they believed the strain, the Bardsey Apple (Welsh: Afal Enlli), to be the only one in the world. The tree has been propagated by grafting and trees are available commercially.[25]

The Ruins of St Mary's Abbey
St Mary's Abbey was demolished in 1537 on the orders of Henry VIII. Items from the abbey were taken to Llanengan to be used in the new parish church.

The Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act of 1536, on the orders of Henry VIII, resulted in St Mary's Abbey being dissolved and its buildings demolished in 1537.[8] The choir stalls, two screens and the bells were transferred to Llanengan, where the parish church was then being built.[17]

For many years Bardsey Island formed part of the Newborough Estate, and between 1870 and 1875 the island's farms were rebuilt; a small limestone quarry was opened, and a lime kiln constructed.[26] Carreg and Plas Bach are separate buildings, but the remaining eight were built as semi-detached houses, each pair with outbuildings set around a shared yard. The buildings are Grade II listed and, in 2008, Cadw approved a grant of £15,000 to cover the first phase of repairs.[27] Only one of the original croglofft cottages, Carreg Bach, survives.[28] Given the choice of a harbour or a new church, in 1875 the islanders asked the estate to provide a place of worship; a Methodist chapel was built.[4]

The island had a population of 132 in 1881; by 1961 it had fallen to 17.[29] The island's small school, opened in a former chapel in 1919, closed in 1953;[26] and by 2003 the population was down to 4.[30]

Bardsey Island Trust (Welsh: Ymddiriedolaeth Ynys Enlli) bought the island in 1979,[4] after an appeal supported by the Church in Wales and many Welsh academics and public figures. The trust is financed through membership subscriptions, grants and donations, and is dedicated to protecting the wildlife, buildings and archaeological sites of the island; promoting its artistic and cultural life; and encouraging people to visit as a place of natural beauty and pilgrimage.[31] When, in 2000, the trust advertised for a tenant for the 440 acres (180 ha) sheep farm on the island, they had 1,100 applications.[32] The tenancy is now held by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds;[33] and the land is managed to maintain the natural habitat. Oats, turnips and swedes are grown; goats, ducks, geese and chickens kept; and there is a mixed flock of sheep and Welsh black cattle.[34]

Bardsey Lighthouse

Bardsey Lighthouse stands on the southerly tip of the island and guides vessels passing through St George's Channel and the Irish Sea.[35] It is the only square lighthouse maintained by Trinity House.[26]

Application for a light here was first made in 1816 by Lt. Thomas Evans R.N., but several other applications made in 1820 finally resulted in the building of the tower by Trinity House in 1821 at a cost of £5,470 12s 6d plus a further £2,950 16s 7d for the lantern.[36]

Joseph Nelson was the engineer and builder, but the heavy weathered string-course near the base and the blocked and hooded directional-light window show the influence of Daniel Alexander, who succeeded Samuel Wyatt as architect to Trinity House, and under whom Nelson served.[36] Joseph Nelson is associated with the design of at least fifteen lighthouses, mostly in the Bristol Channel.[36]

The Lighthouse is built of ashlar limestone and is unplastered inside and out, but painted in red and white bands on the outside.[36] The Lighthouse tower is 30 m (98 ft) high and is unusual, amongst Trinity House towers of this period in being square in plan. Unlike many other lighthouses, it retains its original gallery railings, which are of iron and bellied (i.e. curved out in width at their crowns) towards the top.[36] Other examples include Salt Island Lighthouse, at Holyhead, designed by John Rennie in the same year. Fortunately, the present lantern, fitted in 1856, did not require the removal of the original railings.[36]

The plinth of the tower is 4 m (13 ft) high and elaborately enriched, and at ground level it forms a square of 7.6 m (25 ft) reducing to 6.1 m (20 ft) at the top of the plinth and 4.6 m (15 ft) at the top of the tower below the crowning cornice, which juts out in a square of 5.5 m (18 ft).[36] The walls are 1.2 m (4 ft) thick at the base reducing to under 0.9 m (3 ft) at the top.[36] Originally, the light comprised reflectors but changed to a dioptric (refracting) mechanism in 1838; the appearance of the original lantern is not known. The present lantern of 1856 is a 4.27 m (14 ft) wide chamfered octagon and the light remained fixed, instead of revolving. The present revolving apparatus was installed in 1873 and gives a group of five flashes, originally driven by a vapourizing oil-lamp, but replaced by electric in 1973.[36]

The Lighthouse is unusual in lacking any sort of harbour or quay facilities.[36] As it is on an established migratory route, the tower has many bird casualties and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and Trinity House have tried to help the problem by providing perches on the lantern top and flood-lighting the tower, although this does not seem to have helped.[36]

In 1987 the Lighthouse was converted to automatic operation and up until 1995 was monitored from the Trinity House Area Control Station at Holyhead. It is now monitored from the Trinity House Depot at Harwich.[37] with a local part-time attendant carrying out routine maintenance.[36]

Y Storws, sometimes referred to as The Boathouse, was built a few years before the lighthouse, near to the landing place at Y Cafn.[26]

Wildlife

The island was declared a National Nature Reserve in 1986,[38] and is part of Glannau Aberdaron ac Ynys Enlli Special Protection Area (Welsh: Ardal Gwarchodaeth Arbennig Glannau Aberdaron ac Ynys Enlli). It is now a favourite bird-watching location, on the migration routes of thousands of birds. Bardsey Bird and Field Observatory (Welsh: Gwylfa Maes ac Adar Ynys Enlli), founded in 1953, nets and rings 8,000 birds each year in order to understand their migration patterns.[9]

7,000 pairs of Manx shearwaters come ashore each year, under cover of darkness, to nest on Bardsey Island.

The island was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its maritime communities;[39] internationally rare lichens; bryophyte, vascular plant and bird species; and intertidal communities. Nationally important flowering plants include sharp rush, rock sea lavender, small adder's tongue and western clover,[10] and the rare purple loosestrife is found in places.[40] Two nationally rare heathland lichens are found on the slopes of Mynydd Enlli: the ciliate strap lichen and golden hair lichen;[10] and there are over 350 lichen species in total.[41] The leafcutter bee, named after its habit of cutting neat, rounded circles in rose leaves, used to seal the entrance to its nest, is native.[42]

Thousands of birds pass through each year on their way to their breeding or wintering grounds. Chiffchaffs, goldcrests and wheatears are usually the first to pass through, followed by sedge warblers and willow warblers, whitethroats and spotted flycatchers.

Bardsey Island is one of the best places in Gwynedd to see grey seals. About 15 pups are born each autumn

About thirty species of bird regularly nest on the island, including ravens, little owls, oystercatchers and the rare chough. Hundreds of sea birds, including razorbills, guillemots, fulmars and kittiwakes, spend the summer nesting on the island's eastern cliffs, the numbers reflecting the fact that there are no land predators such as rats or foxes to worry about.[9] On a dark moonless night an eerie cackling can be heard across the island as 7,000 pairs of Manx shearwaters, 3.5 per cent of the British population,[10] come ashore to lay and incubate their eggs in abandoned rabbit warrens or newly dug burrows.[43]

A Bottlenose Dolphin swimming in sunset in Porth Neigwl (Hell's Mouth) Bay

The island is one of the best places in Gwynedd to see grey seals. In mid summer over two hundred can be seen, sunbathing on the rocks or bobbing in the sea, and about fifteen pups are born each autumn. Their sharp teeth and strong jaws are perfect for breaking the shells of lobsters and crabs which dwell in the waters. It is also possible to spot bottlenose and Risso's dolphins, and porpoises. The currents around the island are responsible for flushing in food-rich waters, and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has been carrying out surveys since 1999 to find out which areas are particularly important for feeding and nursing calves.[9]

The seas around the island are rich in marine life. There are forests of strap seaweed; in the rock pools are sea anemones, crabs and small fish; and in deeper waters, the rocks are covered by sponges and sea squirts. The yellow star anemone, found offshore, is more common to the Mediterranean.[41]

Culture

It was tradition for the island to elect the King of Bardsey (Welsh:Brenin Enlli), and from 1826 onwards,[44] he would be crowned by Baron Newborough or his representative.[45] The crown is now kept at Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool, although calls have been made for it to return to Gwynedd.[46] The first known title holder was John Williams; his son, John Williams II, the third of the recorded kings, was deposed in 1900, and asked to leave the island as he had become an alcoholic.[44] At the outbreak of World War I, the last king, Love Pritchard, offered himself and the men of Bardsey Island for military service, but he was refused as he was considered too old at the age of 71. Pritchard took umbrage, and declared the island a neutral power.[45] In 1925 Pritchard left the island for the mainland, to seek a less laborious way of life, but died the following year.[47]

Yorkshire born poet Christine Evans lives half the year on Bardsey Island, spending the winters at Uwchmynydd. She moved to Pwllheli as a teacher, and married into a Bardsey Island farming family. While on maternity leave in 1976, she started writing poems, and her first book was published seven years later. Cometary Phrases was Welsh Book of the Year 1989 and she was the winner of the inaugural Roland Mathias Prize in 2005.[48]

Edgar Ewart Pritchard, an amateur film-maker from Brownhills, produced "The Island in the Current", a colour movie of life on Bardsey Island, in 1953. A copy of the film is held by the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales.[49]

Opera singer Bryn Terfel, a patron of the Bardsey Island Trust, has performed in the island's chapel;[13] and triple harpist Llio Rhydderch in 2002 released Enlli, an album inspired by the spiritual emotions evoked on the pilgrimages.[50]

Several artists have been successful at the National Eisteddfod, inspired by their time on Bardsey Island. Fflur Dafydd won the prose medal in 2006 for her novel Atyniad (English: Attraction).

Dilys Cadwaladr, the former school teacher on the island, in 1953 became the first woman to win the Crown at the National Eisteddfod, for her long poem Y Llen; and artist Brenda Chamberlain twice won the Gold Medal for Art at the Eisteddfod; in 1951 for Girl with Siamese Cat, and in 1953 with The Christin Children.[51] Some of the murals she painted can still be seen on the walls of Carreg, her home from 1947 to 1962. Wildlife artist Kim Atkinson, whose work has been widely exhibited in Wales and England, spent her childhood on the island and returned to live there in the 1980s.[11]

Since 1999, Bardsey Island Trust has appointed an Artist in Residence to spend several weeks on the island producing work which is later exhibited on the mainland. A Welsh literary residence was created in 2002; singer-songwriter Fflur Dafydd spent six weeks working on a collection of poetry and prose.[11] Her play Hugo was inspired by her stay, and she has produced two novels, Atyniad (English: Attraction), which won the prose medal at the 2006 Eisteddfod; and Twenty Thousand Saints, winner of the Oxfam Hay Prize, which tells how the women of the island, starved of men, turn to each other.[12]

In 2009 Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog became the first electric rock group to play on the island, as part of S4C's "Bandit" series.

Transport

Ferry services to Bardsey Island are operated from Porth Meudwy and Pwllheli by Bardsey Boat Trips and Enlli Charters.[52][53]

At times, the wind and the fierce sea currents make sailing between the island and the mainland impossible. Sometimes boats are unable to reach or leave Bardsey Island for weeks, and in 2000 seventeen island visitors became stranded for two weeks when gales prevented a boat going to rescue them.[6]

References

  1. ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica : Bardsey Island Retrieved 2009-08-16
  2. ^ Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, 1849, S Lewis and Co, London, 474 pages
  3. ^ Cycling North Wales : Cycle Ride from Aberdaron Retrieved 2009-08-16
  4. ^ a b c Gwynedd Archaeological Trust : Bardsey Retrieved 2009-08-16
  5. ^ Ordnance Survey : Election Maps : Gwynedd Retrieved 2009-08-16
  6. ^ a b British Broadcasting Corporation : Island of 20,000 Saints Retrieved 2009-08-16
  7. ^ a b c University College London Institute of Archaeology : Bardsey Island Retrieved 2009-08-16
  8. ^ a b c Bardsey Island Trust : The Island : History Retrieved 2009-08-16
  9. ^ a b c d e British Broadcasting Corporation : Wildlife Haven Retrieved 2009-08-16
  10. ^ a b c d Countryside Council for Wales : Core Management Plan Including Conservation Objectives for Clogwyni Pen Llŷn SAC Retrieved 2009-08-16
  11. ^ a b c Bardsey Island Trust : Enlli and the Arts Retrieved 2009-08-16
  12. ^ a b British Broadcasting Corporation : 24 May 2009 : Singer-songwriter Wins Book Prize Retrieved 2009-08-16
  13. ^ a b Daily Telegraph : 11 September 2008 : Bryn Terfel : Why I Nearly Fled the Last Night Retrieved 2009-08-16
  14. ^ British Geological Survey 1:50,000 scale geological map sheet 133 (England and Wales) Aberdaron and Bardsey Island (BGS, Keyworth, Notts) (with 1:10,00 inset map of Bardsey)
  15. ^ Howells, M.F. 2007 British Regional Geology: Wales (BGS, Keyworth, Notts) pp15-20
  16. ^ Mysterious Britain and Ireland : Bardsey Island Retrieved 2009-08-16
  17. ^ a b British Broadcasting Corporation : Pilgrims : The Northern Path Retrieved 2009-08-16
  18. ^ Aberdaron and District Tourist Link : Places to Visit Retrieved 2009-08-16
  19. ^ Aberdaron and District Tourist Link : Aberdaron Retrieved 2009-08-16
  20. ^ Edge of Wales Walk : History Retrieved 2009-08-16
  21. ^ St Deiniol's Library : St Deiniol : Abbot, Bishop and Confessor Retrieved 2009-08-16
  22. ^ Smith, Malcolm (22 March 2003). "The Sainted Apple". The Times. p. 12. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  23. ^ Tunstall, Jill (6 October 2007). "The man who rescues trees". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  24. ^ "Afan Ynys Enlli - Bardsey Island Apple". Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  25. ^ "Bardsey Island Apple". Ian Sturrock & Sons.
  26. ^ a b c d Bardsey Island Trust : Landmarks Retrieved 2009-08-16
  27. ^ Cadw : 15 January 2008 : Funding Announced in January to Restore Some of Wales's Historic Buildings Retrieved 2009-08-16
  28. ^ Bardsey Island Trust : Staying on Bardsey Retrieved 2009-08-16
  29. ^ A Vision of Britain Through Time : Total Population : Bardsey Island Civil Parish Retrieved 2009-08-16
  30. ^ The Guardian : 15 November 2008 : We Have a Lot of Quality Family Time Retrieved 2009-08-16
  31. ^ Bardsey Island Trust : The Trust Retrieved 2009-08-16
  32. ^ Abigail Hole, Etain O'Carroll and John King, Lonely Planet : Wales, 2007, Lonely Planet Publications, Footscray, 356 pages, ISBN 978-1-74104-538-3
  33. ^ Royal Society for the Protection of Birds : 14 May 2008 : News : Wildlife Wins on Bardsey Island Retrieved 2009-08-16
  34. ^ Bardsey Island Trust : Agriculture Retrieved 2009-08-16
  35. ^ Genuki : A Topographical Dictionary of Wales 1833 by Samuel Lewis Retrieved 2009-08-16
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Douglas Bland Hague, Lighthouses of Wales Their Architecture and Archaeology, 1994, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, Aberystwyth, 102 pages, ISBN 1-871184-08-8
  37. ^ Trinity House : Bardsey Lighthouse Retrieved 2009-08-16
  38. ^ British Broadcasting Corporation : Bardsey Island Retrieved 2009-08-16
  39. ^ National Biodiversity Network : Ynys Enlli SSSI Retrieved 2009-08-16
  40. ^ Celtlands : Ynys Enlli : Fauna Retrieved 2009-08-16
  41. ^ a b Bardsey Island Trust : Natural History Retrieved 2009-08-16
  42. ^ Y Cafn : Winter 2007 : Leafcutter Bees Retrieved 2009-08-16
  43. ^ Joint Nature Conservation Committee : Manx Shearwater, Puffinus puffinus Retrieved 2009-08-16
  44. ^ a b Y Cafn : Winter 2007 : Kings on Bardsey Retrieved 2009-08-16
  45. ^ a b Cimwch : Kings of Bardsey Retrieved 2009-08-16
  46. ^ The Observer : 5 October 2008 : Islanders Call for Return of Welsh Crown Retrieved 2009-08-16
  47. ^ Bardsey Island Trust : History Retrieved 2009-08-16
  48. ^ Gwasg Gomer : Author Biographies : Christine Evans Retrieved 2009-08-16
  49. ^ The National Library of Wales : Gathering the Jewels : Film : "The Island in the Current", 1953 Retrieved 2009-08-16
  50. ^ Llio Rhydderch : The Enlli Suite Retrieved 2009-08-16
  51. ^ Y Cafn : Spring 2007 : Island Artist : Brenda Chamberlain (1912-71) Retrieved 2009-08-16
  52. ^ Bardsey Boat Trips : Your Ticket to Discovery Retrieved 2009-08-16
  53. ^ Enlli Charters : Day Trips to Bardsey Island Retrieved 2009-08-16
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Bardsey".
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