Llanbedr
Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox UK place
Llanbedr (Template:Pronunciation) is a village and community Template:Convert south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales. In 2011 the community had a population of 645.
HistoryEdit
Ancient monuments at Llanbedr include Neolithic standing stones; the Stones of Llanbedr and Bronze Age hut circles. The village originally grew around the slate quarrying industry. Glyn Pedr is a Victorian Grade II listed residence on Maes Ffynnon.
During the First World War, Marian Antonia Gamwell, a widow, created a British Red Cross auxiliary hospital at her new home, the country house called Aber Artro, at Llanbedr.<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
ClimateEdit
Church and chapelEdit
The church of St Peter, after whom the village is named (Pedr being the Welsh for Peter), is a Grade II* listed building.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2019 approval was given to convert Capel Moriah in Llanbedr, which had gone out of use, into a Mosque.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref>
About Template:Convert east of the village centre is the hamlet of Pentre Gwynfryn whose chapel, Capel Salem, was the subject of a painting by the artist Sydney Curnow Vosper. The painting, entitled Salem, showed a member of the congregation, Siân Owen, in traditional Welsh costume and became famous throughout Britain in the mid-20th century.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
AirportEdit
The village is home to Llanbedr Airport, a general aviation aerodrome. Until 2004 the site was operated as a military airfield by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) and QinetiQ as a launch site for remotely-piloted drones for use as aerial targets by the RAF and other UK forces.<ref>Mills, Wendy (2002) Target Rolling: A History of Llanbedr Airfield 1941-2002, Hinckley, Leics: Midland Publishing Template:ISBN</ref> The airfield was included in the Snowdonia Enterprise Zone by the Welsh Government in January 2013.
In 2018 the airport became home to a flying school offering pleasure flights and flying lessons.
After the UK passed 2021 enabling legislation, in 2022, the Welsh Government announced plans to develop space launch capability at the site, to be named Spaceport Snowdonia.<ref>https://www.thenational.wales/news/19808881.spaceport-snowdonia-spaceport-cornwall-plans-alive/ [1]</ref>
AmenitiesEdit
The Morfa Dyffryn sand dunes and Mochras (Shell Island) lie nearby. It has two public houses.
To the north of the village is the smaller village of Pensarn, situated at the estuary of the River Artro. This is the location of Llanbedr & Pensarn Yacht Club and the Christian Mountain Centre, a residential adventure activity centre.
RailwaysEdit
Llanbedr railway station, formerly known as Talwrn Bach Halt, is a little out of the village itself and is served by the Cambrian Line.
GovernanceEdit
An electoral ward in the same name existed. This ward also covered the Community of Llanfair. The total ward population at the 2011 Census was 1,098.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From the 2022 Gwynedd Council election the ward was merged with Harlech, renamed Harlech a Llanbedr and the representation increased to 2 county councillors.
TwinningEdit
In 2008 Llanbedr was twinned with Huchenfeld, Germany, following many years of exchanges between schools, churches, musicians and community leaders, in remembrance of the occurrences at Pforzheim and Huchenfeld during the Second World War.Template:Citation needed
Notable peopleEdit
- Henry Lloyd (ca.1718 – 1783), a Welsh army officer and military writer.
- Katherine Mudge (1881–1975), a British archer; she competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
- Sir Philip Pullman CBE FRSL (born 1946), an English writer; his formative years were spent in Llanbedr.
See alsoEdit
- Petrosomatoglyph St. Mary's footprints at Llan Maria.
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Gwynedd Template:Communities of Gwynedd Template:Authority control