Coordinates: 53°18′32″N 4°37′58″W / 53.3088°N 4.6328°W / 53.3088; -4.6328

Holyhead
Welsh: Caergybi
Holyhead  Holyhead shown within Anglesey
Population	13,580 (includes other Holy Island settlements)
OS grid reference	SH245825
Principal area	Anglesey
Ceremonial county	Gwynedd
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HOLYHEAD
Postcode district	LL65
Dialling code	01407
Police	North Wales
Fire	North Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
EU Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Ynys Môn
Welsh Assembly	Ynys Môn
List of places: UK • Wales • Anglesey

Holyhead (ⁱ/ˈhɒlɪhɛd/ HOL-i-hed; Welsh: Caergybi [kɑːɨrˈɡəbi], "the town of Cybi") is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland.

Despite being the largest town in the county, with a population of 11,237 (2001 census), it is neither the county town nor actually on the island of Anglesey. Holyhead is located on Holy Island. It was originally connected to Anglesey via Four Mile Bridge, so called because it was four miles (6 km) from Holyhead on the old turnpike Road to London. In the mid 19th century, Lord Stanley, a local philanthropist, funded the building of a larger causeway.^{[citation needed]} Known locally as "The Cob", it now carries the A5 and the railway line. The A55 dual carriageway runs parallel to The Cob on a modern causeway.

Prehistoric and Roman history[link]

St Cybi's Church at Holyhead

The town centre is built around St. Cybi's Church, which is built inside one of Europe's few three-walled Roman forts (the fourth wall being the sea, which used to come up to the fort). The Romans also built a watchtower on the top of Holyhead Mountain inside Mynydd y Twr, a prehistoric hillfort. Settlements in the area date from prehistoric times, with circular huts, burial chambers and standing stones featuring in the highest concentration in Britain. The current lighthouse is on South Stack on the other side of Holyhead Mountain and is open to the public. The area is also popular with birdwatchers.

Transport[link]

The Port of Holyhead has a busy ferry port. Stena Line, Europe's biggest ferry company, operates from the port, as do Irish Ferries. Ferries sail to Dublin, with a limited once a day sailing to Dún Laoghaire in Ireland; this forms the principal link for surface transport from central and northern England and Wales to Ireland. There is archaeological evidence that people have been sailing between Holyhead and Ireland for 4,000 years. Holyhead's maritime importance was at its height in the 19th century when the two and a half mile (4 km) breakwater, widely acknowledged to be one of Britain's finest, was built, creating a safe harbour for vessels caught in stormy waters on their way to Liverpool and the industrial ports of Lancashire. Holyhead's sea heritage is remembered in a maritime museum.

The post road built by Thomas Telford from London strengthened Holyhead's position as the port from which the Royal Mail was dispatched to and from Dublin on the Mail coach. The A5 terminates at Admiralty Arch (1822–24), which was designed by Thomas Harrison to commemorate a visit by King George IV in 1821 en route to Ireland and marks the zenith of Irish Mail coach operations. In 2001, work was completed on the extension of the A55 North Wales Expressway from the Britannia Bridge to Holyhead, giving the town a dual carriageway connection to North Wales and the main British motorway network. The A55 forms part of Euroroute E22 and was funded in the main by money from the European Union. The Anglesey section was financed through a Private Finance Initiative scheme. Celtic Gate was built recently.

With the opening of the railway from London to Liverpool, Holyhead lost the London to Dublin Mail contract in 1839 to the Port of Liverpool. Only after the completion of the Chester and Holyhead Railway in 1850 and the building of Holyhead railway station did the Irish Mail return to Holyhead. Holyhead is currently the terminus of the North Wales Coast Line and is served by Virgin Trains and Arriva Trains Wales services.

Industry[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Holyhead's main industry was aluminium-based until September 2009, with Rio Tinto Group's Anglesey Aluminium subsidiary operating a massive aluminium smelter on the outskirts of the town, including a plant that refined bauxite. A large jetty in the harbour received ships from Jamaica and Australia, and their cargoes of bauxite and aluminium ores were transported on a cable belt rope driven conveyor belt that runs underneath the town to the plant. The jetty is now used by Anglesey County Council to dock cruise ships visiting from all over the world. The jetty is wide enough for coaches to travel down to collect and deliver passengers to the town and on local tours. The plant relied on its electricity supply from the island's nuclear power station at Wylfa, near Cemaes Bay. However Wylfa is reaching the end of its life and only has permission to generate into 2012,^[1] and the ending of a low-cost electricity supply contract in 2009 impacted on the financial viability of the smelting plant. Continuing operations involve the remelting of aluminium scrap for re-use. The site is subject to proposals by a development company called Lateral Power.

Holyhead Port is a major employer, most of the jobs being linked to ferry services to the Republic of Ireland operated by Stena and Irish Ferries. Other significant industrial/transport sector employers in Holyhead include Holyhead Boatyard, Gwynedd Shipping, and Eaton Electrical, with the latter having seen many job losses in 2009. New retail developments in recent years have been a major source of new job creation.

Climate[link]

As with the rest of the British Isles and Wales, Holyhead experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters, often high winds, exacerbated by its location by the Irish Sea. The nearest official weather observation station is at RAF Valley, about 5 miles South East of the town centre.

Notable people[link]

• David Crystal, linguist and chair of the charity behind Holyhead's arts centre, the Ucheldre Centre, lives in Holyhead
• Francis Dodd, artist, born in the town in 1874
• John Fox-Russell (1893–1917), winner of the Victoria Cross
• Dawn French, comedian and actor, born in the town in 1957
• Glenys Kinnock, politician,
• Tony Roberts, Welsh international footballer, born in the town in 1969
• Raymond Sweetman, bass guitarist, born in the town in 1948
• R.S. Thomas, poet, grew up in Holyhead
• Ray Williams, weightlifting Commonwealth gold medallist, born in the town in 1959

Culture and sport[link]

Holyhead hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1927. Holyhead is the start and finish point of the Anglesey Coastal Path.

Holyhead's arts centre, the Ucheldre Centre, is located in the chapel of an old convent belonging to the order of the Bon Sauveur. It holds regular arts exhibitions, performances, workshops and film screenings. The Holyhead Maritime Museum is housed in what is claimed to be Wales's oldest lifeboat house.

According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, 47% of the residents in the town can speak Welsh. The highest percentage of speakers is the 15 year old age group, where 66% can speak the language.

The town's main football team is called Holyhead Hotspur and they play in the Cymru Alliance [1], with their reserves playing in the Gwynedd League. There is also Holyhead Gwelfor Athletic who play in the Anglesey League.

Holyhead's cliffs are used for coasteering, a water sport which involves jumping off cliffs at different heights.

Holyhead is home to one of the first churches of the Jedi Religion, founded by brothers Daniel and Barney Jones early in 2008.^[3]

Holyhead's breakwater is the longest in Europe.

Holyhead High School (previously County Secondary school) was the first comprehensive school in the UK.

Holyhead was officially twinned with Greystones, County Wicklow on the 20th January 2012, and this is celebrated on a new road sign.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Holyhead

• Holy Island Responders, Lifesaving Charity Team in the area
• holyheadlife chat forum and photos
• Holyhead.com - website about Holyhead
• Holyhead Town Council official site
• Holyhead Forward
• Holyhead page of the Wales2000 Network
• Holyhead Hotspur Peibio Youth FC
• Sealink-Holyhead.com, a guide to the history of the sea route between Holyhead and Ireland
• Photos of Holyhead and surrounding area on Geograph
• Aerial photograph of Holyhead in 1999
• Ysgol Kingsland Primary School
• Ucheldre Repertory Company
• Encyclopedia HolyheadYeah from Caergybi.com, an often humorous collection of local knowledge

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