HLW (Gw) 12

North Arllechwedd  

2001  

Outstanding  

Designated  

This area comprises the narrow coastal strip, uplands and dissected northern flanks of the Carneddau ridge in north Snowdonia. The topography is markedly varied with the south west half of the area deeply dissected by the valley of the Rivers Anafon and Aber up to the watershed summits of Gyrn, Drosgol, Garnedd Uchaf, Foel Fras and Drum which rise to between 580 and 926m above OD. In the east half, the narrow coastal strip gives way to coastal slopes and headlands that rise steeply to an upland plateau between 250 and 450m above OD, extending from the Aber valley to Dwygyfylchi. In the south east, the Bwlch y Ddeufaen pass provides a natural route to the Conwy valley which is outside the area (pp. 81–83), whilst Lavan Sands (Traeth Lafan), crossed by the line of the historic route from Anglesey, has been included on the north west of the area. The area contains a rich wealth of upstanding remains from the prehistoric, medieval and later periods, most notably a Neolithic axe factory site and one of the most important concentrations of Bronze Age funerary and ritual monuments in western Britain. Abergwyngregyn was the commotal centre of Arllechwedd Uchaf, and a favourite residence of the princes of Gwynedd in the 13th century. The area also has a number of trackways of ancient origin including the line of the Roman road to Canovium (Caerhun) in the Conwy valley. Although the field evidence is fairly well-recorded, there is much potential for further work, including the study of historical, documentary sources. The Neolithic axe factory at Graiglwyd produced stone axe heads which, from examples that have been found, were widely distributed as ‘rough-outs’ or blanks to be finished off in places as far afield as southern Britain, Scotland and Ireland. The location of this resource may, in part, account for the great concentration of funerary and ritual monuments to be found in the area during the latter part of this period and the ensuing Bronze Age, particularly above Graiglwyd in the vicinity of the Druid’s Circle. The sites, often occurring in groups or cemeteries, include cairns of various forms, stone circles, cists, standing stones and so on, and extend to the Aber valley in the west and through Bwlch y Ddeufaen and beyond in the south. The area is one of the richest and most important in western Britain for this type of evidence. It is unknown where the builders of these sites lived, but it may be significant that the area also contains a concentration of burnt stone mounds, the sites of communal cooking places often found to be associated with prehistoric settlement. However, evidence of the hut settlements, enclosures and field systems of the succeeding Iron Age and Romano-British periods has survived in an almost unbroken pattern in the valleys and on the intermediate slopes throughout the area. The largest of the Iron Age settlements, Braich y Ddinas hillfort on Penmaenmawr, was destroyed by quarrying earlier this century, but two smaller forts have survived, one at Maes y Gaer above the mouth of the Aber valley and the other, Dinas, sited on a prominent spur above Llanfairfechan. Many of the trackways in the area are presumed to have prehistoric origins, particularly the routes from the coast to Bwlch y Ddeufaen, which, until roads were constructed in the area in the 18th century, was the only way of avoiding the treacherous coastline around Penmaenmawr.The line of the Roman road from Canovium (Caerhun) enters the area through Bwlch y Ddeufaen and can be traced for some distance as far as the Gorddinog valley, where it drops to the coast. Later routes down to the coast favoured the Aber valley. Following the construction of the turnpike road in the 18th century, Abergwyngregyn appears to have been the starting point for crossing the Lavan Sands for the Beaumaris ferry, but it is likely that this area had in fact been the starting point for many centuries before. A motte was constructed by the Normans in the 11th century on the west bank of the River Aber and now stands central to the present village. Abergwyngregyn was the maerdref or the administrative centre of the commote of Arllechwedd Uchaf, and a favourite residence of the princes of Gwynedd in the 13th century. Recent excavations in the field adjacent to the motte seem to have have confirmed the presence there of a medieval three-unit, winged hall, associated with 13th century pottery. The juxtaposition of motte and the hall or neuadd can possibly only be paralleled by what might be a similar complex at Prysor in the Trawsfynydd area (p. 111), a fact which underlines the importance of both sites. The remains of contemporary and later settlements survive in the Aber valley and on the slopes above with relict field systems extending in some places over several hectares. Their outlines, including ridge and furrow cultivation marks, can often be traced on aerial photographs. The remains overlie the earlier prehistoric patterns and there is much potential for further field survey allied to palaeoenvironmental studies, and for documentary research for the later periods, so as to examine the mechanisms which have continually led to such intense land use and activity in the area. In more recent times, Graiglwyd has been intensively quarried for building and roadstone, and there are a number of industrial archaeological features surviving in the areas no longer worked. The villages of Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr (both currently outside the area described here) developed considerably as a result of this enterprise in the late 19th century. During the same period, unsuccessful trials for iron ore occurred at several sites above Abergwyngregyn, and the remains of the levels and waste tips can still be seen. In the 20th century, the area has maintained its preminence as a natural route corridor, with several underground high pressure gas mains and high voltage electricity transmission lines crossing through it to avoid the coast. The 725m cable span of the 400kv National Grid line across the Aber valley is one of the longest in the world.