Портмадог: История и современность валлийского городка

Town in Gwynedd, Wales

Porthmadog , originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, Wales, and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies 5 mile (8 km) east of Criccieth, 11 mile (18 km) south west of Blaenau Ffestiniog, 25 mile (40 km) north of Dolgellau and 20 mile (32 km) south of Caernarfon. The community population of 4,185 in the 2011 census was put at 4,134 in 2019. It grew in the 19th century as a port for local slate, but as the trade declined, it continued as a shopping and tourism centre, being close to Snowdonia National Park and the Ffestiniog Railway. The 1987 National Eisteddfod was held there. It includes nearby Borth y Gest, Morfa Bychan and Tremadog.

Porthmadog came about after William Madocks built a sea wall, the Cob, in 1808–1811 to reclaim much of Traeth Mawr from the sea for farming use. Diversion of the Afon Glaslyn caused it to scour out a new natural harbour deep enough for small ocean going sailing ships, and the first public wharves appeared in 1825. Quarry companies followed, with wharves along the shore almost to Borth y Gest, while slate was carted from Ffestiniog down to quays along the Afon Dwyryd, then boated to Porthmadog for transfer to seagoing vessels. In the later 19th century, Porthmadog flourished as a port, its population rising from 885 in 1821 to over 3,000 by 1861. The rapidly growing cities of England needed high quality roofing slate, which was brought to the new port by tramway from quarries in Ffestiniog and Llanfrothen. Several shipbuilders were active at this time. They were known particularly for their three masted schooners called Western Ocean Yachts, the last of which was launched in 1913. although some believe it is named after a folklore character, Madog ab Owain Gwynedd, whose name appears also in "Ynys Fadog" ("Madog Island"). The name first appeared on an Ordnance Survey map in 1838.

Ynyscynhaiarn was a civil parish in the cantref of Eifionydd. In 1858 a local board of health was established under the Public Health Act 1848, and from 1889 this formed a second tier of local government in Caernarfonshire. Under the Local Government Act 1894 the local board became an urban district, which by 1902 had changed its name to Portmadoc. In 1934 part of the area was transferred to Dolbenmaen and a smaller area was taken in from Treflys, which was abolished. Porthmadog Urban District was abolished in 1974, when it became part of Dwyfor District in the new county of Gwynedd, though it retained limited powers as a community. Dwyfor itself disappeared when Gwynedd became a unitary authority in 1996. The town now forms three divisions of Cyngor Gwynedd, each with one councillor. In 2012 Jason Humphreys, for Llais Gwynedd, was elected in Porthmadog East. Selwyn Griffiths (Plaid Cymru) retained his seat in Porthmadog West unopposed. Tremadog is included in the Porthmadog Tremadog division with Beddgelert and part of Dolbenmaen. In 2012 Alwyn Gruffydd for Llais Gwynedd retained the seat. Porthmadog Town Council has 16 elected members. In 2008, 12 of its councillors were elected unopposed: seven Independents, four Plaid Cymru and one Llais Gwynedd. There were four unfilled seats. The town divides into six wards: Gest, Morfa Bychan, East, West, Tremadog and Ynys Galch. From 1950 to 2010, Porthmadog was part of Caernarfon parliamentary constituency, represented since 2001 by Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru). In 2010 the town became part of the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency. In the Senedd, it has since 2007 formed part of Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency. It is represented by Mabon ap Gwynfor. It forms part of the electoral region of Mid and West Wales.

Borth y Gest, 1 mile (2 km) south of Porthmadog, is built in a shallow bowl sweeping down to a sheltered bay, with hidden sandy coves and cliffs. Ships were built here before Porthmadog was established and houses, still known as "pilot houses", were erected at the mouth of the harbour so that pilots could watch for ships needing them. Before Porthmadog was developed, this was the starting point of a major crossing over the wide and dangerous Glaslyn estuary. Locals earned money by guiding travellers across the treacherous sands of Traeth Mawr to Harlech. Parc y Borth is a local nature reserve in deciduous woodland dominated by ancient Welsh oaks. Green woodpeckers, tawny owls and pied flycatchers can be seen among the branches. On the shore is another nature reserve, Pen y Banc, a mixture of coastal rocks, secluded sandy coves and mixed woodland. Established in 1996, it is a good spot to see wading birds. Its beaches attract many visitors. The mild climate results in a wide variety of vegetation, from gorse and heather through to blackthorn, crab apple, and birch.

Morfa Bychan, 2.1 mile (3 km) south west of Porthmadog, has a wide beach, Black Rock Sands (Welsh: Traeth Morfa Bychan), with Graig Ddu, a rocky headland, at its western end. At low tide, rock pools and caverns are exposed. The beach is popular with windsurfers, and is unusual in allowing vehicles onto the sands. Sand dunes behind the beach form part of Morfa Bychan and Greenacres Nature Reserve. Standing in a field is Cist Cerrig, a dolmen, near which are rocks containing cup marks. In 1996 there were protests backed by Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg against the building of 800 houses at Morfa Bychan. These followed a High Court decision that planning permission granted in 1964 remained valid. The owners of the site later entered a legal agreement with Cyngor Gwynedd, allowing a caravan site and nature reserve to be placed on part of the site, which ensured that the 1964 permit could no longer be implemented. The council also settled a compensation claim by developers for the way the matter had been handled.

Tremadog, a planned settlement 0.9 mile (1 km) north of Porthmadog, was built on land reclaimed from Traeth Mawr by William Madocks. In 1805 the first cottages appeared in what Madocks called Pentre Gwaelod ("Bottom Village"), which was designed to give an impression of a borough, with a central Town Hall and Dance Room. Industry included in the plan consisted of a Manufactory, Loomery, fulling mill and corn mill, all worked by water power. To the north is Tan yr Allt, a property bought by Madocks for the first Regency house in Gwynedd. The sloping garden consists mainly of lawns planted with trees and shrubs. It includes a memorial to Percy Bysshe Shelley.

At the 2001 census, 44.3 per cent of the working age population were employed, 11.5 per cent self employed, 5.3 per cent unemployed and 20.4 per cent retired. Of the employed, 33.0 per cent worked in the distribution, hotel and catering trades and 23.5 per cent in public administration, education and health. Welsh slate was also in high demand as a construction material in the English industrial cities and transported to the new port by horse drawn tramways. The Ffestiniog Railway, opened in 1836 as a gravity railway with horses hauling empty slate waggons back up to the quarries, was converted to steam operation in 1863; trains ran straight onto the wharves. By 1873 116,000 tons (117,800 t) of slate were being shipped out of Porthmadog and other trade developed. The Carnarvonshire and Merionethshire Steamship Company formed in 1864 purchased the Rebecca to carry stores from Liverpool to supply the growing town. The First World War marked the end of Porthmadog's exports. No new ships were built, several were sunk by enemy action, and most of the survivors were sold. The arrival at Blaenau Ffestiniog of the LNWR in 1879 and the GWR in 1883 brought a steady decline in the slate traffic carried by the Festiniog Railway and Portmadoc shipping. Some slate had been carried via the Festiniog Railway, the Croesor & Portmadoc Railway and the Cambrian Railways after the latter's line had been opened between Barmouth and Pwllheli in 1867; this traffic was diverted to the exchange yard established between the Festiniog Railway and the Cambrian Railways at Minffordd in 1872. By 1925 less than five per cent of Ffestiniog's slate output went out by sea. The final load of slate delivered by rail left by sea from Porthmadog in 1946. Two months later the railway ceased commercial operations. In the 19th century Porthmadog had at least three iron foundries. The Glaslyn Foundry opened in 1848, and the Union Iron Works in 1869. The Britannia Foundry, opposite Porthmadog Harbour Railway Station appeared in 1851 and grew rapidly with the town's prosperity. It supplied slate working machinery and railway equipment to all but one of the slate quarries operating in England and Wales. A lucrative sideline was the production of drains and manhole covers for Caernarfonshire's roads.

Porthmadog is a mainly Welsh speaking community: 74.9 per cent of the inhabitants speak it regularly. Porthmadog Maritime Museum on Oakley Wharf occupies an old slate shed. It has displays of schooners built in the town and the men who sailed them.

The Cob is a prominent embankment built across the Glaslyn estuary in 1811 by William Madocks to reclaim land at Traeth Mawr for agriculture. It opened with a four day feast and Eisteddfod celebrating the roadway connecting Caernarfonshire to Meirionnydd, which figured in Madocks's plans for a road from London to his proposed port at Porthdinllaen. Three weeks later, the embankment was breached by high tides and Madocks's supporters had to drum up money and men from all Caernarfonshire to repair the breach and strengthen the whole embankment. By 1814 it was open again, but Madocks's finances were in ruins. The toll was abolished in 2003 when the Welsh Assembly Government bought the Cob. Pen Cei, to the west of the harbour was a centre of the harbour's commercial activities. Boats were built and repaired. There were slate wharves for each quarry company with tracks connecting to the railway. Bron Guallt, built in 1895, was the Oakeley Quarry shipping agent's house. Grisiau Mawr ("Big Steps") connected the quay to Garth and houses were built for the ship owners and sea captains. A School of Navigation was also built. The War Memorial stands on top of Ynys Galch, one of the former islands reclaimed from Traeth Mawr. Taking the form of a Celtic cross and standing 16 feet (5 m) high, it was fashioned from Trefor granite and unveiled "in memory of ninety seven fallen war heroes of Madoc Vale" in 1922. On Moel y Gest, a hill above the town, is an Iron Age stone walled hill fort.

The town has three local primary schools. The bilingual Ysgol Eifion Wyn in Stryd Fawr, named after a local poet, Eliseus Williams (Eifion Wyn), has 204 pupils. It moved into new premises in 2003. There are units for children with special educational needs or with language difficulties. At the last school inspection by Estyn in 2004, 9 per cent of pupils were entitled to free school meals and 72 per cent came from homes where Welsh was the main spoken language. Ysgol Borth y Gest in Stryd Mersey, Borth y Gest, is the smallest of the three with 70 pupils. That of Ysgol Borth y Gest, built in 1880, had been in doubt. In 2006, at the last inspection by Estyn, 3 per cent of pupils were entitled to free school meals and 20 per cent came from homes where Welsh was the main spoken language. Ysgol y Gorlan in Tremadog has 122 pupils. Ysgol Eifionydd in Stryd Fawr is a bilingual comprehensive school for ages 11–16, founded about 1900. It has 484 pupils.

Porthmadog lies on the A487 trunk road between the Fishguard and Bangor. The A498 runs north from Porthmadog to Beddgelert, for access to Snowdonia. The A497 runs west through the southern Llŷn Peninsula to Criccieth and Pwllheli. In 2008 the Welsh Assembly Government issued plans for a A487 Porthmadog, Minffordd and Tremadog Bypass to reduce through traffic. This officially opened on 17 October 2011. Of the town's three railway stations, Porthmadog on the Cambrian Coast Line between Pwllheli and Machynlleth is served by Transport for Wales for Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton and Birmingham. Porthmadog Harbour at the southern end of Stryd Fawr, has been the Ffestiniog Railway terminus since passenger services started in 1865. Since 2011 it is also the southern terminus of the rebuilt Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon. The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway has its main station and visitor centre near the north end of Stryd Fawr on the former Cambrian Railways sidings opposite the mainline station. Trains run to Pen y Mount. Buses are run by Arriva Buses Wales, Gwynfor Coaches, Lloyds Coaches and Caelloi Motors, to Aberystwyth, Bangor, Beddgelert, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Caernarfon, Criccieth, Dolgellau, Machynlleth, Morfa Bychan, Penrhyndeudraeth, Pen y Pass, Portmeirion, Pwllheli, Rhyd and Tremadog.