Caernarvon

 

(kərnär'vən, kär–) , Welsh Caernarfon, town (1981 pop. 9,506), Gwynedd, NW Wales, on Menai Strait. Petroleum is imported and slate exported. Tourism is important. The castle, begun by Edward I c.1284, is a fine example of a medieval fortress. The Prince of Wales is invested at Caernarvon.

Caernarfon
Population	9,611
OS grid reference	SH485625
- London	247.1mi
Principal area	Gwynedd
Ceremonial county	Gwynedd
Constituent country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CAERNARFON
Postcode district	LL55
Dialling code	01286
Police	North Wales
Fire	North Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Caernarfon
European Parliament	Wales
List of places: UK • Wales • Gwynedd

Coordinates: 53°′N 4°′W / 53.14, -4.27

Caernarfon (the original Welsh spelling is now almost always used in preference to the anglicised forms, "Caernarvon" or "Carnarvon") is a royal town in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, UK.

The name comes from Welsh Caer yn Arfon = "castle in Arfon", referring to the Roman fort named Segontium. Arfon means "[region] opposite Anglesey". In Welsh it is pronounced IPA: [kaɨrˈnar.vɔn] (approximately "kire-NAR-von"), but it tends to be pronounced [ka(r)ˈnaː(r)vən] in English.

Origins of the name

In the year 1221 a charter granted to the canons of Penmon priory, in Anglesey, by Llywelyn the Great, refers to Kaerinarfon [2], and Brut y Tywysogion uses the forms Kaerenarvon and Caerenarvon.^[1] An early alternative name was Caer Seiont. It is called Caer Aber Sei(o)n(t) ("the fort on the estuary of the river Seiont") in the medieval Welsh tale Breuddwyd Macsen, and was also known as Caer Gystennin ("The Castle of Constantine"; Constantinople).^[2]

History

Caernarfon is the traditional county town of the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. The town is best known for its great stone castle, built by Edward I of England and consequently sometimes seen as a symbol of English domination. Edward's architect, James of St. George, may well have modelled the castle on the walls of Constantinople, possibly being aware of the alternative Welsh name Caer Gystennin; in addition, Edward was a supporter of the Crusader cause. On higher ground on the outskirts of the town are the remains of an earlier occupation, the Segontium Roman Fort.

The former municipal borough was designated a royal borough in 1963. The borough was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in 1974, and the status of "royal town" was granted to the community which succeeded it.^[3]

Demographics

The population of Caernarfon is the most Welsh-speaking community in all of Wales. 86.1% of the population could speak Welsh in the 2001 census, with the largest majority of Welsh speakers in the 10-14 age group, where 97.7% could speak it fluently. The town is nowadays a rallying-point for the Welsh nationalist cause.

Caernarfon residents are known colloquially as "Cofis" (pronounced as IPA ˈkɒvi). The word "Cofi" is also used locally in Caernarfon to describe the local dialect, which is a rather peculiar mixture of Welsh and English, swapping words and grammatical constructs somewhat haphazardly.

Investures

In 1911, David Lloyd George, then Member of Parliament for the borough, conceived the idea of holding the investiture of the new Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle, believing that this would help pacify nationalist opinion whilst arousing a more British patriotic feeling. The ceremony took place on 13 July, with the royal family paying a rare visit to the principality, and the future King Edward VIII was duly invested.

On 1 July 1969 the investiture ceremony was again held at Caernarfon Castle, the recipient on this occasion being Charles, Prince of Wales. Despite nationalist threats and protests, the ceremony went ahead without incident, except that two members of Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (Welsh Defence Movement), Alwyn Jones and George Taylor, were killed when their bomb - intended for the railway line at Abergele in order to stop the Royal Train - exploded prematurely.

Caernarfon is also home to the regimental museum of the Royal Welch Fusiliers (archaic English spelling of the word Welsh).

Culture and trivia

Caernarfon railway station in St. Helen's Road is the northern terminus of the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway. Caernarfon was at one time an important port, exporting slate from the Nantlle Valley quarries. Caernarfon Airport is 4.5 miles to the south west, and offers pleasure flights and an aviation museum.

Caernarfon hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1862, 1894, 1906, 1921, 1935, 1959 and 1979. Unofficial National Eisteddfod events were also held there in 1877 and 1880.

In 1955, Caernarfon was in the running for the title of Capital of Wales on historical grounds. But the town's campaign was heavily defeated in a ballot of Welsh local authorities, with 11 votes compared to Cardiff's 136. Cardiff therefore became Wales' first official capital city.

Caernarfon has a small harbour and a Blue Flag beach at Victoria Harbour.

The oldest public house in Caernarfon is the Black Boy Inn.

The town is twinned with Landerneau in France.

References

1. ^ Thomas Jones (ed.), Brut y Tywysogion[:] Peniarth MS. 20 (Cardiff, 1941). It should however be noted that medieval orthography in every language varies considerably and variant spellings of a name or word often occur in the same manuscript text. Kaerinarfon / Kaerenarvon / Caerenarvon corresponds to Caer-yn-Arfon in modern Welsh orthography. The letter "y" would naturally be lost in the spoken language, thus giving the standard Welsh name Caernarfon ("Caer 'n Arfon").
2. ^ See Sir Ifor Williams' notes in his edition of Breuddwyd Maxen (Bangor, 1920). The name appears for the first time in the work of Nennius. Pre-conquest medieval Welsh poets such as Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd sometimes use the name Caer Gystennin. The name is still used in modern Welsh for Constantinople.
3. ^ [1] The Town's Armorial Bearings & Royal Status (Caernarfon Online)

See also

• Caernarfon (UK Parliament constituency)
• George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon

External links

• View of Caernarfon Castle
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Caernarfon
• Visit to Caernarfon

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