Aber, Carnarvonshire

Historical Description

Aber, a small village and a parish in Carnarvonshire. The village stands ½ mile inland, 6 miles E of Bangor. It has a post office under Bangor, and a station on the L. & N.W.R., 234: miles from London. The full name of the village is Abergwyngregyn, which means "the stream of white shells." It is charmingly situated at the mouth of a beautiful glen, and is much frequented by tourists. The views all round, and in the neighbourhood, over sea and land, are rich and varied; and some of them are panoramic and extensive. The Lavan sands extend in front, dry for nearly 4 miles at low water; and in former days they were often crossed on foot to the ferry of Beaumaris. The glen, narrow and romantic, strikes about 2 miles inland, flanked on one side by the lofty wooded hill of Maes-y-Gaer, and on the other by Fridd Ddu, the northern shoulder of Moel Wnion, and is blocked at the head by the precipices of Llwydmor and Bera, over which falls the famous cataract Rhayadr Mawr. The cataract is fringed by ash trees, and first breaks on the cliffs into three or four parts, then makes a sheer leap of more than 60 feet. An artificial conical mound, near the village, is said to be the site of a castle of the Welsh princes, where Llewelyn the Great received the summons to surrender his rights to Edward I. of England. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bangor; gross value, s£414. It is in the gift of Lord Penrhyn. The church is ancient, but has been rebuilt. There are chapels for Cal-vinistic Methodists and Wesleyans. The river is free to anglers. There is an annual fair held here on 2 October for the sale of sheep, cattle, and ponies. Acreage, 7306; population of the parish in 1881, 442, and in 1891, 422. On both occasions the sexes were equal.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Carnarvonshire is available to browse.

Maps

Online maps of Aber are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers online:

• Western Mail