Project to unearth Newborough past
A NEW project aims to find out more about one of Anglesey’s historic settlements by getting locals on board to share their knowledge.
While one may consider north Wales’ medieval towns to be Conwy, Caernarfon and Beaumaris, one of the best preserved medieval settlements is Newborough in south western Anglesey.
It was laid out under King Edward I to house the population of Llanfaes, moved when the castle and town of Beaumaris were built. The New Borough (Niwbwrch) was established on the royal estate land just to the east of Llys Rhosyr, one of the courts of the Princes of Gwynedd, gaining its charter in 1303.
At first the town thrived but hard times came with the great storm of December 1330 when a third of cultivable land was destroyed by sand and the tide. This was not an isolated event and the sand advanced relentlessly until the reign of Elizabeth I when marram grass conservation was actively encouraged to stabilise the dunes.
The Black Death also caused a reduction in the population in the 14th century with the town declining steadily after 1600. This was mainly due to it being far from the Beaumaris to Holyhead postal route and yet again bypassed by the new commercial arteries of the island, Telford’s road and the later Chester to Holyhead railway.
But the town’s medieval layout is still clearly evident in the streets and property boundaries. Chapel Street was the main highway, which led from the centre of the town to the ferry at Abermenai, one of the main crossings of the Menai Strait.
Archaeological excavation in the 1990s revealed building foundations at the llys or royal court of Rhosyr, where a large medieval hall and other buildings were found, but much less exploration has taken place in the town.
The Gwynedd Archaelogical Trust has now commissioned a project to understand how Newborough has developed over the years, and how this led to the identity and character of the community today.
Chief Archaeologist Andrew Davidson, said: “These are questions not only of interest to the historian but we believe also to residents, and everyone interested in the future of Newborough, including planners and developers. “We, with grant aid from Cadw, will be leading the project but cannot do it on our own, and hope that anyone interested will help by sharing their knowledge, and to help explore and record Newborough.”
He added: “The aim is to record the character of the village as it is now, to carry out archive research and use information from previous archaeological research to build up a picture of the village and of what survives both above and below ground.”
Volunteers are invited to do the recording, which involves making notes on recording forms and taking photographs of the buildings, open spaces and streets that make up the village.
More are also sought to help research old maps and records in the local record offices.
An introductory meeting will be held at the Prichard Jones Institute on June 29 at 7.30pm. Anyone wishing to volunteer will be given help on how to get involved and contribute to the project.
There will be further evening dropin sessions where everyone can discuss results and offer information and advice. At the end of the project in March 2018 there will be a day of talks and discussion to present the results.
To get involbed, please contact Dan Amor on 01248 366970 (Tuesday to Thursday), or email: dan.amor@ heneb.co.uk.