Aberffraw is a small village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and community

Community (Wales)

A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....

 on the south west coast of the Isle of Anglesey , in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, by the west bank of the River Ffraw, at . The UK postcode begins LL63. Access by road is by way of the A4080

A4080 road

The A4080 is a British A road which is located on the Island of Anglesey, Wales. The road begins at Menai Bridge and runs via Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Newborough and Rhosneigr to join the A55 about 9 miles from Holyhead. In all the road is about 17 miles long...

 and the nearest rail station is Bodorgan

Bodorgan railway station

Bodorgan railway station serves the hamlet of Bodorgan and the village of Bethel on the Isle of Anglesey. The stop is an unmanned halt, and serves as a request stop for Chester and Holyhead-bound local trains along the North Wales coast....

. In the early Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 Aberffraw was the capital of the Kingdom of Gwynedd

Kingdom of Gwynedd

Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...

 from c.860 AD until c.1170. Under the eponymous Aberffraw Dynasty it came to be the most important political centre in medieval Wales

Medieval Wales

Medieval Wales may refer to:*Wales in the Early Middle Ages*Wales in the High Middle Ages*Wales in the Late Middle Ages-See also:*Medieval Britain *Kingdom of Cornwall...

. The Llys remained the symbolic throne of the Kings of Gwynedd from the 9th century to the 13th century. The Royal Annals of Edward I of England

Edward I of England

Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

 show the Llys was dismantled in 1315 to provide building materials for nearby Beaumaris Castle

Beaumaris Castle

Beaumaris Castle, located in the town of the same name on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, was built as part of King Edward I's campaign to conquer the north of Wales. It was designed by James of St. George and was begun in 1295, but never completed...

.

...appeared to demonstrate the presence of a two-phase, round-angled, rectangular enclosure, at least 70m NNE-SSW, thought to represent a Roman military work, refurnished in the early medieval period as a llys (Princely court) enclosure; although a radio-carbon date centring on the period 27-387AD, appears to support this thesis, the identification of a Roman work is currently out of favour: the site of the llys, whose (partial?) dismantling is recorded in 1317, is regarded as uncertain: two sculptured heads, of apparent C13 style, are known from the village (White 1978): the putative curving angle of the enclosure has been suggested to hint at the former presence of a motte: excavations at the traditional site of the llys, about 650m to the WSW, recorded only C18 remains. Excavation, 1973-4 (White 1979) http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/Welshsites/966.html.

Aberffraw village

Aberffraw has a population of 599 of which 79.8% are able to speak Welsh (2001 Census). Attractions near Aberffraw village include Llyn Coron (a lake), Barclodiad y Gawres

Barclodiad y Gawres

Barclodiad y Gawres is a Neolithic burial chamber on the coast of the island of Anglesey in North Wales. It is an example of a cruciform passage grave, a notable feature being its decorated stones...

, a Neolithic

Neolithic

The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

 burial chamber and the island of Cribinau

Cribinau

Cribinau is a small tidal island off the south west coast of the isle of Anglesey in Wales between Porth China and Porth Cwyfan. The nearest village is Aberffraw. The island, which can be reached on foot at low tide, is notable for the 13th-century church of St Cwyfan, known locally as eglwys bach...

 with the 7th century church of Saint Cwyfan perched on top. The church still holds services in the summer and is sometimes used for weddings, with access by boat. The village has a sandy beach, which was awarded the Blue flag

Blue Flag beach

The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education that a beach or marina meets its stringent standards.The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE which is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 60 member countries in Europe,...

 rural beach award in 2005, and is on the Anglesey Coastal Path

Anglesey Coastal Path

The Anglesey Coastal Path is a long-distance footpath around the island of Anglesey in North Wales....

. There is a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 in the village. St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw

St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw

St Beuno's Church, Aberffraw is a 12th-century parish church in Anglesey, north Wales. A church was established in Aberffraw in the 7th century by St Beuno, who became the abbot of Clynnog Fawr, Gwynedd. St Beuno's may have been used as a royal chapel during the early Middle Ages, as the princes...

, dates from the 12th century and is a Grade II* listed building.

In mythology

In Welsh mythology

Welsh mythology

Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....

, Aberffraw features as the site of Branwen

Branwen

Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, which is sometimes called the Mabinogi of Branwen after her. Branwen is a daughter of Llŷr and Penarddun...

 and Matholwch

Matholwch

Matholwch, King of Ireland, is a character in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Branwen ferch Llŷr.The story opens with Bran, King of Britain, sitting on a rock by the sea at Harlech and seeing the vessels of Matholwch approaching. Matholwch has come to ask for the hand of Bran's...

's wedding festival, where Efnysien maimed Matholwch's horses.

External links

• Aberffraw School Website
• http://www.llywelyn.co.uk
• Aberffraw Community Website
• photos of Aberffraw and surrounding area on geograph