Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for BEAUMARIS

BEAUMARIS, a town, a parish, and a subdistrict, in the district of Bangor and county of Anglesey. The town stands on the west side of Beaumaris bay, at the NE end of the Menaistrait, 2¾ miles geographically, but 7 by road, N by E of Bangor, and 5½ NE of Llanfair r. station. It was the Welsh Porth-Wgyr and Bonover; and it acquired consequence from a castle erected by Edward I. to secure. his conquests. It is well-built; and comprises two long streets, Watergate and Castle-street, together with a third leading to the west. It has a post office‡ under Bangor, three hotels, a number of good lodging-houses, a county-hall and courthouse, a county jail, a neat town hall, with elegant assembly-room, a bath-house, a custom-house, a church, four dissenting chapels, a free grammar school, almshouses, and other charities. The jail has capacity for 42 male and 7 female prisoners. The church is a handsome structure, partly perpendicular English; and contains an ancient monument, probably of Sir Henry Sydney, and monuments of the Bulkeley family and of Lady Beatrice Herbert. The grammar school was founded in 1609, by D. Hughes; and has £617 from endowment, and a fellowship and exhibition at Oxford. The castle of Edward I., in a state of ruin, stands within the grounds of Sir R. W. B. Bulkeley, Bart., adjacent to the upper end of the town, and has a picturesque appearance. It was garrisoned in 1643 for Charles I., and made a considerable. defence; but surrendered, in 1646, to General Mytton. The outer wall has ten low round towers; the main structure is nearly quadrangular, with a large round tower at each corner; and the banqueting-hall, the state-rooms, the domestic apartments, and a small chapel, with finely groined roof, can still be traced. A bardic meeting was held in 1832 in the ruined banqueting-hall and chapel, attended by Her Majesty, then Princess Victoria, and her mother the Duchess of Kent. The surrounding grounds have been converted by the owner into a pleasant promenade.

The town is much and increasingly frequented for seabathing; and it offers many attractions to visitors,-fine bathing-ground, charming walks, pleasant recreations, and most magnificent views. Ferries are open to Bangor and Aber; and steamers ply to Liverpool and Carnarvon. A weekly market is held on Saturday; and fairs on 13 Feb., Holy Thursday, 19 Sept., and 19 Dec. The port has jurisdiction over Conway, Amlwch, Holyhead, Aberffraw, Rhydpoint, and some smaller sub-ports; and the craft belonging to it, at the close of 1867, comprised 133 small sailing-vessels of aggregately 4,406 tons, and 168 larger ones of aggregately 14,921 tons; while the vessels which entered it during that year, counting repeated voyages, were 27 sailing-vessels from the colonies and foreign countries of aggregately 6,370 tons, 1,074 sailing-vessels coastwise of aggregately 48,359 tons, and 778 steam-vessels coastwise of aggregately 313,606 tons. The chief imports are timber, coal, and provisions; and the chief exports copper-ores, slate, and marble. The town was made a borough by Edward I.; it is governed by a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councilors; is the seat of the assizes for Anglesey, and of quarter sessions; is the election town, and the headquarters of the militia; and, along with Amlwch, Holyhead, and Llangefni, sends a member to parliament. Its borough boundaries include Beaumaris parish and parts of six adjoining parishes. Direct taxes, in 1857, £3,986. Electors, in 1868, 563. Pop., 2,558. Houses, 541.—The parish comprises 440 acres of land, and 780 of water. Real property, £6,443. Pop., 2,210. Houses, 466. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the rectory. of Llandegfan, in the diocese of Bangor.-The subdistrict comprises eleven parishes and five parochial chapelries. Acres, 35,370. Pop., 13,139. Houses, 2,983. See. Baron Hill.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a parish, and a subdistrict"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Beaumaris CP/AP       Beaumaris SubD       Anglesey AncC
Place: Beaumaris

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