View source for Amlwch

{{Short description|Town and community in Anglesey, Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}
{{original research|date=November 2010}}
{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name = Amlwch Port From The Headland - geograph.org.uk - 1436555.jpg
| static_image_caption = Amlwch Port
| label_position = 
| official_name = Amlwch
| area_total_km2 = 18.19
| welsh_name = 
| country = Wales
| os_grid_reference = SH4492
| coordinates = {{coord|53.406|-4.341|display=inline,title}}
| population = 3,789
| population_ref = ''(2011)''
| community_wales = Amlwch
| unitary_wales = [[Anglesey]]
| lieutenancy_wales = [[Gwynedd]]
| constituency_welsh_assembly = [[Ynys Môn (Senedd constituency)|Ynys Môn]]
| constituency_westminster = [[Ynys Môn (UK Parliament constituency)|Ynys Môn]]
| post_town = AMLWCH
| postcode_district = LL68
| postcode_area = LL
| dial_code = 01407
| module= [[File:Wales Anglesey Community Amlwch map.svg|240px]]<br />Map of the community
}}
{{OSM Location map
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| zoom =12
| width = 310           <!-- width and height of the frame. numeric input - do not add px -->
| height = 300
| nolabels=0
| caption = Map of Amlwch Community
| mark-coord = {{coord|53.2716|-4.3602}}
| mark = Anglesey Amlwch transparent overlay map.svg
| mark-size=1600
| mark-dim=1.3
| mark-title=none
|label1 = Parys|labela1=Mountain| label-size1=10| label-color1=#444433| mark-size1=5| mark-coord1 = {{coord|53.3822|-4.3525}}| label-pos1=top| mark-title1=Parys Mountain
| label2=Sail Loft |labela2=Heritage Centre| label-pos2=top| label-offset-x2=10| mark-coord2 = {{coord|53.415415|-4.33185}}|mark-title2 = Sail Loft Heritage Centre| mark-image2= | mark-description2=
| label3=Amlwch Port| label-pos3=right| | label-size3=12|mark-size3=0| mark-coord3 = {{coord|53.413|-4.345}}| mark-title3 = none
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| label5 = Porth Wen| label-size5=10| mark-coord5 = {{coord|53.4237|-4.4031}}| mark-size5=0| label-color5=#6690BA| label-pos5=right| label-angle5=-43| mark-title5= Porth Wen
| label6 = Bull Bay| label-size6=10| mark-coord6 = {{coord|53.418|-4.357}}| mark-size6=0| label-color6=#6690BA| label-pos6=right| label-angle6=-23| mark-title6= Bull Bay
| label7=Copper Kingdom| label-offset-y7=-3| label-pos7=left|mark-coord7 = {{coord|53.41452|-4.33332}}|mark-title7 = Copper Kingdom Centre| mark-image7= | mark-description7=
|      label15 = A M L W C H| label-size15=11| mark-coord15 = {{coord|53.397|-4.368}}| mark-size15=0| label-color15=grey| label-pos15=top| mark-title15=none
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}}

'''Amlwch''' ({{IPA|cy|ˈamlʊχ|lang}}) is a port town and [[community (Wales)|community]] in [[Wales]]. It is situated on the north coast of the [[Anglesey|Isle of Anglesey]], on the [[A5025 road|A5025]] which connects it to [[Holyhead]] and to [[Menai Bridge]]. As well as Amlwch town and [[Amlwch Port]], other settlements within the community include [[Burwen]], [[Bull Bay, Anglesey|Bull Bay]] (Porthllechog) and [[Pentrefelin, Anglesey|Pentrefelin]]. The town has a beach in Llaneilian, and it has significant coastal cliffs. Tourism is an important element of the local economy. At one time it was a booming mining town that became the centre of a vast global trade in copper ore. The harbour inlet became a busy port and significant shipbuilding and ship repair centre, as well as an embarkation point with boats sailing to the [[Isle of Man]] and to [[Liverpool]]. The community covers an area of about 15 square kilometres.<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=W04000002|title=Amlwch Parish|access-date=25 August 2020}}</ref>

==Town centre==
The name Amlwch – a reference to the site of the town's harbour, Porth Amlwch – derives from [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''am'' ("about, on or around") and ''llwch'' (an old word meaning "inlet, creek" - similar to the Gaelic word "loch" for a body of water).<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/whatsinaname/sites/placenames/pages/amlwch.shtml BBC Wales: What's in a name?]</ref>

On 23 November 1981, the first tornado of the record-breaking [[1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak]], an F1/T2 tornado, passed through Amlwch.

At the 2011 census the [[Community (Wales)|community]] had a population of 3,789.<ref>{{cite web|title=Parish Headcounts: Isle of Anglesey|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790559|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=20 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613042922/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790559|archive-date=13 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

It is also home to the local [[secondary school]], [[Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones]] which [[Lemmy]] attended, and the town also has a primary school.

The local newspaper for northeastern Anglesey is ''Yr Arwydd'' ('The Sign'). ''Yr Arwydd'' is the local Welsh name for [[Mynydd Bodafon]], the paper covers the area surrounding the mountain, and has an image of the summit as its logo.

===Industry===
Amlwch grew rapidly in the 18th century near what was then the world's biggest [[copper]] mine at the nearby [[Parys Mountain]]. By the late 18th century, Amlwch had a population of around 10,000 and was the second largest town in Wales after [[Merthyr Tydfil]]. It was at this time that its harbour was also extended to accommodate the ships needed to transport the ore.

When the copper production declined, a wide variety of industrial activities were developed to take its place. Ship-building in the narrow harbour area and other sites around the coast of [[Amlwch Port]] was a significant enterprise from the 1820s and grew in significance after the railway opened in 1864, reducing the use of the harbour for copper and other goods by ship. By 1912 the main shipbuilding activities were in decline, and neither the harbour nor shipyards offered much commercial activity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amlwchhistory.co.uk/ships.html|title=Ship Building|work=Amlwch History|access-date=28 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233613/http://www.amlwchhistory.co.uk/ships.html|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1953 Octel began the extraction of [[bromine]] from seawater at a plant built just west of the port. The bromine was taken to [[Ellesmere Port]] where it was used in the manufacture of [[Antiknock agent|anti-knock]] additives for [[Tetraethyllead|leaded petrol]]. When leaded petrol was withdrawn in 2000 the demand for bromine fell. The plant ceased production in 2004.<ref name="Octel">{{cite web|title=Octel Bromine Works, Amlwch|url=http://www.octelamlwch.co.uk/history/|website=www.octelamlwch.co.uk|author= Neil Summers|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref> 

In the 1970s, Amlwch had an offshore [[single point mooring]] - Amlwch Oil Terminal - which was used to receive large [[oil tanker]]s which were unsuitable for the [[Mersey]].<ref name="hist">[http://www.amlwchhistory.co.uk/shell.html Anglesey Marine Terminal]</ref> Reception tanks were located ashore and the oil was pumped from there to the refineries on the [[Manchester Ship Canal]]. The terminal closed in 1990.

When [[copper mining]] began to decline in the mid-1850s, [[shipbuilding]] became the main industry with many people also becoming involved in the ship repair and other maritime industries. The town was home to a brewing industry and also had tobacco works, producing the famous Amlwch Shag Tobacco - "Baco Shag Amlwch".

===Railway===
Amlwch station was the northern terminus of the [[Anglesey Central Railway]] which was opened in 1864. It closed to passengers a hundred years later, in 1964, but for the next 30 years was used by freight trains. In 1951 the Amlwch Octel bromide works installed an extension to the line from Amlwch station into their premises. After the passenger service ceased the line continued until 1993 with freight trains bringing sulphuric acid in to the Octel works, and transporting bromine and related products used in fuel additives, back to the main line, bound for Ellesmere Port.<ref name="Octel"/>

In 1993 the freight activity was all transferred to road vehicles, and use of the line ceased. The rails were not lifted however, leaving open the prospect that the line could be restored as a tourist and local transport facility for Amlwch, Llanerchymedd and Llangefni. In 2012 a local enthusiast group, Anglesey Central Railway, or ''Lein Amlwch'', were granted permission to clear and survey the line condition,<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC North West Wales|title=Anglesey railway track clear-up brings Gaerwen-Amlwch reopening closer|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-17770791|date=19 April 2012|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref> and in May 2017 the Welsh Government announced that re-opening Llangefni station was under active consideration, raising a strong hope that the service could one day continue north to reach Amlwch again.<ref>{{cite news|work=Daily Post|url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/angleseys-ghost-railway-could-re-12990510|title=Anglesey's 'ghost railway' could re-open for first time in more than 50 years|date=May 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Church Amlwch Anglesey bunker.jpg|thumb|left|Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride]]

===Tourism===
Attractions in Amlwch include its restored port area, the [[Anglesey Coastal Path]] which passes through it, its [[watch tower]] containing an exhibition by [[Geo Môn]], maritime and copper mining museums, [[St Eleth's Church, Amlwch|St Eleth's Church]] (which dates from 1800) and the [[reinforced concrete]] Catholic church [[Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride, Amlwch|Our Lady Star of the Sea and St Winefride]], built in 1937.

==Governance==
There are two tiers of local government covering Amlwch, at [[Community (Wales)|community]] (town) and [[Principal areas of Wales|county]] level: Amlwch Town Council and [[Isle of Anglesey County Council]]. The town council is based at the old police station on Lôn Goch and comprises fifteen councillors elected from the three community wards of Town, Rural and Amlwch Port.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cyngortrefamlwch.co.uk/councillors/ |title=Councillors |work=Cyngor Tref Amlwch Town Council |publisher=Cyngor Tref Amlwch |access-date=3 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Amlwch Town Council |url=https://cyngortrefamlwch.co.uk/ |access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref> Amlwch is in the [[Twrcelyn]] electoral ward which also includes [[Llanbadrig]], [[Llaneilian]] and [[Rhosybol]], electing three county councillors to the county council.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2012/2676/pdfs/wsi_20122676_mi.pdf |title=Isle of Anglesey (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2012 |website=legislation.gov.uk|publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] |access-date=3 December 2017 }}</ref>

===Administrative history===
Amlwch was an [[ancient parish]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Amlwch Ancient Parish / Civil Parish |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10093454 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref> When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894, Amlwch was given a parish council and included in the [[Twrcelyn Rural District]].<ref>[[Local Government Act 1894]].</ref> In 1901 the parish was converted into an [[Urban district (England and Wales)|urban district]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Local Government Board |date=1902 |page=295 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V5waAQAAIAAJ |access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref> Amlwch Urban District was abolished in 1974, with its area instead becoming a community. District-level functions passed to [[Isle of Anglesey County Council|Ynys Môn-Isle of Anglesey Borough Council]], which in 1996 was reconstituted as a county council.<ref>[[Local Government Act 1972]]</ref><ref>[[Local Government (Wales) Act 1994]]</ref>

==Sport and leisure==
The town's [[leisure centre]] is one of the few on Anglesey and has a [[swimming pool]], sports centre. It is situated on Anglesey's 125-mile stretch of coast that is designated [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]].

The town also has two [[football (soccer)|football]] clubs, [[Amlwch Town F.C.]], who play in the [[Welsh Alliance League]], and Amlwch Port F.C., a Sunday League pub team that plays in the North Wales Sunday League.

Amlwch has a sea rowing club based in [[Bull Bay, Anglesey|Bull Bay]], Trireme Ynys Mon Rowing Club.

==Notable people==
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[[File:VCWilliamWilliams.jpg|thumb|140px|[[William Williams (VC)]], 1890]]
* [[Billy Butler (DJ)|Billy Butler]] (born 1942), radio and television presenter
* [[William Edwards (British politician)|William Edwards]] (1938–2007), Labour politician, born in Amlwch <ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/will-edwards-5334998.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926042333/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/will-edwards-5334998.html |archive-date=2017-09-26 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Obituaries: Will Edwards, Labour MP in rural Wales|work=The Independent|date=27 August 2007}}</ref>
* [[Thomas Parry Jones]] (1935–2013) scientist, inventor and entrepreneur from [[Carreglefn]] 
* [[Lemmy]] (1945–2015), lead singer and primary songwriter of the rock band [[Motörhead]], attended [[Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones]]
* Captain [[Keith Paul Mills]] (born 1959), Royal Marines officer who commanded the defence of South Georgia against the Argentines in 1982.
* [[Edward Parry (bishop of Killaloe)|Edward Parry]] (ca.1599 – 1650) Church of Ireland [[Bishop of Killaloe]], born in Madyn Dyswy
* [[William Roos (artist)|William Roos]] (1808–1878), artist and engraver
* [[Andy Whitfield]] (1971–2011), actor, brought up in [[Bull Bay, Anglesey|Bull Bay]]
* [[William Williams (VC)|William Williams]]  (1890–1965), a Welsh recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{wikivoyage|Amlwch}}
* [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/418 A Vision of Britain Through Time]

{{Anglesey}}
{{Communities of Anglesey}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Amlwch| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Anglesey]]