View source for Harlech

{{Short description|Seaside resort in Gwynedd, Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = Wales
|welsh_name =
|constituency_welsh_assembly = [[Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Senedd constituency)|Dwyfor Meirionnydd]]
|coordinates = {{coord|52.860|-4.105|display=inline,title}}
|map_type = 
|official_name = Harlech
|community_wales = Harlech<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cyngorharlech.co.uk/ |title=Harlech Community Council |access-date=November 15, 2020}}</ref>
|unitary_wales = [[Gwynedd]]
|lieutenancy_wales = [[Gwynedd]]
|constituency_westminster = [[Dwyfor Meirionnydd (UK Parliament constituency)|Dwyfor Meirionnydd]]
|post_town = HARLECH
|postcode_district = LL46
|postcode_area = LL
|dial_code = 01766
|os_grid_reference = SH581312
|population = 1,263 
|population_ref = ([[United Kingdom Census 2021|2021 Census]])
|static_image_name = HarlechCB.JPG
|static_image_caption = Harlech from the beach area; the castle is seen centre-left 
| module= [[File:Wales Gwynedd Community Harlech map.svg|240px]]<br />Map of the community
}}
[[File:Map of Harlech 02373.jpg|thumb|250px|18th-century map of Harlech]]
'''Harlech''' ({{IPA|cy|ˈharlɛχ|audio=LL-Q9309 (cym)-Jason.nlw-Harlech.wav}}) is a [[seaside resort]] and [[community (Wales)|community]] in [[Gwynedd]], [[North Wales]], and formerly in the [[Historic counties of Wales|historic county]] of [[Merionethshire]]. It lies on [[Tremadog Bay]] in the [[Snowdonia National Park]]. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 1974 County of Gwynedd. Its landmark [[Harlech Castle]] was begun in 1283 by [[Edward I of England]], captured by [[Owain Glyndŵr]], and in the 1480s, a stronghold of [[Henry VII of England|Henry Tudor]].<ref>{{Google books |WJjRAAAAMAAJ |Memoirs of Owen Glendower, (Owain Glyndwr): with a sketch of the history of the ancient Britons, from the conquest of Wales by Edward the First, to the present time, illustrated with various notes, genealogical & topographical}}</ref> Once on a seaside cliff face, it is now half a mile (800 m) inland.<ref>{{cite book|last=Codrington |first=Stephen |title=Planet Geography |url={{Google books|CP0xZFM7ftoC |page=207|plainurl=yes}} |page=207 |publisher=Solid Star Press |date=2005}}</ref> New housing has appeared in the low town and in the high town around the shopping street, church and castle. The two are linked by a steep road called "Twtil".<ref>Probably from the English "Toothill" ("look-out hill").</ref> Of its 1,447 inhabitants, 51 per cent habitually speak [[Welsh language|Welsh]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=11124239&c=Harlech&d=16&e=61&g=6489052&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1431785407784&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2501 |title=Town population and Welsh speakers |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082953/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=11124239&c=Harlech&d=16&e=61&g=6489052&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1431785407784&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2501 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The built-up area with [[Llanfair, Gwynedd|Llanfair]] had a population of 1,762 in the 2001 census, over half of whom lacked Welsh identity,<ref>{{NOMIS2011 |id=W37000162 |title=Harlech Built-up area |access-date=12 December 2019}}</ref> and the electoral ward which includes [[Talsarnau]] 1,997 in the 2011 census. The estimate in 2019 was 1,881.<ref>[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/wales/wards/gwynedd/W05000072__harlech/ City Population site. Retrieved 3 December 2020.]</ref> The population of the community, which includes just the village, was 1,263 as of the 2021 census.<ref>[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/wales/admin Retrieved 25 February 2024.]</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source (citypopulation.de) is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]). It is a [[WP:SELFPUB|self-published source]]. A source from the ONS (likely through NOMIS) directly would be preferred.|date=February 2024}}

==Etymology==
The exact derivation of the name ''Harlech'' is unclear. Some, mostly older sources, derive it from ''Arddlech'', i.e. {{lang|cy|ardd}} (high) + {{lang|cy|llech}} (rock),<ref>"Notices Illustrative of Cambrian History and Antiquities", ''The New Monthly Magazine'', Volume 10 – p. 307, 1818.</ref><ref>''The Celtic Review'': Volumes 9–10, Donald MacKinnon, E. C. Carmichael Watson, 1975.</ref> referring to the prominent crag on which the castle stands. Recent sources prefer a simpler derivation from the two Welsh words {{lang|cy|hardd}} (fair/fine) and ''llech'' (slate/rock).<ref>{{cite book |first=Anthony David |last=Mills |title=Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names |location=Oxford |publisher=OUP |date=1991}}</ref>

As late as the 19th century, some texts referred to ''Harddlech'' and ''Harddlech Castle''.<ref>''The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher, and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog, and the Ancient Lords of Arwystli, Cedewen, and Meirionydd :Volume 6'', [[Jacob Youde William Lloyd]], 1887.</ref><ref>''The Poetical Works of Lewis Glyn Cothi: A celebrated bard'', p. 21, Lewis Glyn Cothi, 1837.</ref> This name appears in the mid-19th century translation of the ''[[Mabinogion]]'': "And one afternoon he was at Harddlech in Ardudwy, at a court of his. And they were seated upon the rock of Harddlech overlooking the sea." Contemporary documents from the time of the ''Mabinogion'' do not mention Harlech, referring only to Llywelyn building his castle "at [[Ardudwy]]".<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Jones |title=Brut y Tywysogion/Chronicle of the Princes, Red Book of Hergest |location=Cardiff |publisher=University of Wales Press |date=1955}}</ref>

==Modern history==
In 2007, a [[Lockheed P-38 Lightning]] (a [[World War II]]-era [[fighter aircraft]]) was rediscovered on Harlech beach. It has been described as "one of the most important WWII finds in recent history." The ''International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery'' (TIGHAR) expressed an interest in salvaging the wreck of the [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]] plane, known as the ''Maid of Harlech''.<ref>[http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/05/08/charity-hopes-to-lift-world-war-ii-fighter-plane-from-sea-91466-26402409/ Charity hopes to lift World War II fighter plane from sea] WalesOnline, 8 May 2010</ref> 

However, in August 2019, [[Cadw]], the Welsh government's historic environment service, gave the remains [[Scheduled monument|scheduled]] status, making it the first legally designated military aircraft crash site in the UK to be protected for its historic and archaeological interest.<ref>[https://cadw.gov.wales/about-us/news/harlech-p-38-scheduled-its-historic-importance-and-future-protection Harlech P-38 now a Scheduled Monument] Cadw, 11 Nov 2019.</ref> The site is also controlled under the [[Protection of Military Remains Act 1986]]. The aircraft came down in September 1942 when it was on a gunnery practice mission. The pilot was Second Lt Robert F Elliott, 24, of [[Rich Square]], [[North Carolina]], survived the crash, only to be reported missing in action a few months later.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/nov/12/ww2-wreck-of-fighter-plane-off-welsh-coast-gets-protected-status |title=WW2 wreck of fighter plane off Welsh coast gets protected status |last=Morris |first=Steven |date=12 November 2019 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=12 November 2019 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

==Governance==
An [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral ward]] in the same name existed including [[Talsarnau]] community. The ward population at the 2011 census was 1,997.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/harlech-w05000072#sthash.x9Sv3e1b.dpbs |title=Ward population 2011 |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305161738/http://www.ukcensusdata.com/harlech-w05000072#sthash.x9Sv3e1b.dpbs |url-status=dead }}</ref> From the [[2022 Gwynedd Council election]] the ward was increased in size to include [[Llanbedr]] and [[Llanfair, Gwynedd|Llanfair]], renamed ''Harlech a Llanbedr'' and the representation increased to 2 county councillors.<ref name=TCoGO2021>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2021/1223/schedule |title=The County of Gwynedd (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021 |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives |date=1 November 2021 |accessdate=19 December 2024 }}</ref>

==Transport==
[[Harlech railway station]] is a stop on the [[Cambrian Coast Line]]. Services run between {{rws|Pwllheli}} and {{rws|Machynlleth}}, operated by [[Transport for Wales Rail|Transport for Wales]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timetables |work=Transport for Wales |date=May 2023 |access-date=10 October 2023 |url= https://tfw.wales/service-status/timetables |quote=}}</ref>

Local bus services are operated by [[Lloyds Coaches]], with services to [[Porthmadog]] and [[Barmouth]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harlech Bus Services |work=Bus Times |date=2023 |access-date=10 October 2023 |url= https://bustimes.org/localities/harlech |quote=}}</ref>

The town contains [[Ffordd Pen Llech]], a street down the rock spur to the north of the castle. It is the steepest signed, public paved road in the United Kingdom<ref>{{Cite web |title=50 Quirky Bike Rides > 28 Ffordd Pen Llech|url=http://www.bike99.com/28.html |publisher=Eye Books |access-date=15 October 2013 |first=Rob |last=Ainsley |date=June 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Around the network – Facts and figures |url=http://www.roadsuk.com/network/facts/ |publisher=Roads UK |access-date=16 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019045617/http://www.roadsuk.com/network/facts/ |archive-date=19 October 2013 }}</ref> and one of the steepest in the world.{{refn|group=nb|More details can be seen in the 'In traditional and popular culture' section below}}<ref name="RadioNZ">{{Cite web |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/394473/dunedin-s-baldwin-st-loses-battle-for-steepest-street-to-welsh-town |title=Dunedin's Baldwin St loses battle for steepest street to Welsh town |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=16 July 2019 |website=[[Radio New Zealand]] |access-date=16 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-48992331|work=[[BBC News]] |title=Harlech street takes record as steepest in the world |date=16 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="guinness">{{Cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2019/7/welsh-town-claims-title-for-worlds-steepest-street-582452 |title=Welsh town claims record title for world's steepest street |date=16 July 2019 |website=Guinness World Records |first=Connie |last=Suggitt |language=en-GB |access-date=16 July 2019}}</ref>

==Educational facilities==
[[Ysgol Ardudwy]] is the county [[secondary school]] for children aged 11–16. Ysgol Tanycastell is the town's [[primary school]] for children aged 3–11. Wales's only long-term adult residential college, [[Coleg Harlech]], also known as the "college of second chance", existed in the town from 1927 to 2017. It was renowned for its mixed classical and [[Brutalist architecture|brutalist]] architecture.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shock at closure of historic college site |url=http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/article.cfm?id=111912&headline=Shock+at+closure+of+historic+college+site&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808153839/http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/article.cfm?id=111912&headline=Shock+at+closure+of+historic+college+site&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2017 |archive-date=8 August 2017 |access-date=8 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harwood |first=Elain |date=2022-11-08 |title=Elain Harwood turns to Brutalist Britain |url=https://www.ribaj.com/culture/elain-harwood-british-brutalism-book-stirling-neylan-colwyn-foulkes |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=www.ribaj.com |language=en}}</ref> Harlech's library, previously run by Gwynedd Council, also closed in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2017 |title=Resident's anger at closure of 'much-loved library' |url=https://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/news/residents-anger-at-closure-of-much-loved-library-94245}}</ref> Harlech's Old Library Institute runs as Harlech Hwb, offering cost-of-living support and click-and-collect library books from Gwynedd Libraries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-28 |title=Click and collect library link to launch in Harlech |url=https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/19335070.click-collect-library-link-launched-harlech/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=North Wales Chronicle |language=en}}</ref>

==Demographics==
The 2011 census recorded 1,762 usual residents. The village is fairly Anglicised, with 48% of residents having been born in Wales and 46.9% born in England. Correspondingly, only 42.6% reported having a Welsh national identity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Custom report - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=W37000162 |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref>

==Recreation==
Harlech has a beach backed with [[sand dune]]s and the Royal Saint David's Golf Club, which hosted its fifth [[British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship|British Ladies Amateur]] in 2009. The [[Rhinogydd]] (or Rhinogs) range of mountains rises to the east.

Harlech has a [[Scouting|Scout hut]], which acts as a base for outdoor recreational activities.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scouts.org.uk/groups/10015733?loc=Harlech&slug=1st-Harlech |title=1st Harlech |publisher=The Scout Association |access-date=20 February 2024}}</ref>

==In traditional and popular culture==
*A street in Harlech, [[Ffordd Pen Llech]], was recognised in 2019 by [[Guinness World Records]] as the steepest residential street in the world with a gradient of 1:2.67 (37.45%); however, [[Baldwin Street]] in [[Dunedin]], [[New Zealand]], was then recognised with a gradient of 1:2.86 (35%).<ref name="guinness" /> The steepness was determined by measuring consistently on the lower side of the street – the left or right, whichever was lower. It was later decided that  measuring consistently in the middle of the street would be more accurate. This gave Baldwin Street a gradient of 34.8% and Ffordd Pen Llech one of 28.6%, so the title returned to Baldwin Street.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/apr/08/welsh-road-loses-title-of-worlds-steepest-after-new-zealand-rivals-appeal |title=Welsh street loses world's steepest title after New Zealand rival's appeal|date=8 April 2020 |first=Steven |last=Morris |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB|access-date=8 April 2020}}</ref>
*In the second branch of the ''[[Mabinogi]]'' ("[[Branwen ferch Llŷr|Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr]]"), Harlech is the seat of [[Bendigeidfran]], Branwen's brother and king of the [[The Island of the Mighty|Isle of the Mighty]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Patrick K. |last=Ford |title=The Mabinogi and other Medieval Welsh Tales |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |date=1977 |pages=57–72}}</ref>
*The song ''[[Men of Harlech]]'' is traditionally said to describe events during the seven-year siege of the castle in 1461–1468.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to British History |location=Oxford |publisher=OUP |date=1997 |page=454}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Matthew |last=Bennett |title=The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ancient & Medieval Warfare |date=2001 |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton}}</ref>
*[[ITV Wales & West]] was formerly known as HTV/Harlech Television after its founder [[Lord Harlech]].

==Notable residents==
In birth order:<ref>This is a list of people with a Wikipedia page who were born, bred, long resident and/or died in Harlech.</ref>
*[[Owain Glyndŵr]] ({{circa|1359|1415}}), Welsh Rebellion leader, was the last Welshman to claim the title [[Prince of Wales]].
*[[Ellis Wynne]] (1671 in Lasynys Fawr – 1734), Welsh-language author and clergyman
*[[Alfred Perceval Graves]] (1846–1931), poet, [[bard]] and songwriter. He and a large family, including his son the poet [[Robert Graves]], spent summers at Erinfa, a large house north-east of Harlech.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Richard Perceval Graves |first=Richard P. |last=Graves |title=Robert Graves: The Assault Heroic 1895–1926 |page=67 |publisher=Macmillan}}</ref>
*[[George Davison (photographer)|George Davison]] (1854–1930), photographer
*[[Lily Pincus]] (1898–1981), German-British social worker, marital psychotherapist and author
*[[Margaret More (composer)|Margaret More]] (1903–1966), composer, was born here.
*[[Elinor Lyon]] (1921–2008), children's writer, retired here in 1975 with her schoolteacher husband.<ref>Introduction by Elinor Lyon, ''The House in Hiding'', [[Fidra Books]], Edinburgh, 2006, p. v.</ref>
*[[David Gwilym Morris Roberts]] (1925–2020), civil engineer, was born here.
*[[Mari Strachan]] (born 1945), novelist and librarian, attended secondary school here.
*[[Philip Pullman]] (born 1946), children's novelist, attended secondary school here.

==Gallery==
<gallery caption="" widths="200px" heights="150px" perrow="3">
File:Harlech Castle Half Mast HMQM.jpg|[[Harlech Castle]] with flags at half mast after the death of [[Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother]] in 2002
File:SDJ Harlech Castle Gatehouse.jpg|Harlech Castle gatehouse
File:Harlech Statue The Two Kings.jpg|The Two Kings (sculptor Ivor Robert-Jones, 1984) near Harlech Castle, Wales. Bendigeidfran carries the body of his nephew Gwern.
File:Harlech-Low tide at Harlech.jpg|Harlech Beach at low tide
File:Harlech College and castle.jpg|Harlech College with Harlech Castle in background
</gallery>

{{clear}}

==See also==
*[[Morfa Harlech sand dunes]]
*[[Harlech Castle]]
*[[St David's Hotel, Harlech|St David's Hotel]]
*[[Lord Harlech]]
*[[ITV Wales & West|HTV]] – Harlech Television

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Notes===
{{reflist|group=nb}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Harlech}}
{{wikivoyage|Harlech}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20181002011709/http://www.secretsnowdonia.co.uk/ Harlech Tourism Association]
*[https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3490569 geograph.co.uk] – photos of Harlech and surrounding area
{{gwynedd}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Harlech| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Gwynedd]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents locations in Wales]]