The Church of St. Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the Church of Tysilio by the red cave
On the coast of Anglesey just a few miles from the Menai Strait, is a town with a name so long that only the most dedicated can pronounce it properly. At the 2011 Census, the population was 3,000 of whom 71% could speak Welsh and the town has the second longest name in the world. The longest being in New Zealand.
The origin name of the medieval township was Pwllgwyngyll, meaning “The pool of the white hazels.” But the new name was supposedly contrived in 1869 as an early publicity stunt to give the station the longest name of any railway station in Britain. It was a local tailor who modified the name adding St Mary Church, the Swellies as the whirlpool and the small chapel of StTysilio, located on a nearby island. Red cave is supposed to have been an addition inspired by the Cardiganshire parish of Llandysiliogogo, rather than by any local features. Now the town has shortened the name to either Llanfairpwll or Llanfair PG
Recently the Channel 4 weatherman Liam Dutton brought Llanfairpwll to the nations attention when he pronounced the long name of the town during a weather report. He pronounced it perfectly in Welsh without the slightest hesitation.
The town has several other claims to fame, it held the first meeting of the Women’s Institute in 1915 and the movement (which began in Canada) then spread throughout the rest of the British Isles. Incidentally, in the small village of Loose outside Maidstone in Kent there is a Women’s Institute. You can imagine the misunderstandings this causes!
Close to the town is a column set on a hill. Designed by Thomas Harrison it has the Marquess of Anglesey resplendent on the top. At 89ft high and 115 steps, it offers great views over Anglesey and the Menai Strait. The Paget family who lived at nearby Plas Newydd gained notoriety when Henry William Paget lost a leg whilst serving with the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. It was during the battle that a cannon shot hit Paget in the right leg, necessitating its amputation. The story goes, he was close to Wellington when his leg was hit and exclaimed, “By God, sir, I’ve lost a leg!” to which Wellington replied “By God , sir, so you have!” After the battle was won, he was given the title 1st Marquess of Anglesey. The amputated leg did not seem to hinder him much as he went on to father 10 children!
So, let’s try the Welsh pronunciation:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Good luck!
My thanks to the BBC and Channel 4