Nefyn has been a town for hundreds of years and used to be very busy. They used to catch a lot of herring off the beaches here, salt it and load it up into caskets bound for Liverpool. There are still buildings called the salt houses (Tai Halen) here on Plas Street where they used to store and sell the salting.
They used to build wooden ships here, too. Porthdinllaen was very popular with sailing ships. They used to make ropes for the ships in Stryd y Llan and manufacture nails nearby - a lot of people were employed in Nefyn back then.
Nefyn also has royal connections. There's a place called Cae Iorwerth (Iorwerth's Field) in the town which is named after king Iorwerth, one of the Welsh royalty who it's said once had a joust on that site.
Apparently Owain Glyndŵr also came here and burnt down some of the houses in Nefyn because it was a rather wealthy town.
I'm a member of the Nefyn Town Trust which was first set up to ensure the people of Nefyn got clean water and to oversee the first electric street lights in the town. We now look after lots of historical landmarks, like the Ffynnon Fair (well) near the post office. It's been there for hundreds of years, but it needs a bit of work doing to it. We're going to sandblast it, do some point work and it'll look great. It also needs cleaning inside - it's sealed itself because of the sand that's got in, but soon it will work again.
It's like a little bell house, made out of granite. It's engraved with the details of all of Nefyn's mayors - it's very pretty.
This is where all of Nefyn used to get its water. The old Nanhoran Arms was opposite - that building is now a stone house and the Nanhoran Arms has shifted a bit and is now a far bigger hotel!
The Town Trust also looks after the look-out tower, near Dewi Sant Church on top of the hill. It used to be a great look-out over to the sea, but the view's a bit obscured now.
The Trust owns 26 houses round Nefyn which we do up and let out to local people. There were some really old houses which we've changed into garages and a workshop for local lads.
But sometimes old buildings can't be saved. Neuadd Madryn, the old town hall, was built in the 1890s and had to get pulled down recently because it was in a bad state. It's now a car park. It used to be so busy. During the war, a theatre company would come to visit and a firm from Anglesey would set up a cinema there during the summer.
It would be great to have a permanent museum in Nefyn. You can find out a lot about the town's history at the old St Mary's Church, though the roof is beginning to leak.
Today, Nefyn attracts lots of tourists. The beach here is really safe and clean, great for paddling in the sea.
your comments
Steve Liddle, Calgary, Canada
My Mom & Dad was married in Nefyn in 1941 in WW2. Later they moved to Canada. I travelled to visit wales and send them a postcard from Nefyn with a picture of the church they was married in. Mom turns 90 this Aug and I am making a slideshow on a digital picture frame for her. I was hoping to find some pictures of the church or seaside or any old pictures of the trailers camp that was set up in the war time.
Tue Jun 2 09:34:46 2009
Feliz Forde-Bennett (now in Sydney, Australia)
Mummy, Daddy and I went to Nefyn every year at least (and my widowed mother retired there) when I was a girl. Each evening it was my job to run down to the well with a jug to get water. No water has ever tasted so good; it will be wonderful to get the well working again.
Tue May 5 09:51:05 2009
Delyth Williams, Tudweiliog
I am the daughter of Hywel and Anne Williams mentioned here by Rosie Whitfield, Richard Taylor and Dennis Rudd. I am happy to say I am carrying on the family tradition in welcoming holidaymakers to Tan Llan. We have self-catering and a caravan site where my dad Hywel still finds time to socialise with the visitors.
Mon Mar 9 10:43:25 2009
Dennis Rudd from Warrington
My wife Doreen and I first had a holiday at Seth and Catherin Williams' Hirdre Uchaf Farm just off the road between Edern and Tudweiliog in the summer of 1963 when our daughter Joanne was just a few weeks old. We visited every year thereafter until their son Hywel and his late wife Ann took over and he suggested that we might like to site a caravan in his garden in 1974. This we did and when Hywel moved from Hirdre Uchaf to Hirdre Isaf Farm he managed to transport the caravan with him and we took our holidays and many weekends in both places with our three children in the caravan until he retired about four years ago. Our son Mark, having bought a cottage in Llannor, has maintained the family connection with this most beautiful part of North Wales.
Mon Feb 23 10:09:13 2009
Arwyn Williams from Nefyn
To David Jones and Peter Bell, Mrs E Williams was my old grandmother, my grandmother's mother, Mrs Megan Williams. Just letting you know that we as a family are still at the chip shop, and the grandfather clock is still in my grandmother's possession.
Tue Jan 13 09:21:29 2009
stephen clark, liverpool
my mum and dad used to take my sister and i to nefyn in the 1970s and into the 80s. we stayed at mrs katie jones's on fford sant dewi - the house was called bodaborth. still there but not a guest house anymore. i saw mrs jones at her grand daughter's pam's 40th last year. still going strong.
i now take my wife and our nippers to nefyn...we had a little trip there the other day and it was as lovely as ever. we stayed at the caeau capel hotel there which i ! heartily recommend...its a bit old fashioned but great. super walks stil and our children love it as much as we did all those years ago.
i met a lovely old lady while i was out with my little boy on our bikes and rashly suggested to her that i might climb garn boduan during my 40th birthday year, next year! i'll have to now.
by the way, i notice that the singer duffy is from nefyn...big time at last for that lovely little place. would love to move there but the language would make it too difficult, i think. can't wait to go again...probably in june or july. makes me feel all grown up...me being the dad and driving us all back to nefyn from whistilng sands!
Mon Apr 28 10:18:26 2008
Gill from Nefyn
The first time I came to Nefyn I was 2yrs old and we stayed at Mrs Hughes, Ealing House it was to be the first of many many visits, we came on holiday almost every year. There would be my nan, mum, brother, aunts and uncle's, nieces and nephews, generations of my family have enjoyed Nefyn to the full, the old hall with its cinema films that always went wrong.....now I have come to live here with my two children 48yrs later, took me a long time but I got here in the end. I dont think it has changed much, just changed I suppose. for the better. I think in some respects maybe! Everyone that has visited me here and I have recommended to come to visit have fell in love with the place, the beach, the village and most of all the lovely friendly people of Nefyn and now hopefully in time I will be classed as one of them and proud of it! My nan and mum have now passed away but I am hoping to place a memorial plaque on one of the seats along the cliff walk, if the Town Council permits ofcourse, here's hoping. My nan and mum would love to be looking out over Nefyn bay like I can now do anytime I wish - dream come true I think!
Fri Oct 12 09:20:12 2007
Rosie Whitfield, Brecon.
Thanks to Mr Taylor for his advice: I am planning to walk the coastal path sometime soon, and make stops at Nefyn and many other places of happy memory. My parents are no longer able to walk far, but it would be nice for them to visit Nefyn with me in the car.Sad to read the Madryn Hall has been demolished; this was one of the places where we went to enjoy Sunday evening hymn singing (I recall we drove back afterwards with myself and my younger brother hanging out of the car windows singing hymns at the tops of our voices, and some songs less appropriate to Sunday evenings, too, with Mum hiding behind her headscarf). I will try to get to many of the historic sites, too, as our visits to hilltop settlements, burial cairns and so on sparked a lifelong interest in archaeology.
Thu Aug 23 11:03:23 2007
Phil Monthie from Saratoga, NY
Just curious if they still name the houses in the town, as my grandparents were born in the house on the hill called Jericho? Has anyone herd of it or does anyone know where it happends to be. Thank you for your time,
Wed Jul 18 09:20:52 2007
Richard Taylor, Warrington
In response to Rosie Whitfield's comments I would like to offer the following. I started visiting Nefyn and the Llyn Peninsula as a baby in 1967 we to stayed at Hindre Uchaf farm with Howell and Anne and Williams. My mum and dad then purchased a caravan at Scotts site in Edern. Iam now 40 and have been visiting Nefyn ever since, now with my children, my parents still join us now and again. We have spent years holidaying abroad, but have always returned to the Llyn. its my place for total relaxation, and on the whole has remained unspoilt. Yes Nefyn is not the town it used to be, gone are the days of going to the local cinema, now knocked down, or being able to buy shoes for the childrens return to school following their summer holiday. Yes it has got busier as more and more people have discovered the beauty of the area, but it still remains a magical place which holds a lot of memories. We visited in February to walk the coastal paths, so tranquil and peaceful. We are visiting again shortly for our summer holiday. Its my place to relax and escape the pressures of every day life whilst surrounded by stunning scenery. Go on Rosie take a trip you won't regret it !
Mon Jul 16 09:42:39 2007
Rosie Whitfield
My family visited Nefyn and the surrounding area for many years, from the early 1960s until 1977. We stayed with Mr and Mrs Williams at Hirdre Uchaf, then at their son, Robert's farm Brynogolwyd on the coast a few miles from Edeyrn.When we first visited there was no mains electricity and it was a big event when the farm received mains at last; my father took a projector to show Mrs Williams some cine film of herself playing badminton on the lawn behind the farm house.We sailed off the beach at Nefyn, took walks along the coast and shopped in the town. All the family remember the grocer in Nefyn, who baked bread on the premises and was the leader of the town band for many years."Chicken soup and Nefyn bread" is recalled by all the family with a nostalgic smile, this was our treat after an evening walk on the Porthdinllaen golf links. We used to go to Sunday evening community hymns in Nefyn, with the band accompanying the great Welsh voices. I have not returned since 1977, I am too worried that the town will be touristy and the old familiar shops will be gone.I am pleased the well is to be repaired; as a child I used to dip my hand in the water the day we left to go home, in the hope that by some magic it would ensure I our return the following year.
Tue Jun 19 09:59:00 2007
ken dobie liverpool
in the 1960s we visited nefyn a lot ,first taking a house in palace street ,and then staying at the plas pistyll,where we went every xmas and sometimes in the summer,and at the nanhoran hotel. the difference from the city ,i think is what made nefyn special,the fact that you had to book a taxi days in advance was asource of wonder, the picture shows at the old town hall, the last bus from pwellheli on saturdaay night,no matter how full it was , everybody got on and home safe. there was once a week, in a small hall just further up from the nanhoran a dance where the star attraction was benny and his%! 20band ,the most wonderfull thing of all was the beautiful countryside and beaches such as lifeboatbay and whistling sands,may be because they lived in such a beautiful place ,the local people always seemed so happy,does anybody know what is happening to the poor old plas pistyll hotel,iam told its in a very bad state, very sad about that ,so many happy memories
Mon Mar 19 14:14:11 2007
peter bell
I made a mistake - my twin brother informs me it was Mrs E Williams we stayed with at Dolfor cottage in 1956. There was a big grandfather clock in the corner of the living room, it chimed every 15 mins and it scared me to death for some reason; it had some kind of moon face on the dial. I was about 8 or 9 at the time. Funny what you're scared of when you're a kid. I found out yrs later someone smashed the clock in a drunken rage, happy days.
Mon Jan 29 10:49:01 2007
peter bell from liverpool
I stayed in nefyn a few times in the 50s, we stayed at mrs rowlands at dolfor and mrs williams at the end of the village. also we went to the cinema to see the dambusters at madryn hall. there was just forms in there and when it got full someone said move the forms forward to make more room for the people at the back. i remember the little chippy which was a coal burner, happy days.
Wed Jan 24 12:42:44 2007
David Jones, Liverpool
An interesting item. My late father was from Nefyn, Owen David Jones, (dob 24.5.1905, died, 3.1.1956). He had two brothers Ifan and Hugh. They lived up Brynglas way. My father went to Pwllheli Grammar School - his first language was Welsh of course. The family moved to Liverpool and his father, Thomas Hugh Jones, became the caretaker of Park Road Welsh Chapel. Nearly next door in Northumberland Street was Richard's Dairy - the family was also of Welsh background and attended the chapel, my mother was one of the Richard's daughters and that is how she met my father. My brother and I were both christened in the chapel, now long gone. We used to holiday in Nefyn regularly until my father died in 1956 and would stay at Dolfor, Brynglas, with 'Auntie Lizzie'. We would also visit Graigfryn, Y Maes, where lived Nain - I think she was my father's grandmother. I remember going to the pictures in the Town Hall - and dreadfully scratchy they were too! Nain had a harmonium - how exciting was that to a small boy. I have seldom been back since my father died - it was never going to be the same without him.
Thu Jun 1 15:19:25 2006
From ancient wells to old salt houses, ship-building to royal jousts, John Thomas gives us a quick guide to Nefyn's rich history.
