William Alexander Madocks was born into a wealthy London family in 1773. Although he grew up in fashionable, extravagant English society he also had strong links with north Wales, his family being landed gentry of several hundred years standing.

With inherited land and various purchases around the Traeth Mawr Estuary, he was able to put several ambitious plans into action.

One was to reclaim from the sea the land he'd bought, which he did by ordering the construction of a great embankment, now known as the Cob. The other was to build Tremadog - an entire town complete with church, chapel, factory and houses.

There was a grand scheme to make Tremadog and The Great Embankment an instrumental part of the London to Dublin route. But Maddocks' plans relied on Porthdinllaen, near Nefyn, being the favoured departure point for Dublin and in 1810 the decision was made to concentrate on Holyhead instead.

However, despite precarious finances, Madocks hung on until eventual salvation came in the form of the fast-growing slate industries of the Vale of Ffestiniog.

The 'improvements' Madocks had made to the area surrounding Traeth Mawr now formed a vital link between the quarries and the sea.

Watch a short film about how Porthmadog got its name.