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- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia
Aberaeron (formerly anglicised as Aberayron) is a seaside resort town since 1996 in Ceredigion, Wales (Cardiganshire before 1974). Situated between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, it is home to the headquarters of Ceredigion County Council. The population was 1,520 in 2001, reducing to 1,422 at the 2011 UK census. The name is Welsh, meaning "mouth of the River Aeron", derived from the Middle Welsh aer, "slaughter". Aeron is believed to have been a Welsh god of war.
In 1800, there was no significant coastal settlement. The present town was planned and developed from 1805 by the Rev. Alban Thomas Jones Gwynne. The harbour he built operated as a port and supported a shipbuilding industry in the 19th century. A group of workmen's houses and a school were built on the harbour's north side, but these were reclaimed by the sea. Steam ships continued to visit the harbour until the 1920s but, in later years, it evolved into a small half-tide harbour for recreational boats. The estuary is also crossed by a wooden pedestrian bridge.
Crafts were an important part of village life. Information recorded in trade directories shows that in 1830, although it was not yet fully developed as a port, there were in Aberaeron one woollen manufacturer, one bootmaker, one baker, one corn miller, one blacksmith, one blacksmith and shovel maker, two shipwrights, one carpenter and one hat maker.
Aberaeron is a relatively new settlement and lacked borough status like other towns in the county. In 1894, however, the town achieved the status of an urban district, which it retained until local government reorganisation in 1974.
For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Aberaeron.
A Vision of Britain through Time notes Henfynyw Lower and Lower Llanddewi Aber Arth to be lower level units within the urban district. The names are drawn from those of the two parishes on which Aberaeron was located.
A nineteenth century description
A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Aberaeron from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:
- "ABERAYRON, a small seaport town and a [registration] district in Cardigan[shire]. The town stands in the parishes of Henfynyw, and Llanddewi-Aberarth, at the mouth of the Ayron river, 16 miles SSW of Aberystwith, and 13 miles NW of Lampeter [railway] station. It has two piers, enclosing a small harbour, and owns about 40 vessels.
- "It was long a retired village, but has become a market-town and an esteemed watering-place. The views around it are delightful; and the climate is about the healthiest in South Wales. The town has a post office under Carmarthen, a comfortable hotel, warm baths, a town hall, a new sub parochial church, and three dissenting chapels: Independent, Calvinistic Methodist, and Wesleyan. The church is served by a perpetual curate, who is appointed by the inhabitants, and has a salary of £50. The quarter sessions for the county are held at Aberayron in Jan., April, July, and Oct.; and markets are held on Wednesday and Saturday, and a fair on 13 Dec.
- "A circular camp, called Castell Cadwgan, and believed to have been formed in 1148 by Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, is on the shore. Mynach dy, the seat of the proprietor of the town, is in the neighbourhood, and is supposed to occupy the site of a monastery. Population of the town not separately returned."
Research Tips
- A 1900 Ordnance Survey map of the historic county of Cardiganshire is available on the A Vision of Britain through Time website. This shows all the old parishes within their urban and rural districts. Large farms and estates are also marked.
- Ceredigion Archives has a website with a list of their holdings, as well as historical notes on places in Cardiganshire.
- Some words in Welsh come up time and time again and you may want to know what they mean or how to pronounce them. For example,
"Eglwys" is a church and the prefix "Llan" is a parish.
"w" and "y" are used as vowels in Welsh.
"Ll" is pronounced either "cl" or "hl" or somewhere in between. "dd" sounds like "th".
The single letter "Y" is "the" and "Yn" means "in".
"uwch" means "above"; "isod" is "below" or "under";
"gwch" is "great", "ychydig" is "little";
"cwm" is a "valley".
- In both Welsh and English all these words are commonly used in place names in the UK. Place names are often hyphenated, or two words are combined into one. Entering your problem phrase into Google Search, including the term "meaning in Welsh", will lead you to Google's quick translation guide. I'm no authority; these are just things I have picked up while building up this gazetteer for WeRelate.
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