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The Wales Portal
Wales (Welsh: Cymru, pronounced [ˈkəmrɨ] ⓘ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 2,700 km (1,700 mi) of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.
Wales was an agricultural society for most of its early history, the country's terrain meaning that pastoral farming was the primary source of its wealth. In the 18th century, the introduction of the slate and metallurgical industries at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution began to transform the country into an industrial nation. The exploitation of the South Wales coalfield in the Victorian era caused a rapid expansion of the Welsh population. Two-thirds of Wales' inhabitants now live in South Wales, mainly in and around the capital city, Cardiff (Caerdydd), in the cities of Swansea (Abertawe) and Newport (Casnewydd), and in the nearby valleys. Today, with the country's traditional heavy industries either gone or in decline, Wales' economy depends on the public sector, light and service industries, and tourism.
From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the "land of song", attributable in part to the revival of the eisteddfod tradition. Although football has traditionally been the more popular sport in North Wales, rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. Wales is officially bilingual, with the Welsh and English languages having equal status. The Welsh language is an important element of Welsh culture, and is spoken by over 580,000 people, more than 20% of the population. Following annexation by England in the 16th century, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England; the National Assembly for Wales, created in 1999 following a referendum, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.
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Portal:Wales/Selected article/1
Towards the end of the 18th century, landowners began to operate quarries on a larger scale. After the government abolished slate duty in 1831, rapid expansion was propelled by the building of narrow gauge railways to transport the slates to the ports. The most important slate producing areas were in northwest Wales, including the Penrhyn Quarry near Bethesda, the Dinorwic Quarry near Llanberis, the Nantlle Valley quarries, and Blaenau Ffestiniog, where the slate was mined rather than quarried. Penrhyn and Dinorwig were the two largest slate quarries in the world, and the Oakeley mine at Blaenau Ffestiniog was the largest slate mine in the world. The slate industry dominated the economy of north-west Wales during the second half of the 19th century. In 1898, a work force of 17,000 men produced half a million tons of slate.
A bitter industrial dispute at the Penrhyn Quarry between 1900 and 1903 marked the beginning of its decline, and the First World War saw a great reduction in the number of men employed in the industry. The Great Depression and Second World War led to the closure of many smaller quarries, and competition from other roofing materials, particularly tiles, resulted in the closure of most of the larger quarries in the 1960s and 1970s. Slate production continues, but on a much reduced scale.
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A trapezoidal cairn of rubble – the upper part of the cromlech and its earth covering now removed – about 72 feet (22 m) long by 43 feet (13 m) (at its widest), is revetted by a low dry-stone wall. A bell-shaped, south-facing forecourt, formed by the wall, leads to a central passageway lined with limestone slabs set on end. Human remains had been placed in the two pairs of stone chambers that lead from the passageway. Corpses may have been placed in nearby caves until they decomposed, when the bones were moved to the tomb.
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The island has a long history of occupation, dating at least from Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods. Religious uses include visits by disciples of Saint Cadoc in the 6th century, and in 1835 it was the site of the foundation of the Bristol Channel Mission, which later became the Mission to Seafarers. A sanatorium for cholera patients was built in 1896 as the isolation hospital for the port of Cardiff. Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first wireless signals over open sea from Flat Holm to Lavernock. Because of frequent shipwrecks a lighthouse was built on the island, which was replaced by a Trinity House lighthouse in 1737. Because of its strategic position on the approaches to Bristol and Cardiff a series of gun emplacements, known as Flat Holm Battery, were built in the 1860s as part of a line of defences, known as Palmerston Forts. On the outbreak of World War II, the island was rearmed.
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Locally nicknamed "the Armadillo", the Centre comprises one large theatre and two smaller halls with shops, bars and restaurants. It houses the national orchestra and opera, dance, theatre and literature companies, a total of eight arts organisations in residence. The main theatre, the Donald Gordon Theatre, has 1,897 seats, the BBC Hoddinott Hall 350 and the Weston Studio Theatre 250. In 2001 Lord Rowe-Beddoe was appointed chairman of Wales Millennium Centre, a company limited by guarantee. Board members include Sir Michael Checkland.
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The town and castle were sacked in 1294 when Madog ap Llywelyn led a rebellion against the English. Caernarfon was recaptured the following year. During the Glyndŵr Rising of 1400–1415, the castle was besieged. When the Tudor dynasty ascended to the English throne in 1485, tensions between the Welsh and English began to diminish and castles were considered less important. As a result, Caernarfon Castle was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. Despite its dilapidated condition, during the English Civil War Caernarfon Castle was held by Royalists, and was besieged three times by Parliamentarian forces. This was the last time the castle was used in war. Caernarfon Castle was neglected until the 19th century when the state funded repairs. In 1911, Caernarfon Castle was used for the investiture of the Prince of Wales, and again in 1969. It is part of the World Heritage Site "Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd".
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The Holy Bible is the third studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 29 August 1994 by Epic Records and was the last of the band's albums released before the disappearance of lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards (credited as "Richey James" on the album sleeve), on 1 February 1995.
Edwards was facing problems with alcohol abuse, self-harm and anorexia nervosa at the time the album was written and recorded, and its contents are considered by some sources to reflect his mental state. The songs focus on themes relating to politics and human suffering.
The album won widespread critical acclaim and features in "Best Album of All Time" polls in the UK. It has been described by the NME as "a work of genuine genius". Although it reached number six on the UK albums charts, global sales were disappointing compared to previous albums, and the record did not chart in mainland Europe or North America. The album was promoted with tours and festival appearances in the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe, in part without Edwards.
An expanded 10th Anniversary Edition of the album was released in 2004.
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The church was closed between 2004 and 2011 because of structural problems that required costly repairs. The church is a Grade II* listed building, a designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest", because it is a "remarkable inter-war church", built to "a highly unusual and experimental design". The Twentieth Century Society has called it "a rare and unique church", and it has also been called "one of Britain's most avant-garde churches".
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The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. The International Rugby Board (IRB) regards Wales as a Tier One rugby nation, and ranks them seventh in the world as of 28 February 2011. Wales play in red jerseys embroidered with the Prince of Wales's feathers. Their current home ground is the Millennium Stadium, completed in 1999 to replace the National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park. Ten former Welsh players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, and two of the ten have been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame.
The governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. Welsh rugby struggled between the first and second World Wars, but experienced a second 'golden age' between 1969 and 1980 when they won eight Five Nations Championships (including 3 shared wins). They played in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 where they achieved their best ever result of third. Wales hosted the 1999 World Cup and, won their first Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005, which was followed by a second in 2008. Their 2005 Grand Slam is notable for being the first ever team to gain the accolade playing most matches away from home.
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The Millennium Stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc which is a subsidiary company of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). The stadium was designed by a team led by architects Bligh Lobb Sport Architecture, who merged to become HOK Sport Venue Event, which would be renamed Populous in early 2009. WS Atkins were the structural engineers, and the building contractor was Laing. The total construction cost of the stadium was £121 million, of which the Millennium Commission funded £46 million. With total seating capacity of 74,500, it is the third largest stadium in the Six Nations Championship. It is also the second largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof and was only the second stadium in Europe to have this feature.
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The Rhondda Valley is most notable for its historical link to the coal mining industry which was at its peak between 1840 and 1925. The Rhondda Valleys were home to a strong early nonconformist Christian movement which manifested itself in the baptist chapels which moulded Rhondda values in the 19th century and early 20th century. Rhondda is also famous for strong masculine cultural ties within a social community which expressed itself outside industry in the form of male voice choirs, sport, trade unions and public house life.
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Since preservation, the railway has operated as a tourist attraction, expanding its rolling stock through acquisition and an engineering programme to build new locomotives and carriages. In 1976, an extension was opened along the former mineral line from Abergynolwyn to the new station at Nant Gwernol. In 2001, the preservation society celebrated its 50th anniversary, and in 2005 a major rebuilding and extension of Tywyn Wharf station took place, including a much-expanded facility for the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum.
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In 1832 engineer James Green advised on extending the system, and suggested a line with three inclined planes to reach Cwmmawr, further up the Gwendraeth Valley. Green underestimated the cost and could not complete the work. He was sacked in 1836, but the canal company finished the new route the following year. In 1865 the company changed its name to become the Kidwelly and Burry Port Railway, amalgamated with the company running Burry Port in the following year, and the canal became the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in 1869. Kymer's Dock at Kidwelly continued to be used for the export of coal by coasters for another 50 years. It was used as a rubbish dump during the 1950s, but together with a short section of the canal was restored in the 1980s.
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"Juxtapozed with U" is the thirteenth single by Super Furry Animals. It was the first single to be taken from the Rings Around the World album and reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart on its release in July 2001. The song was initially conceived as a duet but, after both Brian Harvey and Bobby Brown turned the band down, lead singer Gruff Rhys sang the entire track, using a vocoder on the verses. Musically, "Juxtapozed with U" has echoes of Philadelphia soul and the "plastic soul" of David Bowie's album Young Americans, and was inspired by the Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder track "Ebony and Ivory". Rhys has claimed that he sees "Juxtapozed with U" as "fairly subversive" because its polished pop style was in stark contrast to the "macho" guitar music the band felt was prevalent in 2001.
Critical reaction to the track was generally positive with some reviewers describing it as the band's best single to date. Directed by Dawn of the New Assembly/H5, the single's music video features a computer-generated woman and man seen as thermal images. An alternative video, directed by Fukme 99, was included on the DVD version of Rings Around the World; in it, three people walk through the streets of Hammersmith, dressed in cardboard costumes as a camcorder, clapperboard and microphone.
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The poem is traditionally ascribed to the bard Aneirin, and survives only in one manuscript, known as the Book of Aneirin, which is written partly in Middle Welsh orthography and partly in Old Welsh. There is debate among scholars about the date of the poetry: some consider that the original, oral version was composed in the Hen Ogledd – the Brythonic-speaking parts of northern Britain – soon after the battle. The original language of the poem would then have been Cumbric, and the work would be the oldest surviving poem from what is now Scotland. Others believe that it originated in Wales in the 9th or the 10th century, which would make it one of the earliest poems written in a form of Welsh. The manuscript contains several interpolations, one of which may be the earliest known reference to King Arthur.
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Proposals to re-open the existing freight railway line to passenger services were first mooted in 1998. The Welsh Assembly Government announced their commitment to the project in 2002, as part of a package of measures to help the steel communities. Passenger services were restored to the line in February 2008, using Class 150 diesel multiple units. Predominantly single track, the Ebbw Valley Railway runs 18 miles (29 km) along the Ebbw River valley from Ebbw Vale, before joining the South Wales Main Line at Ebbw Junction, Newport. The line's stations and services are managed by Arriva Trains Wales.
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The date of the church is unknown, but the oldest parts could be from the 12th century. The chancel was rebuilt in the 16th century, and a side chapel added in the 17th century. The church furnishings, such as pews, pulpit and communion rails, were added in the 18th century, although some of the pews are modern replacements after vandalism. It is a Grade I listed building, a national designation given to buildings of "exceptional, usually national, interest", because it is "a very rare example of a virtually unrestored Medieval church of simple, rustic character".
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The village was the last rest stop for pilgrims heading to Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli), the legendary "island of 20,000 saints". In the 18th and 19th centuries it developed as a shipbuilding centre and port. The mining and quarrying industries became major employers, and limestone, lead, jasper and manganese were exported. After the Second World War the mining industry collapsed, and Aberdaron gradually developed into a popular holiday resort. The beach was awarded a Seaside Award in 2008.
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Mwng (pronounced [ˈmʊŋ]; English: Mane) is the fourth studio album by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals, and the first by the group to have lyrics written entirely in Welsh. It includes the single "Ysbeidiau Heulog", and reached number 11 on the UK Albums Chart following its release – the first Welsh-language album to reach the Top 20. This success lead to Mwng being mentioned in the House of Commons by Elfyn Llwyd, who described the record as a celebration of a "new wave of confidence in the Welsh nation".
Mwng is an understated rock record inspired by the band's love of "Anglo-American pop culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s". Singer Gruff Rhys feels that the record marks the first time the band managed to escape their influences and clearly establish their own sound. The album's lyrics deal with a diverse set of subjects, such as the death of rural communities, old school teachers and Sarn Helen. Mwng was included in both the Melody Maker and NME "Best album of 2000" lists, with the latter calling the record the band's best release.
The Super Furry Animals had written several Welsh-language songs during sessions for Guerrilla, and opted to release them as a coherent album rather than issue "token Welsh songs" as B-sides. Rhys stated that, although the decision to release a Welsh language album was not an explicitly political statement, he does feel the record is a "stand against globalisation". The "lo-fi" album cost just £6,000 to make, and was recorded almost entirely live.
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The natural harbour of the Waterway provides a safe port, and has been exploited for several military operations. Campaigns conducted from the Haven included part of Henry II's Invasion of Ireland in 1171 and Cromwell's attack on Ireland in 1649, while forces which have disembarked at the point include Jean II de Rieux's 1405 reinforcement of the Glyndŵr Rising and in 1485 Henry VII landed at Milford Haven Waterway before marching on England.
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Sibyl de Neufmarché, Countess of Hereford, suo jure Lady of Brecknock (c. 1100 – after 1143), was a Cambro-Norman noblewoman, heiress to one of the most substantial fiefs in the Welsh Marches. The great-granddaughter of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, king of Wales, Sibyl was also connected to the nobility of England and Normandy.
Sibyl inherited the titles and lands of her father, Bernard de Neufmarché, Lord of Brecon, after her mother, Nest ferch Osbern, had declared her brother Mahel to have been illegitimate. Most of these estates passed to Sibyl's husband, Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, as her dowry. Their marriage had been arranged personally by King Henry I of England in the spring of 1121. Sibyl, with her extensive lands, was central to the King's plans of consolidating Anglo-Norman power in south-east Wales by the merging of her estates with those of Miles, his loyal subject on whom he relied to implement Crown policy.
As an adult, Sibyl lived through King Stephen's turbulent reign, known to history as the Anarchy, in which her husband played a pivotal role. Following Miles' accidental death in 1143, Sibyl entered a religious life at Llanthony Secunda Priory, Gloucestershire, England, which she had endowed up to six years previously. Sibyl is buried at the priory, founded by Miles in 1136.
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The church is still in use for weekly Sunday services (in Welsh and English), as part of the Church in Wales, and is one of four churches in a combined parish. It is a Grade II* listed building, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest", in particular because of its age and the east window. The church contains a decorated font from the 12th century, as well as memorials from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Richard Owen, a 19th-century Calvinistic Methodist minister from Llangristiolus, is buried in the graveyard.
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After two selection processes, the decision was taken that the debating chamber would be on a new site, called Site 1E, at Capital Waterside in Cardiff Bay. The Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Rogers won the international competition to design the building. It was designed to be sustainable with use of renewable technologies and be energy efficient. The building was awarded an "Excellent" certification by the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), the highest ever awarded in Wales, and was nominated for the 2006 Stirling Prize.
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The A4232 has been constructed in separate link roads of between 1.61 km (1.00 mi) and 5.47 km (3.40 mi) around Cardiff and to date 22 km (14 mi) including spurs have been opened to traffic, with plans for a further 5.53 km (3.44 mi). It has four large viaducts (Ely Viaduct, Grangetown Viaduct, Taff Viaduct and the East Moors Viaduct), one tunnel (Queen's Gate Tunnel) and two spur roads (Cogan Spur and Central Link Road). The road also has many smaller bridges over or under most of the interchanges on the road. The entire length of the road has clearway restrictions on it.
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The Tennant Canal was a development of the Glan-y-wern Canal, which was built across Crymlyn Bog to transport coal from a colliery on its northern edge to a creek on the River Neath. It closed after 20 years, but was enlarged and extended by George Tennant in 1818, to link the River Neath to the River Tawe at Swansea docks. To increase trade, he built an extension to Aberdulais basin, where it linked to the Neath Canal.
Use of the canals for navigation ceased in the 1930s, but because they supplied water to local industries and to Swansea docks, they were retained as water channels. The first attempts at restoration began in 1974; the section north of Resolven was restored in the late 1980s, and the canal from Neath to Abergarwed has been restored more recently. This project involved the replacement of Ynysbwllog aqueduct, which carries the canal over the river Neath, with a new 32-metre (35 yd) plate girder structure, believed to be the longest single-span aqueduct in Britain.
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The walls were slightly damaged during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr in 1401, but political changes in the 16th century reduced the need to maintain such defences around the town. The fortifications were treated sympathetically during the development of the road and railway systems in Conwy during the 19th century and survived largely intact into the modern period. Today the walls form part of the UNESCO world heritage site administered by Cadw. Archaeologists Oliver Creighton and Robert Higham describe the defences as "one of the most impressive walled circuits" in Europe.
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The rocks that form Snowdon were produced by volcanoes in the Ordovician period, and the massif has been extensively sculpted by glaciation, forming the pyramidal peak of Snowdon and the arêtes of Crib Goch and Y Lliwedd. The cliff faces on Snowdon, including Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, are significant for rock climbing, and the mountain was used by Edmund Hillary in training for the 1953 ascent of Mount Everest. The summit can also be reached on the Snowdon Mountain Railway, a rack and pinion railway opened in 1896 which carries passengers the 4.7 miles (7.6 km) from Llanberis to the summit station. The summit also houses a visitor centre called Hafod Eryri, built in 2006 to replace one built in the 1930s by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis.
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In Welsh, the town is named Llanilltud Fawr, after Saint Illtud, who came to the area from Brittany. He founded a monastery and the college attached to it, Cor Tewdws, which would grow into one of the most esteemed Christian colleges of the times. The monastery was destroyed by the Vikings in 987, but rebuilt in 1111, and continued to be a centre of learning until it closed in 1539 in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The 13th century St Illtyd's Church, built near the ancient monastery, is a Grade I listed building and is one of the oldest parish churches in Wales. The modern town of Llantwit Major developed rapidly in the 20th century to accommodate for the Royal Air Force serviceman in the base built at nearby St Athan, but it retains its mediaeval feel with narrow cobbled streets and high walls and many old buildings, including a 15th-century town hall.
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Selected picture
Selected pictures list
Portal:Wales/Selected picture/1
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A view from the headland of Cardiff City Hall.
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The Marloes peninsula on the Pembrokeshire coast, Wales
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Tor Bay and Three Cliffs Bay, Gower, Glamorgan
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Welsh national rugby union team versus the Italian national rugby union team at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
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Saint David as teacher of St. Finnian in a stained glass window at Clonard
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The national flag of Wales is The Red Dragon (Welsh: Y Ddraig Goch), consisting of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with any heraldic charge, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many interpretations exist.
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A view down the River Vyrnwy (Afon Efyrnwy in Welsh) in northern Powys, Wales.
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A partial view of the ceiling of the "Arab Room" in Cardiff Castle, Cardiff
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The Welsh language is, with English, one of the two official languages of Wales, and most road signs in Wales are bilingual.
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Portmeirion is an Italianate village designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975. It has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, most famously serving as The Village in the 1960s television show The Prisoner.
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Sir Frank William Brangwyn RA RWS RBA (12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was an Anglo-Welsh artist, painter, watercolourist, virtuoso engraver and illustrator, and progressive designer.
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Crib Goch (Welsh for red ridge) is a "knife-edged" arête in Snowdonia National Park; all routes which tackle Crib Goch are considered mountaineering routes or scrambles. Crib Goch is the wettest place in the United Kingdom, with an average of 4,473 mm (176 in) rainfall a year over the past 30 years.
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Mumbles Lighthouse (built 1794) is a lighthouse located in Mumbles, near Swansea.
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Tryfan is one of the most recognisable peaks in Snowdonia, having a classic pointed shape with rugged crags. At 917.5 metres (3,010 ft) above sea level it is the fifteenth highest mountain in Wales.
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Maesyronnen Chapel, situated about 1 mile north of the village of Glasbury, Powys, is one of the earliest Nonconformist chapels to be built in Wales. Built shortly after the Act of Toleration of 1689, which granted Nonconformists freedom to worship in their own buildings, it is the only chapel existing from that time to be largely unchanged and still in use as a chapel.
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Gregynog Hall is a large country mansion in the village of Tregynon, 4 miles northwest of Newtown, Powys. The Blayney and Hanbury-Tracy families lived on the site from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries; in 1920 the current house was bought by Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, who turned it into an important cultural centre. During their ownership Gregynog hosted music festivals, gave its name to a printing press and, until the sisters' respective bequests to the National Museum of Wales, a housed significant collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. In 1960 the house was transferred to the University of Wales as a conference and study centre.
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Tintern Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, now in ruins, situated in the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye. Founded in 1131, it was only the second Cistercian foundation in Britain and the first in Wales. It inspired William Wordsworth's poem "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey", Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Tears, Idle Tears", Allen Ginsberg's "Wales Visitation" and more than one painting by J. M. W. Turner.
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Did you know...
- ...that the defeat of the Welsh army in the Battle of Orewin Bridge effectively ended the independence of medieval Wales?
- ...that British MP Peter Thomas was the first Conservative politician to serve as Secretary of State for Wales and the first Welshman to become party chairman?
- ...that Bangor Cathedral in North Wales was completed without a tower or spire because of a cracking foundation?
Wales topics
Web resources
- Wales. World Nation(General information about Wales, its government and its people)
- Famous Welsh People
- ButlinsBarryIsland.com : The history of the Barry Island Holiday Camp
- BBC Wales
- National Assembly for Wales
- Wales on the Web (Web directory)
- BBC Nations (Brief history of Wales)
- Wales Screen Commission (Filming in Wales)
- Wales Tourist Information (Tourist Information)
- Visit Wales (Official Tourist Information from the Wales Tourist Board)
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Related portals
Wales news
- March 1: Wales widens smoking ban, includes at hospitals, schools and playgrounds
- June 6: Fire at historic Welsh ex-hotel Bontddu Hall kills one
- June 5: Face coverings to be mandatory on public transport in England from June 15, transport secretary declares
- January 17: British surfers catch more than waves: Scientists find antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Selected biography
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Selected biographies list
Portal:Wales/Selected biography/1
Gabbidon signed a permanent four-year deal with Cardiff City in September 2000, for a fee of up to £500,000 depending on appearances and future honours. His performances in the 2001–02 season helped Cardiff to the Division 2 play-offs, saw him make his senior international debut for Wales in March 2002 and win the Welsh clubman of the year award in October 2002. He signed an extension to his contract in April 2002, saying that it was the prospect of exciting times ahead that had persuaded him to do so.
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At international level, Giggs played for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on 2 June 2007, and was once the youngest player ever to represent Wales. He was appointed an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List, and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2005. He was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009. On 31 January 2011, Giggs was named Manchester United's greatest ever player.
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The band are often associated with the Britpop scene, and gained mainstream popularity in the UK in the late 1990s. They are known for their intelligent and often political lyrics and have a dedicated following. Although during the early part of their career they were regarded as a punk rock band, their music is now often generally regarded as alternative rock, due to changes in their sound. Politically, the Manics appear as a socialist group – a stance inflected by their working class upbringing in Blackwood, Caerphilly, South Wales (they grew up during the miners' strike of the 1980s) as shown by their often highly politicised lyrics and actions (they once dedicated an award to Arthur Scargill, leader of the National Union of Mineworkers and later the Socialist Labour Party). The band also played a highly publicised gig in Cuba as guests of President Fidel Castro.
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Maxwell Boyce, MBE, (born 7 September 1945 in Glynneath) is a Welsh comedian, singer and former coal miner. He rose to fame in the United Kingdom during the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in the mining communities of South Wales. Having sold more than two million albums in a career spanning four decades, and playing to full houses all around the world, Boyce is one of the most successful and enduring entertainers in Welsh history. Max Boyce has always lived in the town of Glynneath, but his family were originally from Ynyshir in the Rhondda Valley. Within days of Boyce's birth, his father died in an explosion in the coal pit where he was working. At the age of fifteen, Boyce left school, went to live with his grandfather, and followed his father's footsteps by working in a colliery "for nearly eight years". In his early twenties, he managed to find work in a factory instead, but his earlier mining experiences were to influence his music considerably in later years.
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Owain Lawgoch, (English: "Owain of the Red Hand", French: "Yvain de Galles"), full name Owain ap Thomas ap Rhodri (c. 1330 - July 1378), was a Welsh soldier who served in Spain, France, Alsace and Switzerland. He led a Free Company fighting for the French against the English in the Hundred Years' War. As the last politically active descendant of Llywelyn the Great in the male line, he was a claimant to the title of Prince of Gwynedd and of Wales.
Following the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282, Gwynedd along with the remainder of Wales came under the rule of the king of England. Llywelyn's daughter Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn was committed to a nunnery at Sempringham, while the sons of his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd were kept in Bristol castle until their deaths. Another of Llywelyn's brothers, Rhodri ap Gruffydd, spent much of his life in England. By his second wife, Katherine, he had a son, Thomas, the father of Owain. Rhodri was content to end his life as a country gentleman in England, and though his son Thomas ap Rhodri used the four lions of Gwynedd on his seal he made no attempt to win his inheritance.
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David Watts Morgan CBE DSO JP (18 December 1867 – 23 February 1933) was a Welsh trade unionist, a Labour politician, and a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1918 to 1933, described as "[straddling] the transition in south Wales miners' politics from Lib-Labism to socialism, but ... never fully representative of either".
Born in Skewen in 1867, Morgan began to work in coal mines from the age of eleven. He was elected unopposed to Glamorgan County Council in 1902, in which year he also joined the newly-founded South Wales Miners' Federation. He enlisted in 1914, and encouraged Rhondda miners to enlist in the army in 1914 following the outbreak of the First World War, for which he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He initially served in the Welsh Regiment, before becoming a lieutenant-colonel in the Labour Corps. Morgan was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for bravery at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, earning him the nickname Dai Alphabet in South Wales. In February 1918, he was selected as the Labour candidate for the newly formed Rhondda East constituency, and was returned again in the 1922, 1923 and 1931 general elections.
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Guto Pryderi Puw (born 1971) is a Welsh composer, university lecturer and conductor. He is considered to be one of the most promising Welsh composers of his generation and a key figure in current Welsh music. Puw's music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and been featured on television programmes for the BBC and S4C. He has twice been awarded the Composer's Medal at the National Eisteddfod.
Puw's works include pieces for unusual combinations of instruments, such as a tuba quartet or a trio consisting of harp, cello and double-bass, as well as more traditional forces such as solo baritone and piano, choir or orchestra. He was associated with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales as its Resident Composer, the first holder of this title, from 2006 to 2009. Puw wrote an oboe concerto as part of this association, and his latest composition for the orchestra was premiered at the 2007 Proms. Puw's own Welsh identity is a recurrent theme in his music: some of his pieces set Welsh-language poetry to music and one of his pieces, Reservoirs, is written about the flooding of Welsh valleys to provide water for England.
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Hopkins was born and brought up in Margam, Port Talbot. He became a U.S. citizen on 12 April 2000, retaining his British citizenship. Hopkins' films have spanned a wide variety of genres, from family films to horror. As well as his Academy Award, Hopkins has also won three BAFTA Awards, two Emmys, a Golden Globe and a Cecil B. DeMille Award. Hopkins was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for services to the arts. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003, and was made a Fellow of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2008.
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Tommy Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a British prop comedian and magician. He made an art form of getting magic tricks wrong. However, despite his purported inability to perform conjuring tricks, he was in reality an accomplished magician and member of The Magic Circle. Famed for his red fez, his appearance was large and lumbering at 6ft 3ins (1.91m) tall and over 15 stone in weight. He had a range of facial expressions and would also say things like, "I must say you've been a wonderful audience" or "Have we got time for more?" immediately after he walked on stage that would convulse audiences with laughter. He had a host of other catchphrases such as "Spoon, jar, jar, spoon!!" and "Whisky, sample, sample, whisky, sample...". His most often quoted catchphrase "Just like that" has never been heard on film. Famously he was once standing for several minutes behind the curtain at the start of a televised show, and the audience, knowing he was there, was in hysterics before he even appeared. "People were laughing, just standing in line, for the tickets to see him" has often been quoted. Born Thomas Frederick Cooper, in Caerphilly, Wales, he was delivered by the woman who owned the house in which the family was lodging. Cooper's parents were Welsh-born army recruiting sergeant father Tom, and his English-born mother Gertrude from Crediton, Devon.
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Alfred Russel Wallace OM, FRS (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist. He did extensive fieldwork first in the Amazon River basin, and then in the Malay Archipelago, where he identified the Wallace line dividing the fauna of Australia from that of Asia. He is best known for independently proposing a theory of natural selection which prompted Charles Darwin to publish his own more developed and researched theory sooner than intended.
Wallace was also one of the leading evolutionary thinkers of the 19th century who made a number of other contributions to the development of evolutionary theory, including the concept of warning colouration in animals, and the Wallace effect. He was also considered the 19th century’s leading expert on the geographical distribution of animal species and is sometimes called the "father of biogeography".
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Rhys's grandfather, Rhys ap Tewdwr, was king of Deheubarth, and was killed at Brecon in 1093 by Bernard de Neufmarche. Following his death, most of Deheubarth was taken over by the Normans. Rhys's father, Gruffydd ap Rhys, was eventually able to become ruler of a small portion, and more territory was won back by Rhys's older brothers after Gruffydd's death. Rhys became ruler of Deheubarth in 1155.
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The scarce historical background to Arthur is found in the works of Nennius and Gildas and in the Annales Cambriae. The legendary Arthur developed initially through the pseudo-history of Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Welsh collection of anonymous tales known as the Mabinogion.
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Everest has been running his own tailoring business in the East End of London since 1989. Based at his Spitalfields atelier since 1993, he opened a West End store off Bond Street, near Savile Row, in 2008. As well as collaborating on projects with designers and brands such as Brooks England, DAKS, Kim Jones, Levi's, Rapha and Rocawear, as costume designer Everest has dressed the stars of films including Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible II, Eyes Wide Shut, Atonement and Mamma Mia!. He has been associated with the British high street retailer Marks and Spencer since 1999, and has been a contributor to men's magazine The Rake since 2008. Everest is at the forefront of the bespoke casual movement.
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William Cragh (born c. 1262, died some time after 1307), or William the Scabby (cragh means "scabby" in Welsh), or William ap Rhys, was a medieval Welsh warrior and supporter of Rhys ap Maredudd, lord of the lands of Ystrad Tywi, in his rebellion against King Edward I of England. Captured in 1290 by the son of William de Briouze, the Cambro-Norman Lord of Gower, he was tried and found guilty of having killed thirteen men. Cragh was executed just outside Swansea within sight of de Briouze's Swansea Castle, twice, as the gallows collapsed during his first hanging. Lady Mary de Briouze decided for reasons unknown to intercede on Cragh's behalf, and prayed to the deceased Bishop of Hereford, Thomas de Cantilupe, asking him to ask God to bring Cragh back from the dead. Cragh began to show signs of life the day after his execution, and over the subsequent few weeks made a full recovery, living for at least another eighteen years.
The main primary source for Cragh's story is the record of the investigation into the canonisation of Thomas de Cantilupe, which is held in the Vatican Library. Cragh's resurrection was one of thirty-eight miracles presented to the papal commissioners who in 1307 were charged with examining the evidence for Cantilupe's saintliness. The hanged man himself gave evidence to the commission, after which nothing more is known of him. Cantilupe was formally canonised by Pope John XXII on 17 April 1320.
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Tom Pryce (full name Thomas Maldwyn Pryce; 11 June 1949 – 5 March 1977) was a Welsh racing driver, famous for winning the Brands Hatch Race of Champions in 1975 and for the circumstances surrounding his death. Pryce is the only Welsh driver to have won a Formula One race and is also the only Welshman to lead a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix.
Pryce started his career in Formula One with the small Token team, making his only start for them at the 1974 Belgian Grand Prix. Shortly after an impressive performance at the Formula Three support race for the 1974 Monaco Grand Prix, Pryce joined the Shadow team and scored his first points in Germany in only his fourth race. Pryce later claimed two podium finishes, his first in Austria in 1975 and the second in Brazil a year later. Pryce was considered by his team as a great wet weather driver. During the practice session for the 1977 South African GP, run in wet conditions, Pryce was faster than everyone, including world champion drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt. Pryce's third full season at Shadow was cut short by his fatal accident at the 1977 South African Grand Prix, where he collided at high speed with safety marshal Frederik Jansen Van Vuuren.
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Sheen joined the West Glamorgan Youth theatre, where he was a contemporary of writer Russell T Davies. After leaving school, he accepted a place to study acting at the National Youth Theatre of Wales in Cardiff and then trained at the internationally renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Having worked with screenwriter Peter Morgan on five films, Sheen has become known for his portrayals of well-known public figures: Tony Blair in The Deal, The Queen, and The Special Relationship, David Frost in the stage production and film version of Frost/Nixon, and Brian Clough in The Damned United. He also played the Lycan Lucian in all three of the Underworld films, the vampire Aro in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and more recently, the role of Castor in Tron: Legacy.
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Gould was the most capped Welsh centre until Steve Fenwick of Bridgend beat the record at Lansdowne Road on 15 March 1980. He played 27 times for Wales, twice at full back and 25 at centre, ending his career against England on 9 January 1897. This last game was played in front of 17,000 supporters at Rodney Parade; Wales won 11–0. It was the 18th time Gould had captained Wales and this record stood until broken by Ieuan Evans in 1994.
A superb all round player and even-time sprinter with swerve, Gould could side-step and kick with either foot. He never ceased to practise to develop his fitness and skills. He was considered the outstanding player of his time.
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Barry John (born 6 January 1945) is a former Welsh rugby union fly-half who played, during the amateur era of the sport, in the 1960s and early 1970s. John won 25 caps for the Wales national team and 5 for the British Lions.
John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before switching to Llanelli RFC in 1964, where he was first selected for the Wales national team. He joined Cardiff RFC in 1967 and his partnership with Gareth Edwards became one of the most famous in world rugby. From 1967, John and Edwards were chosen to play together at all levels, for Cardiff, Wales, the Barbarians and in 1968 for the British Lions tour of South Africa, where John suffered a broken collarbone in the first Test against South Africa. In 1971 Wales entered their second 'Golden Age', with a team rich in experience and talent. John was on the team that won the 1971 Five Nations Championship – the first time Wales had achieved a Grand Slam since 1952. He cemented his reputation as one of the sport's greatest players with his pivitol role in the British Lions winning tour over New Zealand in 1971. He retired from rugby at the age of 27, citing the pressure of fame and expectation behind his decision. He is considered by many to be the greatest fly-half in the sport's history, and was known as "The King".
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