Port Dinorwic
| Y Felinheli | |
|---|---|
 Road bridge at Y Felinheli marina |
|
 Y Felinheli
|
|
| Y Felinheli shown within Gwynedd | |
| Area | 2.28 sq mi (5.9 km2) |
| Population | 2,284 (2011) |
| • Density | 1,002/sq mi (387/km2) |
| Language |
Welsh English |
| OS grid reference | SH525675 |
| Community |
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| Principal area | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Y FELINHELI |
| Postcode district | LL56 |
| Dialling code | 01248 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | |
| Welsh Assembly | |
| Website | http://felinheli.org/ |
Y Felinheli, formerly known in English as Port Dinorwic, is a village and community beside the Menai Strait (Welsh: Y Fenai or Afon Menai) between Bangor and Caernarfon in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The population of the village was 2,284 at the 2011 Census.
Etymologically, its name comes from the Welsh y meaning the, melin meaning mill and heli, meaning brine/salt-water/sea. An alternative interpretation is from Y Felin heulyn, "the mill on the River Heulyn", which refers to the river that runs into the village.
Y Felinheli has its origins in two hamlets, Tafarngrisiau near St Mary's Church and Aberpwll to the north-east where there was a mill on the Afon Heilyn. The mill was rebuilt closer to the sea in 1633 and its name, Aber y felin gave the settlement its name. The area was largely agricultural until the area was transformed by slate quarrying in the 19th century. A new dock was built in 1828 when lime was extracted at Brynadda and slate and lime were loaded and culm (coal dust or anthracite slack) was brought in to fire the lime kilns.
The owners of the Vaynol Estate, the Assheton Smiths, owned most of the land in Y Felinheli and developed the Dinorwic Quarry in the late 18th century, They also built the harbour to export slate transported to the quay by the Dinorwic Railway, a narrow gauge railway that was subsequently replaced by the Padarn Railway. Industrial expansion gave Y Felinheli (Felin-hely, 1838) the alternative name Port Dinorwig or Port Dinorwic.
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Wikipedia