108-509: Aberthaw ( Welsh : Aberddawan ) is an area containing the villages of East Aberthaw and West Aberthaw , on the coast of South Wales about 5 miles (8 km) west of Barry . It is home to Aberthaw Cement Works , Aberthaw Lime Works , and Aberthaw Power Station , a decommissioned coal power station that was linked to the South Wales Valleys via the Vale of Glamorgan Railway . The area
216-414: A United Reformed Church chapel, dates from 1807. Roger's Lane, a lane leading from St Athan to the chapel is reportedly haunted and phantom funerals have been reported in the area with witnesses hearing funeral music and a procession and nobody being there. One elderly farmer recognized several of the mourners and the procession halted before a house before vanishing. St Athan is also said to be haunted by
324-565: A football team at St Athan Football Club and the St Athan Golf Club . The community includes West Aberthaw . Located in the Vale of Glamorgan, St Athan lies off the B4265 road , roughly 8 miles (13 km) by road northwest of downtown Barry . A 1632 survey defined the boundaries of the manor of St Athan by Eglwys Brewis and Castleton to the north; South Orchard, West Orchard and Llantwit Major to
432-446: A lady in white . The Old Rectory is dated to the early to mid-19th century. Built of stone, the porch included fluted pilasters. The Old Rectory was converted to a school in around 1960 but now contains flats. A number of dwellings in the village hold listed status in recognition of their special architectural or historic interest. Cadw , the governmental body that administers the listings, designated Myrtle Cottage as Grade II. It
540-557: A Tathan the Younger is said to be buried at St Athan Parish Church, although the exact location of the grave is unknown. Others say the village obtained its name from Tathana, granddaughter of Meuric ap Tewdric of Trebeferad ( Boverton ), who lived a humble life as a nun in a mud hut on the River Thaw , near the Old Mill; she was associated with the monastic school of nearby Llantwit Major , and
648-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
756-586: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
864-647: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
972-562: A further addition was being constructed in April 2020. One kilometre to the north is the B4265 road which connects Barry to Bridgend , via Llantwit Major and St Brides Major . Cardiff Airport is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the northeast. From the crossroads at the 14th-century Blue Anchor Inn, Well Road drops down a short steep hill to pass under an arched bridge carrying the double track Vale of Glamorgan line and extended in 1958 to carry new double tracks to Aberthaw "A" and "B" power stations. To
1080-586: A landing point or port during the Roman invasion. The Shrunken Village at West Aberthaw, considered an Ancient Monument in Glamorgan, consisted of a shrunken hamlet within a narrow strip of St. Athan parish which extended to the Bristol Channel. A small village centred around the intersection of two roads had developed by the medieval period. To the east, what is now Port Road led towards Fonmon and Penmark , whilst to
1188-418: A link to the power station and cement works, and after being closed to passengers on 13 June 1964, was reopened to passenger traffic on 10 June 2005 but only with Rhoose (for Cardiff International Airport) and Llantwit Major stations rebuilt. The establishment of these industries close to Aberthaw was to result in an increased demand for residential accommodation, and by 1919, two new communities had been added at
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#17328834377641296-567: A post office, a Londis , a Laser and tattoo removal service, a pharmacy, an Esso petrol station and an Aston Martin Lagonda auto plant. Also see: St Athan has had three train stations in the past but are now closed, the Gileston railway station , the St Athan Railway Station aka St Athan Halt and St Athan Road Railway Station . Taxi services also run to St Athan as a part of
1404-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
1512-455: A slated catslide roof . The house was of major importance to local trade and smuggling operations, used as a storehouse, especially for tobacco. The Granary is a Grade II listed building dated to the early 19th century and includes stables, a hayloft and granary. The building is now used as a private residence. Also listed are 1 and 2 Marsh Cottage and The Haven. Several other unlisted cottages and houses are of note, such as Upper House Farm within
1620-515: A square three-foot high base is made of Sutton stone retrieved from the Ogmore River and appears to date to the earlier Norman church. The church bells date to 1635, 1707, 1720 and 1744, and two further bells were added in 1919; this is commemorated next to the hymn board. The church contains effigies of Sir Roger Berkerolles and his wife, Katherine Turberville, eldest sister of Sir Richard Turberville of Coity Castle . The Bethesda'r Fro Chapel,
1728-626: Is The Willows, a late-17th-century farmhouse which once featured in Glamorgan Farmhouses . East Orchard, a castle within the village, was built in 1691 by Roger Berkerolles; curiously, in 1843, a wild fig tree grew out of the cement of the chapel walls. West Farm is a Grade II listed building, dated to the early 16th century with 19th-century alterations. Formerly thatched roofed, it has "dressed stone tudor-arched doorways, straight-cut with fillet ceiling timbers and gable-entry stone stairs" and "castellated stone bay windows". West Orchard Farm
1836-995: Is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
1944-566: Is a square pillar raised on three steps with a dentilated cornice, capped by a ball. The Church of St Athan contains monuments of the Berkerolles family with recumbent figures of a knight and his lady. See St Athan's Boys Village . St Athan Primary School was first mentioned in 1847 and was located in what is now the Old Community Centre, built by the Rayers in about 1860. A new school
2052-571: Is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales . The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan . The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier church was dated to the Norman period. The village and the adjacent dormitory village of Eglwys Brewis are known primarily for the MOD St Athan RAF base. There are two pubs in the village, as well as
2160-551: Is also a Grade II listed building, c. 17th century. Its unusual architectural features include its five inline chimneys, a "Tudor arched doorway, broad chamfered beams and gabled porch". The war memorial is located on the grass along the B4265 road at Gileston Cross to the south of the village. It was built in around 1920 to commemorate those who died during the First World War . The memorial, built from Portland stone ashlar ,
2268-617: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. St. Athan St Athan ( Welsh : Sain Tathan )
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#17328834377642376-667: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
2484-476: Is historically within the parish of Penmark in the Vale of Glamorgan . The two villages of West and East Aberthaw are separated by the River Thaw . The village of East Aberthaw, near Rhoose , has a 13th-century pub. The village Baptist Chapel and Mission Room no longer exist as such and have been converted for other uses. Aberthaw is nearly opposite to Minehead in Somerset , England. The village of East Aberthaw
2592-477: Is near Aberthaw. The beach in front of the power station, The Leys, is near Gileston and West Aberthaw; it is well known for its sea fishing. The East Aberthaw Coast Conservation Area covers the whole of the East Aberthaw village and contains a lagoon on The Leys. Breaksea Point , at the edge of Limpert Bay at Aberthaw, is the southernmost point of Wales, although contested with Rhoose Point , nevertheless
2700-545: Is situated approximately 0.25 miles (0.40 km) inland from the sea. The River Thaw which meets the sea at Aberthaw is fairly small and is affected by high tides at times, and with the coming of the first coal-fired power station at Aberthaw circa 1958, was diverted to form a straight channel about 959 yards long from the fixed coastline and this section is therefore within the Power Generation Board's property. Its former tributary now forms an enclosed pond area near
2808-505: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
2916-462: Is the last cottage in the area with a thatched roof, and retains period features such as heavy oak beams and an old iron bread-oven. New Barn Cottage, a 3 bedroom formerly-thatched cottage was part of the Radcliffe estate until it was sold in 1928. The Croft is a cottage which dates to the late 19th or early 20th century and is noted for its rounded-head door opening and symmetrical facade. Also of note
3024-704: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
3132-566: The Topographical Dictionary of Wales in 1849 reported. In 1851, Aberthaw had a population of 495 people. The principal material then being exported, however, was the local lias limestone, called Aberthaw tarras, which was used to make hydraulic lime, which sets under water and was therefore very useful for building light houses (including the Eddystone Lighthouse) and canal locks. This limestone, considered to be of high quality,
3240-494: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
3348-461: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
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3456-586: The Defence College of Electro-Mechanical Engineering . In 2010 it was announced that a proposed £14 billion defence training academy, which would have created 2,000 jobs, had been cancelled by the government as part of the 8% cut in the Strategic Defence and Security Review . On 11 February 2009 two Air Experience Flights by the Air Training Corps left RAF St Athan and collided in mid-air, killing
3564-525: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
3672-727: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
3780-618: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
3888-481: The electoral ward , coterminous with the community, which elects one county councillor to the Vale of Glamorgan Council . The current county councillor, Cllr John Thomas, has been the incumbent since the 1999 election when he beat the sitting Labour councillor by only 17 votes. He became leader of the council in May 2017. The following landmarks are listed buildings of St Athan and its sub-manors: The main entrance to
3996-573: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
4104-551: The 14th century. Sir Roger Berkerolles died in 1351; a tomb is dedicated to him in the parish church, which also contains his parents' remains. The current church is mainly dated to the 14th century and it is thought the Norman church originally here was ordered to be rebuilt by the Berkerolles. Later, the manor fell under the Stradling family. In 1811, A Topographical Dictionary of the Dominion of Wales by Nicholas Carlisle included
4212-589: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
4320-522: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
4428-481: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
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4536-531: The Conservation Area, and several converted barns. St Athan Boys' Village was a holiday camp in West Aberthaw, which operated from 1925 through 1991. Aberthaw High Level was a four-track station on the Vale of Glamorgan Railway . There was no connection with the former single-line Taff Vale Railway's Aberthaw Low Level station on the defunct Cowbridge and Aberthaw railway . The latter, which also served
4644-625: The Ex MOD housing estate West Camp , the Northern "Bird's Estate"), the East Camp Ex-MOD housing estate which does not make up any village, the hamlet of New Barn and the area known as Beggars Pound. The community ward of Gileston covers the village of Gileston, the soon-to-be housing estate of the Old Boys Village, the houses collected within West Aberthaw and Limpert Bay. St Athan is the name of
4752-459: The Grade I listed Parish Church of St Athan (partially restored 1888–90) lies on the south porch, which contains the remains of a sundial and displays the Berkerolles coat of arms, dated to the 13th or 14th century. The windows are dated to the 14th century and the tomb in the south wall remains untouched, although the tomb in the west window was restored in 1934. The large rounded font which stands on
4860-539: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
4968-454: The River Thaw and the remnants of the old port diminished. Beyond the conversion of the former mission hall and a number of former agricultural buildings to residential use, East Aberthaw itself, however, has undergone little development. The "A" power station was demolished by July 1998 and the "B" station was closed on 13 December 2019, when decommissioning commenced. The principal building is
5076-469: The Vale of Glamorgan Council has decreed that Rhoose Point is the most southerly and have placed a notice board to that effect on the Coastal Footpath at Rhoose Point. Aberthaw derives its name from the Welsh word 'aber', meaning estuary or river mouth, of the river Thaw. The existence of a safe, natural harbour provided an early impetus for the area's development and trade. There were settlements in
5184-600: The Vale of Glamorgan. Bus services include the 303, 905 and the X91 X91 bus is no longer available There are two pubs in the village, the Three Horse Shoes and The Roost on Rock Road. There is also a skate park and two community centres, one of which holds an annual fun-day. The village has a football team and the St Athan Golf Club. St Athan is the poorest rural area in the Vale of Glamorgan. Y Ladi Wen
5292-489: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
5400-673: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
5508-421: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
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#17328834377645616-445: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
5724-426: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
5832-429: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
5940-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
6048-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
6156-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
6264-408: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
6372-466: The disruption caused by the outbreak of the English Civil War . Within the context of the village, the port played a significant role in the livelihoods of many residents in the 17th century, though not always in a legal manner: smuggling was rife within the Bristol Channel . Buildings such as the fortified Marsh House, built just to the west of the village in 1636, appear to have been used for storage of illegally imported goods, especially tobacco. During
6480-489: The east from the crossroads, Port Road, a narrow lane, leads uphill to a farm group (Upper House Farm) and then passes over Aberthaw Cement Work's tunnel-connected extensive blue lias limestone quarries and on to some woodland at the hamlet of Fonmon , with alternative unclassified road access to Fontygary and Rhoose or to the B4265, passing Fonmon Castle . Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] )
6588-431: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
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#17328834377646696-425: The following entry on St Athan: ATHAN, ST., in the Cwmwd of Maenor Glynn Ogwr, Cantref of Cron Nedd (now called the Hundred of Ogmore), County of GLAMORGAN, South Wales: a Rectory, valued in the King's Books at £15..9..7: Patron, Robert Jones, Esq.: Church dedicated to St. Athanasius. The Resident Population of this Parish, in 1801, was 264. The Money raised by the Parish Rates, in 1803, was £125..17..1, at 1s..8d. in
6804-411: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
6912-413: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
7020-400: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
7128-527: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
7236-431: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
7344-449: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
7452-468: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
7560-408: The northern and southern edges of the village. The community, by this time, had gained a Methodist Chapel and a Mission Room, the latter erected in an Arts and Crafts style on Station Road. Services such as a post office and village shop were also established. In 1963, Aberthaw "A" Power Station officially opened, followed by the "B" station in 1971; construction had necessitated a local diversion of
7668-581: The now Grade II-listed Aberthaw (Pebble) Lime works from 1892 until 1926 and ran from Llantrisant via Cowbridge, was lifted by June 1934. The double-track Vale of Glamorgan line from Barry to Bridgend closed to passengers on 15 June 1964 but reopened to passengers on 10 June 2005, serving only Rhoose (for Cardiff Airport ) and Llantwit Major . Aberthaw (High Level) station was permanently closed and its platform tracks lifted some years ago and in March 2013, Aberthaw signal box which controlled main line traffic and rail coal traffic access to Aberthaw power station(s)
7776-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
7884-434: The old lime works and is rich in wildlife. From Dunraven to Aberthaw, the coastal cliffs feature blue and brown argillaceous limestones, shales, and marls. As far as East Aberthaw, the cliffs are under 100 feet (30 m), and in some places not more than 50 feet (15 m). For a short distance east of Pleasant Harbour in East Aberthaw, there are wooded cliffs about 300 yards from the high-water mark of ordinary tides. West of
7992-482: The once- thatched Rose Cottage and Marsh Cottages can all be dated to the medieval era. The Blue Anchor Inn is likewise of medieval origin, and appears to have been erected in 1380. The village, which came within the parish of Penmark, is also known to have included a small chapel which was possibly located towards the south of the settlement, as suggested by the marking of 'Chapplefeld' on the Evans Mouse map of 1622. This
8100-399: The only remaining example of its kind, is now devoid of all internal equipment and is a Grade II listed structure, but inaccessible to the public. It stands on the down platform of the demolished Aberthaw High Level station about 100m to the west of Station Terrace in East Aberthaw. Aberthaw Cement Works, a mile to the north is still rail-connected as at April 2020 and rail traffic to & from
8208-464: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
8316-534: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
8424-401: The pilots and two female Cadets. An investigation was launched. On 23 February 2016 Aston Martin announced that their new factory to build its DBX crossover model would be located on the airfield at St Athan. Construction of the 90-acre site would commence in 2017, with a total investment of $ 280 million and the creation of 750 jobs. The factory would be located in the existing buildings on
8532-465: The popular Grade II* listed Blue Anchor Inn , a long low building with walls and low timber beams dated to 1380, with a thatched roof. The inn was used as a tobacco drying shed during the smuggling days. The inn caught fire in 1922, 2004, and again in 2009, the last fire burning about 30% of the thatched roof. Close by is the Grade II listed Marsh House, an 18th-century building with a symmetrical front and
8640-484: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
8748-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
8856-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
8964-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
9072-413: The port of Aberthaw there is an expanse of alluvial ground protected by embankments. This is bordered by hillocks of blown sand, and these rise about 20 feet (6.1 m) above the shingle beach. Bordering the blown sand, there is a ridge of thick shingle, and beyond this, between tide-marks, is an expanse of shingle on mud. There are no cliffs to the west of Aberthaw until Summerhouse Point. Font-y-Gary Cave
9180-479: The port's staples was shipping butter to the Port of Bristol . It was remarked that Glamorgan supplied Bristol with its butter in much the same way as Suffolk supplied London and the port at Aberthaw was at the vanguard of this trade. Aberthaw's maritime trade continued throughout the 18th century, but by the 1840s, its role as a port declined: the harbour 'is resorted to by a few coasting-vessels of inferior burthen', as
9288-496: The pound. It is 6 1/2 m. S. from Cowbridge . This Parish contains 1300 Acres of cultivated Land. In this Parish are the ruins of East Orchard, one of the twelve Norman Castles, and the Site of West Orchard, another Castle of later date: As well as the Port of West Aber Ddaw , so much noted for the superiority of its Lime. In 1847, the village had a population of about 379 people. The village
9396-457: The reign of George II , the Master of Fonmon sent soldiers to Aberthaw to try and capture the ringleaders of the smuggling gang. Beyond the business of the harbour, agriculture was also of central importance to the settlement, the land to the east of the village, between East Aberthaw and Fonmon, being marked by windmills and orchards . To the west, the marsh lands were suitable for grazing. One of
9504-527: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
9612-451: The second and third centuries, substantiated by Roman pottery, shells and tiles that were discovered when a new pipeline was laid through East Aberthaw in the 1950s. Excavations in Well Road revealed the foundations of walls which may have belonged to the Roman settlement, while further discoveries of coins , jewellery , tiles and Samian ware pottery suggested that the nearby bay served as
9720-627: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
9828-450: The site. The U.S. state of Alabama, along with two UK sites and a Middle Eastern location, had been on Aston's shortlist for the factory. Aston unveiled the DBX at the 2015 Geneva Auto Show; DBX production will start in 2020 with an output of up to 5,000 units a year envisaged. St Athan has a community council of 13 seats, including a chairperson, and separately one clerk. The council represents
9936-524: The three community wards of St Athan, Gileston and Flemingston . The chairperson sits at the top of the table, with deputy to chair's right and clerk to chair's left. The community ward of St Athan includes the Village of St Athan and the Castleton Residential Park. The community ward of Flemingston includes the village of Flemingston, half the village of Eglwys Brewis (which is split between
10044-518: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
10152-477: The west, Gileston and the Bristol Channel to the south; and East Orchard and the River Thaw to the east. Legend holds that Tathan was an Irish monk who was in a boat which ran aground at Portskewett , after being blown across the Bristol Channel, around 540 AD. He founded a monastery and school and is said to have been buried in the orchard of the vicarage at Caerwent . However, somewhat confusingly,
10260-421: The west, the present Well Road (previously known as Marshe Way) led towards the marshland and a ford across the estuary. The road leading north- south connected the coast with the settlements inland, and as Aberthaw trade flourished, the roads were used for moving imported goods to the markets at St. Athan and Cowbridge . Of the buildings grouped around the crossroads, the original fabric of Lower Farm House and
10368-562: The works is controlled from a local, crew-controlled ground-frame which is interlocked with the SWCC Vale of Glamorgan Workstation remote signalling & points control. The former Taff Vale Railway's Aberthaw Low Level station opened in 1892 to serve the village and had a connection to the limeworks at low level. With the closure of the low level station in 1931, the words 'High Level' were removed from Aberthaw's Vale of Glamorgan station. The up platform at Aberthaw now houses private dwellings and
10476-543: Was built in the mid-1960s and was inaugurated in September 1966. In November 1995 the nursery was established. St Athan Library is located on Old Church Lane. The library is currently moving from County Council control to a Community Charity after a consultation took place between October and December 2014. There is also the local newspaper The Llantwit Major GEM. and the MOD St Athan magazine Tathan. The village has
10584-453: Was buried at the church. Historical records indicate that in the Taxatio (1291) and Valor Ecclesiasticus (1535) the village was named Llandathan and the parish church named simply Tathana's. St Athan's comprised three sub-manors: Castleton , East Orchard , and West Orchard . The early history of the parish of Eglwys Brewis records that it was situated in the manor of St Athan and
10692-608: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
10800-453: Was furthered by the loss of Porthkerry harbour to a 1584 storm, rendering Aberthaw the principal calling-point within South Wales between Cardiff and Swansea . By the first half of the 17th century, boats were departing for not only England and France, but also Spain and Ireland. A similarly flourishing trade with the West Indies , chiefly in sugar and tobacco , did not, however, survive
10908-559: Was held by the same lordship as that of Castleton. Roman coins have been discovered in the vicinity including a find in 1798 in a field between St Athan and Eglwys Brewis. The Castleon manor existed in St Athan from the Norman period under the lordship of the Nerber family. Norman castles were later constructed in West Orchard and East Orchard as manorial residences. In 1320, a Richard de Nerber
11016-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
11124-505: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
11232-408: Was said to have "retained only half a knight's fee at St Athan." However, from around 1240, the Berkerolles family appear to have received entitlements to the manorial estates of West and East Orchard and built a new manor house in West Orchard and later at East Orchard in 1377. The earlier Norman castles appear to have been destroyed by Ifor Bach . The Berkerolles family's influence grew stronger in
11340-539: Was served by St Athan Road railway station between 1892 and 1930. There is no longer any local rail connection. Although a settlement has existed at St Athan for over a thousand years, St Athan and its dormitory village of Eglwys Brewis significantly enlarged around the nearby MOD St Athan RAF base. This unit is home to the Special Forces Support Group , the DSG large aircraft maintenance unit and an element of
11448-500: Was taken out of use, and all remaining pointwork and signalling was transferred to the SWCC Vale of Glamorgan Workstation at Cardiff. When Aberthaw West signal box controlling the Aberthaw Cement Works exchange rail traffic closed in September 1980, Aberthaw East 'box was simply named 'Aberthaw'. In December 2019, the remaining Aberthaw "B" power station was closed and was being decommissioned in 2020. Aberthaw signal box, being
11556-526: Was to play a key role in the local economy during the ensuing years, beginning with the opening of Aberthaw Lime Works in January 1888. From December 1897, the area was served by the newly constructed Vale of Glamorgan Railway , and a second plant, the Aberthaw and Bristol Channel Portland Cement Works , began production to the north of the village in 1916. Today, the Vale of Glamorgan line remains open. This provides
11664-459: Was to serve as a place of worship until being converted to a house at the turn of the 17th century. In the 16th century, the Aberthaw port, situated to the southeast of the village proper, had emerged as a small but thriving harbour. The ships took wool and foodstuffs from Wales and returned with wine , salt , dried fruit and leather from the towns of northern France. Aberthaw port's importance
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