94-585: Bodnant Garden ( Welsh : Gardd Bodnant ) is a National Trust property near Tal-y-Cafn , Conwy , Wales , overlooking the Conwy Valley towards the Carneddau mountains. Founded in 1874 and developed by five generations of one family, it was given to the National Trust in 1949. The garden spans 80 acres of hillside and includes formal Italianate terraces, informal shrub borders stocked with plants from around
188-401: A Fellow-Commoner of Christ's College, Cambridge in 1991. During this period she pursued her interests in sex determination, germ cells, and genomic imprinting, contributing to 48 papers. In addition, she used her position to promote women in academia and became an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College in 1994. She was active in her support in the advancement of women in science and was
282-441: 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
376-586: 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
470-647: 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
564-455: A day long conducted tour by Henry. Nicolson commented in his diary "the Dell, is the most extensive, most varied and most tasteful piece of planting I have ever seen". He further commented "I have no doubt at all that this is the richest garden I have ever seen. Knowledge and taste are combined with enormous expenditure to render it one of the wonders of the world". Charles’ son Michael McLaren inherited
658-658: A founder of the Association of Women in Science and Engineering (AWiSE). She was president of the AWiSE for several years. In 2004, McLaren was one of the co-founders of the Frozen Ark project, along with husband and wife Bryan and Ann Clarke . The project's aim is "saving the DNA and viable cells of the world's endangered species". While obtaining her doctorate in philosophy, she investigated
752-400: A lab setting and successfully achieving live births by implanting them into the uterus of a surrogate mother. In 1958, in collaboration with John D. Biggers , she published a seminal paper on the successful development and birth of mice cultivated in vitro . They showed successful birth after experimenting on embryos and blastocysts directly from one mother to another. These techniques became
846-462: A privileged family with notable lineage, as the fourth of five children. She was the daughter of Sir Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway , a former Liberal MP, and Christabel Mary Melville MacNaghten. She was born in London and spent her early childhood there, attending private schools. At the age of seven she appeared in the film version of H. G. Wells ' novel Things to Come , released in 1936. At
940-479: 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
1034-995: 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
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#17328585323951128-454: Is a sandstone band inscribed ‘The Poem’ in raised decorative lettering. Built in 1882 by the garden's founder, Henry Davis Pochin, as memorial to his children, four of whom died in infancy, the neo-gothic construction now contains busts and memorial tablets dedicated to the McLaren family members whose remains lie in the crypt beneath. These monuments are located in twenty arch-topped niches set into
1222-650: 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. Anne McLaren Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren , DBE , FRS , FRCOG (26 April 1927 – 7 July 2007)
1316-667: 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
1410-466: Is the McLaren family mausoleum . It sits on an outcrop of rock at the end of the valley known as the Dell. Grade II-listed for architectural interest, it was designed by architects W J Green of London, whilst the spectacular marble inside was sculpted by Samuel Barfield of Leicester. The roof is slate, in a shallow pyramidal style with a parapet and octagonal turrets at each corner. Above the arched entrance with voussoirs supported on columns of red marble,
1504-505: 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
1598-704: 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
1692-494: 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
1786-461: 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
1880-688: The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales . Bodnant Garden was visited by over 260,000 people in 2019 and is famous for its Laburnum arch, the longest in the UK, which flowers in May and June. The garden is also celebrated for its link to the plant hunters of the early 1900s whose expeditions formed the base of the garden's four National Collections of plants – Magnolia , Embothrium , Eucryphia and Rhododendron forrestii . The garden's founder, Henry Davis Pochin ,
1974-825: The Ellison-Cliffe Lecture at the Royal Society of Medicine , and from 1990 to 1995 she was the Fullerian Professor of Physiology at the Royal Institution . In 1993, she was created a DBE . From 1993 to 1994, she was president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science , and in 1998 she was made a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences . In 2002, she was the only female recipient awarded
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#17328585323952068-525: 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
2162-598: The Institute of Animal Genetics at the University of Edinburgh to continue her research. The couple remained on good terms; Michie also moved to Edinburgh. The experience of raising children as a single career parent made McLaren a strong advocate for government assistance towards childcare . McLaren spent the next 15 years (1959–1974) at the Institute of Animal Genetics, studying fertility, development and epigenetics, including
2256-802: The Japan Prize with Andrzej K. Tarkowski for their contributions to developmental biology. In 2007 she was awarded the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology . After reuniting in 2005, McLaren (aged 80) and Michie (aged 83) were killed on 7 July 2007, in a car accident on the M11 motorway as they travelled from Cambridge to London. Anne McLaren's collaboration with Marilyn Monk and Elizabeth Simpson significantly advanced our modern understanding of sex determination and male fertility. Her book "Mammalian Chimeras," published in 1976, solidified her as one of
2350-727: 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
2444-618: 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
2538-525: 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
2632-589: 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
2726-597: The 1900s the continued development of the garden was a partnership between three generations of the McLaren family – Henry, Charles and Michael – and three generations of head gardeners Frederick, Charles and Martin Puddle. Like his father, Charles McLaren became president of the RHS in 1961. As was his father and grandmother, he was also awarded the highest accolade of the RHS, the Victoria Medal of Honour. Charles’ sister Dr Anne McLaren
2820-522: 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 ,
2914-538: The 8–16 cells stage, then cultured in vitro for two days until the blastocyst stage, and finally transferred back to females' uterus until birth. This paper, "Successful Development and Birth of Mice cultivated in vitro as Early Embryos", has been called "one of the most significant papers in the history of reproductive biology and medicine". This was a highly productive time in her life and she contributed to 28 papers. During this period, she had three children: The marriage ended in divorce in 1959, and McLaren moved to
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3008-481: 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
3102-569: The Director of the MRC Mammalian Development Unit in London. She held this position for 18 years. During this time she collaborated with Marilyn Monk, who played a significant role in Anne's research on germ cells. She also contributed to teaching and lecturing and took on leadership roles in scientific societies. McLaren's work often took her outside the university. She was a member of
3196-539: 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
3290-661: The Handkerchief Tree ( Davidia involucrata ), one of which still grows in Bodnant Garden's Shrub Borders. He also brought back many magnolias for which the garden is famous, and other trees including the Acer griseum , Meliosma beaniana and Sorbus meliosmifolia . Wilson also discovered and brought back the Lilium regale which now grow on the rose terraces. In 1917 the recently formed Rhododendron Society, of which Lord Aberconway
3384-683: The Himalayan Blue Poppy ( Meconopsis betonicifolia ). He also collected and introduced rhododendron including Rhododendron cinnabarinum ‘Orange Bill’. In 1925 Harold Comber was sponsored by garden owners calling themselves the Andes Syndicate, headed by Lord Aberconway, to travel in South America. This gave Bodnant the basis of two of its national collections, the Chilean Flame Tree ( Embothrium coccineum ) and Eucryphia. Great care
3478-707: The Skating Pond at the Far End and began work on the Italianate Terraces. Henry McLaren oversaw the major developments of the garden. He sponsored plant hunting expeditions of the day by explorers such as Ernest Wilson , George Forrest and Frank Kingdon-Ward who brought back plants from China and the Himalayas including magnolias, camellias and rhododendrons. He also invested in a plant breeding programme producing Bodnant hybrid rhododendrons. From 1905 to 1914 Henry oversaw
3572-489: 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,
3666-673: 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
3760-641: 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
3854-445: 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
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3948-426: 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
4042-429: 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
4136-482: The basis for IVF . During her collaborative research with Marilyn Monk and Elizabeth Simpson on sex determination and male fertility, she identified the earliest primordial germ cells through alkaline phosphatase staining and explored the role of testes cord formation and meiosis blockage in male genital ridges . She contributed to regenerative medicine by exploring the pluripotency of mammalian embryos and its therapeutic implications. In 1975, McLaren
4230-408: 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
4324-404: The committee established to inquire into the technologies of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and embryology, which later produced the Warnock Report . She was a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics , 1991–2000. In 1992, she retired from the Unit and moved to Cambridge where she worked for the next 15 years. She joined the Wellcome/CRC Institute, later the Gurdon Institute . She was made
4418-494: The completion of the five terraces. This was a massive earth-moving project done by men without machinery, which involved levelling the hillside and building granite buttress walls which provided protection for tender plants being introduced to the garden from overseas. The Pin Mill building on the Canal Terrace was added in 1938. Originally built in 1730 in Gloucestershire, it was rescued from decay by Henry, who dismantled it, brought to Bodnant and rebuilt it brick by brick. Throughout
4512-414: 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
4606-489: 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
4700-408: 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
4794-423: The development of mouse embryonic transfer , immunocontraception , and the skeletal characteristics of chimerae . She published a highly renowned book on Chimaeras in 1976, receiving her first major award that same year. The Zoological Society of London 's Scientific Medal, recognized her leading role in developing techniques for blastocyst transfer into recipient mice. In 1974, she left Edinburgh to become
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#17328585323954888-399: The field. Her support for emerging professionals in the field has been widely recognized and praised. The Anne McLaren Papers are housed at the British Library and can be accessed through the British Library catalogue. There is a fund in the name of Anne McLaren for encouragement of scientific study. Cambridge University's Anne McLaren Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine was opened at
4982-403: The first women to win a Christopher Welch Scholarship. She obtained her Doctor of Philosophy in 1952 with Peter Medawar on the genetics of rabbits, and then on neurotropic murine viruses under Kingsley Sanders. On 6 October 1952 married fellow student Dr Donald Michie . They worked together at University College London from 1952 to 1955, and afterwards at the Royal Veterinary College , on
5076-431: 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
5170-569: The garden also has twenty two Champion Trees , noted for their age, height and horticultural merit. Henry Pochin's legacy to Bodnant was planting the garden's great conifers; the cedars on the Lily Terrace (from Africa and Middle East) and the Pinetum in the Dell which includes American and Asian conifers including Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas Fir) Pinus radiata , Sciadopitys verticella (Japanese Umbrella Pine), Chamaecyparis pisifera (Japanese false cypress and Sequoiadendron giganteum (Giant Redwood). The next phase of plant hunting
5264-435: The garden was continued by Henry and Agnes Pochin ’s daughter Laura McLaren, Baroness Aberconway , who married Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway . Laura, like her mother, was a campaigner for women's suffrage and founded the Liberal Women's Suffrage Union. She was also a passionate gardener and inspired her son Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway , to whom she entrusted the care of the garden in 1901. Together they created
5358-411: 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
5452-413: 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
5546-422: The hillside and valley, planting American and Asian conifers on the banks of the River Hiraethlyn to create a Pinetum , and reinforcing stream banks to create a woodland and water garden in the valley, in the style of the garden designer of the day William Robinson in his book The Wild Garden . In the upper garden, Pochin and Milner created the Laburnum Arch and glasshouses, to house exotics. The development of
5640-400: 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
5734-584: The implications of these technologies. Her involvement in discussions and her commitment to considering the broader social impact of these advancements marked her as a prominent voice surrounding these groundbreaking technologies. She is remembered for her participation in setting up the Stem Cell Centre and the Centre for Trophoblast Research at Cambridge University . McLaren is an inspiration to women in science through her distinguished career, breaking barriers and achieving numerous scientific honors. She inspired and opened doors for future generations of women in
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#17328585323955828-408: The interior walls of the building. The mausoleum was last used in 2003 following the death of the 3rd Baron Aberconway . Bodnant Garden has an illustrious connection with 19th and early 20th century explorers, who brought back plants for which the garden is now world-famous, including four National Collections, of Rhododendron forrestii , Magnolia , Eucryphia and Embothrium species. Today
5922-527: 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
6016-431: 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
6110-449: 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 )
6204-423: The mechanisms of virus infection on the nervous system. After her doctoral work, she shifted her research to embryology (now called developmental biology ). With Donald Michie , she conducted joint research on the influence of maternal environment on lumbar vertebral counts in mice and gained expertise in the manipulation of mouse embryos. This research demonstrated the feasibility of cultivating mouse embryos in
6298-468: 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
6392-424: The new rhododendron species they had raised, to create the Bodnant Hybrid Rhododendrons, of which the garden has around 350. Forrest also brought back to Bodnant Garden seed of Primula bulleyana still seen around the garden. Frank Kingdon-Ward conducted numerous expeditions to the Himalayas during the 1920s and 1930s which resulted in the introduction of a prolific number of new species to Bodnant Garden including
6486-448: 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,
6580-454: The outbreak of World War II, she was 12 years old and her family moved to their estate at Bodnant , North Wales. During this time her education was interrupted, so she pursued solitary education through a correspondence course . She enjoyed writing mathematical puzzles, arithmetic, books, and educational pamphlets. At the age of 16 she returned to formal education and attended a private school at Longstowe Hall near Cambridge . In 1945 she
6674-402: 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
6768-534: 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 ,
6862-484: 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
6956-471: 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
7050-502: 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
7144-407: 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
7238-468: The property in 2003. He is a practising barrister and continues to act as garden manager. Troy Scott Smith took over as head gardener in 2006 and the position of head gardener was taken over in 2015 by John Rippin. The garden is designated Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales . Located in an area of the Shrub Borders within the garden, "The Poem"
7332-479: 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
7426-627: 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
7520-518: 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
7614-411: The variation in the number of lumbar vertebrae in mice as a function of maternal environment. McLaren would later take up research on fertility in mice, including superovulation and superpregnancy . In 1958, she published a landmark Nature paper with John D. Biggers reporting the first successful development and birth of mice embryos that were first recovered from naturally fertilized females at
7708-401: The world's leading experts in chimeras. She also published a book titled Germ Cells and Soma in 1967. Both of these are considered classics in the field. In addition to her research, she played a crucial role in addressing the social, ethical, and political dimensions of cloning and stem cell research by actively engaging in bioethical discussions and contributing to the understanding of
7802-468: The world, The Dell, a gorge garden, areas of woodland garden with a number of notable trees and a waterfall. Since 2012, new areas have opened including the Winter garden , Old Park Meadow, Yew Dell and The Far End, a riverside garden. Furnace Wood and Meadow opened in 2017. There are plans to open more new areas, including Heather Hill and Cae Poeth Meadow. The garden is designated Grade I, the highest grade, on
7896-411: Was a British scientist who was a leading figure in developmental biology . She paved the way for women in science and her work helped lead to human in vitro fertilisation (IVF). She left an enduring legacy marked by her research and ethical contributions to the field. She received many honors for her contributions to science, including election as fellow of the Royal Society . McLaren was born into
7990-525: Was a Leicestershire-born Victorian industrial chemist who acquired fame and fortune inventing a process for clarifying rosin used in soap, turning it from the traditional brown to white. He became a successful businessman, mayor and JP . Pochin bought the Bodnant estate in 1874 and employed Edward Milner , apprentice to Joseph Paxton , to redesign the land around the existing Georgian mansion house, then just lawns and pasture. Together Pochin and Milner relandscaped
8084-409: Was a prominent member, employed plant hunter George Forrest to source rhododendrons. Forrest was a seasoned explorer who collected plants in western China and Tibet for nursery owner Arthur Bulley . His expeditions brought back seed of many new rhododendrons and Bodnant's gardeners were able to raise the plants in great numbers. Lord Aberconway and his head gardener Frederick Puddle set about hybridising
8178-459: Was awarded a scholarship for the next year at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford . Her first two years were spent studying Honours Moderations in zoology, physics and mathematics, and her next two years were spent pursuing a course of study in zoology . She earned a Master of Arts ( MA ) in 1949. She continued her post-graduate studies at University College London from 1949: researching mite infestation of Drosophila under J.B.S. Haldane , she became
8272-608: 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
8366-510: Was made a Fellow of the Royal Society . From 1991 to 1996, she held the position of Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society and from 1992 to 1996 the position of Vice-President; she was the first female officer in the society's 330-year history. In 1986, she was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for her pioneering work on fertility. In 1989 she presented
8460-559: Was one of Britain's leading scientists. She pioneered techniques of reproductive biology which led to in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and cancer research. Henry went on to become president of the Royal Horticultural Society for 22 years. He persuaded the National Trust to accept gardens on their own merit and in 1949 he handed over Bodnant Garden to the National Trust, the second garden after Hidcote . On August 18, 1952 Vita Sackville-West and husband Harold Nicolson were given
8554-518: 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
8648-505: 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
8742-619: Was taken to protect some of Harold Comber's other introductions from South America, many of which were planted against a sheltered wall behind the Laburnum Arch. Some of Comber's plants still grow there today, such as the Crinodendron patagua and Desfontania spinosa . 53°14′03″N 3°48′02″W / 53.2342°N 3.8006°W / 53.2342; -3.8006 Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] )
8836-506: Was under Pochin's grandson Henry McLaren, 2nd Lord Aberconway who sponsored expeditions from the Edwardian period which brought in large numbers of rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias to Britain. Notable plant hunters connected to Bodnant Garden included Ernest Wilson, who travelled extensively in China. He was first engaged by famous Veitch Nursery with the specific task of bringing back seeds of
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