Menai Bridge - History

History

On 12 November 1918 Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst flew airship SSZ73 under the Menai Bridge following the armistice at the end of World War I.

At the eastern edge of the town is Cwm Cadnant Dingle which is now by-passed by a modern bridge constructed in the 1970s. The Afon Cadnant drains into the Menai Strait at this point and this small estuary provides a natural haven for small boats crossing from the mainland. This was the location of the landing stage for the Bishops of Bangor who had their residence at Glyn Garth on Anglesey but whose cathedral was in Bangor on the mainland. Regrettably, the Bishop's palace has been destroyed in recent years and replaced by a block of flats.

There are a number of small islands in the Menai Strait some of which are connected to the town by causeways, including Ynys Faelog, Ynys Gaint and Ynys Castell east of the suspension bridge and Church Island (Ynys Tysilio in Welsh) west of the bridge. The Anglesey Coastal Path passes along the waterfront.

Menai Bridge has a wide selection of churches and chapels including a Welsh Presbyterian church and Catholic church. The town also has a primary school, Ysgol y Borth, and a large bilingual comprehensive school – Ysgol David Hughes.

Attractions in Menai Bridge include the 14th-century Church of St Tysilio, St Georges Pier and a butterfly house – Pili Palas.

• Menai Bridge High Street looking east

• Cadnant Dingle January 2005

• Smallest house in Menai Bridge

• 2.5 second exposure of the Menai Suspension Bridge in the evening

• The Menai Suspension Bridge from a viewpoint on the A4080 near the Britannia Bridge