Abergwyngregyn, generally shortened to Aber, is a settlement of great antiquity and pre-
Edwardian Conquest importance on the north coast of Gwynedd. Its boundaries stretch from the
Menai Strait up to the headwaters of the
Afon Goch and
Afon Anafon. Protected to the east by the headland of
Penmaenmawr, and at its rear by
Snowdonia, it controlled the ancient crossing point of the Lafan Sands to
Anglesey. A pre-Roman defensive enclosure,
Maes y Gaer, which rises above
Pen y Bryn on the eastern side of the valley, has far reaching views over
Irish Sea with the
Isle of Man visible on a clear day. The
Roman road from
Chester (Deva), linking the forts of
Canovium (later name Conovium) and
Segontium, crossed the river at this point. This was the seat of
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, whose daughter
Gwenllian of Wales was born here in June 1282. His wife,
Eleanor de Montfort, died here as a result of the birth on 19 June 1282. In June 1283 Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Llywelyn's brother, who assumed the title of Prince of Wales after Llywelyn's murder in December 1282, was captured at Bera Mountain above the present village. Abergwyngregyn was one of ten sites chosen for the Welsh Cultural Heritage Initiative in 2009.
Y Mŵd Y Mŵd is an earthen mound on the valley floor in the middle of the village, at . The mound is circular, high with a level oval top . It has been regarded as the base of a
Norman castle, and on that basis was renamed 'Aber Castle Mound' by the
Ancient Monuments Board. E. S. Armitage, in
The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles, suggested that it might have been constructed by
Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester. The word
mŵd in early Welsh means 'vault' or 'arched area', and though there are traces of a ditch on the south side, no further defensive features have been identified. Other similar mounds have been found especially in northern and western Britain, such as the one on which the
Pillar of Eliseg near Llangollen stands, and the one at
Scone in Scotland.
Adjacent stone building, medieval royal llys A large structure on the valley bottom between Y Mŵd, the smithy and the water mill was excavated in 1993 and again in 2010. It appears to be the remains of a high-status building from the 14th century, possibly built before 1283 under the last independent princes of Wales, or after 1283 under a
king of England, in the early decades after the
Conquest by Edward I. No defensive structures have been found. The floor plan has been interpreted as a medieval hall, 11.2m by 8.0m internally, with large wings at the ends. A separate enclosure may have been used for large ovens or for metalworking. The 1993 dig found a bronze brooch, some medieval pottery, and a coin from the years before the conquest. The
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales suggests that this site could be associated with the medieval royal
llys (princely court). ==Demographics==