Prehistoric and Roman history Holyhead Old Town is built around
St Cybi's Church, which is built inside one of Europe's few three-walled
Roman forts (the fourth boundary being the sea, which used to come up to the fort). The
Romans also built a
watchtower on the top of
Holyhead Mountain inside Mynydd y Twr, a
prehistoric hillfort. Settlements in the area date from prehistoric times, with circular huts,
burial chambers and
standing stones featuring in the highest concentration in Britain. The current lighthouse is on
South Stack on the other side of Holyhead Mountain. Soldiers Point Hotel, located near the breakwater park in Holyhead, was built in 1848 as the residence of an engineer who was in charge of the government-sponsored alterations to Holyhead Harbour being carried out. It was badly damaged in a fire in 2011.
Heritage Conservation Areas Holyhead has three officially designated Conservation Areas. Holyhead Central Conservation Area covers the historic Old Town core that developed around the Roman Fort. Holyhead Beach Conservation Area in located in the Newry promenade area, and Holyhead Mountain Conservation Area is located north of the village of Llaingoch.
Transport history Port In the early nineteenth century, it was still undecided which port would be chosen as the primary sea link along the route from
London to
Dublin:
Porthdinllaen, on the
Llŷn Peninsula, or Holyhead in
Anglesey. In May 1806, the
Porthdinlleyn Harbour Act 1806 (
46 Geo. 3. c. xxxiv) approved new buildings in Porthdinllaen when it seemed that the town would be chosen. Porthdinllaen was almost as far west as Holyhead, but Holyhead was more accessible because of
Thomas Telford's road developments. Porthdinllaen Harbour Company was formed in 1808 in preparation, but the bill before Parliament to constitute Porthdinllaen as a harbour for Irish trade was rejected in 1810. Holyhead's maritime importance was at its height in the 19th century with a
sea breakwater.
Holyhead Breakwater, built to create a safe harbour for vessels caught in stormy waters on their way to
Liverpool and the industrial ports of
Lancashire; it is the longest breakwater in the UK. Throughout the later 18th century and the entire 19th century, Holyhead was a crucial transit point for
landed gentry and British parliamentarians and military officials who were travelling from Ireland to London. It was also a transit point for British owners of multinational estates visiting their 'other lands' or London houses. The port of Holyhead saw significant development throughout the 19th century to accommodate the growing passenger traffic between Holyhead and Dublin, which reached approximately 14,000 passengers annually by 1814. Key improvements made after the
Union with Ireland Act 1800 (
39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 67) included the illumination of the South Stack Lighthouse in 1809, the construction of a built-up harbour in 1810, and the addition of a substantial breakwater between 1848 and 1873. Although mail service through Holyhead was temporarily suspended in 1838 in favour of rail transport through
Liverpool, the development of the north Wales coastal railway in 1850 led to its reinstatement.
Road The post road built by
Thomas Telford from London strengthened Holyhead's position as the port from which the
Royal Mail was dispatched to and from Dublin on the
Mail coach. The
A5 terminates at
Admiralty Arch (1822–24), which was designed by
Thomas Harrison to commemorate a visit by King
George IV in 1821
en route to Ireland and marked the zenith of Irish Mail coach operations. Holy Island and Anglesey are separated by the
Cymyran Strait which used to be crossed on the
Four Mile Bridge; so called, because the bridge was from Holyhead on the old
turnpike. ==Transport==