“And he sent a fleet of ships to Anglesey, and they gained possession of Arfon. And then was made the bridge over the Menai; but the bridge broke and countless numbers of the English were drowned and others slain.” –Brut y Twysogion, Peniarth Manuscript 20 (Chronicle of the Princes).
On November 6th, 1282, the Welsh achieved an historic victory at the Battle of Moel y Don. The English had thought to surprise them by crossing the Menai Strait and driving down the coast to Aber (Garth Ceylyn), Prince Llywelyn’s seat on the Welsh north coast.
The Menai Strait is the narrow body of water that separates Anglesey from Gwynedd proper. The river-like flow changes course according to the tide. The rising tide approaches from the south-west, causing the water in the Strait to flow north-eastwards as the level rises. It then flows counter-clockwise around Anglesey until, a few hours later, it shifts, and begins to flow the opposite way.
At that point, the water runs through the Strait in a south-westerly direction from Bangor (on the mainland) and Llanfaes (on Anglesey). It was Llanfaes where the English commander, Tany, held his troops, waiting to cross to attack.
By the time the tide reverses course, the tidal flow from the Caernarfon end has weakened, even if the tide continues to rise in height throughout the straight. Thus, slack water between Anglesey and Gwynedd tends to occur approximately one hour before high tide or low tide.
On the day of the attack, the English hoped to cross near high tide, when the water would be it’s calmest. They began at noon, with high tide at 1 pm. But the Welsh swept down from the heights above the beach and stopped them. The ferocity of their attack forced the English soldiers back across the bridge, which then broke under the weight of the men, horses, and equipment. By then, the tide was in full spate, moving west at 2.5 knots.
History records that 16 English knights, another 16 squires, and 300 footmen died that day.
Prince Llywelyn believed he could capitalize on this victory by leaving his brother, Dafydd, in charge of Gwynedd and going southeast to Powys to garner support among the other Welsh lords of Wales. Unfortunately, he was lured into a trap at Cilmeri and killed only a month later, on 11 December 1282.
I don’t quite understand this ;On November 6th, 1282, the Welsh achieved an historic victory over the English, who had thought to surprise them by crossing the Menai Strait and driving down the coast to Aber (Garth Ceylyn), Prince Llywelyn’s seat on the Welsh north coast.
At that point, the water runs through the Strait in a south-westerly direction from Bangor (on the mainland) and Llanfaes (on Anglesey). It was Llanfaes where the English commander, Tany, held his troops, waiting to cross to attack. Q.1 How did the English get to Anglesey? and Q2 Why didn’t they attack Abergwyngregyn before they went to Anglesey.
The English sailed to Anglesey and captured it early in the war. It has easy beaches to land on and wasn’t defensible. It is also the bread basket of Gwynedd. Aber, on the other hand, is on a promontory overlooking the Strait. Landing a large force anywhere close is nearly impossible. Thus, the decision to take Anglesey first and then use it as a jumping off point for attacking Gwynedd proper. Also, the Welsh princes had 22 different llys (palaces) in Gwynedd. The English forces could take Aber, but without Llywelyn there, it would be an empty victory. They needed to corner him first.
The plan was for Edward to trap Llywelyn in a pincer movement, with land forces driving west from Rhuddlan and Tany south across the Strait. Tany began the attack too early, however, thinking he could capture Aber all on his own.
Menai Strait
Yeah. No idea why I always say ‘Straits’. Thanks.
Very interesting local history thank you Sarah, have you ever seen or heard of references to Sinadon Castle,[could this be Swn y Don Castle], it was meant to be in the middle of the Menai Strait roughly opposite Llanfaes, an area we know today as the Lavan sands and it is shown clearly on some old maps David.
I haven’t heard of that … it would be hard to put a castle in the middle of the Strait because it’s all sand … but that’s not to say things weren’t very different before the Victorian’s dredged the channel. Thanks for commenting and I’ll keep an ear out for that!
Just looked this up eight years later and found this for Sinadon Castle: http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/Welshsites/109.html