Valley (Welsh: Y Faliⓘ) is a village, community, and former electoral ward near Holyhead on the west coast of Anglesey, North Wales. The population during the 2001 census was 2,413, decreasing to 2,361 at the 2011 census.[1]
Toponym
The origin of the name has been the subject of much debate for more than a century. Thomas Morgan derived the name as a corruption of "Mael-dy" (house of trade). Morgan links the name with the writings of Tacitus, who stated that trade with Ireland was conducted from here in the time of Julius Agricola.[2]
Gwilym T. Jones and Tomos Roberts state that early accounts name the area as Glan Môr Tŷ Coch and Glan Môr Castell Llyfaint. They offer two further possible derivations of the name Valley; firstly that the name derives from the Irish word Baile (a settlement) and secondly that it developed when the Stanley Embankment (known by locals as 'The Cob') was built in the 1820s and a depression (or valley) was dug to yield rubble for its construction. The cluster of dwellings nearby was then given the name by these labourers.[3]
In Modern Welsh it is referred to as either Y Dyffryn (meaning The Valley) or [Y] Fali (pronounced as Valley).[citation needed]
Gareth Williams (1978–2010) was a Welsh mathematician and employee of GCHQ seconded to the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6) who was found dead in suspicious circumstances; he came from Valley and is buried in Ynys Wen Cemetery.
George North is a professional rugby union player who plays for Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship and for the Wales national team. He attended Ysgol Gymuned Y Fali.
^Morgan, Thomas (1887). Handbook of the Origins of Place-names in Wales and Monmouthshire. Merthyr Tydfil: HW Southey. p. 41.
^Jones, Gwilym; Roberts, Tomos (1996). Enwau Lleoedd Môn : The Place-Names of Anglesey (in Welsh). Llangefni: University of Wales Press. p. 124. ISBN0-904567-71-0.