Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for HOLY ISLAND, or Holyhead Island

HOLY ISLAND, or Holyhead Island, an island in the W of Anglesey; divided, by an isthmus, into the parishes of Holyhead and Rhoscolyn. It extends from NW to SE; measures about 8 miles in length, and about 3½ in maximum breadth; and is separated from the rest of Anglesey by a sandy strait, in some places fordable at low water. The turnpike road and the railway cross the strait on a long causeway or embankment, with an arched water way or bridge in the middle, through which a tremendous current rushes at the turn of the tide. A rocky eminence near Rhoscolyn church commands an excellent view of the island, "rivalling, on a clear day, some of the finest portions of the coasts of Italy." See HOLYHEAD and RHOSCOLYN.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "an island"   (ADL Feature Type: "islands")
Administrative units: Anglesey AncC
Place names: HOLYHEAD ISLAND     |     HOLY ISLAND     |     HOLY ISLAND OR HOLYHEAD ISLAND
Place: Holy Island

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