Status Districts of Wales Date dissolved 1996 | HQ Caernarfon | |
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Arfon was one of five districts of Gwynedd, Wales, from 1974 to 1996.
It was created by the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974 from part of the administrative county of Caernarvonshire, namely the municipal boroughs of Bangor and Caernarvon, the Bethesda urban district, the rural districts of Ogwen, and the Gwyrfai Rural District, less the parishes of Beddgelert and Clynnog.
It was abolished as a district on 1 April 1996, when Gwynedd was reconstituted as a unitary authority. The area remains in use for an area committee of Gwynedd Council.
Etymology
Arfon means "opposite Anglesey" ('Ar' + 'Fôn' which is the soft mutation of 'Môn', the Welsh name for Anglesey). The name is ancient and has been used to designate the area since early medieval times. In the Middle Ages Cantref Arfon was an administrative unit of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Arfon survived as a geocultural name (Welsh: bro) over the centuries and remains in use today. It is also sometimes found as a personal name (e.g. Arfon Griffiths).