1865 in Wales
overview of Wales-related events during the year of 1865
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1865 to Wales and its people.
Incumbents
Lord Lieutenant of Anglesey – Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey
Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire – John Lloyd Vaughan Watkins (until 28 September) George Pratt, 2nd Marquess Camden (from 4 November)
Lord Lieutenant of Caernarvonshire – Sir Richard Williams-Bulkeley, 10th Baronet
Lord Lieutenant of Cardiganshire – Edward Pryse
Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire – John Campbell, 2nd Earl Cawdor
Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire – Robert Myddelton Biddulph
Lord Lieutenant of Flintshire – Sir Stephen Glynne, 9th Baronet
Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan – Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot
Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire – Edward Lloyd-Mostyn, 2nd Baron Mostyn
Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire – Benjamin Hall, 1st Baron Llanover
Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire – Sudeley Hanbury-Tracy, 3rd Baron Sudeley
Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire – William Edwardes, 3rd Baron Kensington
Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire – John Walsh, 1st Baron Ormathwaite
Bishop of Bangor – James Colquhoun Campbell
Bishop of Llandaff – Alfred Ollivant
Bishop of St Asaph – Thomas Vowler Short
Bishop of St Davids – Connop Thirlwall
Events
5 January — The Festiniog Railway officially opens to passengers, the first narrow gauge railway in the British Isles to do so.
14 January — American Confederate paddle steamer Lelia sinks off the north Wales coast with the loss of eighteen lives.
1 February — The Vale of Neath Railway is amalgamated with the Great Western Railway.
14 April
Opening of the Royal Pier, Aberystwyth, built by Eugenius Birch at a cost of £13,600.
Paddle steamer Great Empress collides with Beaumaris Pier.
May
Opening of Talyllyn Railway.
A branch of The Philanthropic Order of True Ivorites Friendly Society is established and registered at Colwinston.
28 May — The Mimosa sets sail with emigrants for Patagonia.
10 June — Opening of Penarth Dock.
The public source identifies “1865 in Wales” as overview of Wales-related events during the year of 1865. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Wales, overview and Wales-related.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “1865 in Wales”, the useful work is to connect “overview of Wales-related events during the year of 1865” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4555166. The first chronological checks are 1865.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “1865 in Wales”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 1865 in Wales primary sources, 1865 in Wales archive and Wales research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “1865 in Wales”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “1865 in Wales” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.