Puffin Island (Anglesey)
island in Wales
Puffin Island (Welsh: Ynys Seiriol) is an uninhabited island off the eastern tip of Anglesey, Wales. It was formerly known as Priestholm in English (and Ynys Lannog/Glannog in Welsh). A hermitage was established here around the 6th century, and there are remains of a 12th-century monastery on the island. The island is also a Special Protection Area for wildlife.
Geography
Puffin Island is the ninth-largest island off the coast of Wales and marks the northeastern end of the Menai Strait. Puffin Island's highest point is carboniferous limestone, at 192 feet (59 m) above sea level, having steep cliffs on all sides. It has an area of 69 acres (0.28 km2). The island is privately owned by the Baron Hill estate.
History
The Welsh name, Ynys Seiriol, refers to Saint Seiriol. The son of Owain Ddantgwyn, a 5th-century ruler of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and the brother of Saint Einion Frenin, a 5th or 6th-century king in the Llŷn Peninsula, Seiriol founded and governed a class (an ecclesiastical settlement) at Penmon on Anglesey.
“Puffin Island (Anglesey)” enters the record as island in Wales. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Puffin, Island and Anglesey can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Puffin Island (Anglesey)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Puffin, Island and Anglesey provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q844650. Authority coordinates are 53.317, -4.027. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. 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
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Puffin Island (Anglesey)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Puffin Island (Anglesey) primary sources, Puffin Island (Anglesey) archive and Puffin 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 “Puffin Island (Anglesey)”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Puffin Island (Anglesey)” 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.