Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census. Bangor is a university city as Bangor University was founded in 1884. Bangor lies on the coast of north Wales near the Menai Strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd. Bangor has two rivers within its boundaries. The River Adda is a largely culverted watercourse which only appears above ground at its western extremities near to the Faenol estate, whilst the River Cegin enters Port Penrhyn at the eastern edge of the city. Port Penrhyn was an important port in the 19th century, exporting the slates produced at the Penrhyn Quarry.

The origins of the city date back to the founding of a monastic establishment on the site of Bangor Cathedral by the Celtic saint Deiniol in the early 6th century AD. The name 'Bangor' itself is an old Welsh word for a type of fenced-in enclosure, such as was originally on the site of the cathedral. The present cathedral is a somewhat more recent building and has been extensively modified throughout the centuries.

M. Lloyd Davies, RCAHMW, 20 January 2009