Tywyn (/ˈtaʊ.ɪn/; Welsh pronunciation: [ˈtəu̯ɨn]), formerly spelled Towyn,[1] is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales.

In the Early Modern period, however, the spelling Towyn was common in Welsh in order to reflect a slight variation in pronunciation.

With the standardisation of the orthography of the Welsh language in the first part of the 20th century, the spelling Tywyn once again became increasingly common in all contexts.

This plebiscite was not administered by the Urban Council or any official body but was organised and financed by tradespeople and the campaign against the spelling Tywyn.

[8] Writing in 1974, Melville Richards, the noted toponymist and professor of Welsh at the University College of North Wales, Bangor explained: 'Mae'r holl ymrafael ynglŷn â sillebu'r enw wedi codi am fod cryn ansicrwydd ac amrywio yn Gymraeg gynt rhwng y seiniau ow ac yw.

Tywyn was the location of the first religious community administered by the Breton saint Cadfan upon his arrival in Gwynedd in the early 6th century, prior to his departure he founded a monastery on Bardsey Island off the Llyn Peninsula.

[citation needed] The town's historic centre lies about a kilometre from the beach, around St Cadfan's Church.

[10] The costs of this civil engineering project was £7.62M, shared between the Welsh Assembly Government (£4.135M) and the European Union's Regional Development Fund (£3.485M).

In the early decades of that century, a creek of the river Dysynni allowed ships to approach the town's northern fringes, where there was a shipbuilding yard.

The draining of the salt marsh and the channelling of the river brought this industry to an end,[16] but during the early part of that century the town was made more accessible by building new roads along the coast to Aberdyfi and Llwyngwril.

Slate-quarrying in the Abergynolwyn area led to the building in 1865 of the Talyllyn Railway, a narrow-gauge line designed to carry slates to Tywyn.

Notable visitors who stayed at Tywyn in the 19th century include: The beach and its extensive promenade have long been key attractions.

RAF Towyn opened on 8 September 1940 as an air-cooperation base for the Royal Artillery Anti-Aircraft Practice Camp at Tonfanau, but closed on 25 July 1945.

[26] The links with the armed forces came to an end when the Joint Service Mountain Training Centre at Morfa Camp closed in 1999.

As well as constructing a row of boarding houses and a grand esplanade, he developed the water and sewerage system.

He gave land and money for a new Market Hall, built to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

He refurbished the Corbet Arms Hotel (from then on spelled with two 't's), and also contributed to the Assembly Room (1893), now the Magic Lantern Cinema.

[24] In 1912, a drill hall was built in the Pendre area of the town for the Territorial Army (the 7th Battalion the Royal Welsh Fusiliers).

Local places of interest include Craig yr Aderyn (Bird Rock), Castell y Bere, Llanfendigaid Estate and Llyn Myngul (Tal-y-llyn Lake).

Hen Dyffryn Gwyn is a Grade II listed building dating from 1640 which retains many of its original features.

In Samuel Lewis's A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1833) it is reported that popular horse races were held on land to the north of the town every September.