Standard Welsh Place-names
Notes
This is the form recommended in the national standard reference work, A Gazetteer of Welsh Place-Names (University of Wales Press, 1967). One should not deviate from its recommendations without good reason.
This name derives from the Norman French beau marais (beautiful marsh). The Welsh form Biwmares dates to the 14th century and is interesting in terms of its development with Biw- reflecting the medieval French pronunciation. Compare with Beaulieu in Hampshire, Bewley in Worcestershire and the English word beauty. Note that the suffix -es in Biwmares developed from the -ais in marais and not from the -is in Beaumaris.
