Llandudno is the largest seaside resort in Wales, and as early as 1861 was being called 'the Queen of the Welsh Watering Places'[4] (a phrase later also used in connection with Tenby[5] and Aberystwyth;[6] the word 'resort' came a little later). Historically a part of Caernarfonshire, Llandudno was formerly in the district of Aberconwy within Gwynedd.
History
Llandudno, from the parade, 1860
The town of Llandudno developed from Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements over many hundreds of years on the slopes of the limestone headland, known to seafarers as the Great Orme and to landsmen as the Creuddyn Peninsula. The origins in recorded history are with the Manor of Gogarth conveyed by King Edward I to Annan, Bishop of Bangor in 1284. The manor comprised three townships, Y Gogarth in the south-west, Y Cyngreawdr in the north (with the parish church of St Tudno) and Yr Wyddfid in the south-east.[7]
Modern Llandudno takes its name from the ancient parish of Saint Tudno but also encompasses several neighbouring townships and districts including Craig-y-Don, Llanrhos and Penrhyn Bay. Also nearby is the small town and marina of Deganwy and these last four are in the traditional parish of Llanrhos. The ancient geographical boundaries of the Llandudno area are complex: although they are on the eastern side of the River Conwy (the natural boundary between north-west and north-east Wales), the ancient parishes of Llandudno, Llanrhos and Llangystennin (which includes Llandudno Junction) were in the medieval commote of Creuddyn in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, and afterwards part of Caernarfonshire. Today, Deganwy and Llandudno Junction are part of the town community of Conwy even though they are across the river and only linked to Conwy by a causeway and bridge.
Llandudno South Parade (on the north shore) viewed from the Great Orme, with the twin mounds of Deganwy Castle in the distance
Mostly owned by Mostyn Estates, the Great Orme is home to several large herds of wild Kashmiri goats originally descended from a pair presented by the Shah of Persia to Queen Victoria and subsequently given to Lord Mostyn. These goats are also known to frequently roam the main streets of Llandudno. The summit of the Great Orme stands at 679 feet (207 m). The Summit Hotel, now a tourist attraction, was once the home of world middleweight champion boxer Randolph Turpin.
The limestone headland is a haven for flora and fauna, with some rare species such as peregrine falcons and a species of wild cotoneaster (cambricus) which can only be found on the Great Orme. The sheer limestone cliffs provide ideal nesting conditions for a wide variety of sea birds, including cormorants, shags, guillemots, razorbills, puffins, kittiwakes, fulmars and numerous gulls.
There are several attractions including the Great Orme Tramway and the Llandudno Cable Car that takes tourists to the summit. The Great Orme also has the longest toboggan run in Britain at 750m long.[8]
By 1847 the town had grown to a thousand people, served by the new church of St George, built in 1840. The great majority of the men worked in the copper mines, with others employed in fishing and subsistence agriculture.
In 1848, Owen Williams, an architect and surveyor from Liverpool, presented Lord Mostyn with plans to develop the marshlands behind Llandudno Bay as a holiday resort. These were enthusiastically pursued by Lord Mostyn. The influence of the Mostyn Estate and its agents over the years was paramount in the development of Llandudno, especially after the appointment of George Felton as surveyor and architect in 1857. Between 1857 and 1877 much of central Llandudno was developed under Felton's supervision. Felton also undertook architectural design work, including the design and execution of Holy Trinity Church in Mostyn Street.[9]
The Great Orme Tramway runs from the centre of the town to the summit of the Great Orme and is Great Britain's only remaining cable-operated street tramway.
The former Llandudno and Colwyn Bay Electric Railway operated an electric tramway service between Llandudno and Rhos-on-Sea from 1907; this was extended to Colwyn Bay in 1908. The service closed in 1956.[12] In Llandudno, the original tramway went up the middle of Gloddaeth Street, down Mostyn Street, through Penrhyn Bay and across to Colwyn Bay.
Attractions
Llandudno Bay and the North Shore
Venue Cymru – the North Wales Theatre near the centre of the promenade
For most of the length of Llandudno's North Shore there is a wide curving Victorian promenade. The road, collectively known as The Parade, has a different name for each block and it is on these parades and crescents that many of Llandudno's hotels are built. The North Wales Theatre, Arena and Conference Centre, built in 1994, and extended in 2006 and renamed "Venue Cymru" is located near the centre of the bay.[13]
Llandudno Pier
Llandudno pier from Marine Drive
The Llandudno Pier is on the North Shore. Built in 1877, it is a Grade II listed building. The pier was extended in 1884 in a landward direction along the side of what was the Baths Hotel (where the Grand Hotel now stands).[14]
Haulfre Gardens were developed as the private gardens to a house, Sunny Hill, in the north-west of the town. Later acquired by the council, they were opened as a public park in 1929, the opening ceremony being conducted by David Lloyd George. The gardens are listed Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS register.[17]
Marine Drive
The first route round the perimeter of the Great Orme was a footpath constructed in 1858 by Reginald Cust, a trustee of the Mostyn Estate. In 1872 the Great Ormes Head Marine Drive Co. Ltd. was formed to turn the path into a carriage road. Following bankruptcy, a second company completed the road in 1878. The contractors for the scheme were Messrs Hughes, Morris, Davies, a consortium led by Richard Hughes of Madoc Street, Llandudno.[18] The road was bought by Llandudno Urban District Council in 1897.[19] The 4 miles (6.4 km) one-way drive starts at the foot of the Happy Valley. After about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) a side road leads to St. Tudno's Church, the Great Orme Bronze Age Copper Mine and the summit of the Great Orme. Continuing on the Marine Drive the Great Orme Lighthouse (now a small hotel) is passed, and, shortly afterwards on the right, the Rest and Be Thankful Cafe and information centre. Below the Marine Drive at its western end is the site of the wartime Coast Artillery School (1940–1945), now a scheduled ancient monument.[20]
West Shore
The West Shore is a quiet beach on the estuary of the River Conwy. It was here at Pen Morfa that Alice Liddell (of Alice in Wonderland fame) spent the long summer holidays of her childhood.[21]
Mostyn Street
Running behind the promenade is Mostyn Street leading to Mostyn Broadway and then Mostyn Avenue. These are the main shopping streets of Llandudno and Craig-y-Don. Mostyn Street accommodates the high street shops, the major high street banks and building societies, two churches, amusement arcades and the town's public library. The last is the starting point for the Llandudno Town Trail.[22]
Victorian Extravaganza
All the fun of the fair in Trinity Square at the Victorian Extravaganza
Every year in May bank holiday weekend, Llandudno has a three-day Victorian Carnival[23] and Mostyn Street becomes a funfair. Madoc Street and Gloddaeth Street and the Promenade become part of the route each day of a mid-day carnival parade. The Bodafon Farm fields become the location of a Festival of Transport.[24]
Until 2017, Llandudno was unique within the United Kingdom in that its lifeboat station was located inland, allowing it to launch with equal facility from either the West Shore or the North Shore as needed. In 2017, a new lifeboat station was completed, and new, high-speed, offshore and inshore lifeboats, and a modern launching system, were acquired. This station is close to the paddling pool on North Shore.
Llandudno's active volunteer crews are called out more than ever with the rapidly increasing numbers of small pleasure craft sailing in coastal waters. The Llandudno Lifeboat is normally on display on the promenade every Sunday and bank holiday Monday from May until October.
Places of worship
The ancient parish church dedicated to Saint Tudno stands in a hollow near the northern point of the Great Orme and two miles (3 km) from the present town. It was established as an oratory by Tudno, a 6th-century monk, but the present church dates from the 12th century and it is still used on summer Sunday mornings. It was the Anglican parish church of Llandudno until that status was transferred first to St George's (now closed) and later to Holy Trinity Church in Mostyn Street.
Llandudno is home to a Jewish centre in Church Walks, which serves local and visiting Jews – one of few in North Wales. There is also a Buddhist centre, Kalpa Bhadra, on Mostyn Avenue in Craig-y-Don.
A football club is mentioned in Llandudno as far back as 1865.[26] Gloddaeth Rovers dated back to 1878 and played for a decade; they were then replaced by Llandudno Swifts as the town's main club. Following the demise of Swifts in 1901, a new club called Llandudno Amateurs were formed; a different team to that which exists now.
In 1854 Llandudno was made an Improvement Commissioners District. The district covered part of the ancient parish of Llandudno and part of the neighbouring parish of Eglwysrhos.[29][30] In 1894 the improvement commissioners were replaced by Llandudno Urban District Council. This was a lower-tier council, with Caernarfonshire County Council providing county-level services. The urban district council built Llandudno Town Hall to serve as its headquarters in 1902.[31] In 1974 the urban district was abolished, with the area becoming a community within the Aberconwy district in the new county of Gwynedd.[32] Further local government reform in 1996 saw the area become part of the principal area of Conwy County Borough.[33]
Llandudno falls under the UK parliamentary constituency of Aberconwy, whose MP is the Conservative Robin Millar, and the Senedd constituency of Aberconwy, whose MS is the Conservative Janet Finch-Saunders. It falls under the North Wales electoral region.
Links with Wormhout and Mametz
The town council's coat of arms
Llandudno is twinned with the Flemish town of Wormhout 10 miles (16 km) from Dunkirk. It was there that many members of the Llandudno-based 69th TerritorialRegiment were ambushed and taken prisoner. Later, at nearby Esquelbecq on 28 May 1940, the prisoners were shot.[34]
The 1st (North Wales) Brigade was headquartered in Llandudno in December 1914 and included a battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, which had been raised and trained in Llandudno. During the 1914–18 war this Brigade, a major part of the 38th Welsh Division, took part in the Battle of the Somme and the Brigade was ordered to take Mametz Wood. Two days of fighting brought about the total destruction of Mametz village by shelling. After the war, the people of Llandudno (including returning survivors from the 38th Welsh Division) contributed generously to the fund for the reconstruction of the village of Mametz.[35]
Llandudno hosted the Welsh National Eisteddfod in 1864, 1896 and 1963, and in 2008 welcomed the Urdd National Eisteddfod to Gloddaeth Isaf Farm, Penrhyn Bay. The town also hosted the Liverpool Olympic Festival in 1865 and 1866.
Matthew Arnold gives a vivid and lengthy description of 1860s Llandudno – and of the ancient tales of Taliesin and Maelgwn Gwynedd that are associated with the local landscape – in the first sections of the preface[36] to On the Study of Celtic Literature (1867). It is also used as a location for dramatic scenes in the stage play and film Hindle Wakes by Stanley Houghton, and the 1911 novel, The Card, by Arnold Bennett, and its subsequent film version.
Elisabeth of Wied, the Queen Consort of Romania and also known as writer Carmen Sylva, stayed in Llandudno for five weeks in 1890. On leaving, she described Wales as "a beautiful haven of peace".[37] Translated into Welsh as "hardd, hafan, hedd", it became the town's official motto.
Other famous people with links to Llandudno include the Victorian statesman John Bright and multi-capped Welsh international footballers Neville Southall, Neil Eardley , Chris Maxwell and Joey Jones. Australia's 7th Prime Minister Billy Hughes attended school in Llandudno. Gordon Borrie QC (Baron Borrie), Director General of the Office of Fair Trading from 1976 to 1992, was educated at the town's John Bright Grammar School when he lived there as a wartime evacuee.
The international art gallery Oriel Mostyn is in Vaughan Street next to the post office. It was built in 1901 to house the art collection of Lady Augusta Mostyn. It was requisitioned in 1914 for use as an army drill hall and later became a warehouse, before being returned to use as an art gallery in 1979. Following a major revamp the gallery was renamed simply 'Mostyn' in 2010.
Llandudno has its own mini arts festival 'LLAWN' (Llandudno Arts Weekend) which has been running for the past three years (LLAWN01 −2013, LLAWN02 – 2014, LLAWN03 – 2015). LLAWN is a mini festival that rediscovers and celebrates Llandudno's past in rather a unique way; via art, architecture, artefact, sound, performance, and participation. The festival takes place over three days of the weekend in late September, originally conceived as a way to promote what those in the hospitality sector refer to as the ‘shoulder season’, which means a lull in the tourist calendar. The festival is supported by Arts Council Wales, Mostyn Estates, Conwy County Borough Council, MOSTYN and Llandudno Town Council.[38]
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