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Books > Conwy, Denbighshire and Flintshire Photographic Memories
Abergele, Market Street 1890 (ref. 23331) | By the date of this photograph, much of the town's main streets were established, and they display the characteristic detail
of the period: projecting shop fronts proudly display their goods (including bales of cloth and blankets, left), and the dog
has time to laze idly in the road!
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Bodelwyddan, Lowther Castle College c1950 (ref. B127028) | The castle as we see it here was
actually reconstructed between
1830 and 1852. Bodelwyddan
Castle was the home of
Lowther College, a leading
public school for girls, for over
sixty years from 1920 to 1982.
Formed by Mrs Florence
Lindley, Lowther College
transferred to the castle, first as
tenant and then purchasing
the castle from the Williams
family. The college run into
financial difficulties and was
forced to close in 1982. It is
now a hotel, museum, art
gallery and educational facility.
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Bodelwyddan, Wayside Cafe and Restuarant c1960 (ref. B127087) | Resourceful individuals often took advantage of the growing number of visitors to North Wales in the post-war years.
The Wayside, with its pretentious topiary garden, and trading in a residential setting, obviously hoped to satisfy some of
this demand.
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Bodelwyddan, Church 1891 (ref. 29163) | Bodelwyddan is rightly famous for 'the marble church' that stands proudly in the
surrounding countryside near Rhuddlan, its spire reaching up 202 feet. It was erected
in 1856-60 at a cost of £60,000 for Lady Willoughby de Broke as a memorial to her
husband. The church was built in a variety of stone and marble, which gives it its more
colloquial name. The picture shows the church 30 years old, pristine and splendid.
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Bodfari, the Dinorben Arms and St Stephen's Church c1960 (ref. B461040) | The church of St Stephen is thought
to date originally from the 7th
century; it is certainly recorded in a
taxation document of 1254 as the
church of 'Bottewara'. The church is
much altered, and the earliest part
surviving is the late medieval tower.
The church and the rather later
Dinorben Arms present a
wonderfully sleepy picture in this
village near St Asaph.
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Brynford, Village c1965 (ref. B463007) | The 1950s and 1960s were ideal decades for taking to the quiet country roads and villages to enjoy
the exhilaration of motor-car driving. The motorists may not have known as they drove through the
sleepy village that the church at Brynffordd reveals an interesting story. A church had been built by
the local landowners at nearby Panatasaph, but the family converted to Catholicism. A bitter
dispute followed, but the Bishop of St Asaph had to relinquish the church. Funds were raised, and
St Michael's Church was built in Brynffordd in 1853.
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Caergwrle, Castle Street 1939 (ref. C363040c) | This quiet street scene
belies the tumultuous
events unfolding in the
wider world. A headline
on a newspaper placard
reads: 'Russia's terms to
Britain', referring to
Russia's desire to create
a formal alliance
against Nazi Germany.
The failure to do so
inevitably quickened
the road to war, but it is
doubtful that even that
would have disturbed
the scene we see here.
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Carrog, the Church 1888 (ref. 20772) | The church was built in 1611 to replace one that had been washed away by a great flood in 1601.
It was also extensively repaired in 1864, about twenty years before this photograph was taken.
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Carrog, the Bridge c1960 (ref. C364035) | Cattle near the water
suggest a hot summer's
day in the village of
Carrog. The fine stone
bridge of 1661 has yet to
experience the heavy
traffic of more recent
times. Carrog, or
Llansantffraid
Glyndyfrdwy, is in the
heart of the lands of
Owain Glyndwr, the
marcher lord.
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Cilcain, the Village c1955 (ref. C367038) | The White Horse Inn
(facing us, left) is now the
last of seven public houses
that are said to have once
traded in the village; it is
remarkable that the local
population of so many
small Welsh villages like
this could support so
many hostelries. The great
movement of labour away
from agriculture and
related trades has had a
disastrous effect on the
viability of what was often
the hub of village life.
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Colwyn Bay, the Pier Pavilion c1930 (ref. C141014) | In contrast to the
impressively wide and
well-built
promenades to be
seen in Llandudno
and elsewhere, the
fallen rubble wall on
the left here and the
submerged groynes
give the impression of
a less well-organised
resort.
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Colwyn Bay, c1950 (ref. C141002) | Viewed from the
direction of Bryn Euryn,
the prominence of the
Victoria Pier is clear;
Colwyn Bay sought to
rival nearby Llandudno
as the main attraction, as
post-war mass tourism
brought holidays to the
ordinary family.
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Colwyn Bay, Beach and Pier c1950 (ref. C141013) | The summer exodus of holidaymakers to the seaside resorts of Britain made piers a popular and lucrative venture. This
Victoria Pier has had a chequered history. Opened in 1900, it was almost destroyed by fire in 1923 and 1933, but it was
rebuilt on both occasions. The Pavilion could seat 2,500 for its popular entertainment. The 1950s was its swansong: it closed
in 1958, then reopened as a disco, but finally closed in 1991.
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Colwyn Bay, New Promenade 1897 (ref. 40031) | Extensive and
beautiful sandy
beaches brought ever-
increasing numbers of
visitors to the North
Wales coast. The civic
fashion was to lay
down long
promenades, like this
one at Colwyn Bay, to
allow the leisured
classes to promenade
and take their sea air
without having to
trudge through sand
or pebbles.
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Colwyn Bay, 1898 (ref. 42368) | This general view
looks west over the bay
towards the town.
Beyond the pier, which
appears to be under
construction, is Bryn
Euryn, and Little Orme
Head is in the distance
(right). The housing
that can be seen in the
foreground is recent,
and shows the
development that
Colwyn Bay's growing
popularity as a resort
was bringing to the
area beyond the town.
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Colwyn Bay, Bryn Euryn Quarry 1890 (ref. 23373) | Bryn Euryn, below which
this limestone quarry once
operated, has associations
with an early hill fort,
Roman remains and a
nearby ruined late medieval
mansion now known as Llys
Euryn. These all make this
an interesting place to visit.
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Connah's Quay, the Civic Centre c1965 (ref. C370003) | The Civic Centre in Connah's
Quay, one of several
buildings laid out as a formal
civic area, was began in 1960,
with the stone being laid by
the steel magnate John F
Summers; the Summers
family, while benefiting
immensely from the
production of steel, were also
great benefactors in this area.
These buildings, along with a
library and others, form a
self-conscious expression of
municipal pride that was
common with the advent of
the 1960s.
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Corwen, Square c1950 (ref. C371035) | Corwen has always been
associated with Owain
Glyndwr, self-proclaimed
Welsh prince. The Glyndwr
Hotel (left) speaks of the
importance of his memory
in this busy little town on
the A5. The Crosville parcel
van (right) obscures one of
those quaint timber kiosks
that are a rare survival
today, but were always
useful dispensers of
tobacco, chocolate and
reading matter.
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Corwen, Village c1947 (ref. C371003) | Dedicated to two 6th-century saints, St Mael and St Sulien, this church looks down on the town and has done since
medieval times. Early references to the church and the number of clerics suggest it was a mother church to the area.
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Denbigh, the Castle, the Keep 1888 (ref. 20852) | This impressive castle, again
ordered by Edward I, was
begun in 1283 and
constructed on the site of
the former Welsh stronghold
of Dafydd ap Gryffudd. An
English Borough that
excluded the Welsh as
residents was laid out also,
and both Castle and
Borough were enclosed
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