Llandudno

Here we see Llandudno’s spacious, sweeping promenade in its heyday, looking towards the massive limestone headland of the Great Orme, yet to be cumbered with its famous tramway and cable car. Commerce was kept away from the front and its grandiose hotels to preserve its genteel atmosphere - on the right we can see the Adelphi Hotel and the Imperial Hotel.
An extract from from"North Wales Photographic Memories".

Mostyn Street is one of Llandudno’s main shopping streets; we see it here pictured in bright sunlight. There are plenty of horse-drawn conveyances, while some of the awnings and cast-iron canopies that are such a picturesque feature today are visible on the right. The Birmingham Arms and Dining Rooms proclaims itself with a prominent signboard.
An extract from from"North Wales Photographic Memories".

As late as 1840 Llandudno was little more than a small village, frequented by a few stalwart visitors. Here we see a charming view of two donkey carts standing at the foot of Upper Madoc Street (now Arvon Avenue) with buildings stretching out far beyond to the rugged hills. The Presbyterian church is on the left and the spire of the United Reformed Church on the right.
An extract from from"North Wales Photographic Memories".

Pictured here with promenaders protected from the sun by parasols, the pier was built in 1875. The 1,400 ft-long structure, tucked beneath the cliffs of the Great Orme, gives excellent views back to the promenade and its hotels. The landing stage was built for steamers to Liverpool and Holyhead.
An extract from from"North Wales Photographic Memories".

By 1848 the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway were keen to promote Brighton as a cross-channel port; they funded the Brighton & Continental Steam Packet Co, though it was soon found that Newhaven on the Ouse was a far more practicable choice. In those days railway companies were forbidden from owning passenger ships without Parliamentary approval, a fact not lost on the LB&SCR’s arch-rival the London & South Eastern. Within months the LB&SCR were in court, found guilty, and heavily fined. They were now in a catch-22 situation. As the B&CSPCo had been adjudged a wholly-owned subsidiary, there was the certainty of further heavy fines if it continued to operate, and the railway’s directors would be imprisoned for contempt of court. Unable to function, the B&CSPCo had no way of raising revenue or finance to pay back the funding and become independent. The line ceased trading (but was not liquidated) and its three paddlers sold. The railway then entered into an arrangement with Maple & Morris. The latter would own and manage steamers for a Newhaven-Dieppe service, but the railway would operate them and timetable trains so as to connect with arrivals and departures. In 1863, railway companies were at last given powers to own their own passenger ships. With some thousands of pounds in the kitty from the B&CSPCo fiasco, the iron-hulled paddler ‘Alexandra’ was ordered from Cairn & Co, Greenock. In 1883 she was sold to the Plymouth Promenade Pier Co, but worked excursion traffic around the Bristol Channel. Under their ownership she was refitted, being given a forward sun deck and an alley-wayed saloon aft. She was later sold to R & D Jones, Liverpool, for excursion work along the North Wales coast, and it was whilst she was in their ownership that she was photographed here off Little Orme Head in 1891. The following year she was sold to James Jones of Swansea, and operated out of Milford Haven. She had a further refit in 1893 which included reboilering and the fitting of new compound engines. In 1895 she was sold yet again, this time to the Hastings & St Leonard’s Steam Boat Co for work along the south coast. She was broken up in 1905.
An extract from from"Victorian and Edwardian Maritime Album".