Llandudno, Carnarvonshire

Historical Description

Llandudno, a town and a parish in Carnarvonshire. The town stands on the coast, between Great Orme's Head and Little Orme's Head, at the terminus of a short branch of the L. & N.W.R. from Llandudno Junction, 4 miles N by E of Conway; was as lately as about 1841 only a very s>mall village, frequented by a few families for sea-bathing; is now a beautiful and fashionable watering-place; possesses command of two bays, with different aspects, and with fine facilities for bathing in almost any weather; comprises a handsome crescent, curving round the shore of Orme's bays, and parallel streets running across from "it to the Conway Sands; and has a head post office. It has three churches, two in the town and the third on Great Orme's Head. The last-named is the old parish church of St Tudno, and is said to stand on the site of the cell of St Tudno, a hermit of the 7th century. The existing church was bnilt in the 15th century, retaining a portion of an older church of the 6th century. It was restored and party rebuilt in 1855, having fallen into ruin. It is a small plain edifice, and contains an old circular font and two incised coffin slabs of the 13th century. It is still used for service in the summer months. The churchyard is the parish cemetery; a child of John Bright was buried here. St George's and Holy Trinity are modern edifices. There are Baptist, Congregational, Calvinistic Methodist, Wesleyan, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic chapels. There is a pier over 400 yards long at the NW end of the parade, and near it are the Pavilion, which is used for concerts, &c., and swimming-baths. At the other end of the promenade is another pavilion called the Victoria Palace, erected in 1894 and devoted to the same purpose as the other. There are two market-halls, three banks, library and news-rooms, two large hydropathic establishments, and a cottage hospital. Three weekly newspapers are published. Markets are held on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The water supply is obtained from Llyn Dulyn, a mountain lake on the slopes of Carnedd Llewelyn. During the summer steamers ply to and from Liverpool, and to Beaumaris, the Menai Straits, and Khyl. The town is sheltered on two sides by Great Orme's Head and Little Orme's Head, but is unsheltered in other directions. It commands a charming walk or drive 5¼ miles long around Great Orme's Head, and is in the near neighbourhood of objects and places highly interesting to antiquaries and botanists. See ORME'S HEAD.

The parish comprises 2010 acres of land, 2 of water, and 483 of foreshore; population, 6065. The ancient British fortress of Pen-y-Dlnas overlooks the town. A rocking-stone, called Cryd Tudno, or the cradle of Tudno, is at one corner of the fortress. A lighthouse was erected on Great Orme's Head in 1862. and has a fixed light visible 24 miles. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bangor; net value, £313 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Bangor.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

For births, marriages, and deaths in Llandudno from 1837 to 1937 you should search for the Conway Registration District.
For births, marriages, and deaths in Llandudno from 1937 to 1974 you should search for the Conway Valley Registration District.

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Carnarvonshire is available to browse.

Maps

Online maps of Llandudno are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers online:

• Western Mail