Great Ormes Head, Carnarvonshire
Historical Description
Ormes Head, Great, a bold promontory on the N coast of Carnarvonshire, 3¼ miles N of Conway. It projects into the entrance of the Menai Strait or Beaumaris Bay on the W, overhangs the town of Llandndno on the E, rises precipitously from the sea round three-fourths or more of its circuit; consists of enormous masses of limestone rock; attains an altitude of 750 feet or upwards; forms a conspicuous feature in the entire range of the N coast of Wales, and commands magnificent views over both sea and land. There is a magnificent carriage drive, 5¼ miles in length, cut in the rock round the headland. A semaphore telegraph station, one of the links in the old chain of communication between Holyhead and Liverpool, was on the summit, and a lighthouse, with a fixed light visible for 24 miles, was erected in 1862. The ancient British fort of Pen-y-Dinas, of which scanty traces remain, is on its E side; a rocking-stone, called Cryd Tudno, also is there, but has ceased to rock, and copper mines exist, with traces of Roman workings. The ship Homby was wrecked on Great Ormes Head in 1824, when all persons on board, except one, perished.
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Carnarvonshire is available to browse.
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers online: