Llandudno Y Dref Gymreig

-888

-People flock to this town

-every year.

-Some come to enjoy

-the beauty of the mountain.

-Some come for the beaches

-and the entertainment.

-Llandudno's motto Hardd Hafan Hedd -

-Beautiful Haven of Peace...

-..says it all.

-Welcome to Y Dref Gymreig.

-888

-888

-888

-We'll look at the development...

-..of this lovely

-Victorian seaside town.

-We'll visit our oldest ever house.

-We'll also visit

-the chief architect's house...

-..a hotel which was the home

-of the founder of Llandudno...

-..and a modern house

-which capitalises on the elements.

-You can put Llandudno in its

-geographical context from here.

-You can also see why it was built.

-Yes, this is a fantastic view.

-This town was built for tourism.

-This must be

-one of the best views in Wales...

-..if not in the whole of Britain.

-Llandudno helps you

-understand seaside towns.

-It's a fine example

-of Victorian architecture.

-It looks like one man built it

-in one year!

-It's uniform.

-It was built by one estate

-in one decade!

-Llandudno was built on a unique

-grid pattern on old common land.

-It grew from being

-a fishing and mining village...

-..to the glorious holiday town

-we now know and love.

-It's hard to believe the future

-of Llandudno was mapped out...

-..over a few pints at the Kings Head

-many years ago.

-Yes, this truly is a historic pub.

-The town planning meeting

-was held here in the 1840s.

-There was nothing here other than

-the beach and a few cottages.

-It was a small community.

-Mostyn Estate secured permission

-to clear the area...

-..and build a new town.

-Did they build it as a holiday town?

-Did they build it as a holiday town?

-

-There were several ideas.

-Lord Mostyn was keen to build a

-big dock to export Flintshire coal.

-They were going to call it

-Port Wrexham...

-..but the old name of Llandudno

-was eventually chosen.

-The railway must have

-boosted tourism in this area.

-Yes, because we're not far from

-Liverpool and Manchester.

-I'm interested in the old tram.

-This is Britain's last remaining

-cable-operated street tramway.

-Let's catch the next one.

-This is now a tourist attraction.

-There has been industry

-on the Orme over the centuries...

-..so what was

-the tram's original purpose?

-The tramway

-has only been open since 1902.

-One of its original purposes was

-to take corpses up the mountain...

-..to Saint Tudno's cemetery.

-It's quite steep, isn't it?

-It's quite steep, isn't it?

-

-That's why they used it for corpses.

-Well, Greg, where are we now?

-We're in a cave.

-A relatively large cave

-at the foot of the Orme.

-People lived in this cave 13,000

-years ago.

-It's the oldest house, or dwelling,

-we've ever seen on this programme.

-If you didn't have a torch, I'd be

-the first presenter to die here!

-That's a deep hole!

-A man called Kendrick

-found human remains in here.

-There was also a painting in here...

-..which makes it

-the earliest piece of Welsh art.

-Is that what brought people here?

-It was

-some sort of tourist attraction.

-Yes, it attracted lots of visitors

-in late Victorian times.

-Kendrick extended the cave,

-as you can see behind me.

-This may look like a natural wall,

-but it isn't.

-Kendrick built it

-to make the tour more interesting.

-It was used during World War II.

-Yes, the Humphreys family lived

-next door and they owned this cave.

-They used it

-as some sort of summer house.

-They used it as an air-raid shelter

-during the War years.

-Next, we'll see the main house.

-Let's go!

-Careful where you tread.

-We saw Ardwy Orme from afar.

-It's almost impossible to see it

-from its own garden!

-The land is really steep.

-Yes. This is one of the best plots

-in Llandudno.

-You feel like the king of the town!

-The man who built this house

-was the king of the town, in a way.

-He was Alfred Humphreys, the agent

-and architect of the Mostyn estate.

-Alfred Humphreys was responsible for

-many of the town's public buildings.

-This is a big house.

-Yes, it's a house of real status and

-the architectural details are great.

-Things like the terracotta and the

-red sandstone around the windows.

-The main gable looks like

-a Dutch Renaissance style.

-It looks like

-something in Amsterdam.

-They teamed that style

-with modern bricks.

-It's a variety of styles

-which was a common trend.

-Let's see inside.

-Well! This is wonderful.

-Yes, it's a fine hallway.

-Interestingly,

-the furniture is all original.

-This house

-is still in the Humphreys family...

-..and you know this is how it looked

-in Alfred's time...

-..back in 1895.

-There's a special ambience here.

-The wallpaper has been changed

-but everything else is original.

-The oil paintings

-have always been here.

-The newel post

-has never been painted white!

-The lovely staircase is original,

-as is the pitch pine floor.

-That is a wonderful,

-but relatively simple, window...

-..compared to what we saw

-20 years earlier.

-This was built

-in the late Victorian age...

-..so you wouldn't see stained glass

-here, only patterned glass.

-This is splendid, isn't it?

-It's almost like a gentry house.

-Not gentry,

-but certainly middle class.

-That bell was used to call the maid

-to make the tea, and so on.

-There's a large servants' wing

-at the rear.

-Yes, it's a large property.

-What's on this side of the hallway?

-What's on this side of the hallway?

-

-This house is split in two.

-The rear was for the staff

-and the front was for the family.

-What was the dining room

-and the drawing room are here.

-They called it the drawing room,

-which is an echo of gentry houses.

-This is the dining room.

-It was once the drawing room.

-The collection of furniture

-recreates the original ambience.

-There are some beautiful pieces

-in here.

-What a magnificent table!

-What a magnificent table!

-

-Yes, indeed.

-Humphreys designed

-some of the furniture himself.

-In what is now the lounge

-but which was the dining room...

-..is the bookcase he made

-in around 1901.

-This must have been one of

-the first houses in the area...

-..to have

-gas and electricity supplies.

-There are

-some old gas fittings next door.

-The electric fittings may not

-be original but they are old.

-This little pendant light

-still moves.

-It may come from the early

-20th century rather than 1895.

-That would explain the need

-for gas and electric lights.

-There's no gas next door

-which was built a few years later.

-This was built on the cusp between

-the time of gas and electric lights.

-We're not talking about

-the National Grid.

-Llandudno produced

-its own electricity.

-This would also be a novelty

-for the Humphreys' dinner guests.

-Yes, this is a modern house which

-even has a downstairs cloakroom...

-..and a first floor bathroom.

-It was a new way of life.

-The house also has central heating.

-Yes, and the radiators still work.

-It's great to see the old pattern

-with a marble shelf above it.

-It works like a storage radiator

-as the stone retains heat overnight.

-It's a great idea.

-The idea was to dine next door,

-then withdraw to this room...

-..to sit down and relax.

-Yes, and listen to the pianola.

-Yes, and listen to the pianola.

-

-Yes, of course.

-Yes, and listen to the pianola.

-They would then ring the bell...

-..and tell the maid to bring

-the cocktails out to the balcony.

-.

-888

-888

-

-888

-888

-888

-This is Llandudno Pier.

-This is now

-Wales's most substantial pier.

-CADW says this is the finest

-Victorian pleasure pier in Wales.

-It's fantastic!

-You can see the layout and

-uniformity of Llandudno from here.

-Is that the whole point of a pier?

-This is the only spot from which you

-can see the town in all its glory.

-Yes.

-Visitors flocked here.

-People love to

-walk up and down the pier.

-That's what people did.

-Let's head out of town

-to Bodysgallen.

-When I was 12, I sailed from

-Llandudno pier to the Isle of Man.

-We've ventured up the hill,

-away from Llandudno town centre.

-This hill is between two seas.

-Yes, and we're here to see

-Bodysgallen country house.

-The front part

-is the original house.

-It dates back to the Wynn period.

-The Wynn family is famous

-in north Wales.

-Robert Wynn and Katherine, his wife

-built this house in 1620.

-That's the date stone.

-Most of this house

-was built by the Mostyn family.

-The Mostyns

-have strong links with Llandudno.

-Augusta Mostyn

-was a great benefactor of Llandudno.

-She contributed a lot of money to

-its rebuilding in the 19th century.

-When we usually see houses like this

-which have been extended...

-..we see

-they're a bit of a mishmash.

-That's usually because

-they're influenced by many styles.

-That's not the case here.

-Augusta Mostyn took a keen interest

-in the house's history.

-They built the extensions

-and fitted new windows...

-..in the original style.

-It's consistent.

-Let's take a look inside.

-This is the main room.

-It's the solar

-from the original house.

-It's a 17th century room

-dressed as a Victorian drawing room.

-Was this a public room?

-Was this a public room?

-

-Yes, as was the ground floor solar.

-The first floor solar

-had greater status.

-This was the Wynn family's

-main room in the 17th century.

-Does everything we see here

-date back to 1620?

-Most of it is original.

-This room was dressed in Victorian

-times, when the Mostyns lived here.

-The fireplace structure is great -

-it's from the Wynn period.

-Robert Wynn and Katherine Vaughan of

-Corsygedol's coats of arms are here.

-The Mostyns added the Latin motto.

-Most of what you see here

-is Victorian.

-It's unusual to see another

-17th century fireplace in here.

-Two fireplaces in one room.

-Why did they do that?

-Did the second fireplace

-have a special function?

-I have no idea!

-There's no evidence that this room

-was ever subdivided.

-There's no sign of an old partition,

-but they may have used drapes.

-The only guess I have is

-that it was a private family area.

-It may have been the Wynns'

-private area of this public room.

-We always seem to climb

-spiral staircases!

-We've got to keep you fit, Aled!

-This is the roof, of course.

-This was once behind the main area

-of the original house.

-The main house was down there.

-What glorious views!

-Some say the tower

-was a lookout for the castle.

-You can see Conwy Castle from here.

-Yes, some people think

-this is a 13th century tower...

-..and it was part of Conwy Castle.

-I think it's simply a lookout tower

-for this house.

-I'd say this tower was built

-by the Wynn family...

-..in the early 17th century.

-Plas Mawr, a fantastic house in

-Conwy, was also built by the Wynns.

-It also has a tower

-from Tudor times.

-I happen to know you have

-emotional ties with Llandudno, Greg.

-Or you nearly did!

-Your parents wanted to buy

-that white house at one point.

-Yes, it's called Villa Marina.

-It was designed by the architect

-who designed 1930s Odeon cinemas.

-It's fantastic, and my parents came

-close to buying it when I was ten.

-I sulked for a fortnight when

-they told me we weren't moving here!

-I really, really, wanted to live

-in that gem of Art Deco design.

-You can see how Llandudno developed

-in the 20th century.

-There are grey roofs

-on Victorian houses...

-..and red roofs on Edwardian times

-and the 1920s and 1930s.

-It's really neat, sandwiched

-as it is between these two seas.

-There are still open spaces here.

-Yes, and the town

-is still developing.

-Llandudno has a population

-of over 20,000.

-No-one has the right to build on the

-agricultural land around the town...

-..so people build on fill-in plots,

-as we're about to find out.

-What a stunning view!

-Yes, you can see across the bay.

-It's obvious why people were willing

-to build on such steep plots.

-It must have been a nightmare

-to build this modern house here.

-The shape of the plot is awkward

-and it stands on the bedrock.

-We're just a mile

-out of Llandudno...

-..but we came over the hill and

-we're facing Rhyl and Colwyn Bay.

-Yes, and the views are breathtaking.

-What makes this such a green design?

-What makes this such a green design?

-

-Mainly the way people live in it.

-What makes this such a green design?

-From the outside,

-we can see the materials.

-From the outside,

-we can see the materials.

-A lot of this wood is reclaimed.

-The new cedarwood

-came from a sustainable forest.

-This isn't paint on the plaster

-but limewash.

-We link limewash

-with historic houses.

-It's a very sustainable material.

-How do the owners live?

-What a fantastic space!

-Yes, there's a wonderful feel

-to this place.

-It's very calm,

-with little colour and few details.

-It's all about the view,

-so the architecture is simple.

-There are glass doors

-down the length of the building.

-They came from Norway.

-Norwegians

-know how to keep out the cold!

-This is a really warm house.

-This wood burner

-heats the whole house.

-It certainly feels cosy to me.

-The kitchen is over here.

-Yes, this is a really simple design.

-At the far end of this floor,

-we have a study.

-The owner works from home.

-That's the office.

-There's also a lounge and a kitchen

-on this floor.

-That's a pantry.

-There are no windows in there,

-so it keeps food cool in the summer.

-It's built against the rock

-at the back of the house.

-The bedrooms are above here.

-This is brilliantly designed

-to take advantage of solar gain.

-It's south-facing,

-so it lets in heat in the winter.

-The overhang of the roof

-prevents overheating in summer.

-This is really neat!

-Yes, there are three relatively

-small bedrooms in this house.

-It utilises ceiling height, and is

-a great room for one of their sons.

-You can almost use this

-as a separate room.

-Yes, I love this design.

-It's time to go home.

-Yes, let's go home.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

-.