Llandudno takes its name from the 6th century saint, Tudno or Dudno, who gave Christianity to the region: his cell on Great Orme, a sheltered cave, still persists; Llan means parish, or ‘church of’. A church on Great Orme – Orme incidentally is a Viking word meaning serpent – dedicated to Tudno was constructed in the 12th century, and extended in the 15th, and is still in use today.
In 1284 Edward I granted the Bishop of Bangor the Manor of Gogarth, governing numerous settlements in the district where Llandudno eventually formed; the gift was out of gratitude for the bishop’s help in making Edward’s son the first English Prince of Wales.
Through medieval times the district was of little note, the few villages performing fishing and agricultural activities, a state of affairs that continued until the 19th century, though with the restarted mines granting the place some particular significance in the Industrial Revolution . This all changed in the middle of the 19th century.
In 1848 the local landowner, Lord Mostyn, was given visionary architectural plans for a resort on the site by Liverpool architect Owen Williams. The 1849 Act of Enclosure supplied the Mostyn family the powers required to modify the area with the Great Orme at one end and Little Orme at the other. The layout of the advanced town was decided upon in that same year. In 1857 a different, George Felton, picked up the project, his hand certainly shown in the architecture in Llandudno’s centre.
The work in building the resort, and catering for its visitors, came at the right time, as in 1850 the copper mines were closed, no longer economically sound.
Llandudno is a creation of the Railway Age. In 1848 the Chester – Holyhead line began, running near the town that was coalescing out of three older settlements. Visitors from North West England could then reach the place with ease; in 1858 communications were further boosted by the branch from that line moving forward into the town.
The subsequent history of Llandudno is the telling of its growth as a seaside resort. A pier opened in 1858, however it was soon destroyed in a huge storm. Another replaced it in 1875, and is still to be visited today. In 1878 Marine Drive opened; nine years later the Mostyn family gave the town a disused quarry changed into gardens known as Happy Valley; in 1902 the Grand Hotel opened, another sign of the vision the Mostyns had of Llandudno as an esteemed destination.
Llandudno’s transport infrastructure was added to through the 20th century. In 1902 the Great Orme Tramway was opened, making it practically effortless to attain the 678′ summit. The Llandudno and Colwyn Bay Electric Railway, a tram service through the town, came after in 1936, though unfortunately it closed in 1963; 1972 accompanied the opening of a cabin lift to the summit of the grand headland.
The town today is one of the big resorts in Wales. Look for b and b llandudno, still with an elegant air. That refinement was added to with the building of the North Wales Theatre in the 21st century. This building on the promenade, next to seaview hotels llandudno, serves as a venue for musicals, concerts and plays, and is a frequent port of call for the Welsh National Opera.
