LLANDUDNO was purpose built in the 1850s for the wealthier element of European Society for “seaside relaxation”.

Over the years LLandudno has hosted amongst other notable names, Prince Mikhail Dimitrivich Gorchakov; The Crown Prince of Wurtenberg; The deposed french King Napoleon III with empress Eugenie; Count Otto Bismark; and Queen Elizabeth of Romania (Pen name Carmen Sylva), after whom Carmen Sylva Road in Llandudno has been named.

The towns secret was out however, and by the mid 1860s invasions from Merseyside and Cheshire, arriving by Liverpool steamers, took over the North Shore equipped with Spades and Buckets; and cheap National railway excursions allowed visitors from the rest of Britain to enjoy Llandudnos’ special qualities.

At the outbreak of the 1914-18 war Llandudno became an army recruiting and training H.Q for four Battalions of Royal Welch Fusiliers forming one Brigade, which was destined for near annihilation on the Somme . With the return of peace Llandudno became a well known conference centre and ‘enjoyed’ speeches from such diverse Politicians as lloyd George, Ramsey MacDonald, Oswald Mosley, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher amongst others!

While other resorts scurried about seeking a "new improved" trashy recipe for competing with the ever shrinking post-war world of the aeroplane and the out-of-town shopping centre, Llandudno kept its nerve and consolidated what it knew best - catering for discerning visitors, shoppers and conference delegates seeking an unspoiled natural environment. It built itself a new national conference centre, a 1,500-seat allpurpose regional theatre, and huge retail complexes within the town's boundaries, while the hoteliers spent a small fortune upgrading their third of the Welsh holiday bed spaces.

 Information taken from Llandudno Regina by Ivor Wynne Jones. Ivor Wynne Jones is the author of Llandudno, Queen of the Welsh Resorts, the now rare definitive handbook of the town's history, published in 1975.

© The Ivor Wynne Jones collection