HLW (Gw) 5

Creuddyn and Conwy  

2002  

Outstanding  

Designated  

The area includes the lower part of the estuary of the River Conwy and its hinterland on either side. The north east side encompasses the north half of the medieval commote of Creuddyn, including the Great and Little Orme’s Heads and the low hills and ridges linking them to the mainland. To the south west, the area includes Conwy Mountain, Conwy Castle, walled town and bridges. Topographically and scenically the area is very diverse, providing a variety of natural settings for the works of man which are heavily imprinted on it. The Great Orme is a large, flat topped peninsula rising to 207m above OD with dramatically exposed, horizontally bedded limestone flanks and cliffs. These natural features provide a spectacular backdrop to the planned Victorian town and resort of Llandudno sited at the base of the Orme on its landward side. Equally, the Conwy estuary and Conwy Mountain rising to over 200m above OD in the west create a fitting backdrop for the bridges, Edwardian castle and planted, walled town of Conwy. The area has a rich variety of well-preserved and significant archaeological monuments demonstrating its historical development from the earliest times to the present. The Great Orme contains an exceptionally full sequence of early remains, from the Upper Palaeolithic caves, which include Kendrick’s Cave, through the Neolithic burial chamber of Llety’r Filiast, the Bronze Age cairns and extensive underground copper mines which are among the earliest in Europe, to the late prehistoric hut circles and Iron Age hillfort of Pen Dinas. There are also a number of related remains which link these sites together into a landscape pattern. Evidence for Roman occupation comes principally from a number of coin finds, whilst the name of the Orme itself is Norse in origin, one of only a few such places in Gwynedd. The Little Orme also has significant Upper Palaeolithic sites, including the Pant y Wennol cave, whilst the summit of Conwy Mountain is crowned by the Iron Age hillfort of Castell Caer Lleion. In the 13th century, Gogarth Grange, a palace of the bishops of Bangor, was built on the south side of the Orme where its remains can still be seen, while St Tudno’s Church on the northern side dates from about the same time. Around this, there are substantial and well-preserved remains of ridge and furrow cultivation which are assumed to be of a similar age. South east of the Orme, on the opposite side of the estuary to Conwy, Deganwy played an important role in Welsh history throughout the post-Roman period, controlling the mouth of the river. Tradition makes it the llys or court of Maelgwn Gwynedd, and it is mentioned as Arx Decantorum in AD 822, with a castle being built about 1080 by Robert of Rhuddlan, before it was passed to Llywelyn Fawr in 1200.The last castle was probably destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1263, and the frequent changes of possession before this event clearly reflect the political and strategic importance of the site. Across the river, the bastide town and castle of Conwy was built by Edward I in 1283–6 as one in a series to secure his conquest of North Wales. It was built on the site of the Cistercian monastery of Aberconwy which was moved to Maenan. The town walls and castle are exceptionally well preserved, although it appears that much of the original area within the town walls was never taken up by burgesses, and only became developed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Few early buildings now survive, but Aberconwy House and Plas Mawr, a later, Elizabethan town house, are notable. On the Great Orme, interconnecting with the Bronze Age mines, there are remains of copper mining activities from the 16th to 19th centuries. The post-medieval history of mining on the Orme is fairly well documented. The old mines at Pyllau were reworked after 1692 when a new lease was taken out, and mining continued intermittently during the 18th century, with a main phase of activity occurring between 1820–50 when the best ore was produced by the Tyˆ Gwyn mine. However, by the 1880s, working had been abandoned. From the late medieval period onwards, the history and development of the area is linked with the Mostyn family whose principal seat was at Gloddaeth. Other families with seats at Penrhyn, Bodysgallen, and Marl, were also influential during this period. However, the Mostyns were able to greatly increase their political power in the 17th century, and eventually secured for themselves the enclosure of Llandudno Common in 1843.This, coupled with the increasing popularity of the sea-bathing cult, led to the foundation and development of the planned town and resort of Llandudno on the former common. Hitherto, Llandudno had been a small, remote, self sufficient community living on mining, farming and fishing. A chance visit by Anglesey-born surveyor, Owen Williams, in 1846, precipitated developments. Williams thought the common an ideal site for a fashionable new seaside resort with its two shores. Within easy reach of the industrial North West and Midlands with the opening of the railways, Llandudno quickly developed under the control of the Mostyn Estate from the mid-19th century onwards. The Empire Hotel, built in 1854, was the first modern block of shops, the lighthouse was completed in 1863, and the Pier opened in 1877. Marine Drive was completed in a circuit around the Great Orme in 1878 and the funicular tramway to the top of the Orme in 1903, followed by the Summit Café in 1909. The town itself still retains most of its Victorian grandeur and buildings, and remains today as one of the best planned seaside resorts in Britain, with the curving marine parade along the north shore one of the most remarkable and finest architectural sights in Wales. The railway to Llandudno connected with the main Chester to Holyhead line at Llandudno Junction. The latter reached Conwy across an embankment and through a tubular bridge of iron, designed and built by Stephenson. With its crenulated details, this complemented both the castle and the existing suspension road bridge completed by Telford in 1826. A second road bridge was added in 1958, but the decision was taken to hide from view the recently completed third crossing, for the A55 Expressway, which, as an engineering masterpiece in its own right, runs in massive sectional pre-cast concrete tunnels submerged under the Conwy estuary.