Kinmel Bay and Towyn ( cy, Bae Cinmel a Tywyn) is a
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
in
Conwy County Borough, in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. It is located on the coast bordering
Denbighshire
Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
, from which it is separated by the
River Clwyd
The River Clwyd (Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd'') is a river in Wales that rises in the Clocaenog Forest () northwest of Corwen. Its total length is .
It flows due south until, at Melin-y-wig, it veers north-eastwards, tracking the A494 and passing t ...
, and is west of
Rhyl, north east of
Abergele
Abergele (; ; ) is a market town and community, situated on the north coast of Wales between the holiday resorts of Colwyn Bay and Rhyl, in Conwy County Borough and in the historic county of Denbighshire. Its northern suburb of Pensarn lies on ...
and east of
Conwy. The community includes the holiday resorts of
Kinmel Bay
Kinmel Bay ( cy, Bae Cinmel) is a seaside village in Conwy County Borough, north-east Wales. It is also an electoral ward to the county council and town council. The resort town of Rhyl lies just across the River Clwyd in the neighbouring count ...
and
Towyn. It is crossed by the
Afon Gele
This is a list of rivers of Wales, organised geographically. It is taken anti-clockwise from the Dee Estuary to the M48 Bridge that separates the estuary of the River Wye from the River Severn.
Tributaries are listed down the page in an upstrea ...
, which flows from west to east, before joining the River Clwyd on the eastern boundary. At the 2001 census the community had a population of 7,864, increasing to 8,460 at the 2011 census. Before being named Kinmel Bay there was a small settlement called Foryd, which is the name of the bridge crossing into Rhyl.
The area is very
Anglicized, with well over half the population having been born in England.
The area was developed after 1793, when the Rhuddlan Marsh Commissioners were granted powers to drain the area around Towyn. In the mid 19th century, flood defences were constructed to protect the new
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
to
Holyhead
Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...
railway. Storm-force winds, a high tide and storm surge caused the defences to fail over a stretch in 1990, resulting in the flooding of 2,800 properties. The flood water covered . Since then a rock revetment has been constructed to protect the breached coastline, and further protective works have been carried out to the east.
St Mary's Church, in Towyn, was built in 1873 and designed by
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccle ...
, who was also the architect for the
Royal Courts of Justice in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. It is in the
Early Decorated
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...
style, and is
Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, as is the nearby Towyn and Kinmel Bay Youth Club, built two years earlier and also designed by Street. Also listed is the third building of Street's contract, the former vicarage, now Ty'n Llan Nursing Home.
Horror writer James Henry Kinmel Sangster was born in Kimmel Bay.
References
External links
Towyn and Kinmel Bay Town CouncilA Vision of Britain Through TimeBritish Listed BuildingsGeographOffice for National Statistics
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