Penrhyn Bay ( cy, Bae Penrhyn "headland bay") is a small town on the northern coast of

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 ...

, in

Conwy county borough Conwy County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy) is a county borough in Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south, and Denbighshire to the east. Other settlements in the county borough include Abergele, Betws-y-Coed, Colwyn Bay, Conwy, ...

, within the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

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 ...

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

, and part of the ''ecclesiastical'' parish of

Llanrhos Llanrhos (English: 'Church on the moor') is a village in the community of Conwy, in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The village lies between the towns of Conwy and Llandudno. Llanrhos was a civil parish from 1894 until 1974. The area was formerly p ...

. It is a prosperous village, with a cluster of local shops, a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

and a modern medical centre with doctors' surgery at the foot of the pass over the shoulder of the

Little Orme The Little Orme ( cy, Rhiwledyn, also known as Trwyn y Fuwch, Trwyn y Gogarth and Y Gogarth Fach) is in height, and is a HuMP (having a minimum Hundred Metre Prominence). It is one of two headlands situated at either end of Llandudno Bay, in C ...

from Llandudno Bay. Here there is a highschool called

Ysgol y Creuddyn Ysgol y Creuddyn () is a Welsh-medium secondary school, situated in Penrhyn Bay outside Llandudno, Wales, named after the Creuddyn peninsula. The school was founded on Wednesday, the 2nd of September 1981 with 218 students, and is now home to ...

and a primary school called

Ysgol Glanwydden Ysgol Glanwydden is a Welsh Primary school in Glanwydden Glanwydden is a small village located between Llandudno and Colwyn Bay in Conwy county borough, north Wales. Amenities & History The village has one pub and around 30 houses. It was ...

. It is considered to be a

residential A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

lying east of the Little Orme. It adjoins the resort of

Rhos-on-Sea Rhos-on-Sea ( cy, Llandrillo-yn-Rhos) is a seaside resort and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The population was 7,593 at the 2011 census. It adjoins Colwyn Bay and is named after the Welsh kingdom of Rhos established there in late ...

and covers a large part of the Creuddyn peninsula. The population of Penrhyn Ward at the 2011 census was 4,883.

History

The oldest building in Penrhyn Bay is Penrhyn Old Hall dating from the early 15th century. It was the home of the Pugh family whose fortunes faded through their adherence to the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

religion when their neighbours accepted

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. On 14 April 1587, printing material for

literature was found in a cave on the Little Orme, where it had been used by the

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

Robert Pugh (

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...

of Penrhyn Hall) and his

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

William Davies to print ''Y Drych Gristianogawl'' ('The Christian Mirror'). They had taken refuge there during the persecution of Catholics instigated by

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

in May 1586. In the grounds of the hall are the ruins of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Penrhyn, last used by the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

for public worship c1930. The Pugh family also held a charter and built a windmill to serve their land in the nearby village of

Glanwydden Glanwydden is a small village located between Llandudno and Colwyn Bay in Conwy county borough, north Wales. Amenities & History The village has one pub and around 30 houses. It was the centre of the limestone quarry trade in the 17th century ...

the first charter dating 1580. The hall now serves as a

and

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

. Originally a small farming community, Penrhyn Bay came to rely heavily on the employment opportunities of the

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

operating since the mid-19th century, and served by its own

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

, but quarrying ceased in 1936. However, Penrhyn Bay expanded rapidly in the 20th century to become a desirable

of Llandudno, with developments taking place in the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s. Most recently, in the 1990s, further large development of family homes took place to the south of the town. The village also has a school called Ysgol Glanwydden which was built in 1910.

Celebrity connections

The highly popular singing duo

Anne Ziegler Anne Ziegler (22 June 1910 – 13 October 2003) was an English singer, known for her light operatic duets with her husband Webster Booth. The pair were known as the "Sweethearts in Song" and were among the most famous and popular British musica ...

and

Webster Booth Webster Booth (21 January 1902 – 21 June 1984) was an English tenor, best remembered as the duettist partner of Anne Ziegler. He was also one of the finest tenors of his generation and was a distinguished oratorio soloist. He was a chorister ...

retired to a small bungalow in Penrhyn Bay after their return to the United Kingdom from South Africa in 1976, until their deaths. It provided a

location In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

for an

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...

of TV's

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates ''Hetty Wainthropp Investigates'' is a British crime drama television series, starring Patricia Routledge as the title character, Henrietta "Hetty" Wainthropp, that aired for four series between 3 January 1996 and 4 September 1998 on BBC One. T ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

(''Childsplay''), which starred

Patricia Routledge Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award f ...

. Also Rocket's Island.

References

*Ivor Wynne Jones. ''Llandudno Queen of Welsh Resorts'' Landmark, Ashbourne Derbyshire 2002 .

External links

Cytûn - Church Services in Llandudno and Penrhyn Bay

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Penrhyn Bay and surrounding area

Penrhyn Bay Presbyterian Church
{{authority control Villages in Conwy County Borough Llandudno Populated coastal places in Wales