St. David's Hotel was an

Edwardian Era In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

hotel in

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, North Wales, and formerly in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The building was located on the A496, adjacent to Theatr Harlech (formerly called Theatr Ardudwy) on the campus of Coleg Harlech, and Royal St David's Golf Club.

Design and construction

The St. David's Hotel is based on proposals drawn-up in January 1907 by George Henry Walton, a

Glasgow School The Glasgow School was a circle of influential artists and designers that began to coalesce in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1870s, and flourished from the 1890s to around 1910. Representative groups included The Four (also known as the Spook Schoo ...

architect and contemporary of

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macd ...

.Moon, K.; "George Walton: Designer and Architect"; White Cockade Publishing, Dorset, 1993; (hb) (pb) The proposals were subsequently revised in 1908, and the hotel was built in 1910. The Hotel has five storeys and a basement. The height of the Hotel was disguised by having the upper three floors included in a giant

mansard A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

with rows of

dormers A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable spac ...

.Haslam, R., Orbach., J., Voelcker, A.;

Pevsner Architectural Guides The ''Pevsner Architectural Guides'' are four series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. ''The Buildings of England'' series was begun in 1945 by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, with its forty-six original volumes pu ...

: The Buildings of Wales, Gwynedd; 2009; Yale University Press The Hotel reflects skilled craftsmanship, in the handling of materials and detail, that echoes Walton's earlier design for Wern Fawr (now Coleg Harlech). Wern Fawr has been described as being "at the apex of building craft" and St David's Hotel has been described as Walton "at his most professional". At St David's Hotel, Walton provided solutions to a challenging commercial design brief that included the traditional use of heavy masonry on the exterior of the Hotel, which was intended to reflect the use of this material in the locality. In conjunction with this, Walton used

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

to open-up the interiors in order to simplify structural problems, make the most of the sea views, and give the interior "a cheerfulness which could survive even a dull Harlech day". The Hotel sits on the edge of the Harlech

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

. The exterior design responds to the character of the more traditional buildings nearby, because of its use of stone and traditional form. Walton also designed all the fixtures and fittings for the Hotel, including fitted furniture, carpets, tables, chairs, settees and ironmongery, working to a tight budget. Walton is one of the forerunners of later European architects, such as the Danish architect

Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects, Hon. FAIA (; 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to functionalism (architec ...

, whose design brief for St Catherine's College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

included all the interior fixtures and fittings.Davies, M & D; "Creating St Catherine's College"; St Catherine's College, Oxford, 1997; The Hotel was built for a syndicate, in which George Walton was involved, and catered primarily for golfers visiting the adjacent Royal St David's Golf Club. The Hotel has been used by generations of golfers and other visitors to Harlech, who retain fond memories. The Hotel had 60 bedrooms and served traditional home-cooked food, facilities included an early twentieth-century

lift (elevator) An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems such ...

, a snooker table, an outdoor pool, and a solarium.

Fire

In 1922, a devastating fire destroyed the interior of the Hotel, so that Walton's original design commission has been lost. The Hotel was then rebuilt hurriedly by Griffith Morris. The three bay centre is now flanked by two storeys of stone, two of roughcast and the attic only is mansarded. The centre has also been altered on the top two floors and has a ground floor addition. It is unclear from the records how much of the original interior structure has survived. The later, low quality, extensions have diminished the grand aspect of Walton's original structure. Despite this, the Hotel is retained in Cadw's listing description for Coleg Harlech, which is a

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, and this suggests that the Hotel was notable due to its group value.

Demolition

The Hotel closed in 2008 and became subject to planning application NP5/61/23L which was lodged with the

Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

Authority (SNPA) for the following proposal: "Full application for demolition of hotel and djacentcollege hall of residence and construction of a new 130 bedroom hotel and 76 holiday apartments, formation of new internal road layout, landscaping and associated engineering works." The proposals for the site were reviewed by the Design Commission for Wales (DCW) in October 2006 and subsequent comments were made in November 2006 and January 2007, in response to design revisions. On 17 December 2008, the DCW issued a Design Review Report which concluded, inter alia, that the replacement hotel complex would be an "overdevelopment of the site".Design Review Report/Addroddiad Adolygu Dylunio of the Design Commission For Wales/Comisiwn Dylunio Cymru, issued on 17 December 2008 http://dcfw.org/design/reports/view/st_davids_hotel_harlech Retrieved 22 January 2010 Planning Application NP5/61/23L was heard, and approved, by the SNPA's Planning and Access Committee at a public meeting held at Plas Tan y Bwlch,

Maentwrog Maentwrog () is a village and community in the Welsh county of Merionethshire (now part of Gwynedd), lying in the Vale of Ffestiniog just below Blaenau Ffestiniog, within the Snowdonia National Park. The River Dwyryd runs alongside the vil ...

on April 29, 2009. It was resolved to demolish the Hotel and that demolition was within the provisions of the Eryri Local Plan prepared by the SNPA under the provision of the

Town and Country Planning Act 1990 The Town and Country Planning Act 1990c 8 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating the development of land in England and Wales. It is a central part of English land law in that it concerns town and country planning in the U ...

, and formally adopted by resolution of the National Park Committee up to 2003. The Design Review Report of the DCW notes that: "there has been very little community response" to the proposed demolition of the Hotel. The hotel was finally demolished in October 2019, with the Welsh Government and Gwynedd Council contributing to the cost.

Planning dispute

In December 2015 the SNPA filed an enforcement notice under section 215 of the

(TCPA) requiring the owners, Aitchinson Associates Limited (AAL) of

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, to demolish the Hotel, which had remained closed since 2008 and had subsequently fallen into disrepair. AAL had until April 28, 2017 for the site to be cleared completely. However demolition work did not take place and AAL were taken to court by the SNPA due to a lack of action. The

Magistrates' court (England and Wales) A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrates' c ...

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

fined AAL the maximum fine under Section 215 of the TCPA, in the amount of £1,000, together with a victim surcharge of £100, and awarded costs to the SNPA of £552.20. The SNPA noted the poor condition of the Hotel, with windows rotting, dormer windows completely perished, and sections of the roof collapsed. The SNPA also commented that it had been inundated with complaints from local residents and visitors to Harlech about the poor condition of the Hotel building, which lies in an elevated position adjacent to the

A496 road The A496 is a major coastal and mountainous road in southern Snowdonia. The road is 32.8 miles in length, from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llanelltyd, via Harlech. The original northern terminus of the road before A470 re-numbering was Llandudno. Th ...

. On 17 October 2018, the SNPA's Planning and Access Committee considered exploring the possibility of initiating formal ‘direct action’ under Section 219 of the TCPA, in order to attempt to secure the demolition of the Hotel, due to the untidy condition of the building. In April, 2018 AAL were fined £20,900 and ordered to pay costs of £782 by Caernarfon Magistrates' court for failing to comply with the court order to demolish the Hotel. The SNPA noted that demolition of the Hotel remains subject to securing funding, but in a press release they stated that they are keen to address other issues to help facilitate the demolition work, should funding become available. The SNPA pointed out that a key issue is the building of a structure within which the

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s that currently live in the Hotel can be relocated, noting that all species of bats and their roosts are protected under the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species ...

. With the permission of AAL a contractor was commissioned to construct a small bat barn on the site during the first quarter of 2019.

Legacy

The Hotel formed an important part of Harlech's

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

legacy.

References

External links

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_cArsCi5Sg * http://www.harlech.com/stdavids.html {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922095805/http://www.harlech.com/stdavids.html , date=22 September 2008 * https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/838457 Hotels in Gwynedd Defunct hotels in Wales Arts and Crafts movement Hotel buildings completed in 1910 Demolished buildings and structures in Wales Buildings and structures demolished in 2019