Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay
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From the top, View over Colwyn Bay, Station Road, Penrhyn Road | |
Location within Conwy | |
Population | 34,284 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SH865785 |
Community |
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Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | COLWYN BAY |
Postcode district | LL28, LL29 |
Dialling code | 01492 |
Police | North Wales |
Fire | North Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
Clwyd West | |
Colwyn Bay (
History
The western side of Colwyn Bay,
The name 'Colwyn' may be named after Collwyn ap Tangno, an 11th century nobleman who was Lord of Eifionnydd, Ardudwy and part of the Llŷn peninsula,[2] or after the River Colwyn in Old Colwyn. (In Welsh the word Colwyn means "puppy" (with the 'w' being a vowel), but Collwyn (with an alveolar lateral fricative) is a more plausible toponym, meaning "hazel grove" (llwyn cyll).)
King Richard II (1367–1400) was ambushed in Old Colwyn in 1399 by supporters of Henry Bolingbroke as he returned to England from Ireland.[3]
During World War II the Colwyn Bay Hotel, Marine Road (now demolished) was the headquarters of the Ministry of Food. This also housed the Cocoa & Chocolate division and was the communications hub for the ministry. They continued to use the hotel until 1953.[4] Colwyn also supported the war effort by becoming a significant location for the diamond cutting and polishing industry, which was used to help fund the war effort.[5]
The nucleus of the town comprised Old Colwyn (originally Colwyn) and
The town was in the historic county of Denbighshire until 1974, and then in Clwyd until 1996.
Government
Bay of Colwyn Town Council is a statutory body, covering the communities in the urban area. It is based at the old police station and magistrates court.[6] The mayor for 2019 to 2020 was Councillor Neil Bastow.[7] Conwy County Borough Council was based at the old civic centre in Colwyn Bay[8] before moving to Coed Pella in Conway Road in Colwyn Bay in November 2018.[9]
Geography
The town is situated about halfway along the north coast of Wales, between the sea and the Pwllycrochan Woods on the towering hillside. Groes yn Eirias (Welsh:Cross in Torch) was once a separate hamlet centred on the Glyn farmhouse (c1640) but the area is now occupied by the Glyn estate and Eirias Park.
Climate
Like the rest of the
Climate data for Colwyn Bay 36m asl, 1981-2010 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 16.1 (61.0) |
18.7 (65.7) |
21.4 (70.5) |
24.8 (76.6) |
28.1 (82.6) |
30.3 (86.5) |
33.0 (91.4) |
32.4 (90.3) |
28.3 (82.9) |
27.2 (81.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
16.4 (61.5) |
33.0 (91.4) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.5 (47.3) |
8.4 (47.1) |
10.3 (50.5) |
12.1 (53.8) |
15.2 (59.4) |
17.6 (63.7) |
19.6 (67.3) |
19.4 (66.9) |
17.4 (63.3) |
14.3 (57.7) |
11.1 (52.0) |
8.9 (48.0) |
13.6 (56.5) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.8 (37.0) |
2.7 (36.9) |
4.1 (39.4) |
5.3 (41.5) |
7.7 (45.9) |
10.4 (50.7) |
12.5 (54.5) |
12.5 (54.5) |
10.7 (51.3) |
8.1 (46.6) |
5.7 (42.3) |
3.2 (37.8) |
7.2 (45.0) |
Record low °C (°F) | −9.9 (14.2) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−9.3 (15.3) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
2.4 (36.3) |
5.7 (42.3) |
4.0 (39.2) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
−10.4 (13.3) |
−10.4 (13.3) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 74.7 (2.94) |
53.0 (2.09) |
57.5 (2.26) |
50.7 (2.00) |
52.9 (2.08) |
56.1 (2.21) |
52.1 (2.05) |
64.6 (2.54) |
70.2 (2.76) |
96.8 (3.81) |
89.8 (3.54) |
90.2 (3.55) |
808.7 (31.84) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 56.2 | 81.8 | 115.0 | 162.8 | 209.0 | 185.6 | 189.6 | 174.7 | 135.2 | 108.2 | 59.9 | 44.1 | 1,522 |
Source: Met Office[11] |
Demography
Prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 Colwyn Bay was a
According to the
Economy
The town is dominated by the tourist trade, because of its famous beaches. Colwyn Bay is a
Culture
Colwyn Bay hosted the
Community facilities
The town has parks and gardens and a number of natural amenities such as Eirias Park. Colwyn Bay has received a gold award 8 times in the Wales in Bloom competition. In 2009 and 2010 the town has been invited to enter Britain in Bloom and has been awarded silver gilt in both years. The Welsh Mountain Zoo is nearby.
The Porth Eirias Watersports Centre offers tuition in sailing, windsurfing and power boating as well as kayak and canoe hire. In 2013 it was nominated for Building Design's Carbuncle Cup.[15]
Landmarks
The Victoria Pier was closed to the public in 2009, when a dispute between Conwy County Borough Council and the pier's owner led to him being declared bankrupt. The fate of the pier was initially uncertain; the council hoped it would be "substantially" demolished for "health and safety and visual reasons to be able to re-open that section of the beach”.[16] In January 2017, the lower end of the pier partially collapsed into the sea and Conwy Council subsequently announced plans to dismantle and store the pier, with a view of restoring it at a later date.[17][18] The pier was finally demolished in May 2018.[19]
Cotswold, on Brackley Avenue, is a notable town villa by Alfred Steinthal. Built for a Manchester businesswoman, the house was subsequently the home of Sidney Colwyn Foulkes. It is a Grade II listed building.[22] Its Japanese and Arts and Crafts style gardens are listed, also at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.[23] Another notable garden is The Flagstaff, overlooking the bay. It was designed by Thomas Hayton Mawson for a house that was not ultimately built, and is listed at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS register.[24]
Transport
The town is served by
Tramline
The Llandudno and Colwyn Bay Electric Railway operated an electric tramway service between Llandudno and Rhos-on-Sea from 1907 and extended to Colwyn Bay in 1908. The service closed in 1956.[25]
Education
Colwyn Bay has three
. Ysgol Bryn Elian mainly serves Old Colwyn and Eirias High School mainly serves Colwyn Bay, Rhos on Sea and Penrhyn Bay.Rydal Penrhos School is a Methodist public school, which is on multiple sites in the town. Fees at this elite public school exceeded more than £34,000 per year for boarding in 2021 and boasts the only Eton Fives courts in Wales. Former alumni include Princess Maria of Romania, a cousin of Prince Charles.
The town's primary schools are Ysgol Nant y Groes, Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn, Ysgol T Gwynn Jones, Ysgol Hen Golwyn, and Saint Joseph's R.C. Primary and the Welsh-language Ysgol Bod Alaw.
Religious sites
Churches in and around the town include the parish church
Sport
The local football team is Colwyn Bay F.C. who play in the Cymru Premier, the top tier of Welsh football after securing promotion in the 2022–23 season. The local cricket team is Colwyn Bay Cricket Club who play at Penrhyn Avenue and the rugby union team is Colwyn Bay RFC. As of 2012, the RGC 1404 rugby team play at Eirias Stadium in Colwyn Bay as part of a development venture by the WRU.
Colwyn Bay Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1893. The club and course closed in 1959 and the land was used for a housing development.[26]
The Black Cat Cycling Club, founded in 2014, is based in Colwyn Bay[27] with members made up of cyclists from the town and the surrounding area.
Glamorgan County Cricket Club traditionally play one first-class game a year at Colwyn Bay.[28]
Notable people
- William Davies, (born at Groes yn Eirias in 1555) a Welsh Roman Catholic priest and martyr, beatified in 1987.[29]
- Ken Barlow in Coronation Street, attended Rydal Penrhosindependent day school
- Terry Jones (1942–2020) actor and comedian with the Monty Python comedy team.
- MP
- Timothy Dalton (born 1946) actor, played James Bond, 1986–1994
- Richard Ellis (born 1950), California-based astronomer, born and went to school in Old Colwyn
- Paula Yates (1959–2000), British television presenter and writer.
- Helen Willetts (born 1972), a BBC weather reporter.
- The Vivienne (born ca.1985), drag queen, winner of season 1 RuPaul's Drag Race UK
Sport
- Nancie Colling (1919–2020) an international lawn bowls competitor
- Tony Lewis (born 1938), cricketer who captained Glamorgan.
- Norwich City FC
- Peter O'Sullivan (born 1951) a former footballer with 530 club caps, mainly with Brighton
- .
- Carl Dale (born 1966), footballer for Chester City and Cardiff City with over 430 club caps.
- Ash Dykes (born ca.1980) adventurer and extreme athlete, grew up in Old Colwyn.
- Rachel Taylor (born 1983), Welsh women's rugby international player[30]
- Marc Williams (born 1988) footballer with over 400 club caps
See also
- Mochdre, a village to the west that was originally part of the Borough.
References
- ^ "Colwyn Bay Built-up area". Nomisweb.co.uk.
- ^ The history of the parishes of Whiteford, and Holywell. October 2009. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018.
{{cite book}}
:|website=
ignored (help) - ^ "History Points - Penmaen Head, Old Colwyn". historypoints.org. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "History Points - Site of Colwyn Bay Hotel". historypoints.org. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "History Points - Site of wartime diamond factory, Colwyn Bay". historypoints.org. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ "The Mayor 2017/2018". Colwyn-tc.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ "Flats plan for Conwy council's old civic centre". North Wales Pioneer. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ "Flagship £58m Colwyn Bay Coed Pella base could be left partially empty". North Wales Pioneer. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ Office, Met. "UK climate". Metoffice.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Colwyn Bay 1981-2010 averages". Met Office. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ "Comisiynydd y Gymraeg - 2011 Census results by Community". Comisiynyddygymraeg.cymru. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ "LC2206WA (Welsh language skills by country of birth by age) - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics". Nomisweb.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ "Dixieland – Colwyn Bay Pier". Link2wales.co.uk. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Britain's ugliest new buildings named". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014.
- ^ Powell, David (14 August 2016). "Ask Daily Post: What is going on with Colwyn Bay Pier?". dailypost.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016.
- ^ "Engineers assess collapsed Colwyn Bay Victoria Pier damage". BBC News. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- ^ "Collapsed Colwyn Bay Pier to be dismantled for 'protection'". BBC News. 11 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
- ^ "End of the pier as demolition completed at Colwyn Bay". BBC News. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ "[:en]Town Centre Heritage Walk[:cy]Llwybr Treftadaeth Canol y Dref[:]". Colwyn Bay Heritage. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Sidney Colwyn Foulkes". Colwyn Bay Heritage. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis.
- ^ “Colwyn Bay Golf Club” Archived 27 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine, “Golf’s Missing Links”.
- ^ "The Black Cat Cycling Club Club profile". British Cycling. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016.
- ^ "Glamorgan Cricket". Glamorgan Cricket Tickets and Memberships. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ Davies, William (d. 1593) Archived 5 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine at National Library of Wales Dictionary of Welsh Biography
- ^ Squad Profiles: Wales Women Archived 11 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine at Welsh Rugby Union, 2012
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 748. .
- A Vision of Britain Through Time
- Bay of Colwyn Town Council
- British Listed Buildings
- Clwyd Churches
- Genuki
- Geograph
- Office for National Statistics