Abergele

Off Water Street.

Abergele Bowling Club dates back to the 1930s Link

The footpath from Groes Lwyd to St Michael's Church is one of several narrow lanes and paths in the town. The parish church occupies the site of a church erected in the eighth century on land granted by Maelgwyn Gwynedd to Elfod, Bishop of Bangor. The Church is dedicated to St Michael and follows the usual type of church found in the vale; rubble stone walls with limestone and sandstone dressings, slate roof with two large aisles. A large tower stands at the west end of the north aisle and the long outline of the south side is broken by a porch. The present building is of the late twelfth-early thirteenth century origin, modified or largely rebuilt ca1400, at which time the tower was probably built. It was repaired after neglect in 1663 and was restored and the tower raised in height and buttresses added in 1858-1861. The timber-framed south porch was added in 1879, the date cut on a tie beam. The church is Grade II*-listed as "a regionally important church with surviving medieval fabric, and a good collection of monuments" (Cadw Building ID: 237 Link British Listed Buildings). History Points: Link

The clock in the tower of St Michael's Church SH9477 : St Michael's Church was maintained in Victorian times by the poet Clwydfardd (David Griffith) Link a clockmaker by trade and famous as the first Archdruid of Wales. He restored the clock in 1883, shortly after his 83rd birthday!

The timber-framed south porch of St Michael's Church SH9477 : St Michael's Church was added in 1879.

The Abergele War Memorial commemorates those men of the area who died during World War I and World War II. It is in the form of a stone, standing Celtic cross featuring Celtic knotwork, and stands in the grounds of St Michael's Parish Church. It was dedicated on 7 Jul 1921.

The parish church occupies the site of a church erected in the eighth century on land granted by Maelgwyn Gwynedd to Elfod, Bishop of Bangor. The Church is dedicated to St Michael and follows the usual type of church found in the vale; rubble stone walls with limestone and sandstone dressings, slate roof with two large aisles. A large tower stands at the west end of the north aisle and the long outline of the south side is broken by a porch. The present building is of the late twelfth/early thirteenth century origin, modified or largely rebuilt ca1400, at which time the tower was probably built. It was repaired after neglect in 1663 and was restored, the tower raised in height and buttresses added in 1858-1861. The timber-framed south porch was added in 1879, the date cut on a tie beam. The church is Grade II* listed as "a regionally important church with surviving medieval fabric, and a good collection of monuments" (Cadw Building ID: 237 Link British Listed Buildings ). History Points: Link

The lych gate of St. Michael's church is a Victorian addition and was erected to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. The current, varnished gates replace a pair stolen by thieves posing as workmen around 1998.

Seen from the road leading from the church. On the right is side of the former NatWest Bank SH9477 : NatWest Bank Abergele. This building was once promoted to the public as a "Medical Hall". The sign painted onto the wall above the shop front records that it was the premises of DL Morgans, dispensing chemist and consulting optician, and that the business was founded in 1820. As the paint has faded it has revealed some of the earlier painted sign beneath, which appears to have had the same wording. A plaque further up the wall implies that the building was erected or enlarged in 1827. DL Morgans was the pharmacist here in the mid-20th century. During the Second World War he delivered medicines to Gwrych Castle for Jewish children who were living there after fleeing Nazi persecution in the "Kindertransport" initiative. The building fell into dereliction in the 1980s but was renovated in the 1990s. Since 1995 it has been home to Kitchens of Abergele Link History Points: Link

Above Kitchens of Abergele SH9477 : Former Medical Hall, 51 Market Street, Abergele.

It's believed that the Harp Inn was built on the site of a medieval prison. Convicts would be taken from the lock-up to the nearby stocks for public humiliation. A prison is mentioned in a description of Abergele in 1344. At one time the prison was one of the area's few stone buildings, with timber houses for neighbours. The inn dates from the boom in trade which came Abergele's way after 1785, when the Chester to Holyhead mail and other coaches were diverted this way instead of running further inland. Innkeepers were buoyed again by an influx of tourists to North Wales after the outbreak of war against France in 1793, when wealthy British people were unable to make the usual Grand Tour of Europe. By 1862 Abergele had 16 inns, all but three of them along the main road (Market Street and Bridge Street). Livestock auctions were held at the Harp Inn from c.1910, when growing motor traffic put an end to the earlier custom of holding markets in the main road. Auctioneer Frank Lloyd held his "Smithfield" at the Harp, and his rival Richard Pearce used the Bee Hotel, almost opposite. Buyers from as far away as Lancaster and Stafford came to the Harp Smithfield. The Vale of Clwyd Cooperative Agricultural Society opened a branch at the Harp in 1917. The telephone kiosk outside the Harp Inn is Grade II listed. It was produced by the General Post Office to the K6 design of 1936. History Points: Link SH9477 : Sign of The Harp.

Sign for the Harp Inn SH9477 : The Harp Inn, Market Street, Abergele.

The Bee Hotel was one of the largest coaching inns in the area. In 1840 a guidebook said it and the Union Hotel were "superior inns affording unusual comforts". In 1801 the proprietor, John Davies, advertised that he had started hiring coaches (chaises) and horses to travellers at rates which undercut his rivals between Holywell and the Bangor ferry (where passengers for Holyhead would cross the Menai Strait). His advert – a copy of which is on display inside the Bee Hotel – reminded travellers that his rivals demanded gentlemen pay the full fare between St Asaph and Conwy before setting out from either of those towns. Once they had paid, the travellers couldn't break the journey at Abergele to take on fresh horses, he claimed. "When the distance between St Asaph and Conway is considered, it is presumed a change of horses nearly midway, will greatly contribute to the ease and expedition of gentlemen travelling that road." After the railway replaced long-distance coach travel, the Bee provided a horse-drawn omnibus which shuttled between Abergele and the railway station at Pensarn. The Bee was the venue for the inquest after the 1868 train crash in Llanddulas, which killed 33 people. The extensive land associated with the Bee Hotel included a large garden on the opposite side of the road, known as Pendre Bach or the Bee Gardens. North-west of the inn was the Bee Inn farm, which covered 149 acres (600,000 square metres) according to tithe records from 1840. The property belonged to the Kinmel Estate until it was sold in an auction – held at the Bee Hotel – in 1896. History Points: Link More recently it was a J W Lees house from 1943 until 2017 when it closed down. It appears to have been bought and re-sold at least once since then and is now boarded up and in a sorry state. SH9477 : Sign of The Bee Hotel.

Sign for The Bee Hotel SH9477 : Bee Hotel.

"For the pathologically curious!" Link in the former NatWest Bank SH9477 : NatWest Bank Abergele.

Traffic lights in the centre of Abergele control a staggered crossroads. The A547 Market Street (from Colwyn Bay) becomes Bridge Street (to Rhuddlan). The A548 right is Chapel Street (to Llanfair Talhaiarn) and left is Water Street (to Rhyl). On the corner is The George & Dragon SH9477 : The George & Dragon.