Llandudno

History

The town of Llandudno developed from Stone Age all the way through to Iron Age settlements over many hundreds of years on the slopes of the limestone headland, known to seafarers as the Great Orme and to landsmen as the Creuddyn Peninsula. The origins in recorded history are with the Manor of Gogarth conveyed by King Edward I to Annan, Bishop of Bangor in 1284. The manor comprised three townships, Y Gogarth in the southwest, Y Cyngreawdr in the north (with the parish church of St Tudno) and Yr Wyddfid in the southeast. Modern Llandudno takes its name from the ancient parish of Saint Tudno. The modern town has grown beyond the ancient parish boundaries to encompass several neighbouring area, including Craig-y-Don and Penrhyn Bay, which were in the parish of Llanrhos (or Eglwys Rhos), which also included Llanrhos village and Deganwy. The ancient parishes of Llandudno, Llanrhos and Llangystennin were in the medieval commote of Creuddyn in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, which was made part of the new county of Caernarfonshire under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. Mostly owned by Mostyn Estates, the Great Orme is home to several large herds of wild Kashmiri goats originally descended from a pair presented by the Shah of Persia to Queen Victoria and subsequently given to Lord Mostyn. These goats are also known to frequently roam the main streets of Llandudno. The summit of the Great Orme stands at 679 feet (207 m). The Summit Hotel, now a tourist attraction, was once the home of world middleweight champion boxer Randolph Turpin. The limestone headland is a haven for flora and fauna, with some rare species such as peregrine falcons and a species of wild cotoneaster (cambricus) which can only be found on the Great Orme. The sheer limestone cliffs provide ideal nesting conditions…