Penrhyn Bay

Penrhyn Bay
Welsh: Bae Penrhyn
File:PenrhynChurch7010267.JPG The Church of Saint David in Penrhyn Bay (Parish of Llanrhos)
Penrhyn Bay  Penrhyn Bay shown within Conwy
Population	4,883
OS grid reference	SH8281
Principal area	Conwy
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Llandudno
Postcode district	LL30
Dialling code	01492
Police	North Wales
Fire	North Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
EU Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Aberconwy
Welsh Assembly	Aberconwy
List of places UK Wales Conwy

Penrhyn Bay (Welsh: Bae Penrhyn) is a small town on the north Wales coast, in Conwy county borough, within the parish or community of Llandudno, and part of the ecclesiastical parish of Llanrhos. It is a prosperous village with a cluster of local shops, a pub, a parish church and a modern medical centre with doctors' surgery at the foot of the pass over the shoulder of the Little Orme from Llandudno Bay. Here there is a highschool called Ysgol y Creuddyn and a primary school called Ysgol Glanwydden. It is considered to be a residential suburb of Llandudno lying east of the Little Orme. It adjoins the resort of Rhos-on-Sea. The population of Penrhyn Ward at the 2011 census was 4,883.

History

Penrhyn Old Hall at the foot of the Little Orme

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 religion when their neighbours reluctantly accepted Protestantism. On 14 April 1587, printing material for Catholic literature was found in a cave on the Little Orme, where it had been used by the recusant Robert Pugh (squire of Penrhyn Hall) and his chaplain 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 in May 1586. In the grounds of the hall are the ruins of the medieval chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Penrhyn, last used by the Church in Wales 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 the first charter dating 1580. The hall now serves as a pub and restaurant.

Originally a small farming community, Penrhyn Bay came to rely heavily on the employment opportunities of the limestone quarry operating since the mid-19th century, and served by its own narrow gauge railway, but quarrying ceased in 1936. However, Penrhyn Bay expanded rapidly in the 20th century to become a desirable suburb 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

Penrhyn Bay was the location for an episode of TV's Hetty Wainthropp Investigates television series, which starred Patricia Routledge. Also Rocket's_Island.

References

• Ivor Wynne Jones. Llandudno Queen of Welsh Resorts Landmark, Ashbourne Derbyshire 2002 ISBN 1-84306-048-5 .

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