Early Hotels - Questions & Memories

[Michael]

  A few posts back Ian comments on one hotel which had "lost" half a dozen or so bedrooms and a similar number of car spaces between 1955 and 1961. Well, the cars.My post a few days ago on this subject. Cars got considerably wider and had much larger doors in this period. Dont know about the guests, whether they had also grown in size

[Cambrian]

The provision of ensuite bathrooms in the 1960s and 70s meant that most hotels "lost" rooms - mainly singles.

[Ian]

Just when I thought I'd cracked the problem of the Grand hotel and its garage, I've run into issues attempting to confirm what I've been told. A local historian told me that the garage for the Grand was in Water street, but it had been built on the remains of the 'bath house reading room' which later became the Baths hotel. But from history.org, comes this:

The 168-room Grand Hotel is the largest in North Wales, and is a prominent feature of the view across Llandudno bay from the east. It was built in 1901 for Frances Doyle on the site of the old baths, reading room and billiard hall which had opened there in 1855. This was before the first pier had been built. The baths were later extended and became the Baths Hotel in 1879.

and most seem to agree that the Grand had been the Baths hotel. So that now prompts the question of whether the 'baths house reading room' was something else entirely, or merely a coincidental naming.  Anyone got any ideas?

[DaveR]

Highly unlikely that there would have been two 'Baths House Reading Rooms', I'd say? Someone's getting confused, I think.

This is the original Baths & Reading Room:

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It seems to have been extended once:

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..and then again (from Landward side) to form the Baths Hotel:

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[Ian]

Thanks, Dave.  Will continue my investigations into where the Grand garage was, then. Water street still seems to the most likely location, anyway.

[DaveR]

Interesting early photo of the Alexandra Hotel, showing it how it looked before the ground floor was converted into shops:

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[romanjohn]

when we were running the  washington hotel in the sixties i saw my first set of maroons go up.it was nasty day tide was in big waves hitting the beach so i ran upstairs across the ballroom floor opened the balcony doors onto the balcony just in time to see the lifeboat being pulled down the rampand into the water she was called the  Anni Ronald   and  Isabella  forest at the              time i thought nothing of it.we came down on holiday in the eighties walking along the prom we ended up watching with others seeing the lifeboat coming down the road my daughter who was nine at the time said daddy.were is the house for the boat on the beach some visitors said oh this happens all the time it  is still happening in 2012, looking in the paper some some hotel owners  said they don,t want there view obstructed by  a building. what a selfish out look .in my youth my crew and myself needed the rnli twice.you have the sailing club just across the road.  think  about it  good night   romanjohn.

[Llechwedd]

Anyone got a Craigside Hydro broxchure from about 50's?  Apparently my photo. is in it!

[DaveR]

This tariff from the Craigside Hydro has recently surfaced on Facebook, courtesy of Edward Duller. Click image to view full size.

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[Ian]

What year, d'you think? Early '50s?

[DaveR]

What year, d'you think? Early '50s?

Certainly 1950s, I'd have said.

[Michael]

   Craigside Hydro, any mention of it brings a bit of a dark shadow to my face.  It reminds me of the day I came face to face with sudden death, not me but one of my schoolmates

   On the other side of the main road there was a large building connected businesswise with the Hydro, used for indoor sports at one time and, I think, there were outside tennis courts.  At the back of these buildings i.e. just above the cliff face going down to the beach, there was another small broken down, I think brick and/or stone, building.

   I don't know much about the details, only what I heard in school. This lad, I've tried to remember his name but it wont come although I can picture him in my mind.  He was messing around in this building and it collapsed down on top of him, killing him.

   Again from school memories from around 1945, and not forgetting that he was not one of my friends, just another pupil I knew by sight, I was told he was buried in Llangwysterin churchyard   Mike

[jacko]

on a site called WHAT DAY OF THE WEEK has april 18 Thursday years 1946, 57,63,68,april 23 Thursday,1946,57,63,68,so it looks like 1957,phew 1956 was a leap year hope this helps.

[Ian]

Yes - the mention of the Television theatre would suggest '57.  Later than I suspected but I admit I haven't checked with the tourist brochure ad.

[Cambrian]

Ormegolf's recollection is right.  The small building was a pumping station used to pump sea water up to the hotel.  There were three lads involved.  They were juniors at the Inland Revenue which was in occupation at the Hydro.  One lunchtime they went down there although there were warning signs and seemed to have moved some brickwork.  The result was that most of the building collapsed on them  Two were killed and the third was trapped.  A supervisor from the Revenue went looking for them when they failed to return from lunch and came upon the tragic scene.  The injured lad - from Llandudno - survived and gave evidence from a stretcher at the inquest a couple of weeks later.
The two lads who were killed were from Old Colwyn and Rhos on Sea; both were 17.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, the Coroner said "They must have known they were playing with fire; boys will be boys, that is the spirit which won the last war".


Before anyone asks, I happened to have seen the press reports in the Weekly News for 4th and 26th March, 1946; the incident itself happened on 1st March. Full details are in the report on 26th March.