South Llandudno

[Trojan]

From Maesdu Avenue, to the Conway Road, from Vaughan Street to Vicarage Road, share your thoughts and memories from the south side of town. 

[Trojan]

Pictured is the Tre Cwm Estate. The blocks of flats which once stood off Maesdu Road and around the Hospital Road area can be seen. Only two of the newer blocks remain today.The estate was extended further east around 1979 from Ffordd Elisabeth up to Bodnant Road and further south towards Bryniau or Cwm Mountain.

Surrounded by the estate Cwm Howard farmhouse can seen, which once stood in isolation surrounded by fields. It is now a private residence.

The old 'Dump' or refuse landfill can be seen at the top of the photo, with the newly built Maesdu Park Football Ground. The 'Dump' and the green area to the right of the flats were once clay pits. The two brick works in the area, one off Maesdu Road and the other in Builder Street West, used the clay for the manufacture of building bricks.

[Trojan]

Some of the Hospital Road flats nearing the end of their day's:

[Trojan]

The flats off Maesdu Avenue being demolished:

[Trojan]

Llandudno's first gasometer was built in 1857, adjoining the gas works purchased by the Improvement Commissioners in 1876 and extended in 1878, with two chimneys 42ft (12.8m) high. Another gasometer was installed in 1899 having a capacity of 500,000 cubic feet and being the largest in North Wales at the time. It was in use until 1948, then stood derelict until 1958 when it was dismantled.

The gasometer pictured, loomed over the area from 1932 until it was dismantled in the early '90's. It was also the largest in North Wales, with a capacity of 1000,000 cubic feet. It was 'telescopic' and rose up and down according to the amount of gas being held inside.
In the photo (where the new Ysgol John Bright now stands) can be seen the red Ruabon brick buildings built in 1898 by the Urban Council, as a combined refuse incinerator, where refuse was burnt to raise steam to power a turbine which in turn powered three dynamos to produce electricity.
The electrical engineer for the plant was Arthur Henry Preece, (later knighted like his Father) the 31 year old son of the Caernarfon wireless pioneer Sir William Preece. The plant was originally designed to light 50 street lamps and was developed in stages over a period of a year, starting in July 1898 for a maximum output to supply 10,000 eight candlepower street lamps.
A 150ft (46m) high chimney dispersed the smoke, steam and fumes from the plant. The chimney was demolished with high explosive in October 1971.

Also in the photo can be seen the controversial LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) depot. The authorities were constantly paranoid that the tanks would blow-up causing a major disaster, but fortunately, this never happened. Adjoining the depot, on Maesdu Road, can be seen 'Gas Cottage' home of the late Merfyn Roberts & family, who moved there from the Conway Road flats in the early '80's.

Opposite the LPG depot, the old chimney of the former Llandudno Brick, Lime & Stone Company can be spotted, with Billy Simpson's scrapyard (now Arch Motors) alongside at the junction of Bodnant Road and Maesdu Road. Billy was the 'Steptoe' of the area and I can remember him to this day trundling along Maesdu Road with his horse & cart. He had a house in Belvedere Place, a cul-de-sac off Maesdu Road.






 

[Trojan]

The gasworks tug-o-war team 1912:

[Trojan]

This early postcard shows the area with no residential housing. The Isolation or fever hospital (later to become The Annexe) can be seen on Maesdu Road, with Maesdu Farm, and beyond, in the distance one of the brickworks chimneys in today's Builder Street West, with Kings Road in the West Shore area on the other side of the railway.

The gasworks with chimney, gasometer and the power station with taller chimney can also be seen.

[Trojan]

The gasometer during demolition with the old brick works chimney to the right.

Forum member MajorMellon's van can be spotted parked on Maesdu Road. 

[Trojan]

The brickworks chimney was eventually dismantled, rather than blown-up like it's taller neighbour across the road.

[DaveR]

Good work! 

I remember asking ages ago about the Council Depot/Stores in the Grwp Aberconwy days where there was an investigation into large quantities of supplies being nicked - I take that it was where the red brick incinerator buildings are in these pics?

[Trojan]

Good work! 

I remember asking ages ago about the Council Depot/Stores in the Grwp Aberconwy days where there was an investigation into large quantities of supplies being nicked - I take that it was where the red brick incinerator buildings are in these pics?

Yes, that's correct Dave, Aberconwy Borough Council had a depot/stores in the disused power station.

[Trojan]

The Manager and Engineer pictured at the Llandudno Gas Works closing down the valve on the exhausters when the Works finally ceased production, over a century after the original works commenced production.

A branch line ran from the south of Llandudno railway station, alongside Cwm Road. Trains used the line to bring wagons of coal which was burnt to provide steam to run the gas exhausters.

The burnt coal from the boilers became coke, which was used to heat households and business' in the town. My Father remembers taking his little Sister out of her pram, then taking the pram to the gas works to fill it with coke, before pushing it home and emptying it in the coalhouse

[Dwyforite]

the gasworks chimney was not blown up it was fired, the job was done on a sunday morning and it was started by breaking out brickwork at the base and exchanging the bricks for cut lengths of railway sleepers,after about a third of the base was taken out  a load of car and truck tyres were stood against the the timber and set alight.at this time the local police ushered us away outside the gasworks yard and a small man with a hunting horn blew a signal as  the chimney came down exactly as planned,it fell along the road and railtrack leading into the gasworks.the top few courses of brickwork falling were is the new boundary between the rear of YSB and the welsh school fence.the man who brought this large chimney crashing down  had only and old bedford van with a small  compressor and and jackhammer,he later went on to be quite famous, he was yes you guessed right  FRED DIBNAH

[DaveR]

A branch line ran from the south of Llandudno railway station, alongside Cwm Road. Trains used the line to bring wagons of coal which was burnt to provide steam to run the gas exhausters.

When was this branch line removed? I seem to remember we once had a map of Llandudno on the forum that showed the exact route of the line?

[Trojan]

the gasworks chimney was not blown up it was fired, the job was done on a sunday morning and it was started by breaking out brickwork at the base and exchanging the bricks for cut lengths of railway sleepers,after about a third of the base was taken out  a load of car and truck tyres were stood against the the timber and set alight.at this time the local police ushered us away outside the gasworks yard and a small man with a hunting horn blew a signal as  the chimney came down exactly as planned,it fell along the road and railtrack leading into the gasworks.the top few courses of brickwork falling were is the new boundary between the rear of YSB and the welsh school fence.the man who brought this large chimney crashing down  had only and old bedford van with a small  compressor and and jackhammer,he later went on to be quite famous, he was yes you guessed right  FRED DIBNAH

I remember seeing the chimney come crashing down on the Welsh news (Wales Today with John Darren). I thought they had used dynamite. I had no idea that Fred Dibnah had been involved in the demolition. I bet he said his famous catch-phrase when the dust started to clear...."Did you like that?"