During school days Press My Hat In is what I used to call Prestatyn which is 4 miles I mean 6 kilometres away from Rhyl and not a town I know well.
The undated image above has a comforting Rhyl echo in the form of William Roberts coal merchants.
Click on any picture to see a bigger version.
Summer visitors tend to regard Rhyl and Prestatyn as almost the same place. From Prestatyn Holiday Camp (the one with the tower) here is a shot of the ballroom on a card postmarked 1959:
What lovely dresses and suits! Here, have a couple of badges:
Recently Prestatyn High Street was shortlisted in the Great British High Street contest, in the coastal category. Below: an early picture looking up the street and a later pic looking downwards:
Who remembers The Royal Lido ballroom and swimming pool complex? This is a card postmarked 1974:
Here is the scene in days of yore, probably around 1930:
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Anybody for Y Ffrith? The first of the following is a card postmarked 1937 and is interesting for its changing rooms/tents:
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Anybody for Y Ffrith? The first of the following is a card postmarked 1937 and is interesting for its changing rooms/tents:
Yes I know, Rhuddlan Borough Council ruined the Ffrith. Don't start.
Since then Prestatyn has overtaken Rhyl as a regional shopping centre and the underlying rivalry has re-surfaced and made this 1995 soccer programme look prophetic:
The above was compiled by Ian Johnson. In 2000-2005, Ian and I worked side by side at Rhyl Community Agency. He was producing programmes while I was writing Rhyl history essays.
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WED 2nd DEC 2015 UPDATE: Dave Williams writes that Ian Johnson died about four years ago, circumstances not known.
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These references are added here for indexing purposes: Prestatyn Trustee Savings Bank TSB, Prestatyn Town Football Club FC.
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TUE 18th JUL 2017 UPDATE: More pix - Prestatyn Holiday Camp / Royal Lido x 2 / Y Ffrith Pleasure Beach and Prestatyn's version of Happy Valley / Promenade.
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SAT 13th JAN 2018 UPDATE:
Every time I meet a certain Prestatyn resident he delights in reminding me that The Rolling Stones appeared at the Royal Lido Ballroom, Prestatyn, but not in Rhyl.
And every time I reply, "Really? I never knew that."
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TUE 18th JUL 2017 UPDATE: More pix - Prestatyn Holiday Camp / Royal Lido x 2 / Y Ffrith Pleasure Beach and Prestatyn's version of Happy Valley / Promenade.
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SAT 13th JAN 2018 UPDATE:
Every time I meet a certain Prestatyn resident he delights in reminding me that The Rolling Stones appeared at the Royal Lido Ballroom, Prestatyn, but not in Rhyl.
And every time I reply, "Really? I never knew that."
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