Rhyl Life: RHYL HISTORY

Showing posts with label RHYL HISTORY. Show all posts

Friday, 31 August 2018

LIFE GOES ON: AUG 2018

Youngsters on a camping holiday in Rhyl, August 1927

Vintage pic of lady at ease in a 'continental'
basket chair on Rhyl sands

RHYL IS AN AUGUST RESORT

This summer the good weather helped to bring more visitors to us. On a couple of occasions this month I have been in Rhyl and Prestatyn town centres on the same day and found more people in Rhyl. We must be doing something right.

The seafront looks agreeable, and the works under construction on the prom are generating interest and creating an atmosphere of progress. The shopping centre is less impressive, but even here new businesses are popping up all the time.

Commentators that hurl insults at the town routinely should get out more and do some comparing with other places of similar size with similar economies. Soon they would arrive at the conclusion that Rhyl has bigger pluses than minuses.

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During August 2018 the following posts were updated.

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PERSPECTIVES

Rhyl is a young town. Some towns and villages in North Wales go back a couple of thousand years, whereas Rhyl would not reach 200 years as a parish until 2044. Rhyl is an immature settlement (“a spotty teenager”) and the problems associated with it in recent years can be regarded as growing pains.

Rhyl is a purpose-built resort. When the land around here was drained and made fit to build on, the strips near the sea were advertised for sale as suitable for tourist development. This would have been a silly place to build a town for any other reason. Residents who complain about spending public money on tourism miss the point.

Rhyl’s future is more important than its past. The Victorian-Edwardian era of piers and pavilions has gone. That chapter in our local history may – in the long term – be considered as Rhyl’s ‘Jurassic Period’. Destinations for family holidays, short breaks and day trips are always needed and so Rhyl always has a reason to be here.

The scene in 2013 © Daily Post

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Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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Saturday, 28 July 2018

LIFE GOES ON: JUL 2018

Vintage photo by Rae Pickard – Pendyffryn Road, Rhyl

Photo by Rae Pickard – West Parade, Rhyl

By Rae Pickard – Marine Lake Fun Fair, Rhyl. In the foreground is
a lethal-sounding 'Electric' Fishing Pond.

During July 2018 the following posts were updated:

Alcohol minimum pricing in Wales -

https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2009/12/tread-softly.html

Circus: Uncle Sam’s Great American Circus in Rhyl -

https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2009/05/sands-of-time.html

Colet House boys school / Rae Pickard -

https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2009/04/boys-will-be-boys.html

Gaming: One arm bandit fruit machine -

https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2015/12/rhyl-gift-suggestions.html

Lyons Holiday Park Limited -

https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2017/03/little-acorns.html

Morecambe & Wise in Rhyl -
https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-singing-cartoonist.html

Promenade Gardens -

https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2016/02/seafront-west.html

Promenade ‘ walking photos ‘ -

https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2009/07/toms-story.html

Royal Alexandra Hospital / Rae Pickard -

https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2009/02/alex.html

Victoria Pier / Belvoir Hotel -

https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2009/02/for-heavens-sake.html

YMCA Cinema, Kinmel Park Camp -

https://rhyl-life.blogspot.com/2009/08/jones-swan.html

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THE EASTERN FRONT
Further to last month's 'Life Goes On' I can report that the eastern prom is now home to a skateboard park.
Looking left to right, we see the skateboard park followed by Garden Of Remembrance, the Sun Verge pub/restaurant (still under construction), Travelodge (under construction), and recently face-lifted Pavilion Theatre.

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IT’S NOT COMING HOME

This month I felt relieved to hear that England’s hopes of a FIFA World Cup win had ended. I was around in 1966 when England actually did win and I’ve had to live with continuous reminders ever since. The prospect of another win was more than I could bear.

At World Cup time the English in Wales behave badly, waving their red cross flag under our noses and going large. But what really astounds me is the emotional frenzy surrounding big sporting events. If only that passion could be directed at something more important!

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TRUMP VISIT TO UK

The biggest blight on our summer has been an official visit by the appalling Donald Trump, America’s biggest mistake. Among Mr. Trump’s fans are the arrogant Nigel Farage and clownish Boris Johnson who are almost as much liars and fantasists as he is.

Mr. Trump’s delusional tendencies were on show again recently when he said of the UK, “I think they love me there.”

Photo of anti-Trump demo in London © Hollywood Life

Having to do trade deals with the likes of Donald Trump and the world’s other hucksters and shysters is a very good reason for us to remain safely within the European Union.
The BBC News website has an interesting article about his activities in Scotland:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/Trump_and_Scotland

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TUE 21 AUG 2018 UPDATE: Two of Mr. Trump's sleazebag associates are heading for jail.
Paul Manafort, ex-Trump election campaign chief, has been found guilty on eight charges of tax fraud, bank fraud and failing to disclose foreign banks accounts.
Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump's former lawyer, has been found guilty on eight counts, including violating election campaign finance laws, tax evasion and bank fraud.

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TUE 18th DEC 2018 UPDATE: Attorney General of New York State, Barbara Underwood, has announced that Donald Trump’s dodgy charity ‘The Trump Foundation’ is to be shut down.
She has accused Mr. Trump and his three eldest children of using it for private and political gain. In a statement, she said there had been "a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation – including unlawful co-ordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and wilful self-dealing, and much more.
"We'll continue to move our suit forward to ensure the Trump Foundation and its directors are held to account for their clear and repeated violations of state and federal law."

Hmmmm, Donald Trump is looking more and more like the crook I have always suspected him to be.

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Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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Sunday, 15 October 2017

SUNNY RHYL WELCOMES YOU

Here is a rare set of advertisements from a 1938 housing brochure, sent in by ex-Rhylite Robert Jones of Dyserth.
Thanks, Robert!

Click on any part to see a bigger version.

In the above the "five up-to-date Picture Houses" would be Plaza, Regal and Odeon - all built in the 1930s in High Street - and the older Cinema Royal also in High Street but this had probably closed down by the time the brochure was circulated; the fifth would be Queens Theatre which showed cinema films off-season.

Click on any part to see a bigger version.

This last one is a reminder that Rhyl Urban District Council ran the gas supply and other utilities before World War 2.

Price guide: £1,000 in 1938 would be about £60,000 in today's money. Not much for a new house!

The following references are added here for indexing purposes:
Botanical Gardens, Halifax Building Society, Harold Smith accountant agent, Burns Drive, Kinard Park Estate (2 refs), London and Lancashire Insurance Company Ltd, Tom Edwards insurance, Barnett & Soans of Prestatyn, Griffiths Farm Tre-Llewelyn Trellewelyn, Astons Furniture.

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Sunday, 8 October 2017

PROFESSOR OLIPHANT

Marcus Laurence Elwin "Mark" Oliphant

If I had asked, What is the connection between Rhyl and Hiroshima? you might have sent a sarcastic reply – but a link has been established by journalist/author Andrew Ramsay of Adelaide, South Australia. This morning I received an email from Andrew saying:

“I am currently in the UK . . . conducting research into an historic biography I have been commissioned to write on Sir Mark Oliphant, an eminent Australian nuclear physicist who was integrally involved in the development of the atomic bomb while he was working at Cambridge and Birmingham Universities from 1928-1950.

“My interest in Rhyl stems from the discovery that Sir Mark (then Professor Oliphant) was on holiday in Rhyl with his wife and two young children on the day that he learned the bomb he had helped to develop was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

“. . . I am very keen to gain an historical snapshot of what daily life in Rhyl might have looked like at that time (August 6, 1945)."

My reply was as follows:

Rhyl is generally busy in August, and in 1945 the Queens entertainment complex in West Parade was fully operational with dancing nightly at the Queens Ballroom on the ground floor and variety shows at the Queens Theatre on the first floor.

At Rhyl Pavilion (a big domed building on the promenade) the Manchester Repertory Company, which had been resident there during most of the war years, presented a play every week. The Pavilion had Sunday concerts by visiting orchestras (dance bands).

At the open air Coliseum theatre on the prom there was a show titled Stars In The Air by the resident Will Parkin troupe featuring Frank Formby (George's brother). At the Pier Amphitheatre there was a regular concert party, Billie Manders - a female impersonator - and his Quaintesques.

On the prom near the pier the Open Air Bathing Pool ('The Baths') presented swimming displays by Miss Sunny Lowry the English Channel swimmer.

Wartime canteens were still open and there would have been plenty of 'squaddies' around because the Army's base at nearby Kinmel Park Camp was still training young soldiers. Among the public there must have been a certain amount of euphoria at the end of the war in Europe and a huge sense of relief.

Here in Rhyl we had the usual victory parties and 'Welcome Home' parties for military personnel returning from overseas. The local business community continued to hold fundraising events to help alleviate severe cases of hardship but - generally speaking - Rhyl had a good war. The Army and/or Civil Service had requisitioned lots of hotels and boarding houses and many businesses such as garages and workshops, and the Government had paid all the bills.

The future for businesses looked considerably less certain. So underneath the veneer of celebration and fun there was an undercurrent of unease and a creeping awareness that the war had changed everything.

While Andrew Ramsay carries on researching for his book, you would find some basic information about Mark Oliphant in Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Oliphant

Tuesday, 8 August 2017

QUIZ ANSWER # 189

On Monday 31st July 2017, Question 1 was: What do these two buildings have in common?

The answer: They were both music shops.
At the top is the part of North Wales Women's Centre, Water Street, that used to be Price Evans Music Shop which sold sheet music, musical instruments and records. I bought my first jazz records there in the very early 1960s and recall the husband-and-wife team behind the counter and their daughter T(h)eresa, a wild child around my own age. I wonder what happened to her.
Previously the building was named Harmony House, home of the music shop Box & Co. (originally Box & Stansfield) operated by bandleader and saxophone/clarinet/guitar player Albert Williams. In the book 'Rhyl Music In The Ritz Years 1955-1968' I described Water Street as the Tin Pan Alley of Rhyl. Dance band musicians looking for gigs would hang out next door in Ellis' Bar.
These days it seems unlikely that Jobcentre Plus would accept that as looking for work.

The other picture shows Chilli Pink Express at 42 Queen Street, a food take- away & delivery service. To an older generation of Rhylites the building will always be Greaves Record Shop.

Bill Ellis says that Greaves was previously in Market Street where R.K.M. wool shop is now. Bill remembers queuing outside with guitarist Dennis Rothwell to buy ‘Apache’ by The Shadows. That would have been 1960.

[Going further back in time, ex-Musicians' Union branch secretary Morgan Borthwick remembers the Gold Charm jewellery shop in Market Street on corner of Glanglasfor as a record shop named R.G. Jones, and sheet music was sold at Alan Edwards’ sports shop on corner of High Street & Russell Road where Detour clothes shop is now. Thanks, Morgan.]

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Question 2: How are the following people connected with Rhyl?
a) Albert Cronshaw
b) Mrs. Blake and Miss Grimwood.

The answers:

Albert Cronshaw was a well known character at Marine Lake Fun Fair. The following is from 'Rhyl At The Fun Fair' by Eric Hughes:
"In the 1930s as a visitor to Marine Lake Fun Fair I saw lightning artist Albert Cronshaw who could paint up to 100 complete pictures in one day. [Wouldn't I love to find one of those! - Ed.]
Eric continues, "Albert Cronshaw also operated Spider and the Fly (or Spider Racing Game). This was a competitive game for a number of players: a large spider's web was depicted on a back wall, by turning a handle you sent a spider creeping towards the centre of the web where a fly was revolving. If your spider was first to stop the fly, you won a prize. It was not a straight- forward speed game, the handle was fitted with a clutch device that slipped if you turned too fast."

Mrs. Blake and Miss Grimwood were in a news story retold in 'Rhyl In The Second World War' by Yours Truly:
"In Rhyl on April 12th 1945, tragedy struck in a spare room in Brighton Road. Two middle-aged ladies, Mrs. Frances Gertrude Blake and her companion Miss Muriel Elsie Grimwood, committed suicide. They were overwrought after experiencing difficulties in finding suitable accommodation. The ladies were financially secure but said to be mentally unsound. They were found in bed facing each other with hands clasped. An inquest the following month found that Mrs. Blake and Miss Grimwood had died of poisoning caused by an overdose of sleeping pills."

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SAT 19th AUG 2017 UPDATE: Although Eric Hughes refers to Albert Cronshaw more than once by that name, the following image is captioned Photo by Cronkshaw.

Were Albert Cronshaw and Cronkshaw the same person and, if so, which spelling would be correct I wonder.

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SUN 21st JAN 2018 UPDATE: In the book ‘Strange Requests And Comic Tales From Record Shops’ by Graham Jones (published in 2013)
a former sales rep named Martin Palmer says,“The most unusual shop I visited was Greaves Records in Rhyl. The owner maintained a shrine to Elvis in a corner at the back of the shop; yes, a proper shrine! It didn’t do much for the atmosphere of the shop, in fact they should have renamed it Graves!”

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SUN 13th MAY 2018 UPDATE: In Rhyl, homage to Elvis continues in the shape of a model outside Millie's Fish & Chips Diner, 57 Water Street near junction with Crescent Road.

What was that song? Ah yes, 'There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis' by Kirsty MacColl. All the elements of a good quiz question there!

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Sunday, 18 June 2017

FLASHBACK #25

Kerfoot Hughes & Jones is one of those evocative Rhyl business names that I like so much. They were ironmongers mainly, and their shop was in Bodfor Street. The business card above states new premises, so this was not their first address. The card would be circa 1909.

The Kerfoot Hughes & Jones invoice below is addressed to Mrs. Stanley "Plas Coed" Dyserth Road and is dated 1931.
Click on it to see small print.

Having consulted my pal Dilys Bagnall, I can advise that the shop was on the northeast side of Bodfor Street. The location is shown in the following photo taken last month by Yours Truly standing outside Argos:

There may be a connection between the ironmonger Kerfoot and the Rhuddlan street name Kerfoot Avenue. Can anybody confirm?

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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Another fondly remembered ironmongers was H.O. Davies, 28 Queen Street (known as Garth's). At the time of writing we have no ironmongers in Rhyl town centre.

6720. Additional image added here in June 2020:

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At the time of writing we have no butchers in Rhyl town centre either. The business card below, for long gone butchers I mean purveyors of meat Owens & Sons of 9 Water Street and 51a High Street, is likely to be from before World War 1.

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These names are added here for indexing purposes: Mind charity shop, Goldilocks hairdressers.

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FRI 23rd JUN 2017 UPDATE: Nigel Kerry has written from Clun – a lovely place in South Shropshire. Nigel says that in the 1950s his uncle Oswald Jones of Alpha Villa (now No.9) Elwy Street, Rhyl, worked in the dispatch department of Kerfoot Hughes & Jones.

[He adds that there is or was a few years ago a Kerfoots in Porthmadog, an imposing shop that was part ironmonger/ fancy goods etc. The proprietors told him that there was a link to the Rhyl business.]

Nigel says that, in Rhyl, Kerfoots’ dispatch department was in Windsor Street – probably where Salvation Army is now. That would it have made it parallel with the Bodfor Street shop with perhaps an alley between.

Here is a photo of the Sally Army premises taken today by Yours Truly:

The Blood and Fire emblem on the wall above the entrance never fails to catch my eye:

Sunday, 11 June 2017

HANDFUL OF MYSTERIES

Here at Jones Towers are quite a few pictures marked 'Maybe Rhyl', 'Possibly Rhyl', 'Probably Rhyl'. or simply 'Unknown'. Nothing is known about this one - a large group of males of various ages:

The above is presumed to be a Rhyl picture because it is by photographer Wills Jones who, in that era of straw boater hats, operated from the Magnet Studio in High Street, Rhyl.
[The Magnet Studio was upstairs to your left of Boots chemist until Boots expanded and swallowed it.]

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

World War 2, World War Two, Second World War

The above is dated 1941 (during World War 2) and labelled 'Rhyl district'. There is no obvious pointer to why these people are being photographed together.
Standing in the back row (left to right): Don't know, Nellie Hall, Rosie Powell, ---- Whittaker, Elsie Woods, V. Gratton and Don't know.
Sitting in the front row (l to r): Kitty Harris, Rene Mac, Vera Whitworth, Don't know and Lottie Jones.

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I am not 100 per cent convinced that the following is Rhyl but, if it is, we might be looking at businesses that were replaced by the long gone Regal Cinema which was in turn replaced by the retail building at 97 High Street recently vacated by the Co-op.

On your left in the picture is Pozzi's Restaurant & Tea Rooms at No.97.
On your right is 'Ye Olde Britannia' Fish & Chip Saloon, which may well have been the remnant of the Britannia Forge pub - a hotbed of illegal gambling - originally the Britannia Inn.
On the other hand, the picture may not be Rhyl at all.
Hey ho.
Motor car enthusiasts may be able to guess the date.

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In this Rhyl promenade pic, probably late 1950s, on your left is the Pier Amphitheatre ('The Amphi') and on your right is Prince's Water Phantasy at the Open Air Bathing Pool ('The Baths'). All well and good but what is the tall tower centre right?

Would it part of the illuminations perhaps?

Your thoughts on any of today's mysteries would be most welcome.

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

MON 12th JUN 2017 UPDATE: Of the first picture above, Robert Jones of Dyserth writes:

"The location of the men and boys is the old Merseyside Holiday Camp in Dyserth. The Allt y Graig railway bridge is at the top left, and the wall to the right going to Lady’s Wood is visible.

The camp was sited on Lletty Mwyn (Place of Minerals), next to the Clive Engine; you can see undulating ground due to the mine waste.

There are lots of pictures of those tents from 1909 onwards, including soldiers in WW1, until wooden huts replaced them in the 1920s.

The most interesting thing about the photo is the unusual mixture of the classes posing together."

Thank you, Robert!

Tuesday, 18 April 2017

WHAT ABOUT THE WORKERS?

Griffiths & Snape, Contractors, Rhyl Housing Scheme, 1926

Angels at the Men's Convalescent Home, Bedford Street, Rhyl

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

Staff of J. Wynne-Ellis, Plumber Fitter Glazier

Postmen of Rhyl (very smart - no shorts!)

Snap of Rhyl Urban District Council binmen on the prom

The White Rose Motors, Rhyl
(in white coats are drivers)

Further info about these pictures and similar items would be welcome.
Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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Sunday, 9 April 2017

FAMILY & FRIENDS

Recently on Internet were photographs from a family album. The photos were marked Rhyl 1923. Here is an edited selection for your delectation. The people are not identified but the images convey the fun that was Rhyl - surely one of the most friendly resorts.

Click on any image to see a bigger version.

The last one is marked Fairfield Links. Obviously nothing to do with Fairfield Avenue. Any ideas of the whereabouts, anyone?

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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Sunday, 2 April 2017

BOWING OUT

On Saturday 29th April 2017, The Co-operative Bwyd (Food) shop at 97 High Street, Rhyl, will close down. The Co-op stands on part of the site previously occupied by the Regal Cinema and originally by Britannia Inn.

Some years ago I went to the Co-op to take part in a meeting of regular customers. There we were told by an Area Manager that the branch would be changing status from supermarket to convenience store so that it could be open longer hours.

At the meeting I mentioned that the derelict offices above, which had been occupied by The Visitor newspaper, had become spattered by seagulls and other feathered friends and the windows needed cleaning. Soon they were cleaned and have not looked that bad again – yet.

In recent years the security staff have been laid off and sales staff reduced in number. The Co-op has two doors in High Street and a goods entrance in Clwyd Street near a day centre for substance abusers (ask your elected representatives why it has to be there).

Shoplifting is said to have been a factor in the shop's closure but I have not been able to get official confirmation of this.

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Roy Turner (pictured above with wife June) passed away at end of March in Spain at age 88. Roy and June were helpful to me a dozen years ago when I was writing about the local music scene – and several times since. Roy’s knowledge and understanding of Rhyl were impressive and so was the clarity of his memory.

Roy had been amongst other things a local businessman and councillor. I used to think of him as one of the few remaining – if not the last – of the great Rhyl councillors dating back to the days of Rhyl Urban District Council which was a more powerful body than the present town council.

Despite his advancing years and many changes in landscape of the town, Roy stayed in tune with Rhyl and ready to offer information and advice. My impression is that if we could have given Rhyl to Roy he would have sorted everything out. How many other people could you say that about? He was a remarkable man.

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Photographs in this blog post are by Yours Truly.

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

Don't forget my YouTube channel featuring Rhyl videos and slideshows. The channel is named RhylTime. Click here to see RhylTime's Top Ten:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BKgZiQNRSaVpnyTl8PgEpPusmd3dl_z

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Tuesday, 7 March 2017

FLASHBACK #22

Above is a typical Victorian cabinet card produced in this case by the photographer J. Brown of 3 Kinmel Street, Rhyl.

The card is signed by the subject, J. Rhydwen Jones. The name is remembered as part of Rhydwen Jones and Davies, a furniture shop in Queen Street – and we have Rhydwen Drive and Rhydwen Close in Rhyl.

J. Rhydwen Jones was one of the Rhyl Improvement Commissioners (forerunners of Rhyl Urban District Council) and was Chairman of the Commissioners for the two year period ending May 5th 1879.

He had been the contractor for the present Rhyl Town Hall which opened in 1876. [The word ‘contractor’ may not have meant exactly the same in that context as it does now.]

If he were around today I would ask J.R.J. why the front tower is leaning.

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SAT 26th MAY 2018 UPDATE: On the subject of early photography in Rhyl, J.W. Jones' book 'Rhyl And Roundabout' refers to an 1866 trade directory which lists only one photographer.
J.W. says, "The photographer was Signor L. Volpé of Shipley Street (now part of Kinmel Street). I have never come across any of his work; there must be some his Cartes-de-Visites still around somewhere."

What an interesting quote! The photographer's name looks like a mix of French and Italian and may be a Eurofake. Shipley Street we think of as an old name for part of Brighton Road and not Kinmel Street. Any road up, a Volpé card has turned up here at Jones Towers:

Click on the image to see fine details.
I would like to know more about this photographer. If a genuine foreigner, he would have stood out a mile in Rhyl of the 1860s. The logo below is on back of the card and gives his first name as Louis and family name as Volpe without accent over the é.

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THU 18th OCT 2018 UPDATE: The railway photo below carries no information about date or place. It gives the signor's name as (not Louis but) Luigi Volpé'.

The following is a detail from above:

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6720. Additional image added in July 2020:

Ladies and children with toys, spades & buckets by Luigi Volpé. I don't know why 2 of the 4 children's faces blurred.

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Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

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