The DVD 'Rhyl - A Journey Through Time' comprises bits of old film presented seamlessly in more or less chronological order. Clips made locally by Rhyl’s pioneer film maker Arthur Cheetham are followed by rather better ones made by his successors the Shannon Brothers. The picture quality improves noticeably around 1920.
There are scenes of a Lifeboat Day c.1920 and aeroplane trips operating from the sands. (The film does not venture into residential Rhyl.) It bursts into colour for footage of the hovercoach/hovercraft trials in 1962 then reverts to black-and-white for a 15-minute segment by local film makers Barry Snelson and Michael Theaker.
The Snelson-Theaker part is titled
‘A Tale of Two Seasons’. It was made in 1960s and compares Rhyl in and out of season. By that time the town had become just a day tripper destination. The DVD rounds off with a short epilogue bringing the story up to date-ish; it was published in 1994.
Philip Lloyd and Harry Thomas played a part in the production, and these names are guarantees of accuracy. Any mistakes would not be their fault. In the commentary Wellington Road is referred to as Wellington Street, and Crescent Road becomes Crescent Street, but these are matters of no consequence.
There is one glaring error. We are told that Marine Lake Fun Fair closed in 1969 “because of a tragic accident in which a holidaymaker was killed on the Water Chute.” In fact it closed because the county council would not renew the lease held by the fun fair’s operators Rhyl Amusements Ltd, and the wretched chute had disappeared decades before.
There is enough on the DVD to interest most readers of this blog, although be warned that the picture quality overall is less than wonderful and the colour balance is all to hell. The playing time is 58 minutes and the price may be on the high side.
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The DVD 'Rhyl - A Journey Through Time' comprises bits of old film presented seamlessly in more or less chronological order. Clips made locally by Rhyl’s pioneer film maker Arthur Cheetham are followed by rather better ones made by his successors the Shannon Brothers. The picture quality improves noticeably around 1920.
Here are more postcards of the old Pavilion – and why not? The one at the top was sent from Rhyl to a Miss Hardwick of Northampton. The sender includes apologies for writing in pencil and explains that he or she is, “. . . writing this on the sands. The weather is perfect”. The card is dated October 1913.
The photo at the top is undated and the copyright belongs to John Carroll. A bus P36 is shown entering Rhyl High Street from seafront. In the background is Woolworths (now B&M Bargains) and Summers Cafe (now Cash Converters). The P36 may have been a forerunner of the present 36 circular via Rhuddlan-Dyserth-Prestatyn.
These photographs were taken in March 2010 by Yours Truly. They show parallel streets off the same avenue. The questions are:
Shane Owen the administrator of Rhyl Youth Action Group (RYAG) has sent the above black-and-white photo of the corner of Elwy Street and Wellington Road where parts of the RYAG empire are still being constructed. The group would like to know about previous uses of their properties, which are the ones shown in final photo above. Readers with info to offer please send email to:
Also from Shane came a black-and-white shot of the corner of Wellington Road and Water Street where the Post Office now stands. Before it was taken, there used to be on that corner Shamrock House. According to J.W. Jones this was a GP’s surgery, the home of Commissioner Dr. Price Roberts. Commissioners were forerunners of today’s councillors.
In High Street the charity shop Oxfam closed down last Saturday (29th May 2010) after many years on a corner of Russell Road. At the time of writing I am not aware of the reasons, and they may be local reasons.