I popped over to the market town of Llanrwst today and was surprised to see that the whole of the town centre and surrounding streets had been taken over by what resembled a miniature version of the Llandudno Victorian Extravaganza.
This turned out to be the Llanrwst Almshouses Festival, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Almshouses (which are just off Ancaster Square). They were built by John Wynne, who lived at Gwydir Castle, and provided accommodation for 12 local poor older men. Residents had a wear a long cloak that carried their benefactor's crest.
The Festival was a very well organised event, with a wide selection of stalls, sideshows and childrens rides, all of which had a Victorian theme. It was also pleasing to see that practically every shop had gone to the trouble of mounting a Victorian themed display in their window. Many of the townspeople were dressed in the Victorian style and also of note were a group of what I believe were Performing Arts students (maybe from Llandrillo College?) dressed in costume, who stayed in character the whole day. Very good! The town was very crowded and I'm sure the event was a great success - let's hope something similar can be carried out annually.
This turned out to be the Llanrwst Almshouses Festival, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Almshouses (which are just off Ancaster Square). They were built by John Wynne, who lived at Gwydir Castle, and provided accommodation for 12 local poor older men. Residents had a wear a long cloak that carried their benefactor's crest.
The Festival was a very well organised event, with a wide selection of stalls, sideshows and childrens rides, all of which had a Victorian theme. It was also pleasing to see that practically every shop had gone to the trouble of mounting a Victorian themed display in their window. Many of the townspeople were dressed in the Victorian style and also of note were a group of what I believe were Performing Arts students (maybe from Llandrillo College?) dressed in costume, who stayed in character the whole day. Very good! The town was very crowded and I'm sure the event was a great success - let's hope something similar can be carried out annually.
Posts
2 comments:
John Wynnes' son Robert built Plas Mawr in Conwy. Plas Mawr would make an interesting addition to this blog if you ever have chance to visit.
Good idea, I will add it to my list. Thanks!
Post a Comment