|
Tremadog
A perfect example of early 19th century town planning with its charming and imposing cobbled square, developed by Madocks, who bought the land in 1798. By 1805, the first cottages for workers were built in what he called ‘Pentre Gwaelod’ or ‘Bottom Village’. (These are probably 1-9 Dublin Street). Within the year he had changed the name of the village to ‘Tre Madoc’ or ‘Madocks’ Town’. Siting, layout, buildings and the resulting spaces were all designed to create the impression of a borough.
Lacking the wealth to build it all himself Madocks wanted to attract people into his town to build within a strong overall plan. The most important part of the town was the Market Square. The back drop of the sheer cliff gave a theatrical effect to the whole area. The historic centre of Tremadog was completed by 1811 and indeed this part of the town remains substantially unaltered to this day. On London Road coming out of Tremadog, is a very grand non-conformist chapel built in 1810 with an imposing classical style portico added in 1849.
Almost opposite is Snowdon Lodge, the birthplace of T.E.Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). Next to this is St Mary’s Church, one of the earliest ‘gothic revival’ churches in Wales dating from 1811. The former church has now been restored and completely refurbished as a community centre, a project led by Cyfeillion Cadw Tremadog (Friends of Tremadog), a Historic Buildings Preservation Trust. This was set up in 1991 to protect and preserve the architectural, historical and structural heritage of Tremadog.
|
