Former British School master’s house, Caernarfon

slate-plaque

Link to Welsh translation

The schoolmaster’s house here is thought to date from the same time as the British School behind, built in 1856. Both were designed by John Lloyd. The house is listed as an integral component of the British School and is part of a rare and well-preserved school complex of the mid-19th century.

Portrait of Caernarfon headmaster RR StytheAfter 1870, it became a “Board School” house and, later, part of the council school. The headmaster before and after this change was Richard Robert Stythe (pictured right). Ill-health forced him to resign his post after five years, but he recovered and became an accountant and estate agent in Caernarfon. He was secretary to the National Eisteddfod when it was held in Caernarfon in 1886. He died in 1909, aged 56. His daughter Winnie graduated in modern languages from Bangor and in 1904 became a teacher at Abergele County School, marrying the headmaster two years later.

A later headmaster at the board school was Waunfawr-born John Thomas Jones, who married Charlotte Davies of Pool Street in 1881. In 1901 he was one of the area’s representatives on the National Union of Teachers.

His work was praised in 1894, when the newspaper Y Cymro described the school as one of the most successful in Wales. In the previous 12 years, 32 of the pupils had won scholarships. Many past pupils had achieved notable success in the world. They included D Lloyd Morgan, Professor of English at Lund University, Sweden.

The schoolmaster’s house was home to the school caretaker for many years before the school relocated in 1973.

It was adapted as a youth facility for Caernarfon by Cwmni Ifanc Tŷ'r Ysgol in 2009. Later it passed on to Gisda, a charity which provides support and opportunities for vulnerable young adults in Gwynedd.

With thanks to Ann Lloyd Jones, of Caernarfon Civic Society

Postcode: LL55 1NW    View Location Map