Grave of Margaret Williams

conwy_grave_margaret_williamsMargaret Williams (d.2015)

Author and journalist Margaret Williams was one of the most photographed women in Wales. She inherited the Smallest House in Great Britain and was photographed by countless tourists as she stood outside the building in her Welsh costume.

conwy_margaret_williamsHer father Robert, an undertaker, lived and worked at the Old Mansion House (next to Plas Mawr). He died in 1970 and is commemorated by a plaque in St Mary’s Church, where he was the vicar’s warden for 18 years. His wife Elizabeth, also buried here, had inherited the Smallest House from her father, also named Robert.

Margaret was a “Jackdaw” – the name for people born within the medieval walled town of Conwy. After attending John Bright Grammar School, Llandudno, she began a successful career in journalism, a profession which was still dominated by men. She began with the North Wales Weekly News. Her work as a freelance journalist, including reports from Paris fashion shows, was published in many magazines and newspapers. She also managed public relations for Owen Owen department stores.

She returned to Conwy to look after her parents and used her marketing skills to make the Smallest House one of Conwy’s most popular attractions. Living in the Old Mansion House, she wrote books on local history, ghost stories and children’s stories.

She died aged 83 in January 2015.

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