Former police station Llandudno

button-theme-crimeLink to French translationFormer police station, Vardre Lane, Llandudno

This building is now somewhat hemmed in by the hotels and shops along the parallel streets, Upper Mostyn Street and North Parade. It was once a centre of activity, having been erected in 1867 as a lock-up and police station. Later, in 1872, a magistrates’ court was added. The nearby alley connecting Vardre Lane to Upper Mostyn Street is still called Court Lane.

Photo of police at police stationThe building is now a private house. You can still see a barred cell window. Some of the rooms have vaulted masonry ceilings – they were originally cells. The old photo, courtesy of Adrian Hughes, shows police officers outside the building.

Today’s police station and magistrates’ courts are on more spacious sites, east of the town centre.

In 1873 an inquest was held at the police station after a dead baby was discovered in the attic of a house in St George’s Crescent. The jury returned a verdict of murder. Kitchen maid Grace Davies, 22, had concealed her pregnancy and tried to remove all traces of the birth from the attic, which was her bedroom. A doctor said the baby girl had died of neglect and exposure.

Dedicated policing for Llandudno began in the 1850s when the Town Commissioners, the predecessors of Llandudno Town Council, appointed a Town Constable. They built a lock-up in Tŷ Coch Road for him to incarcerate offenders. In 1857 the Caernarfonshire Constabulary was created and the commissioners in Llandudno hoped that they would be released from the burden of having to pay the constable his 18 shillings a week. However, it was not until 1874 that the Chief Constable relented and the town had its own sergeant and two constables.

With thanks to John Lawson-Reay, of the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay History Society

Postcode: LL30 2PH    View Location Map

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