Former St George's concert hall, 74 Mostyn Street, Llandudno
The St George's concert hall (pictured) was Llandudno’s first permanent place of entertainment. It was built in 1863 by Thomas Owen to provide culture for the upper class visitors to the town. It opened the following year.
The first shows were two operas by Mozart, followed by regular concerts. This became the pattern for many years. The D’Oyly Carte opera company made frequent visits, playing the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas Mikado and Iolanthe, which were very popular then. In 1899 the hall received a complete makeover, which was followed by its renaming as the Prince’s concert hall in 1903. This coincided with a shift in repertoire to plays and musicals.
The National Eisteddfod was held in Llandudno for the first time in 1864. At St George’s Hall and the National School on Church Walks, papers were presented on art and science. The main events were in a 7,000-seat temporary pavilion of wood and felt on Llysmadoc Field, between Llywelyn Street and Gloddaeth Street. The octagonal pavilion had 60 windows and 1,100 gas lamps. It was designed by George Felton, architect of many of the buildings on Llandudno promenade.
The Eisteddfod’s opening ceremony and bard-crowning ceremony took place at a Gorsedd stone circle at the junction of Gloddaeth Street and North Parade (now Prince Edward Square). When the Eisteddfod returned to the town in 1896 and 1963, Gorsedd ceremonies were performed at Happy Valley, where the Gorsedd stone circle still stands.
In the 1920s St George’s Hall was converted to give cinema shows. In the era of silent movies, films alternated with variety acts. With the coming of the talkies in 1930, the venue only showed films. It continued as a cinema till 1957, when it was converted into a shop. It was later occupied by HMV, which sold CDs, DVDs and computer games, and then by Mountain Warehouse.
With thanks to John Lawson-Reay, of the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay History Society, and to Adrian Hughes, of the Home Front Museum, Llandudno
Postcode: LL30 2SB View Location Map
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