Plas Newydd, Llanfairfechan
This large house dates from the mid-19th century. From c.1861 to 1865 it was home to a William Humphreys.
Baptist minister Rev John Griffiths (pictured c.1905, courtesy of the National Library of Wales) was living here by 1891 with his wife Ann and their daughter Augusta and son Carey. He was also a leader of the North Wales temperance movement, which sought to reduce drunkenness. The growth in the congregation in his time resulted in Llanfairfechan’s first Baptist chapel (dating from 1878) being sold in 1891 and replaced with a larger chapel, and the founding of a Baptist mission and chapel in Penmaenmawr.
While working as a staff nurse at Manchester Royal Infirmary, Augusta Griffiths met Percy Stocks (1889-1974), a young doctor from Eccles. They couple married in 1913 at Llanfairfechan’s Baptist chapel. John performed the ceremony and Augusta was given away by Carey, who was to serve in the Machine Gun Corps and RAF in the First World War. The wedding breakfast was prepared at Plas Newydd, where a reception was held after the ceremony.
The couple honeymooned in Buxton and went to Myanmar (then known as Burma) in 1914 to conduct “medical mission” work. They returned to Britain after Augusta fell ill.
Percy served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in the war. From 1933 to 1950 he was the General Register Office’s chief medical statistician, specialising in mortality statistics. His work shed important new light on illnesses such as cancer and influenza and on how different occupations influenced mortality. He was also involved with the World Health Organisation, helping to update international statistics. His many awards included the Royal Society of Medicine’s Jenner Medal in 1956.
In 1939 Plas Newydd was home to three sisters, who had all been missionaries in various parts of the world: Edith, Anna and Sarah Heard. Anna and Sarah were both Air Raid Precautions wardens in Llanfairfechan in the Second World War.
With thanks to Paul Roberts
Postcode: LL33 0NH View Location Map