Tŷ Newydd Hotel, Aberdaron

Link to Welsh translation

For centuries Aberdaron had a disproportionately high number of inns, catering for pilgrims who rested here before crossing the water to Ynys Enlli (Bardsey). The Tŷ Newydd Hotel was regarded in Victorian times as the village’s principal hostelry.

aberdaron_ty_newydd_hotelIn 1904 an inquest jury at the hotel returned a verdict of accidental death on Joan Parry, aged 15, who had fallen into the sea while taking photographs near Ffynnon Fair during a picnic outing. Her father was Judge Parry of Manchester. Her funeral service at St Hywyn’s Church, after the inquest, was conducted in Welsh, at Judge Parry’s request.

Behind the hotel there was a limekiln, beside the beach. Limestone and coal were burned to create lime, which fertilised farmers’ fields. Raw materials arrived by boat. In the photo below, the kiln is visible in the bottom right quarter. The figure in black above it may be operating the kiln. Beyond are the outbuildings of Tŷ Newydd. Both of the photos are shown here courtesy of local history website Rhiw.com.

aberdaron_shore_with_limekilnRichard Griffith upgraded the hotel after becoming the licensee on the death of his father, also named Richard, in 1899. He was permitted to sell alcohol in an outhouse while the hotel was being improved in 1903. In 1900 he had married Catherine Jones of Tyddyn Meirion, Rhiw. He was ordered to enlist in the armed forces in 1916 but the local military tribunal gave him a conditional exemption after he argued that his work as a hotelier was important.

During the First World War, special dinners were given at the Tŷ Newydd Hotel for members of the local Voluntary Aid Detachment – women who provided nursing care for wounded servicemen.

The hotel hosted a more somber lunch and tea in 1916 after the memorial service in the church for the vicar’s son, Second Lieutenant Vernon Owen, who died on the Western Front in 1915.

In 2006 the hotel was taken over by Iain and Wilma Roberts. Iain continued to run the family farm in nearby Solfach, thereby reviving the long tradition (until the 20th century) of farmers keeping Welsh inns. Iain had farmed on Ynys Enlli in the 1990s, like his grandfather earlier.

Postcode: LL53 8BE    View Location Map

Website of Gwesty Tŷ Newydd

More old photos of Aberdaron – Rhiw.com website 

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