Llandudno / Ardwy Orme

You can see this house from most points on the town, and there is story behind this…it was built by the Mostyn estate.

For the past five hundred years the history of the Mostyn family has been closely intertwined with the development of Llandudno.The majority of the town as we know it today was laid out in 1849 by the Mostyn family, who leased most of the plots for development and influenced the building design and uses of land.Generations of the Mostyn family have been instrumental in preserving the rich heritage of Llandudno and promoting the development and economic prosperity of the area.

Ardwy Orme was built for the agent of the Mostyn estate, and its architect G A Humphreys. Its no wonder he got the best spot in town! In effect this house was built by the man who had control over what much of Llandudno looked like. However the style of his own house was different to the style dictated for the town reflecting the fashions around when it was built in 1895. You’d say it was built in the Dutch Renaissance style because of the red sandstone gable reflecting the buildings of Amsterdam. However at the end of the Victorian period people were building in dozens of different styles – streets would have houses that were neo-Romanesque, neo- gothic, Queen Anne or renaissance like at Ardwy Orme. Variety was the order of the day!

It must have been such fun to have been an architect in this period – with dozens of pattern books you could order anything in any style and it would arrive on the train. Machines could do even ornate carvings by this period so decorative materials had fallen in price.

The house has remained in the hands of the same family so little has changed – even original furniture survives.