History
A full archaeological study of the Townhouse (No. 10 Castle Street) was undertaken during the construction work. The following extract provides a synopsis of the most relevant historical detail. An alternative study of the property has been commissioned which will focus on human history, associations and ownership. This work will be published shortly.
Interpretation, context and historical significance
At the conclusion of war between Edward I and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1283, Edward occupied Gwynedd, building strong castles in strategic locations and establishing walled frontier towns adjacent as a mutual source of moral and commercial support. The pattern of royal administration would inevitably change. Whether on account of misunderstanding or failure to understand, frustration and grievances began to emerge among the native population of Gwynedd. In 1294 a revolt erupted. In April 1295 Edward was at Llanfaes, a bowshot from the new commercial centre and castle he was determined to build on the Anglesey shore, at the northern seaward entrance to the Menai Straits. This was flat land, access to the sea, a major ferry crossing and a tried and tested commercial focus at nearby Llanfaes. Building was underway at the new castle and town of Beuamaris by 1295 and was soon to expropriate Llanfaes’ commercial interests. Beaumaris received its charter in 1296.
An important and pressing concern was to populate the new town with settlers willing to take up tenancies in Beaumaris. Incentives were offered and settlers began to arrive. A majority of tenants came from the north-west of England. In time the Lancashire and Cheshire contingent would become the major source of influence in the town. Among these would be the Ingrams, the Godfreys, the Norreys, Hamptons, Kighleys and Bulkeleys.
In the early fifteenth century Owain Glyndwr’s followers occupied the town for two years but Beaumaris survived. By the early seventeenth century, houses had expanded north-west along Wexham Street, past Henllys Lane and south-east into Townsend.
Beaumaris was doing well and in the 1830s the town was given a boost by prestigious and visual developments at Victoria Terrance and Green Edge. Along Castle Street there stood the important coaching inn, the Bull’s Head on the corner of Bull’s Head Street and Castle Street.
The significance of these parallels and associations (timbers, stonework and architecture) is that the ground plan and use of space at 10 Castle Street is still within the late or sub-Medieval tradition.
The location of No. 10 Castle Street is a conspicuous and prestigious one, on one of the main streets of the town, near the castle. We have already seen that the style of windows in the tower is unlikely to have been employed earlier than the 1570s or 80s. After 1600 we might expect a more of a Renaissance feel if any major works were to be put in train at a property already in Bulkeley hands.
The body of the house could be earlier. The false-four-centred arched fireplaces on the first floor of House 1 are in a style consistent with the mid to later 16th century.
The property was in the hands of the Bulkeley family by the later eighteenth century and probably considerably earlier. In the 1820s the tenants of the present No. 10 Castle Street were a Mrs Burton, who occupied part of the house, known then and Ty Mawr. A Mrs Redding occupied the remainder of the house and the yard and other buildings. Mrs Redding also had the tenancy of the three remaining properties on the east side of Bull’s Head Street (now known as the southern extension of Rating Row). She also occupied a large garden and ‘garden house’ at the northern corner of Bull’s Head Street and Church Lane.
The property became a hotel in 1881. The proprietor was Owen Rowlands who also established Temperance Hotels in Bangor and Liverpool. A part of the property, at the corner of Castle Street and Rating Row, was a bakery. In the first half of the twentieth century No. 10 Castle Street was in use as a cafe (the Cottage Cafe) with an extension to the east at No. 8. The premises still traded under the name of the Cottage until very recently, occupying the first floor of the building facing Castle Street with kitchens on both the first floor of this structure and the ground floor of the adjacent house to the rear.