Aberystwyth: recreating the early 20th century town from Visitor Guides

This collection is the result of a local history project begun to see how many of the places of interest for visitors 100 years ago have survived in the townscape today. By the early 1900s, Aberystwyth was being called the 'Biarritz of Wales' for its many fine natural advantages as a health and pleasure resort. The coming of the railway provided an impetus for tourism development.

In attempting to relocated the places and business featured in early visitor guides, it has become clear that many of the iconic buildings of the town are still with us today - even if the nameboards and usages of buildings have changed. There are some notable losses, such as the public baths in Bath Street, the infirmary and school in Queen's Road, the Tabernacle Chapel and Steam Laundry in Mill Street, the old rink in Portland Road, the Pleasure Grounds at the top of Constitution Hill, the Imperial Cinema, and the industries of Smithfield and Trefechan.

The two references used were the 'Borough Guide no 143' published by Edward J. Burrows Co around 1905 (National Library of Wales Collections XDA1345.A3.A14) and the 'Aberystwyth Official Guide and Souvenir' published by the British Publishing Company Ltd, Gloucester, in 1924. A facsimile edition of the latter was reprinted by Ceredigion Archives and Gwasg y Gors in 2015. Both have considerable charm in the reading and contain photographs of the town as it was then.

There are early tourist guides for other destinations around Wales. It is hoped that this collection will inspire others to access these guides in their local libraries and archives and take a similar exploration of towns they know and love.

There are 91 items in this collection

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