The Pig Market

As with Lon Goch and Lon Fudr, literal meaning Red Road and Dirty Road, which
were changed to Grove Road and Rosemary Lane, it was Victorian snobbery
which was responsible for changing the name of the steep hill which led to
Highgate from the Pig Market to the more respectable name - Mount Pleasant.
As the name suggests this is where, before the livestock market was opened in
Smithfield in 1895, that pigs were sold.

The first shop on the hill was Llewelyn Bartley’s shoe shop, who was, as was his
grandfather before him, a talented cobbler, and both of them elders at Seion
Chapel, Henllan Street. Isaac Morris’s brother, Richard Morris, was a Liberal
Member of Parliament for Battersea and was with Lloyd George when the Treaty
of Versailles was signed at the end of the First World War in 1919. Cawthray’s
Shoe shop and the Vale Advertiser occupy these premises at the moment.

At the top of the hill was a shop called Ty Twrch shop – flats today. It is not
known whether this name derives from the word Twrch meaning Boar or from its
plural tywarchen - tywyrch meaning turf. Perhaps the building was once roofed
with turf or its occupant was employed hunting boars. It was here that Mrs Lee
kept a sweet shop for years – extremely convenient for patrons of the Scala
Cinema located opposite. Do you remember Rudi, Mrs Lee’s son-in-law? Rudi
was a former German war prisoner – an unusual character I’d say.

Ascending Love Lane, the first building, before the war, was Tomi Williams the
Armoury’s warehouse, where he would sell second hand furniture. Years before
this, he would keep hiring stables where the Scala stood opposite.

Next is the Britannia Public House and this is where the late Tom Bartley was
Landlord for many years. The Britannia was originally opened in 1868 by William
Davies, a wainwright. Many of the ‘assylum’s’ workers would call here on their
way home from work.

Do you remember Hetty Heyward who kept a second hand shop next door? Who
kept the Williams ‘second-hand’ business, as it was called, going since the
1930s? I wonder how much Hetty’s antiques would be worth today? She was
also a character – I heard once that she kept a pet Cockrell in her house!
Next we find the garage. The original business was founded in the 1890s by the
Williams brothers when carts and vehicles of all shapes and sizes were built
there. In those days wainwrights, blacksmiths and painters were employed but
following the advent of the motor car they had to adapt to the new work of
repairing vehicles. The business was inherited by Cecil Evans, the brother of the
famous footballer, Bob Evans. Do you remember the old hearse that used to be
hired out to the town’s Undertakers?

Opposite the garage was Johnny Alun Roberts’s little grocery store and it was
here that we, as a family, used to shop before the war. Ifor, his son went on to
run the business after his father’s death but today the shop has been converted
into a house.

Slightly below this shop was Aneurin Dryhurst Roberts’s Butcher’s shop, he was
also a member of the famous Dryhurst Roberts family of butchers. Aneurin won
many prizes for composing hymn tunes as did his brother Harold. He was also
the conductor of the area choir at the National Eisteddfod held in Denbigh in
1939. His daughter, Mrs Phyllis Dryhurst Dodd was the conductor of the Denbigh
Male Voice Choir up until the time of her death. It was Aneirin Drei who taught
me the mysteries of Chess at the old Liberal Club. You will hear more about this
old ‘parliament’ here again.

The first place, as we pass the opening to the Pig Market, on our way down Love
Lane is Geoff Roberts the Undertaker’s building who was preceeded by Reg Parry
and E.T. Williams (Twm Death) in the same calling.

Recently, the Conservative Club has adapted the building from Highgate Terrace
down, for their own purposes. Do you remember T.Glyn Jones the Electrician’s
shop there? He was followed by a number of other businesses including
Wetherall and Ann Larsen who kept a grocery store there. Years before her great
grandfather, Robert Owen, used this building as a warehouse for his extensive
grocery business opposite.

The club was built in 1891 and before this another grocer, E.P. Jones, was at the
point between Highgate and Bridge Street, facing the County Offices. Two and a
half centuries ago, this was the location of the stocks, where the town’s
malefactors were sentenced to sit for a time, a mockery to all. This is also where
the Red Lion public house stood, the Free Mason’s meeting point in 1787.
The shops beneath the club on Bridge Street also date from 1891. Do you
remember that the first was Will John the barber’s? A tiny shop which would be
full to overflowing on a Friday and Saturday evening with clouds of tobacco
smoke threatening to choke the poor canaries in their cages around the walls? I
never once saw Will John without a cigarette clamped in the corner of this mouth
but, fair play to him, he kept all his cigarette cards for me on condition that I fed
the birds. I wonder if I can also faintly remember a watchmaker’s shop there
before Will John’s time?

Next was Harold Dryhurst Roberts’s butcher’s shop, a close friend of my father’s.
As a child, he gave me many a raw sausage which I ate whilst sitting on his
threshold. For some time now both shops have been knocked into one by
Bodidris.

The two Miss Bullers – always so prim and proper – kept the newspaper, sweets
and tobacco shop next door. According to an old postcard I own, their father
before them advertised the selling of petrol, bicycles and a range of other
diverse goods although the shop itself seemed hardly big enough to knit a sock
in it. It is the Mather family that has been here now for many years.

Next was Joe Emmanuel’s barber shop, another tiny shop, and, just like Will
John in the shop higher up, Joe was also a heavy smoker. Thinking about barber
shops in bygone days, wasn’t the ritual of shaving a customer interesting – the
vigorous lathering, sharpening the blade on the strop and then the dexterous
shaving? More often than not, and perhaps only to be expected, there was the
always a trickle of blood flowing slowly towards the customer’s collar. Do you
know what? I never once hear the barber apologise nor the customer complain,
only a dab or two with the styptic and the job was done. This is now a
warehouse for the club above.

Now we have arrived at Poppies – before that Rowlands the Fruit shop and
before that, for a long time, Robert Pierce Davies’s butcher’s shop. He lived to a
great age and was married for the second time at the age of ninety. He was
brother in law to the famous writer T. Gwynn Jones. The business was inherited
by his sons, Glyn and Thomas Owen Davies, both of them zealously enthusiastic
about hymnody and Glyn especially passionate for telling stories about the olden
days. Towards the end of the 18th century a strange man going by the name of
Huw Moch (Huw Pigs) specialised in bacon and home cooked ham at these
premises.

Next door is a bridle shop which opened following the relocation of the outgoing
late Meirion Davies’s agricultural wares store. Meirion and I were fellow pupils at
the County School – I remember him as someone who was well versed in the
Scriptures. For years before this, the shop was known as the Shop of the Two
Ladies although I can only remember one, Miss Alice Jones. The country people
would flock to her cafe on fair and market days - you could have a ‘plain’ tea for
a groat or a ‘fancy’ tea for tuppence extra. It was with Miss Jones that old
Collins, a teacher at the County School, would lodge. Talk about opposites – her
a quiet little lady from the midst of the Hiraethog hills and him, an English
academic, slightly highbrow, from Hampshire. At the beginning of the 20th
century this is where Mrs Bradden sold pottery.

Then we arrive at the Men’s Barber Shop. This was once a ladies clothing store
but the older ones among us will remember it as Huw Dafis the cobbler’s
premises. A quiet, patient man, he had a sweet tenor voice and was a faithful
member of the St Mary’s church choir for years. At one time, I believe, he kept a
chip shop here.

At the building where the Free Press has recently relocated to, lived one of
Denbigh’s most remarkable characters Harold the ‘Watch’ or Harold Tic Toc. He
lived with his sister and his brother in law, Mr and Mrs Oakes – Harold sold and
repaired watches and clocks and Mrs Oakes taught the Violin. Harold was a
bachelor despite having an eye for the ladies until the end of his long life. He
would admit, tongue in cheek, that he used to visit the countryside’s farmhouses
on a Tuesday to see to their clocks as Tuesday was market day and the men of
the households were more likely to be in town on that day! Harold was originally
from Mold, and would boast proudly that, as a baby, he had sat on the lap of
Daniel Owen. As did Huw Dafis next door, Harold had a fine tenor voice and had
a sound knowledge of his hymn book. He had the gift of the gab – talked non
stop– but no one I ever heard tell a joke could compare to Harold.

Up until 1903, this is where the Chirk Castle public house was situated and,
according to historical sources, the remains of the medieval church of St Ann are
located in the cellar.

The next shop down I remember was Evan Jones ironmongery with its spiral
staircase leading to the loft above. The business was inherited by Glyn Challoner
following whom many occupied it including Mrs Kitty Owen who sold the famous
Reece cakes. Towards the end of the 19th century, a son of the Rev. Dr Owen
Evans, London, the famous Congregationalist, kept a grocer’s shop here.

On the corner today is the Credit Union which before this was the Gem
sweetshop, owned by Danny Matthews and before him old Dei Roberts. During
and before the Second World War two shops were based here – on the left A.D.
Andrews’s grocer’s shop, who, so they say, won a large amount of money on the
Football Pools, and to the right, Gresley’s electrical shop. The Gresley family was
very prominent in Denbigh for years due to its connection with brass bands.
Before this, a wool shop was kept on the corner by the famous Annwyl Hughes
family and a great upheaval was caused in the town one morning when the body
of the owner was found hanging from one of the rafters.

Next is the Regency Hair Salon which, for years before, was kept by John
Roberts and his son Jim as a saddlers. This family and their descendants to the
present day are faithful to the cause at the Lon Swan chapel. This is where we
as children would go for leather balls to sew, and the local cricket club were
extremely grateful to bring their pads here at the end of the season to be
restored for next to nothing. At the turn of the 20th century, William Roberts, Will
John the Barber’s father kept a grocery shop here. In keeping with the
Victorians’ penchant for naming Welsh buildings after towns in England, the shop
was known as Hereford House. Do you know the whereabouts of London House,
Liverpool House and Warwick House? Up until 1830 this was the location of the
old White Horse Public House.

The Southern Side of the High Street

About twenty years ago, where Evans Jones and his son have their electrical
shop now, stood a building known as Druid Buildings, here there were two shops
– the upper floor was an electrical shop owned by W.O. Jones and the ground
floor was a tobacconist and newsagent run by one of Evan Jones’s other sons,
Emyr. Before the war, do you remember Edwin Roberts (probably best
remembered, and without an ounce of disrespect as Little Jesus Christ), keeping
a small shop opposite the door to the Conservative Club? A fussy, stocky man,
always willing to take part in Prayer Meetings and Thanksgiving services. When
praying, tears wold flow down his cheeks. Do you remember the thanksgiving
services for the harvest years ago? Wednesday at 7 at Tower Hill, seven o’clock
the following morning with the Baptists at Henllan Street, ten at Pen-Dref, two
o’clock in the afternoon at Lon Swan and six in the evening at Capel Mawr.
Congregations would flock to each one with representatives from all
denominations, at the behest of the minister, leading the service.

Slightly below here, Robert Roberts, Tan Rhiw, Groes, kept a butcher’s shop. To
complete the row, the next building, up until about 1900, was the Druid pub.
Their license was revoked due to drunkenness. Steep steps led to the door and,
on leaving, many lost their footing and suffered a fall.

The Halifax comes next and it was here that four generations of the Owen family
kept a grocer shop – Robert Owen, his son J.R. Owen, his grandson Hywel Owen
and his great granddaughter Ann Larsen. Numerous employees passed through
these doors, all staunch Welshmen – Dafydd Owen, a talented poet, and the
father of Elwy, Aled and Goronwy, who came from Hafod Elwy to manage the
shop; Ted Roberts his successor, a staunch Baptist, one whom I never saw fall
from grace; Jones Roberts (Roberts the Bacon) who worked tirelessly with the
Capel Seion Drama company; the outgoing John Owen and so many others who
cannot be named due to a lack of space.

Around the turn of the 20th century, before Robert Owen had moved from the
other side of the High Street, the left hand side of the shop was kept by a John
Roberts, the Star Stores. On the left, at the time, was the Star public house, and
that’s where the remarkable Huw Hughes lived. He stood valiantly side by side
with Thomas Gee and others in 1854 against paying the church tax. Bailiffs went
to the Star to try to repossess a clock owned by Huw Hughes but, according to
Rev David Price’s account, “Eye witnesses tired of their arrogance and sent them
away, empty handed from the house.”

Up until 1922, it was another public house, the Harp which stood next door –
that makes three pubs near enough next door to each other. Do you remember
Irwins that came there afterwards? The interior covered in white tiles, floor to
ceiling and the goods stacked tidily behind glass? A number of shops have
occupied these premises since then including Tesco and today the off licence,
Victoria Wines.

Keepfer the Jewellers was established in 1850 when Mr Keepfer, the elder, came
from Germany. A staunch Catholic, he worked tirelessly to uphold the cause
even against the Victorian era’s Protestant resistance. Do you remember the
clock in the wall above the shop window? It was rumoured to keep time more
accurately than the town’s pubic clocks. Today this building houses Wardle
Travel’s travel agency.

The next shop along is currently empty. Bather’s Bakery was here for some time
and before this Greenwood’s clothes shop and Cooper’s grocers. Do you
remember Ashfords here? Owned by Owen Jones and managed by Ben Smart,
the Warden of Ruthin, Rev Eddie Smart’s late father? In the olden days many of
the county’s gentry and well-to-do would come here. A century or more ago, the
owner was Mr Morgans, who was described as an Italian Warehouseman, but,
despite the many who struggled to believe so, he was in fact a real life
Welshman.

M and D. Roberts’s fruit and veg shop was at one time two separate shops. The
first I remember was Bob Roberts’s Enterprise, which sold tobacco, sweets and
antiques of all shapes and sizes. Prior to this, Hubert Roberts, the grandfather of
Neil Roberts, headmaster at Borthyn School, Ruthin, was the proprietor. He was
a solid man and a conscientious Sunday School teacher to a class of young men
at Capel Mawr for a number of years. He was the brother of William Edwards,
the proprietor of the garage on Rhyl Road. Around the turn of the 20th century
this is where Stead&Simpsons first opened a shoe shop. In the latter half of the
19th century the premises housed Mr Holgate’s clog making enterprise. He made
thousands of clogs in his workshop in the nearby Lon Fudr (Dirty Lane) and it
was a common sight to see railway carriages carrying sacks of clogs to be
delivered to the Lancashire cotton mills. Before leaving this shop, it is interesting
to note that this is where the famous publisher Thomas Gee was born in 1815.

The other half of the present shop housed a lucrative vegetable business owned
by Hugh Thomas Davies, the father of Mrs Eluned Nott and her late brother,
Trefor Davies, who kept the chip shop opposite. Do you remember the old horse
and cart led by Jim Lake making its way from the large garden on Ruthin Road
up Vale Street to the shop? H.T. Davies, another solid, dependable man, and a
deacon at Capel Mawr, is a true reflection of the old type of merchant who
worked tirelessly to make ends meet. Before Mr Davies’s time, this is also where
Parry Williams, who was better known as Parry Snuff (because he sold it I
presume), was based. The last I remember to enjoy a pinch of snuff was dear
Darkie Wynne, Ned the Runner’s son. I believe that it was with Parry Williams
that Jim Roberts (Saddler) and Dei Edward Roberts (‘Man About Town’ and North
Wales Times reporter) worked as apprentice grocers.
The Vaults, or the Big Vaults as it used to be called, dates from the year 1779.
In 1949 extensive renovation of the building unearthed many old artefacts
including money from the time of Charles III (1760 – 1820) and a number of old
documents. I wonder where they are now? Outside the public house, before the
Smithfield was built, was one of the places where cattle were sold, and here
there were posts placed in the pavement to tie the gates to them. During the
reign of the Andrews family, owners for half a century up until 1945, the Vaults
was known as a respectable house. Excessive drinking was banned as was the
use of foul language.

We are now passing the bottom of Broomhill Lane, down to Boots, which
replaced another chemist, Timothy White. Before this, Densons had a ladies
clothes shop here. Do you remember before the war, that this is where Father
Christmas would go to having travelled on the back of a big cart from the
station? I believe that it was poor Alan Davies, one of the employees, who died
whilst being held as a prisoner of war by the Japanese who was the last to wear
Santa’s suit. Densons employed a number of workers, some on the shop floor
which occupied the ground floor, others in the extensive warehouse in Broomhill
Lane and dozens of seamstresses on the upper floors. I remember going there
as a child with Mrs Dominey’s snack and having a shock as her mouth was full of
pins and needles, and as such she couldn’t speak a word just nod her head in
appreciation. Around 1850 a ladies outfitters was established here by one who
went by the name of Millward, that is where the name Millward Terrace on
Henllan Street derives from – he was followed by one of Denbigh’s most
influential traders ever T.J. Williams. A kind man who shared what he had with
many especially the poor of the town. He was a staunch member of Capel Mawr
where he paid for two pews for his numerous workers and where he sat with
them. Having sold the business to Densons, along with his other shop, a male
outfitters, to Bradleys, he retired to Coed Derw, a mansion house in Colwyn Bay
which boasted amongst its frequent visitors, Lloyd George, Sir Herbert Lewis, Sir
John Pritchard Jones and others.

Next door Mr Bevans offers all kinds of items for both the house and garden. It
is a shame that the planning authorities allowed the demolition of the old
pharmacist shop Benson Evans considering its architectural importance. Before
Mr Evans traded here, it was another pharmacist Hookes-Kennard who ran the
shop and before him a gentleman known as Edwards the Druggist whose son
was the talented William Edwards who gained a first class honours degree in the
Classics, Greek and Mathematics from Oxford – the academic Triple Crown – and
who was appointed the Chief Examiner of Welsh Schools in 1915.
Then we come to Holland and Barret which sells healthy foods. Here too is where
Hattersley Williams Butcher was based as was the Ainsworth greengrocery store.
For a long time before the war, this is where the extremely busy E.B. Jones
greengrocery stood. Do you remember, when the shop was empty, seeing rats
running around in the windows? Above this shop was one of Denbigh’s most
important social centres ever, the Liberal Club. I spent many hours here playing
billiards and listening avidly to a number of the town’s characters putting the
world to rights. There was a very large clothes shop here before E.B. Jones with
the words The Golden Eagle in large letters displayed on the impressive façade.
This was owned by Hugh Hughes who was known to everyone as Hughes the
Bachelor. He believed he belonged to a higher social class than that of other
merchants in the town. He must have been as he was a member of the Vale of
Clwyd Harriers Hunt and kept two handsome horses for recreational use with the
likes of Dr Evan Pierce and the gentry from the mansions. Up until 1876, and for
two centuries before this, this building housed one of the town’s main public
houses, The Three Boar’s Heads. The stagecoach would call here daily and this
was also the favourite drinking haunt of H.M. Stanley’s alleged grandfather, John
Rolant, Y Llys. The original house was built by Sir Richard Clough (d.1570) and
then became the townhouse of the Wynne’s from Meliden.

Another inn once stood next door, The Royal Oak. The licence was surrendered
in 1904 as there was a great need at the time, the year of the religious revival,
for temperance houses which offered houses free of temptation for the
numerous travellers who would go from place to place trying to persuade
shoppers to buy their wares. Joyce Chambers’ grandfather kept this house for a
time and it was here that the English Literary Society would meet with Mr
Askew, a Chemistry teacher at the County School and the Rev D.E. Jenkins,
minister at the English chapel prolific. Between the two world wars, the building
was restored for Stead & Simpsons shoe shop. Contessa and Crown Carpets
would also trade from here in years to come.

Next door, if we go back to 1868, we find a public house called The Swan With
Two Necks. This is what Robert Davies, the Nantglyn poet had to say about it
(loose translation)

Alarch ddihafal yw hon – wech iesin,

This is an unrivalled swan – six times over,

A’i choesau yn dduon;

And her legs are black;

 thres of bres draws ei bron

With a trace of money across her chest

I ddenu ofer ddynion.

To attract vain men.

The pub was demolished and the current building which now houses the Co-op
was built. E.T. Jones a rich ironmonger and a prominent man in the town,
invested heavily in this venture. He was twice mayor – in 1879 and again in
1894 and was an important member of the congregation at St Thomas’s Church
from it’s inception. In the face of considerable opposition he became bankrupt
and the business was taken over for a time by the son of the Rev Isaac Jones,
Nantglyn, R.W. Jones, before he moved to start a new venture in Llanrwst. The
next occupant was Solly Hyman, a Jew from Manchester who, with his brother
Harry, kept a greengrocers’ here. Above the shop, during the 1920s and 30s,
were billiard tables used by many of the town’s young men. This is also where
the town’s cinema was housed for a while – these were silent movies with the
music provided by the accompanist, Mr Morris. Do you remember the little
grocer’s shop Meadow Dairy on the left run by Harry Meadow? Following the
departure of the Hyman family, Burgess came here to relight the competition
with the nearby Mellards. Before establishing here, the Co-op had previously
opened three much smaller shops in the town.

Next is B-Wise clothes shop. Do you remember Bradley’s clothes shop which was
here for years having purchased the business from T.J. Williams who was
mentioned earlier? This is where John Thomas started out as manager before he
opened his own shop on the corner. About 1880 R.A. Davies had a similar
business here, he followed another outfitter by the name of Lunt who was
related to Mrs Elwern Jones, the widow of the former minister of the English
chapel.

Royles the chemist is also the most recent in a long line of pharmacies to have
occupied these premises. The late Gwilym Royles bought the business from John
Hywel Williams, who, as did T. Lloyd Jones before him, ran the shop under the
name of Harrison Jones. Harrison was a successful business man and he
commissioned John Roberts the Plough to build him the beautiful Trefeirian
mansion. It was with him that the famous Joseph Chamberlain stayed when he
came to Denbigh to address a large meeting on the field between Trefeirian and
Gwynfryn. He was mayor of the town in 1880 and was exceptionally supportive
of the Wesleyan cause in Pendref Chapel, one of those men who was just at
home in the pulpit as he was on a stage.

The present Post Office along with the shop on the corner was built in 1906
when the buildings up to Bull Lane were demolished. Before this, this is where
the Cross Keys stood - a substantial public house with a large yard for the use of
famers on market and fair days located behind it. The Royal Society’s documents
refer to the Cross Keys as far back as 1706. Where the former shop of outfitter
Mr John Thomas and his descendants John, Peter, Vernon and Peter Thomas
stands, Richrd Fox (no relation to the local family of the same name) had a
sweet and cake shop. After Mr Fox’s time, the shop became the first
Conservative Club in the town. Because the club was near to the entrance to the
County Hall, there was many a skirmish between the Conservatives and Liberals
on election day, but luckily the lock-up was at the corner of the County Hall and
convenient for jailing staunch Liberals such as Elis William, Brifi Lon and my
grandfather John Morris Owen the Coal, and loyal Tories such as Ned Wynne the
Runner and John Wynne, Bob Kenyon’s father, before the results were
announced.

The Bull

Here we are now at the ancient inn, the Bull, or the Guildhall tavern as it was
called generations ago. This is where Twm o’r Nant would call to wet his whistle
and there was, at one time a picture of the interluder on the wall. Nantglyn Poet
asked him once where he would be on a specific day to which Twm replied,
(loose translation)

“Llun yr eidion yn llenwi’r adwy

Monday the beef will come to the rescue

A thad llo bach all ddweud lle bwy”.

And the father of the calf will have the last word

A part of the building was burnt to the floor during the Civil War (1642 – 48) but
there is a record of it being restored in 1666 along with the building on the
corner of Park Street where the private school Fairholme was housed at one
time. During the 19th century, the Bull was extended to its current size by joining
the two buildings.

At the top of Park Street, until 1907, was the popular public house, The Eagles,
kept by Dick The Eagles, as he was known to all and sundry. Dick was an expert
wood turner, and on market days he had a stall on the High Street laden with
wooden vessels crafted from maple for use in farm kitchens and milk parlours.

Up until 1847, on the corner opposite the Eagles, stood another public house,
The Waterloo kept by the great grandfather of Humphreys Adams Jones,
Trewen. Latterly, the upper floor was taken over by R. Humphrey Roberts,
solicitor and son in law to Thomas Gee and this is where the offices of the local
bailiff were also located. Many kept a shoe shop on the ground floor. Do you
remember Tom Wynne the cobbler there selling Sunday newspapers and also
Cawthrays? More recently it has been a barber’s shop and has also housed the
offices of Help the Aged. Also between 1939 and 1945, this is where the area
Food Office was located. R.G Jones, the town’s former clothier and Hugh
Roberts, Mona Evans’s father were the managers. R.G. was quite a strict man
and was notable for having been married four times!

Next door, before the turn of the 20th century, was where one of Denbigh’s
wittiest characters, William P. Jones used to sell and fix watches. I have two
spoons with his name inscribed on them. He was followed by Hugh Williams the
clothier. He was a regular Church goer – do you remember his son in law Elias
Roberts, Rhiw’r Bigwn, who was a faithful member of the Welsh Choir and leader
of the Sunday School in the Institute for many years? Following this Gwladys
Jones and others kept a ladies and children’s clothes shop here.

Up until 1914, where Barclays Bank stands today, was the ancient Angel Inn,
with Edward Angel at the helm. There are references in the archives of Chirk
Castle to the Angel as far back as 1644. Behind the inn was a brewery extending
back into Melling’s Lane – not only did Mr Angle quench the thirst of the local
population, he also traded with the inns of the countryside surrounding Denbigh.
The Angel was the watering hole for the town’s tailors once upon a time and
their thirst sometimes took a week or more to quench!

Who in their right minds granted planning permission for the hideous looking
building which houses Vale-Swinton insurance today? Before these unnecessary
changes, the part of the building nearest the bank was Les the Barber’s shop –
the best place in Denbigh for the latest gossip and entertaining conversations.
Les’s predecessor was another barber, Fred Williams, Dic Williams the butcher
next door’s uncle who, it is rumoured, sold the best faggots in the town.
Between these two shops was a narrow path leading to a small house. Do you
remember Einion Jones, or Nionyn as everyone knew him who lived here, and
who was killed in North Africa in 1943? Dic Williams had been a prisoner in the
First World War, but I never heard him once speak about his experiences.

In the 19th century, in Swayne, Johnson and Wight’s building, a gentleman from
Birkenhead who went by the name of John Roberts used to keep a clothes shop.
Only a few items were displayed in the shop widows which still remain exactly as
they were today. Within the building more original features can be found
including the floors, the rooms and the wide oak staircase which evidences the
building’s former grand past. Let us hope that no one in their supposed wisdom
attempts to modernise this building in the way they did with Benson Evans and
Dic Williams’s shops.

As we turn down Vale Street, we come to the old cross which displays the date
1760. This is the second cross, the first is in the possession of the Dolhyfryd
family in the Lawnt. Nearby are the old stocks which originally came from
Dorchester. It is Dr Gwyn’s fault that they are here at all - I wonder what he will
bring here next? Perhaps Cleopatra’s Needle or Nelson’s Column? It was here
that Thomas Davies, R. Pierce Davies’s father and father in law to the writer, T.
Gwynn Jones, had his butcher’s shop. He was followed for a time by O.R. Owen,
the son of Johnny Owen, formerly of Dedwyddfa.

The next building housed the offices of Vaughan Davies the accountant and then
Parry Davies, the architect. At the beginning of the 20th century Mr Rutter, who I
believe was Leslie Rutter’s father, kept a tailor’s shop there.

Now we have arrived at the North Wales Animal Rescue charity shop and this is
where Siegfried Kruger had his music business before he moved to the industrial
estate. Here, during and after the Second World War, is where Caradog Rees
kept his ladies clothes shop as did his predecessor, William Rowlands. These two
in their time were very supportive of the town’s cultural life and avid members of
the Welsh Society. I would be surprised if anyone today remembers the firm
Connah who were based here before 1914 selling bicycles and accessories.
Before this it was Arthur Davies, another clothier, who had his business here. He
was a leading member of the 1882 Denbigh National Eisteddfod Working Party.

If we go back to 1836, this is the shop were one Mr Burden, a lay preacher with
the Wesleyans, used to make and sell ladies’ hats. It was to Mr Burden that a
young Thomas Gee went to sign the pledge to promise to stay away from
alcoholic beverages.

From here down, the next four shops up to Yellow James Lane, as our
predecessors referred to it, were demolished in 1973 to make room for the car
park which is there today. Do you remember them? Without a doubt these were
ancient buildings possessing exceptional architectural features.

In the first building was the Charlie Boycott family business – the old steps
which used to lead to the workshop are still there. Mr Boycott and his sons, Will
and Harold were at the forefront of this business for years. Harold was an
exceptional craftsman in coloured glass and had a contract to repair the stained
glass windows of the churches in the diocese. The business was bought from
S.M. Dalton who, according to an old advertisement, kept the Royal Oak in
1886.
Below Boycotts was Neli Williams’s tobacco shop. According to my grandfather,
she had the best cigarettes and cigars out of anyone, and this is where
Denbigh’s businessmen and gentry would go to purchase their wares. As I
remember, the shop was rather dark with everyone whispering as if the whole
business of purchasing tobacco was secretive and ceremonial. Miss Williams
lived above the shop which, now I think about it, was how it used to be in the
olden days. Were you ever, like I was, envious of those who lived above the
shop as they had, especially those on the High Street, a grandstand view of all
the parades that passed by? Following Neli Williams’s retirement, Emlyn Evans
sold bicylces and radios here for a time. More recently, Gwilym Humphreys,
formerly of Mellards, sold cricket, golf and football equipment here, along with
Jack Roberts or Jack Tuppence as he was called, who ran his barbers business
from the back room.

In the next shop, Mr Roberts, Ysgubor Wen, a quiet, busy man, kept an electrical
shop, and on the corner with Lon Jams Melyn another electrician, Roderick
Joyce, brother of Trefor Joyce the clockmaker, worked before retiring to keep a
public house in Bontnewydd. Before him, this is where D.H.Williams or Dei
Stephen to his friends kept a butcher’s shop. He inherited his nickname from his
predecessor Stephen Davies, who was also a butcher. In front of the door was
an iron gate and some would refer to the shop at the Iron Gate Shop. In this
building, in the olden days, lived one of Denbigh’s true characters, Tomos
Williams the barber (1790 – 1879) one who remained a teetotaller throughout
his long life. He was considered to be the patriarch of the Denbigh temperance
movement and when a children’s temple associated with the Good Templar’s
Movement was established it was called Tomos’s Temple in honour of his
memory. A tall, slender, lithe as a greyhound type of man who wore breeches
and silk stockings. He would dare to tell off the town’s gentry for smoking in the
streets telling them they were setting the boys a bad example. He deserves the
highest praise for his tireless work with the Band of Hope and on March 1st 1872,
a grand benefit concert sponsored by Thomas Gee, was held in the Assembly
Rooms for the old man. It was to him that Thomas Gee, who lived opposite him
at Bronallt, would go every morning for a short time.

Next is the King’s Arms. Do you remember Mr Pritchard the landlord? In the
stables behind the public house, he would offer a Stallion service and many
farmers from the Vale would bring their mares there to be serviced. It was Mrs
Jane Roberts who was originally given permission to turn her abode into an inn
in 1824 and the house was in the possession of her descendants before it was
bought and let to new tenants by Dr Evan Pierce. Up until 1860 the town’s post
office was on the second floor of the inn and customers would have to conduct
their business through a small window on Lon Jams Melyn (Yellow James’s Lane)
which runs between the public house and the car park. Currently it is rumoured
that the building is to be turned into flats.

The next shop down is Snaith the Tailor, who specialises in military uniforms. Do
you remember Will Gough Roberts, Ted Gough the Railway’s brother, who kept a
butchers here? This is also where one of Denbigh’s cleverest men lived, John
Williams, Glanmor (1811-91), author of many books including Ancient and
Modern Denbigh and also The Records of Denbigh and its Lordship along with
many Welsh books. A regular competitor and judge at the National Eisteddfod,
he was a recognised author on the orthography of the Welsh language. He was,
for a time, headteacher at the school in Lenten Pool and lived in the
schoolhouse, but he moved to this building on Vale Street from where he
published his rare books on the history of Denbigh.

In around 1950, the next building along housed the Dole office following its
move from Chapel Street, later the building also housed the offices of Evan
Hooson the accountant. Do you remember seeing queues of unemployed men
forced to stand patiently outside whilst waiting for their meagre payments both
at the Chapel Street and Vale Street dole offices? Before the war, and for a
number of years after that, many of the town’s solicitors had their offices here
too.

The next building was the surgery of Dr Hughes-Davies, Cochwillan, he was

following Dr Lincoln Roberts and his uncle Dr Gruffydd Roberts. This is where Dr
D.G. Jones built his new surgery at the back.

The history of the next building is fascinating. In years gone by this was Ty Mawr
The Big House), the townhouse of the Plas Heaton family. The house was
adapted into shops sometime during the 19th century and about a century ago
Astons’ furniture business came here. Do you remember J.W Thomas the
manager and his successor Gwilym James Roberts, both prominent with the
Wesleyan movement at Pen-Dref chapel. Many of the town’s houses were
furnished by Astons. Happy Homes now occupies the same site and is continuing
with the same trade.

The two shops lower down than the furniture shop changed hands a number of
times. Today, in the first, is Whitehead the blinds’ shop and in the second is
café. In the first of the two, from 1934 onwards, was Ronald Thompson’s
photography shop, who was following in the footsteps of the famous
photographer Helsby whose name still graces a few old photographs in the vale
today. Helsby was born in Chile. Three of his sons became doctors and another
became the editor of the Daily Herald. It was very rare for the brothers to miss
the Old Denbighites’ annual reunion during the 1930s. More recently, and to
continue the succession, J.J. Jones went there. I remember the Co-op being in
the lower of the two shops and I also remember Lord Hooson’s father being
there, selling farm produce. It has also been a ladies hairdresser’s.

To end this article, do you remember Knowles which was demolished about 20
years ago before the offices which stand there now were built, on the corner of
Peake’s Lane? This was one of the main shops in the town, something similar to
Densons on the High Street, making and selling ladies clothing. As in Robert
Owen’s shop, there were complex devices above the counters carrying money to
the office at the back of the room and then returning the change and receipt to
the customer. As a child, I was mesmerised by the way the little boxes would
whip back and forth like little trains rushing from station to station.

Vale Street

And so we continue our journey down Vale Street. On the corner with Peake’s
Lane is Clergy House – its Bronze name plaque still proudly displayed on the
front door. Do you remember Mr and Mrs Haydn Richards who came here from
Penmachno in the 1940s, who looked after St David’s Church and the Church
House in addition to lodging the curates, David Griffith and Ifor Phillips? Later
they would both become rectors, one at Henllan (1957) and the other at Corwen
(1964).

Next door further down was the home of Wynne the vet, the richest man in
Denbigh, so they said, who owned many houses and farms in the vale. Here too,
in the first half of the 19thcentury is where the prominent solicitor, James
Hughes Horne, lived. According to local myth, it was he and not John Rowlands
the Llys who was the alleged father of the explorer, H.M. Stanley.

The next shop is empty at the moment – some time ago John Hall the chemist
traded here before he left for Abergele.

Just below the Police Headquarters are the offices of Cymdeithas Tai Clwyd. The
shop and the studio were built in the 1960s for the famous photographer Ronald
Thompson. He was followed by Edwin Derbyshire who also a photographer. This
is where the Padock’s large garden used to be when it was in the possession of
the solicitor Aneurin O. Evans who lived opposite in Neuadd Wen. Aneurin Evans
was an extraordinary character, the father in law of Cecil Williams who was a
leading member of the London Welsh Society and the Fellowship for many years.
It appears that he always had an authoritative streak; his demeanour always
appeared so in his breeches, bow tie, flat cap and a large cigar poking out from
under his thick moustache. He could be very witty but also very cutting,
especially in the law courts. He was a close friend of Lloyd George and it was in
the Neuadd Wen that he stayed when he was President of the Day at the
Eisteddfod in 1939.

Slightly lower down is the WRVS office. Do you remember T.P. Roberts, Hafod
Café, distributing bread from here? As a boy, Emrys Evans , Lôn Llywelyn used
to help with the work.

We pass Lluest and Gallt y Coed with deserved reverence as we remember that
in these two houses at one time stood two national bardic chairs, the one won
by T. Gwynn Jones for his ode ‘Ymadawiad Arthur’ in 1902 which is now in the
possession of Ceredig his grandson, and Mathonwy Hughes’s chair which he won
for his ode ‘Gwraig’ in 1956. On the living room wall above the fireplace at Gallt
y Coed, in bold letters, were the words ‘Heb Dduw, Heb Ddim, Duw a Digon’
which translated means Without God, Without Anything, God and Plenty. Which
were painted there by Mrs Hughes, Ysbrydion, who died in 1912.

Next is Clwydian House, once the home of Charles Cottom (1844-1928) who
founded the Free Press in Denbigh. Did you know that Dr Evan Pierce used to
live here before he bought Salusbury Place mansion?

Where now stands Windsor Terrace, the three storey red brick houses, where
Stanley Jones, former History teacher at the County School, Les Phillips, former
headteacher of Frongoch School and Ifor Evans, former headteacher of
Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr used to live academically close to each other, from 1700
until 1868, was The Goat public house. The terrace was built in 1870 for Mr and
Mrs ‘Australia’ Jones, who came back to their hometown having made their
fortune in the gold mines of Australia.

Do you remember E.T. Williams, Twm Death, and his wife living at Arosfa – him
a builder and her a teacher at Lenten Pool School?
 I wonder if you have an old family photograph taken by Mrs L.E. Jones? Well,
she used to keep a photography shop in the house next door for many years and
competed vehemently with Mr Helsby for customers.

Now we’ve arrived at Minffordd – the building was erected on the marriage of
J.P. Lewis (one of the town’s most notable solicitors) to the daughter of the
Rector, Canon Redfern. Did you know that Thomas Redfern was a close friend of
the philosopher Sir Henry Jones when they were youngsters living in
Llangernyw? The house was bought by the governors of Howells School as a
residence for some of the girls before it became a home for people with mental
health problems.

Next comes Dr Evan Pierce’s Memorial gardens, where once opposite stood his
grand mansion. The column was built in honour of him in 1876. If time and
space allowed, I would welcome the opportunity to shatter Dr Pierce’s image,
and try to show that he was not as charitable as some historians claim him to
be.

Then we come to, J.H. Jones the Butcher’s – his is the most recent in a chain of
similar shops that have occupied this site. Moses Parry, H.M. Stanley’s Uncle,
was here until about 1860, and he was followed by numerous members of his
family. Around the turn of the 20th century Samuel Roberts was here as a
butcher and following him, J.W. Davies. He was followed by the dear Alun
Hughes – very hard of hearing but full of chatter even when the shop was full to
overflowing.

In the minutes of the Overseers of the Poor in 1760, a reference is made to the
Hope and Anchor tavern. Following the advent of the railway to Denbigh in 1858,
trade here increased substantially, and on the pavement in front of the inn a
machine to weigh wagons and their loads was erected. Some time ago, the
name was changed to The Yeoman, but thankfully it has now returned to its
original name.

Up until the 1950s, Herbie Cartwright’s Smithy stood next door. Herbie was the
father of the late Tudor Cartwright. What a terrible tragedy befell the family in
the 1930s when his young son was killed by car nearby to the Smithy. Denbigh
hosted a number of Smithys in the olden days – Hugh Roberts on Post Office
Lane, E. Cartwright and then D.W. Jones behind the Foundry and Will Griffiths in
Smithfield. Considering there were also smithies in the nearby villages e.g.
Griffith from Nantglyn, Edwards of Groes and Pierce, Henllan, they must all have
been able to make a living shoeing horses and fixing agricultural equipment. This
smithy on Vale Street should have been bought by the authorities and kept
intact with its tools and equipment so that today’s generations could have an
insight into the old way of living.

Garfield Terrace was named so in memory of Lord Garfield, who was murdered
in the US in 1881, a few months after being elected to his post.

The other side of the unusual arched entrance was the small old fashioned shop
of the two Miss Lloyds. It was known locally as Shop Ding Dong because that is
what you heard when you opened the door. There wasn’t much there for sale
but Blodwen Lloyd with her witty and catchy sayings was an unique character.

Nothing much has been happening in the next two shops for some time now
although the upper of the two is a store for wood of all shapes and sizes. H.T.
Davies used to be here before he opened his veg shop on the High Street in the
1930s. How Meic bought the business from him before turning it later into a
second hand furniture business.

Mr Williams, a stone mason, used to occupy the building next door and he used
to display headstones on the small patch of land in front of the shop.

It was on this site, from 1780 to the middle of the 19th century, that the Coach
and Horses inn stood.

Where now stands Rhewl Goch and the house next door, for a short time
between 1865 and 1885 stood the Foresters Arms. With the advent and growth
of the railways, the opportunity was seized to change it into a Temperance
House. The next building has had a chequered history. Believe it or not it was
once another public house, The Black, which was here as early as the 17th
century. This was followed by a rope making business owned by the Howe
family, and a Ropewalk extended to Park Street from the back of the property.
There was much call for rope in the olden days, especially so from farmers, cart
drivers, quarrymen and local foresters, along with the requirements of the ship
builders in the Foryd and Rhuddlan, and the Denbighshire and Flintshire
coalfields.
The first shopkeeper I know of here was the grocer who was known locally as
Take Me Home Charlie. He was reportedly overly keen on visiting the country
inns to bend his elbow and, as a result, would more often than not, fall blind
drunk into his trap and instruct his mare Charlie to take him home. The shop
was known as the Railway Stores. Another grocer by the name of Hugo Williams
then took over and before and after the war, Dafydd John Pierce, W.D. Pierce’s
(Mayor of Denbigh 1947 – 49) brother, used to bake and sell bread and cakes
here. Then another family by the name of Armstrong continued with the same
business before J.P. Davies came there to open a wine shop. Behind the shop,
J.P. would hold second hand furniture auctions. For years on this site, Davies
and Hughes had a vehicle construction business, with David Henry Bartley
(latterly Siop y Fron) a wheelwright there. That is where the name Llys Y
Gamog, the name of the small estate of houses opposite, comes from.

It was the Meadowcroft family that first opened the next shop and it was here
that the first Lower Denbigh Post Office was based. Later, Bob Morris’s family
came here with his brother in law Les Gatward assisting him. Do you remember
how thin Bob Morris was and how deserving he was of his nickname Razor
Blades? He lost his temper one day when someone warned him not to walk too
close to the grids at the side of the pavement in case he fell through the bars.
The shop has seen many owners over the years but it still sells newspapers,
sweets and tobacco today.

Slightly below this shop is the butcher’s shop which was, until recently, owned
by John Williams and his son Dewi. More than half a century ago, it was another
brother of Thomas Davies, the butcher at the top of the street, John Davies, who
was here and before him another butcher, John Evans. The owners over the
years are to be praised for keeping the Welsh language alive in these premises.
It is interesting to note that the building is ancient and listed by CADW.

The next shop is empty at the moment but I believe the intention is to move the
butcher’s shop there. Before it shut, and before Alwyn Thomas went there to sell
bread and cakes, this is where Owens and Davies had its grocery business. In
the middle of the shop was the Post Office with Mr Davies’s daughter as
postmistress. Above the shop is a large room where, in days gone by, meetings
and celebratory meals were held.

There is only one small shop left before we reach the bottom of the street, which
is the one that now houses the Post Office. Before this, Llewelyn Wynne, brother
of Bob Kenyon Wynne, was a barber here, and he, in turn, followed Jack
Richards, the Barber. Mr Richards had two sons, Hywel and Len. Hywel was a
surveryor with the Town Council but he died young. Len lost his life in Anzio in
1943 whilst serving with the Air Force.

A row of houses leads to the lowest part of Vale Street. Do you remember the
railway bridge that crossed the street which was demolishd in 1971?

The Railway

As we turn the corner at the bottom of Vale Street, we come to the Railway Inn,
which was, until the 1950s, under the ownership of three generations of the
Gough Roberts family. Ted Gough was an old fashioned inn keeper, one that did
not allow strangers, nor indeed some of the regulars, to frequent the snug at the
back; only the chosen few like Morris Tudor, T.J. Davies (Twm Ginger); George
Pierce; John Wesley Evans and Reg Parry were allowed in there.

Before the advent of the railway, the pub was known as the Vale of Clwyd
Tavern and it was kept by an old couple, William and his wife Sarah Barker, he
dressed in the attire of the period in breeches, sillk sotckings, a long coat with
two rows of brass buttons, and leather shoes with shiny buckles which was a
reflection of his status in the community.

Behind the pub is land which connects Vale Street and Park Street – a
convenient place to park if you are perhaps picking up your pension or visiting
the Infirmary. At the start of the 19th century, this is where a row of cottages
willed to Lon Swan Chapel stood. These were demolished by the railway
company in order to extend the railway line from Denbigh to Ruthin, the land
was bought by the county council and, under the present contract, the chapel
still receives compensation. I read recently that an application has been made to
build six houses here.

There have been many twists and turns in the history of the little shop which
stands near to the Railway. It is empty at present but, up until recently, it was a
tailor’s shop and before that a sweet shop. Do you remember Mr Lewis the
cobbler here and before him Edwards Paraffin?

It is sad to see that Salem, which was the bolthole of a small number of faithful
Wesleyans, has now closed its doors. The chapel was formed here in 1866 with
only eight members but this number rose steadily over the years. In his dotage,
this is where Dr Evan Pierce came to worship.

Many have documented the history of the Infirmary and it is interesting to read
that his was the first hospital of its kind in North Wales when the doors were
opened in 1807. I wonder what celebrations will be held on its bicentenary?
Many characters have been associated with the Infirmary over the past two
hundred years – Dr J.G. Thomas (Dr Gwyn’s father) who used to sing Welsh
hymns whilst in the Operating Theatre; Dr Duff who devised the Duff Stretcher;
Dr Turnour and Dr Cumming from the 19th century; Miss Marjorie Williams,
Colonel Goronwy Griffith and the Rev John Morris Jones – the three of them
conscientious secretaries for long periods, and Miss Budred the Matron, without
forgetting the mischevious porter, Jones Bach the porter.

Do you know that before the hospital stood here, this was the site of the Trap
Inn?

Lower Park (the Rec) was opened by the Town Council in 1935. Do you
remember how tidy and colourful the lawns and gardens were at that time? No
wonder with a caretaker of the calibre of Dei Edwards (Dei Banjo) and his
predecessor, Llywelyn Jones (Llew Fawr) who with their eagle eyes ensured that
the children would not misbehave.

Ysgol Caledfryn – the High School today – was established as the Central School
in 1938 for those children who had not passed the scholarship to enter the
County School. The first headteacher was Caradog Davies, the former
headmaster of Love Lane School. As a youngster he played amateur football for
Wales. I have a childhood memory of seeing Caradog Davies and someone else
competing against Abel Jackson and Mrs Hughes, Pendref Chapel House, on the
duet of Hywel and Blodwen in the Memorial Hall (Twm o’r Nant Theatre).

Further on from the school is a little stream running under the road on its
journey from Rhodfa Clwyd to the River Clwyd. Pont y Capten (Captain’s Bridge)
used to straddle the stream here in the olden days. During the Civil War (1642 –
48) one of the Royalist’s captains was fatally injured somewhere near the bridge
during a skirmish and permission was given to some of the defenders of the
castle to carry his body part of the way to Llanrhaeadr Church to bury him there.
I cannot leave this side of Ruthin Road without referring to three houses,
Springfield, Oaklands and Cae Derw. Do you remember the sisters Mrs Owen
and Miss Roberts living in Springfield and many of the town’s children having to
make their way there at one time to receive piano lessons? Passing the house
today, I feel somehow it belongs to me – my father built the glass verandah on
the corner.

W.A. Evans, County School headteacher, whom I mentioned earlier, lived in

Oaklands, he bought the house from D.H. Davies his predecessor at the school.

Moving on, we come to Coed Derw, the home of Thomas Casson (1843 – 1910)
an expert in the organ building trade, and the father of Sir Lewis Casson the
famous Shakespearian actor who was the husband of Sybil Thorndike, and also
Dr Elizabeth Casson, a pioneer in the occupational therapy field.

At the edge of the town, on the way to Llandyrnog, is the parish’s ancient church
– St Marcella’s, or Whitchurch as it is known locally. This is where many of the
area’s notables have been laid to rest including Twm o’r Nant, Richard Clough
the financier, Humphrey Lloyd the cartographer, Sion y Bodiau and Thomas
Jones, the theologian.

The beautiful old cottages, Ysgubor Wen, nearby also have a rich history. This is
where stood, in the olden days, the barn where the Rector of the parish would
keep his tithes, a 10th of the produce of the local farmers - corn, barley, potatoes
and the like.