The beginning of Aberystwyth as a popular beach town and spa resort was in 1779 with the discovery of a small spring at the junction of Alexandra Road and Plascrug Avenue: turns out it was Chalybeate water which was popular as a tonic at the time. By 1785 Aberystwyth had become a popular watering hole for the gentry, akin to that of Bath or Brighton in England. The town was forced to clean up the streets and make improvements to keep the attentions of the refined, moneyed "quality" - the nickname for gentry.
In 1787 St. Michael's was consecrated. The location of the church is just east of the Old Castle ruins, and it could hold 350 people. If looked at in context the church seems to have been put in place to both hold more of the town's growing population and to allow the gentry a religious home on the Sundays they would be vacationing in Aberystwyth. The church has, in fact, survived to this day, even though it has moved locations.
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| St. Michael's Church, as can be seen today |
In the same year as the start of the French Revolution, a gaol is built in Aberystwyth, adjunct to the town hall, and it was not the only building constructed in this period. The first building outside the town walls was built in 1790 at the end of Queens Road, it was known as Sandmarsh Cottage. In 1793 a wooden bridge is erected: unfortunately, the bridge was washed away in 1796 due to a powerful snow storm thawing in the mountains, but was replaced with a stone bridge in 1797. In the next two years the same man that designed the bridge, John Nash, helped to build a small triangular villa called "Castle House" for Sir Uvedale Price. This was the foundation for Aberystwyth University.
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| An illustration of the Castle House, in the middle of the frame. |
The town grew further still in the year of 1799. The first building is built on the common marsh that is now called the North Parade. The marsh frequently flooded in this period: so much so that those people bringing produce to market were forced to ride a boat from the junction of Llanbadarn and Penglais Roads to the foot of Great Darkgate. The town wall was the next renovation in order to expand the town and build Baker Street. A new House of Correction is built at this time, along with a Bath House on Bryn Diodde, located on the prom. The new stone bridge to replace the one that was washed away is also opened in the period.
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| The stone incarnation of the bridge over the Rheidol, designed by John Nash. |
Travel and banking became more and more advanced in the following years. In 1810 the Aberystwyth and Tregaron Bank opens on Bridge Street and quickly becomes known as the Black Sheep Bank. The rumour is that this moniker came about because the bank went bankrupt only four years later, but it is actually more likely that this is the case because the bank used notes with black sheep one them, most likely to help the local population understand the denomination better. In the same year, travel to Shrewsbury (which is only 75 miles) took an entire day, but by 1816 travel to London by stage coach (which is 235 miles away) took only 48 hours. In 1818 the Aberystwyth Provident Bank for Savings is opened on Bridge Street. All of these improvements to the town in this period were mainly for the gentry on vacation to the local, and they were not the only ones.
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| Black Sheep Bank bank notes |
In July 1820 a Ballroom was built to house entertainment for the tourists: it later became known as the Assembly Rooms. The ballroom was used mainly at night for parties and balls, but in the day it was converted into billiards room, reading room, card room, and bar. Some of the listed ball room rules included "a ball will take place every Tuesday during the season, the first dance to be called at 9 o' clock precisely," "no servants be admitted," "no gentlemen (military excepted) be admitted in boots," and "no game of Hazard be allowed" in the card rooms.
Religion was next to come into play in the building up of Wales' population. With education being so poor in the Welsh lands, there were not enough educated men to ordain. The Anglicans founded a theological college to respond to this situation called St. David's College, in Lampeter. It received its royal charter in 1828, making it the oldest University in Wales. Welsh Calvinistic Methodists formed in Aberystwyth on Great Darkgate Street in 1823 and is now the only Presbyterian faith that boasts a purely Welsh origin. Almost ten years later, in 1833, St. Michael's moves its church to a larger builder, a little further north (although not much) of the original site. The original St. Michael building known as St. Michael's Chapel is torn down in 1836.
More municipal work is done in this next period. In 1831 a theatre is built on the corner of North Parade and, of course, Thespian Street. The first foundry is built between the harbour and South Road, and the next year the Municipal Corporations Act disbanded the town corporation and elected a town council. In 1837 the Poor Law Union and Workhouse are established in May, and later in the year, a new water works opened that was fed by a small reservoir in the dingle under Constitution Hill: also in this same year, the foundation stone in the harbour was laid, and the landmark was ranked as the third most important harbour in Wales. Then in 1838 the Aberystwyth Infirmary and Cardigan General Hospital is opened on Upper Portland Street, and in the next year Aberystwyth becomes one of the first towns to have gas street lighting. The second foundry in Aberystwyth was built in 1840 on Northgate Street. A proud moment of municipal forward-thinking happens in 1845: Aberystwyth is the first town in Wales to open an institution for the deaf and dumb, The Cambrian Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in Pier Street; although, the institution was moved to Swansea in 1850. The last note of municipal growth is in accordance to beautification. In 1853, a monument, shaped like an upturned cannon, is erected on Pendinas Hill to honor the Duke of Wellington.
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| The Wellington Monument on Pendinas Hill, overlooking Abertown. |
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