But before the long process of chartering a university could be completed, Aberystwyth had other things on its mind. The second town hall of Aberystwyth was pulled down and replaced with a sixty-three foot high town clock and the new town hall was built on the site of The Orangery (formerly the Talbot Hotel).
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| The third town hall of Aberystwyth. |
The next big improvement to be made to the town was the railway system working its way towards Aberystwyth. The company to first build a network into Aberystwyth is the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway Company, and work on the first railway between Machynlleth and Aberystwyth begins in 1862. In 1864 the railway opens that would allow travel to Shrewsbury, but as a result of these railways being constructed, local trade via shipping began to decline. The railway entrepreneur, Thomas Savin, responsible, however, summons the London Architect JP Seddon to Aberystwyth in order to build a luxury hotel around an earlier, smaller, mansion: Castle House was soon to become Castle Hotel. His company soon merges with the Cambrian Railway Company in 1865.
Aberystwyth is at a high point in its history in this period. A new pier pier is completed in 1865 for the Aberystwyth Pier Promenade Company. It was designed by Eugenius Birch, who designed many other piers around the country in this period. The national Eisteddfod was held in Aberystwyth in this year as well: an Eisteddfod is a Welsh festival of literature, music, and performance. This year also marked the beginning of the building work on the Castle Hotel, a neo-gothic style luxury hotel.
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| Castle Hotel before the fire of 1866. |
In 1866 the stock market crashed and liquidators offered the incomplete Castle Hotel to the Welsh National University Committee for 15,000 pounds (the building work had cost 80,000 pounds). Eventually they got the building for a mere 10,000 pounds in 1867, the same year that Aberystwyth's second railway line opened.
October 9, 1872, the University of Aberystwyth opens with 26 students: the first principal was Thomas Charles Edwards, and for the first decade the university was supported purely by voluntary contributions. The day before the university opened the town had its own holiday. Shops were closed and most of the town was festooned with decorations. In 1875 the university adopted the motto, "a world without knowledge is no world" or "nid byd, byd heb, wybodaeth," in Welsh.
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| Aberystwyth University |
Mines began to close in 1880 as the tourism industry and college students become the number one source of income for the town, and the town grows even further. With more growth comes the need for more water: the water from the dingle under Constitution Hill is an inadequate source, so work begins to bring in more water from a reservoir at Pumlumon Fawr.
1884 marks the first time female students are allowed into the University, and the population of the student body rises to 132 students. But on July 9, 1885, there is a fire on the University grounds that destroys the northern wing, library, laboratory, and museum of the university. Two men died when a floor fell in one of the buildings. Luckily, the museum and library contents were saved. In the same year Abergeldie becomes the first hall of residence for female students. The next year the university elected AE Carpenter as the "Lady Principal" for the women's halls of residence.
Wet weather and grey skies is stereotypically British. Aberystwyth is definitely no exception to these weather expectations. It has a long history of battling storms and flooding. October of 1886 flooding caused severe damage, destroying the Trefechan Bridge and flooding the North Parade under 6 feet of water. The next year there was a storm so terrible it broke all of the windows in Balmoral and Abergeldie Halls and waves smashed over the beach, flying into the walls of the buildings on Victoria Terrace and sending spray over the tops of the houses. The original landscape of Aberystwyth is marshland, so it is to be expected that storms would easily crash over the beach.
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| Storm waves crashing on the Prom. |
In the last fifth of the 19th century another period of town restoration and renovation. 1888 the House of Correction at the bottom of Great Darkgate Street was turned into a police station and the Aberystwyth Infirmary and Cardigan General Hospital opened its doors. In 1889 the University built a roof over the Old College Quad. In 1892 electric lights were introduced to the town, even while the old bath house on the Prom was demolished. Electric street lighting was fully introduced in 1894. In 1896 Alexandra Hall was built at the North end of the Promenade: it was one of the first hostels in the U.K. built specifically for female students. The pavilion on the pier is also completed this year.
In this period, Aberystwyth University is incorporated by Royal Charter in 1889, then in November 1893, Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff Universities were formed into a federation called the University of Wales. The new university was given a Royal Charter, allowing it to grant its own degrees. Its first degree was in fact granted to the Princess of Wales in 1896. In the same year, the Prince of Wales had been installed as the chancellor of the university. Prime Minister receives an honorary degree from the university as well.
In August of 1896, the Cliff Railway was opened. It cost sixty-thousand pounds. After 25 years it was converted to run by electricity, but had actually started with the two cars counter-balancing each other and two large water barrels filled or emptied to drive cars in opposite directions by gravity. The railway climbs Constitution Hill and ends at a beautiful little spot with a restaurant called Y Consti Cafe.
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| The cafe on a hill. |
In the first part of the 1900's the town works on extending the promenade along the side of the Old College. Before, there was simply a littel landscaped area facing the sea, ready to take on the challenge of the harsh waves. Before you had to walk east of the College to get to the Southern part of town. It cost 16,000 pounds to extend the promenade and the rubble was mined from the hill just above Queen's Road and carted down a mini railway that had been constructed along the prom, to fill in the prom.
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| The Prom being filled in to pass along the side of the Old College |
In 1902 the third railroad to Aberystwyth was opened. Its purpose was to transport lead and zinc ore from Devil's Bridge to Aberystwyth Harbour. The next year the Natwest Bank building was completed. Then in 1904 the Coliseum was built as an entertainment hall with a ground floor arcade, stables, and offices, and, as another sign of Aberystwyth's popularity, a group of enthusiasts met in this same year to plan and hold the First Royal Welsh show over two days in Vicarage Fields: the next year the Royal Welsh Show was also held in Aberystwyth.
Educational sources were greatly improved in the area in the next few years. The United Theological College on the site of the old Customs House used for shipping goods. Then in 1907 King Edward VII granted a charter for the National Library of Wales to be in Aberystwyth. That same year, the first purpose built chemistry department in Britain was built in Aberystwyth: they were designed by Alfred Cross and dubbed the Edward Davies Memorial Chemical Laboratories.
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| The innards of the National Library in Wales |
While Aberystwyth played a part during the First World War, it was only concerning the placement of the troops. Once the war was over, despite the years of heavy flooding and destruction by natural causes, the city was flourishing. In 1922, Prime Minister David Lloyd George visits the town to celebrate the fifty year anniversary of the University. Work also began on the 82 foot tall war memorial on the castle grounds. The memorial had, perched upon the top, a figure of the angel of peace, and the bottom part of the pediment was meant to depict the idea of humanity emerging from the entanglements of war. Many consider this war memorial to be the grandest in all of Britain.
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| A good, all encompassing view of this large statue is hard to find |
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