Prestatyn

Coordinates:
3.405W

531952N 32418W / 53.331N

High Street today mark the location of two 'maenolau'

(or manor houses) called Pendre (translated as end of
or top of town) and Penisadre (lower end of town).

Prestatyn /prsttn/ is a seaside resort, town and

community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part
of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the
east of Rhuddlan. At the 2001 Census, Prestatyn had a 1.4 19th century to present
population of 18,496, [1] increasing to 18,849 at the 2011
The towns population remained at less than 1,000 until
census.[2]
the arrival of the railways and the holidaymakers in the
19th and 20th centuries. Sunny Prestatyn became famous for its beach, clean seas and promenade entertain1 History
ers, and visiting for a bathe was considered very healthy
by city-dwelling Victorians. During the Second World
War the holiday camps were used as billets for British
1.1 Prehistory
soldiers, many of whom were also sent to live with locals.
There is evidence that the current town location has Prestatyn was the home of the rst ever UK Kwik Save
been occupied since prehistoric times. Prehistoric tools supermarket in 1965; Prestatyn was also the home of the
found in the caves of Graig Fawr, in the nearby village rms business headquarters. The Kwik Save store was
of Meliden, have revealed the existence of early human renamed Somereld following a takeover in 2007, and
habitation in the area.
was nally demolished in 2008 when surrounding land
was bought by Tesco.

1.2

Roman

1.3

Medieval

The North Hoyle Oshore Wind Farm was opened in

2003. Situated in Liverpool Bay, 5 miles (8 km) o the
The Roman bathhouse is believed to be part of a fort on coast of Prestatyn, it was the UKs rst major oshore
the road from Chester to Caernarfon. However, much wind farm. It has 30 wind turbines with a combined maxof Roman Prestatyn has been destroyed as houses have imum capacity of 60 megawatts - enough to power 40,000
been built over unexcavated land.
homes if it was sustained.

2 Facilities and attractions

The name Prestatyn derives from the Old English preosta (priest) and tun (town), and was recorded in the
Domesday Book as Prestetone.[3][4] Unlike similarly derived names in England, which generally lost their penultimate syllable and became Preston, this villages name
developed a typically Welsh emphasis on the penultimate
syllable and a modication of ton to tyn, as also happened at Mostyn.[5] Although the Domesday Book only
extended to demesnes in England, Prestatyn was included
since it was at that time under English control.

Although Prestatyn remains a tourist destination and

resort town, the town is diversifying in response to the
decline of the British seaside holiday. The NHS is planning to open an elderly care facility in the town to serve
north Denbighshire, and the opening of big name shops
and supermarkets looks set to increase the towns status
as a shopping centre. Merlin Cinemas have taken over
the Scala cinema, a digital cinema with lms, exhibition
and theatre venues.

An earth mound, visible in elds to the east of the railway station, beyond Nant Hall, marks the site of an early
wooden Prestatyn castle, probably built by the Norman
Robert de Banastre about 1157, which was destroyed by
the Welsh under Owain Gwynedd in 1167.[6][7] The Banastre family then moved to Bank Hall in Lancashire.

Work is under way on the revival of the Ffrith Beach

Festival Gardens. After a troubled few years when the
seafront site has lain deserted, attractions are planned,
such as tenpin bowling, quad bikes, dance studio and yoghurt bar.

The town is at the northern end of the Oas Dyke Path,

The town appears to have been primarily a shing vil- although not on Oas Dyke itself. It also marks the eastlage for hundreds of years. The beginning and end of ern end of the North Wales Path, a long-distance coastal
1

REFERENCES

route to Bangor, and the western end of the Clwydian in the day. In 2008 the carnival became a two-day event,
Way. Other attractions include the remains of Roman with the Sunday designated Fun on the Field day, with
baths and the nearby Neolithic mound, the Gop.
many events including a talent show and dance competiPontins Holiday Centre was the location for a 1973 lm tion. In[8]2011 the event reverted to its original oneday
format.
of the popular British TV series, On the Buses.
In 2008, Prestatyn Carnival Association revived the Miss
Prestatyn title.

Politics

The town was in the Delyn parliamentary constituency 7 Cultural references

from 1983 to 1997, since when it has been in Vale of
Clwyd.
Philip Larkin once wrote a poem entitled Sunny
Prestatyn. In it he describes a poster advertising the resort
that is progressively defaced by vulgar grati.[9] Roddy
Frame and Jeremy Stacey wrote most of Aztec Camera's
4 Transport
1995 album Frestonia during a three-week retreat at the
Sands Hotel in Prestatyn. Frame later blamed the overPrestatyn railway station is on the North Wales Coast Line
cast and grim weather conditions there for the albums
which connects the town with Holyhead to the west and
melancholy and gloomy tone.[10]
Chester to the east. Bus services are provided by Arriva
The town also appears in The Royle Family 2009 ChristNorth West and Wales.
mas special The Golden Egg Cup, in which the family
visits Prestatyn to celebrate Jim and Barbs ftieth wedding anniversary.
5 Notable people
See Category:People from Prestatyn
Notable people from the town include Harold BirdWilson, Neil Aspinall, Peggy Cummins, John Prescott,
Mike Peters (The Alarm), Carol Vorderman, Karl
Wallinger (of the band World Party), author Emyr
Humphreys and the leading ornithologist Jonathan Elphick. Shrewsbury Town F.C. goalkeeper coach Danny
Coyne was born in Prestatyn.

Annual Events

8 Sport
Local football side Prestatyn Town gained promotion
to the Welsh Premiership football league having been
crowned champions of the Cymru Alliance League 200708 season. As of 23 April 2008, planning permission for
oodlights and seating had been granted[11] in order to
meet the Welsh Premier grading requirements. The deadline for these upgrades was 1 May 2008[12] and, having
passed these requirements, their promotion was ratied
by the Welsh Premier League on 15 May.[13]

Many qualication rounds in snooker were once held at

Pontins Holiday Camp here; this included all the ma6.1 Flower Show
jor snooker tournaments, and the World Championship.
Prestatyn Flower Show is an annual event held in The qualication rounds have since moved to the World
Prestatyn town centre on the last Friday and Saturday of Snooker Academy in Sheeld.
July. The ower show has traditionally been held within
the grounds of Cerrig Llwydion, High Street, Prestatyn
which was formerly a vicarage. The event also includes a 9 References
small display of classic cars and vintage motorcycles on
the Saturday.
[1] 2001 Census: Prestatyn, Oce for National Statistics, retrieved 20 June 2008

6.2

Carnival

Prestatyn Carnival is an annual summer event in the town,

and features eld events, competitions and a procession.
Each year, thousands take part in the festivities. The carnival celebrated its diamond jubilee in 2011.
The traditional Carnival Parade takes place on the Saturday, and is followed by a Carnival Baby Competition later

[2] Town population 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2015.

[3] Cheshire (places now in Wales): Prestatyn, The Domesday
Book Online, retrieved 11 November 2008
[4] An Outline of Prestatyn, Virtual Prestatyn, retrieved 11
November 2008
[5] Wyn Owen, Hywel (1998), The Place-Names of Wales,
ISBN 0-7083-1458-9

[6] Prestatyn castle

[7] Prestatyn Castle at CastleUK.net
[8] Prestatyn Carnival, Prestatyn Carnival Association, retrieved 6 January 2016
[9] Poetry Connection
[10] Frame, Roddy; Day, Roger, Love, Warner/Chappel Publishing, ISBN 0-86359-516-2
[11] Football clubs oodlight plan given go ahead, Rhyl Journal, 23 April 2008, retrieved 25 April 2008
[12] Prestatyn Town FC are Cymru Alliance champions, Rhyl
& Prestatyn Visitor, 9 April 2008, retrieved 25 April 2008
[13] Prestatyn Town FC: Latest News, 15 May 2008, retrieved
20 June 2008

10

External links

Media related to Prestatyn at Wikimedia Commons

11

11
11.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Prestatyn Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prestatyn?oldid=747854884 Contributors: William Avery, Arpingstone, Lfh, PaulL~enwiki, Rls, Warofdreams, Sjorford, Owain, Caknuck, Gareth Wyn, T0m, Utcursch, Rich Farmbrough, Kwamikagami, Velella, Saga
City, Dave.Dunford, The JPS, Macaddct1984, Silverwood, NekoDaemon, ApolloBoy, YurikBot, RobotE, Sarranduin, Wiki alf, Welsh,
Zzuuzz, Closedmouth, MartinUK, SmackBot, DWaterson, Sloman, Gilliam, Ohnoitsjamie, Bluebot, Neekeem, Rrburke, Bigturtle, Richsage, Stuey 182, Glynhughes, Dr Greg, Childzy, Neddyseagoon, Hogyn Lleol, Skinsmoke, Kapohogrrl, JoePane, Pit-yacker, Cydebot,
Ryan, Gogo Dodo, Richardguk, Trident13, Nabokov, PKT, JamesAM, Snowy 1973, Tangerines, EP111, Ghmyrtle, Sluzzelin, Deective,
Carl jones, Acroterion, The Anomebot2, Undeleted~enwiki, Cpl Syx, Enaidmawr, Starrycupz, Silver Nemesis, Herbythyme, FruitMonkey, Merrick101, Bankhallbretherton, JavierMC, One Night In Hackney, Je G., Pwimageglow, Devoxo, Charlesdrakew, Dqb321, Jeremy
Bolwell, Cj1340, SieBot, Mammoth47, North wales cestrian, Jza84, Thedrunksheep, Martarius, Serialdownloader, Shinpah1, Boing! said
Zebedee, Photabulous, Pamela Gardiner, Mhockey, DumZiBoT, XLinkBot, Gwandoya, Alipeeps, Addbot, Dead star 79, Chamal N, Magruser, AnnaFrance, Favonian, Ehrenkater, Lightbot, Yobot, AnomieBOT, Xqbot, Perry91919, Karl1587, FrescoBot, D'ohBot, Saethwr,
ClickBot, Ryderdn, Vrenator, Sirkablaam, Onel5969, Monkey32, Bagle-man, Nunez99, ZroBot, Green Lane, ClueBot NG, PaleCloudedWhite, Helpful Pixie Bot, Khazar2, Username20122012, Ajmckerrow, Liza Llewellyn, Ugog Nizdast, Nadimsaeed, Totally-Prestatyn,
Mattcymru2, Coreyrocker, WelshTourismCentre, Jonesthephones, SirLazealot, Bob Henshaw, Paulwa66, FootballBoy73, Dyolf87 and
Anonymous: 148

11.2

Images

File:Denbighshire_UK_location_map.svg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Denbighshire_UK_
location_map.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Ordnance Survey OpenData. Original artist: Nilfanion, created using Ordnance
Survey data
File:Prestatyn-Panorama.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Prestatyn-Panorama.jpg License: CC
BY-SA 2.0 Contributors: From geograph.org.uk Original artist: Graham Horn
File:Red_pog.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0c/Red_pog.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Wales_Denbighshire_locator_map.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Wales_Denbighshire_
locator_map.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: NordNordWest
File:Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: AleXXw

11.3

Content license

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