By Isla Quinn
Pink. Ochre. Pale green. Then the tide goes out and the whole bay turns to sand.
Portmeirion sits in Gwynedd, North Wales, on the estuary of the River Dwyryd. According to Wikipedia it is 2 miles (3.2 km) from Porthmadog and 1 mile (1.6 km) from Minffordd railway station. It was not a village that grew. It was a village that one architect designed, over decades, on a coastal estate.
Who and when
The village’s own history page says the Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis acquired the Aber Iâ estate in 1925, wanting to show that a beautiful site could be developed without being spoiled. It describes “steep cliffs overlooking a wide sandy estuary, woods, streams and a nucleus of old buildings.” The page adds that the castle was recorded in 1188 by Gerald of Wales, and that the estate got its old name from Edward Lhuyd in 1700.
Then the rename. The history page says Williams-Ellis changed it at once from Aber Iâ, which it translates as “Glacial Estuary”, to Portmeirion: “Port” for the coast, “Meirion” for Merioneth, the county.
A hotel first
The Royal Commission’s record for the hotel, held on the Welsh national heritage database Coflein, says the mansion was built about 1850 and that the restored hotel opened in 1926. The village’s own page gives the opening as the Easter weekend, 2 April 1926. The same record says a fire gutted the hotel in June 1981 and that it was restored and reopened in 1988, which matches the visitor page’s line that the hotel was restored in 1988.
A home for fallen buildings
Williams-Ellis described the place, in words the history page quotes, as “a home for fallen buildings.” Several structures were salvaged from demolition sites. Wikipedia gives one example: the Town Hall, which it says is Grade I listed and incorporates the Hercules Hall from the demolished Emral Hall in Flintshire.
Our reading: that explains why the village feels assembled and not planned in the usual way. It was built partly out of rescued parts.
Italy, or not
The question visitors ask is whether it copies Portofino. Wikipedia says Williams-Ellis denied the claim repeatedly, saying he wanted to pay tribute to the Mediterranean atmosphere. It quotes him admitting, “How should I not have fallen for Portofino?” The critic Lewis Mumford, Wikipedia says, called it “an artful and playful little modern village.”
The woods and the gardens
The grounds are called Y Gwyllt, “the wild place”. Wikipedia says they hold rhododendrons and other exotic plants, that a previous owner began the collection, and that the sheltered coast stays frost-free enough for rare plants such as camellias. It says the gardens are Grade II* on the Cadw and ICOMOS register of historic parks and gardens in Wales. The hotel’s visitor page also mentions woodland gardens and sub-tropical gardens with views over the estuary.
Dates in order
- About 1850: the mansion of Aber Iâ is built, according to the Royal Commission record.
- 1925: Williams-Ellis acquires the estate, according to the village’s history page and the Royal Commission record.
- 2 April 1926: the hotel opens, according to the village’s history page.
- 1981: fire at the hotel, according to the Royal Commission record.
- 1988: the hotel is restored, according to the Royal Commission record.
- 2001: Castell Deudraeth opens as a hotel, according to the visitor page.
Side by side
The end date of the building work depends on the page. Wikipedia says the village was designed and built between 1925 and 1975. The village’s own introduction says 1925 to 1973, while its construction timeline gives two phases, 1925 to 1939 and 1954 to 1976. The Royal Commission record says he designed it from 1925 until his death in 1978. We show all four and choose none. Our reading: the village was worked on in bursts over half a century, so any single end date is a matter of what counts as finished.
What kind of sources these are
The history page and the hotel page are the owner’s own material. Coflein is the national heritage database for Wales, and its text here was written by the Royal Commission. Wikipedia can be edited by anyone.
Questions a buyer would ask
Portmeirion is a place to ask what “inspired by” means on a gift label. A tile or a mug with a pastel print may be named after the village without being made there. None of our sources names a craft business here, so we name none.
What we left out
Admission, room details, filming and festival history, the people who live and work there, and anything about the television series beyond what the sources dwell on.
Quick answers
Who built Portmeirion? According to the village’s own history page, the Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis, who acquired the Aber Iâ estate in 1925.
What does Portmeirion mean? The village’s history page says “Port” refers to the coast and “Meirion” to Merioneth, the county.
Is Portmeirion a copy of Portofino? Wikipedia says Williams-Ellis denied this repeatedly, saying he wanted to pay tribute to the Mediterranean atmosphere.
Related on this site: pillar-box-history-trollope-jersey, bramley-apple-southwell-seedling, herdwick-wool-and-the-fell-heaf
Roam first. Shop later.