Aberystwyth and North Ceredigion

Aberystwyth was created in 1277 when Edward I, having built a new stone castle, granted a charter to the nearby settlement. It remained a small settlement until the end of the eighteenth century when it became fashionable for the gentry and nobility to visit the 'Brighton of Wales'. Ship-building developed during the 1770s and, later, foundries and other industries were set up to support the needs of a growing community. The port declined with the arrival of the railway in 1864, which linked the town with the Midlands and, later, South Wales. By 1872 the former Castle Hotel had been sold and reopened as the University College of Wales. By the turn of the century Aberystwyth had become firmly established as a tourist resort, a market town and a centre of learning. Since the Second World War, however, and the increase in the number of people spending holidays abroad, Aberystwyth's popularity as a seaside resort has declined, but to many it remains the cultural capital of Welsh-speaking Wales. This book records the changing face of Aberystwyth and pays homage to the people and places that helped to make it the thriving town it is today.