History
Headquarters for Gwynedd County Council, dated 1983 to designs by county architects Merfyn H Roberts and Terry Potter, in association with Wyn Thomas & Partners and their consultant Professor Dewi-Prys Thomas (1916-1985).
The Local Government Act of 1972 consolidated local authorities in Wales with the thirteen counties remodelled into eight, most of which took their names from lost Welsh kingdoms. Gwynedd, named after the last surviving Welsh kingdom, dissolved by Edward I of England in 1283, was formed by merging Caernarvonshire, Anglesey, most of Merionethshire and parts of Denbighshire. The reorganisation brought about a new phase in the construction of County Headquarter buildings, with ambitious schemes reflecting the enlarged local areas and notional revival of ancient Welsh polities.
Dewi-Prys Thomas was born into a Welsh-speaking family in Liverpool where he qualified as an architect in 1939. From 1947 onwards he combined a successful practice with teaching, until in 1960 he was appointed head of the Welsh School of Architecture, and for the most part stepped back from designing his own buildings to train many other Welsh architects. These included Merfyn Roberts and Wyn Thomas, two of his collaborators who invited him in 1980 to join them in designing Gwynedd’s new council headquarters.
Thomas is credited with designing the exterior elevations largely by himself. He said he saw a “cosmic” or epochal significance in the dates 383, 1283 and 1983. AD383 was the year of the Roman Magnus Maximus’ (aka Macsen Wledig) bid for imperial power. Maximus seems to have had some affinity with Wales, with “The Dream of Macsen Wledig” chronicled in the Mabinogion; and the princes of Gwynedd, Powys and Gwent all traced their lineage to him. This is referenced in the numerous eagle motifs depicted on the Pencadlys. 1283 marked the destruction of the “last Romans” of Gwynedd by Edward I and the building of Caernarfon Castle; and 1983 saw the reconstitution of Gwynedd with its headquarters next to the castle. The Pencadlys was intended to “sing a duet” with Caernarfon Castle, with the latter representing “imperialism” and the former “democracy”. Thomas left his academic post in 1981 in part due to poor health but also to concentrate on the Pencadlys, and died shortly after its completion.
Exterior
Council headquarters covering a large footprint without disrupting the medieval street grid, and incorporating several much older buildings. Blocks range from three to five storeys with stepped facades and complexly jointed hipped roofs. Street level pedestrian arcades converge on a central open square courtyard linking Shirehall Street and Castle Street.
Mixture of materials drawing on local vernacular and modernist ideas, with local stone used in the plinth and arcade piers in central section, rising as high as the first floor in places where the archways run through two storeys; round concrete columns and steel pilotis supporting arcades and balconies. Cream stucco above the stonework, with uPVC windows framed by raised contrasting render; ribbon windows to upper floors under projecting timber eaves; purple slate roofs with lights.
Principal range curves gently up most of west side of Shirehall street towards the castle, with three bulky ‘towers’ linked by longer lower ranges in an echo of its defensive architecture, subverted by recessed or absent ground floor with a colonnade open to pedestrians along most of its length. On left hand side (near High Street) a wall with double storey arch incorporating a double door into service courtyard with exterior fire escape passing through the open arch above. The building proper begins with a long three storey block with four low and wide arches incorporating basement windows. Paired and single windows above, and continuous band of fenestration immediately beneath the eaves. After this range a tower-like block of four storeys with timbered upper floor set back beneath hipped roof carried on projecting timber corner posts, with tall finial with eagles and dated 1983 in Roman numerals. Windows variously single, paired and triple. Three storey middle range with ground floor open to pedestrian courtyard beyond through five arches, with the three to the right rising to first floor height and incorporating first floor office windows. Continuous band of windows immediately below overhanging eaves. The next four storey block projects out from first floor height on four massive corbels. Shield shaped window on first floor with coat of arms of the County of Gwynedd in stained glass, with the Merionethshire goat and three dragons for Caernarfonshire and Anglesey. Below this, beginning of a colonnade with eight arches on concrete pillars, continuing up the street under three storey link section with paired windows to first floor, continuous fenestration beneath eaves incorporating a timbered oriel . Finally at the southern end of Shirehall street is Madog’s Tower, directly opposite the castle walls, named for Madog ap Llywelyn, the putative Prince of Wales who seized and burnt the castle in 1294. Madog’s Tower has a ‘bonnet’ roof with finial with crown, timbered upper storey projecting outwards supported on stone corbels and incorporating asymmetrical oriel window across corner; irregularly placed and sized windows framed in stone and a large arch framing painted mural of three of the town’s Roman eagles below a crown. Base should be open to the colonnade beyond but has been gated. In the join between the tower and No.2 Castle Ditch a single arrow loop at street level faces the many arrow loops of Caernarfon castle opposite.
Arcade connecting Shirehall Street to inner square courtyard with timber ceiling, projecting rounded steps up to original main entrance (now staff entrance only) with timber luminary above inscribed ‘Oed Crist MCMLXXXIII’. On the other side of this archway in the inner square is a slate memorial plaque with portrait of Dewi-Prys Thomas with an englyn (praise poem) in Welsh. Inner courtyard north side is four storeys with projecting balcony on paired steel pilotis to recessed first floor, projecting second floor faced with roof slates below ribbon window and recessed upper floor with ribbon window between principal and secondary roof, which continues along the W side of the square which mirrors Shirehall Street aspect. Slate plaques in SW corner record former location of Brunswick Ironworks. Three storey south and east sides to courtyard, with small first floor balcony in SE corner and ground level arcade passage through to Castle Street in NE corner.
Service courtyard to the N with a gated entrance on the High Street slopes downwards so that the rear of the range behind the staff entrance presents as five storeys with its basement and ground floor windows in two-floor arches below projecting two storeys above. Secondary slate roof projects below upper storey ribbon window.
Shorter range along W side of Castle Street framed by the Masonic Hall on the left and No.12 Castle Street on the right. Three storey left side block with recessed glazed ground floor with pedestrian colonnade of five arches with concrete columns with slate benches at upper ends. Detailing of upper storeys similar to Shirehall Street ranges (single and paired windows, continuous glazing beneath eaves). Taller four storey right side block with tall stone belfry on left side gable. Three bay colonnade rising through two storeys open at street level to modern public entrance of ‘Siop Gwynedd’ (originally a staff canteen). Office windows in upper halves of these arches, with right side arch having a projecting timber and iron balcony inscribed ‘Ll II 1282 1982’ with crown commemorating Llywelyn II, Prince of Wales who died in 1282.
Interior
Original timber and glass reception kiosk in foyer on north side of inner courtyard survives with the two principal stair and lift shafts to either side. Axial planned office space in each wing with central corridors and rooms to either side. Largely retains original layout with (demountable) partitions, doors etc. Interiors of older buildings at 2 Castle Ditch and 10-12 Castle Street have been modernised and incorporated into the offices.
Reasons for Listing
Included for special architectural interest as a key example of a C20 local government headquarters. An outstanding early piece of architectural postmodernism by a major Welsh architect of the post-war period, taking full advantage of its symbolically rich location. Group value with Education Offices across Castle Street and the Cofeb Llywelyn between them, all part of the same scheme.
External Links
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
Recommended Books
Old House Care and Repair
ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments