Llanddulas

{{Short description|Village in Conwy County Borough, Wales}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Infobox UK place

| country = Wales

| official_name = Llanddulas

| welsh_name =

| coordinates = {{coord|53.289|-3.641|display=inline,title}}

| static_image_name = Llanddulas from cefn-yr-ogof.jpg

| static_image_caption = Llanddulas from Cefn-yr-Ogof

| population = 1,542

| population_ref = (2011)

| community_wales = Llanddulas and Rhyd-y-foel

| unitary_wales = Conwy

| lieutenancy_wales =

| constituency_welsh_assembly = Clwyd West

| constituency_westminster = Clwyd North

| post_town = ABERGELE

| postcode_district = LL22

| postcode_area = LL

| dial_code = 01492

| os_grid_reference = SH906781

| cardiff_distance =

}}

File:Plaque_at_Llanddulas.jpg

File:Plaque_at_Llanddulas_2.jpg

Llanddulas is a village in Conwy county borough, Wales, midway between Old Colwyn and Abergele and next to the North Wales Expressway in the community of Llanddulas and Rhyd-y-Foel. The village lies beneath the limestone hill of Cefn-yr-Ogof (670 ft). This hill has large caves, and quarrying of limestone was formerly the main industry of the village, with crushed stone being exported from the 200 m long jetty.

According to figures from the 2011 census, Llanddulas, combined with nearby village Rhyd y Foel, had a population of 1,542, with around 23% of the population having some knowledge of the Welsh language.{{cite web| url=http://www.conwy.gov.uk/upload/public/attachments/231/Llanddulas__Rhydyfoel.pdf| title=Llanddulas and Rhyd y Foel 2001 Key Statistics| work=Conwy County Borough Council| access-date=2007-12-03|url-status = dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515194633/http://www.conwy.gov.uk/upload/public/attachments/231/Llanddulas__Rhydyfoel.pdf| archive-date=2011-05-15}}

Llanddulas is notable as being the place where Richard II was betrayed in 1399.Black, Adam and Black, Charles (1857) Black's Picturesque Guide to North Wales, Adam and Charles Black (Edinburgh, 1857) p.32 and is also the birthplace of Lewis Valentine. Between 1889 and 1952 the village had its own railway station.

According to legend, a cave on the mountain of Pen y Cefn was once the abode of the Devil, until the people of Llanddulas performed an exorcism at the cave to drive him away.{{cite book |last=Ash |first=Russell |date=1973 |title=Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain |publisher=Reader's Digest Association Limited |page=392 |isbn=9780340165973 }}

Llanddulas Limestone and Gwrych Castle Wood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

In February 1990 a storm and high tide caused extensive flooding to the east of here, especially at Towyn and Kinmel Bay.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/nostalgia/moments-shocked-north-wales-towyn-3181218|title=Moments that Shocked North Wales: Towyn Floods|first=David|last=Powell|date=27 April 2013|website=northwales}}{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/ukfloods/home/coastal-flooding-in-towyn-1990|title=Coastal Flooding in Towyn 1990 – UK Floods-Case studies of causes and effects and flooding policies|website=sites.google.com}} New coastal defence works were built along seven miles of coast from Old Colwyn to the River Clwyd. At Llanddulas these consist of Dolos concrete.

At Northern Towers, a gateway to Gwrych Castle, a battle is commemorated with four plaques.

Plas Dulas, now demolished, has literary associations with Evelyn Waugh and Noel Coward.{{cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/northwestwales/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8388000/8388149.stm | title=Writers drawn to Llanddulas mansion | publisher=BBC | work=BBC News | location=UK | date=1 December 2009 | access-date=14 February 2025 }} Waugh wrote the satirical novel Decline and Fall while staying there and his experiences during his visit inspired Llanabba Castle, a fictional school, in the novel.{{cite web| url=https://evelynwaughsociety.org/2011/plas-dulas-to-be-demolished/ | title=Plas Dulas to be demolished | publisher=The Evelyn Waugh Society | website=evelynwaughsociety.org | first=Antony F. P. | last=Vickery | date=14 December 2011 | access-date=14 February 2025 }} During 1925, Waugh taught at Arnold House, a former private school in Llanddulas.