Llanddulas and Rhyd-y-foel

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

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

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

{{Infobox UK place

| static_image_name = Sabellaria reef - geograph.org.uk - 728596.jpg

| static_image_caption = Honeycomb worm reef at Llanddulas

| label_position = bottom

| official_name = Llanddulas and Rhyd-y-foel

| welsh_name = Llanddulas a Rhyd-y-foel

| country = Wales

| os_grid_reference = SH9078

| coordinates = {{coord|53.292|-3.644|display=inline,title}}

| population = 1,542

| population_ref = (2011)

| community_wales = Llanddulas and Rhyd-y-foel

| unitary_wales = Conwy

| lieutenancy_wales = Clwyd

| constituency_welsh_assembly = Clwyd West

| constituency_westminster = Clwyd West

| post_town = ABERGELE

| postcode_district = LL22

| postcode_area = LL

| dial_code = 01492

| module= 240px
Map of the community

}}

Llanddulas and Rhyd-y-foel ({{langx|cy|Llanddulas a Rhyd-y-foel}}) is a community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It is located on the coast of Liverpool Bay, at the mouth of the Afon Dulas, {{convert|2.7|mi|km}} west of Abergele, {{convert|3.6|mi|km}} east of Colwyn Bay and {{convert|9.0|mi|km}} east of Conwy. As the name suggests, it consists of the villages of Llanddulas and Rhyd-y-foel. At the 2001 census the community had a population of 1,572,{{cite web|title=Census 2001: Parish Headcounts: Conwy|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790561|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|publisher=Office for National Statistics|accessdate=9 April 2013}} reducing slightly to 1,542 at the 2011 census.{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11125824&c=LL22+8DU&d=16&e=62&g=6489485&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=0&s=1432230255986&enc=1|title=Community/Ward population 2011|accessdate=21 May 2015}}

Now derelict, Gwrych Castle stands on the hillside to the east of Llanddulas. Built between 1812 and 1822 by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh, it has been described as a "spectacular and romantic flight of gothic fancy," and was an attempt to create a replica of an Edwardian fortress.{{cite web|title=Gwrych Castle, Garden, Abergele|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/266301/details/GWRYCH+CASTLE%2C+GARDEN%2C+ABERGELE/|work=Coflein|publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales|accessdate=13 April 2013}} The castle contains 18 towers, and is surrounded by terraced gardens and woodland, with gothic park walling, lodges and towers. The total frontage is over {{convert|0.8|mi|km}} in length, and has been described as "one of the finest examples of its date in Britain" by Cadw. It is Grade I listed.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=231 |desc=Gwrych Castle including attached walls and towers and Stable Block |grade=I |access-date=2 April 2019}}

Saint Cynbryd's Church, in Llanddulas, dates from 1868, and was designed by George Edmund Street, who was also responsible for the Royal Courts of Justice in London. It is on the site of an earlier medieval church which had been rebuilt in 1732, and was commissioned by Robert Bamford-Hesketh of Gwrych Castle. It is described by Cadw as being "of subtle sophistication and quiet mastery" and is Grade II* listed.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=19024 |desc=Parish Church of St Cynbryd |grade=II* |mode=cs2 |access-date=2 April 2019 |fewer-links=yes}} Similarly listed is Plas Tan-yr-ogof, a farmhouse on the Gwrych estate, built in 1819, which was used for a while as a night club.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=19040 |desc=Plas Tan-yr-Ogof including adjoining walls and arches to E and W |grade=II* |access-date=2 April 2019 |fewer-links=yes}}

Plas Dulas, an 1840s mansion in Llanddulas, 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 book Decline and Fall while staying there and it inspired Llanabba Castle 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 }} At this time, Waugh taught at Arnold House, a former private school in Llanddulas.

In 2008, a {{convert|1148|ft|m}} long honeycomb worm reef was discovered on the beach at Llanddulas, by fishery officer Philip Capper of the North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee after an absence of 60 years. The worms are common to the Mediterranean Sea, and are rare in the British Isles, but found at a number of sites on western and southern coasts. They create the reefs by forming tightly packed tubes from sand and shell particles on top of rocky shores, which then provide a haven for barnacles, crabs, limpets, mussels, periwinkles, sea anemones and whelks.{{cite news|title=Returning Worms Build Coastal Reef|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7287629.stm|accessdate=13 April 2013|newspaper=British Broadcasting Corporation|date=10 March 2008}}{{cite web|title=Action Plans: Honeycomb Worm Reef|url=http://ukbap-reporting.org.uk/archive/plans/lbap_complete_plan.asp?X={C62FD850-0C81-47E0-8CE4-A6617253F998}&LBAP={4E5D7FC6-26DA-47E7-81F5-F0DE9DFA1AD8}&CO=|publisher=Biodiversity Action Reporting System|accessdate=13 April 2013}}

Pen-y-corddyn-mawr is a hillfort located on a limestone plateau above Rhyd-y-foel, where Roman artefacts have been unearthed. Lead mines nearby are thought to have been worked by the Romans, and were still in use in the 1820s, when they provided the lead for Gwrych Castle's windows.{{cite web|title=Pen y Corddyn Mawr: A Romano British Hillfort and Votive Site|url=http://www.betws31.freeserve.co.uk/Bath-house/Pen-y_Corddyn__1/pen-y_corddyn__1.html|publisher=Kanovium Project|accessdate=13 April 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809122653/http://www.betws31.freeserve.co.uk/Bath-house/Pen-y_Corddyn__1/pen-y_corddyn__1.html|archivedate=9 August 2013}} The limestone hill of Cefn yr Ogof 204 metres (669 feet)stands above the village. Nearby is the crag of Craig y Forwyn.