National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales preserves and celebrates the sound and moving image heritage of Wales, making it accessible to a wide range of users for enjoyment and learning. Its film collection reflects every aspect of the nation’s social, cultural and working life across the 20th century, giving a fascinating insight into Welsh filmmaking, both amateur and professional.
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Official Opening of the New Civic Centre Bodlondeb Conway by the Right Hon. D. Lloyd George, OM, MP
Satisfaction all round as the door to Conwy’s new civic centre is opened on a breezy sumer’s day by David Lloyd George, ex-British prime minister.
From the collection of:
Overview
David Lloyd George, once prime minister of Britain, turns the key in the door of Bodlondeb, Conwy’s new civic centre, and declares it open on 16/7/1937. It is apparent that he later presented footage of the event to the council, together with footage of the Mayor’s Sunday events later in the year, both having been filmed by his private secretary, A J Sylvester, who created title cards using an interesting method.
Bodloneb and its 60 acres was compulsorily purchased by the council in 1936, following the death of its owner, Albert Wood, in order to provide public parkland and civic offices. Mr Wood was a trader in chains and anchors who had achieved prominence in the area, having been mayor and been honoured as the first Freeman of the Borough. He had knocked down the original house on the site and rebuilt it in the 1870s.
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