Penmaenmawr 'murder hotel' road is renamed

The road connects Bangor Road to the A55 and the promenade

Conwy council has decided that a road which was informally named after one of Wales' most notorious murder sites should be be renamed.

The road in Penmaenmawr will be called Ffordd Darbishire after former quarry owners, despite some opposition.

Previously known as the Red Gables Viaduct, the road took its name from the now demolished Red Gables Hotel.

It was at the hotel where four people were murdered 40 years ago by a gardener who then shot himself.

The road connects Bangor Road to the promenade and the A55, which it passes over.

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Penmaenmawr town council wanted the 30-year-old road to be officially named Ffordd Darbishire.

In a letter to Conwy council it said: "The Darbishire family owned Penmaenmawr Quarries for many years and were well known for their contribution to the development of the community.

"As no memorial to the family exists, Penmaenmawr town council thought it would be appropriate to name a road after them."

"Airbrushed out of existence"

However local councillor Ken Stevens opposed the decision, saying that the road had been named after an "iconic building" and that he "preferred it stayed the same".

He said: "Sadly, I feel that we have lost yet another piece of our town's history, airbrushed out of existence."

The councillor for Pant-yr-Afon/Penmaenan added that the town did not have a history of naming streets or roads after families or dynasties.

'Unfortunate association'

Dennis Roberts, from the Penmaenmawr Historical Society, supported the town council's request to change the name.

He argued the house had been known for nearly 100 years as Gwyl Annedd before it became the Red Gables Hotel in the 1970s on a change of use.

He said: "The naming of the road 'Red Gables' has little historic significance and has the unfortunate association with the murder of five people [four were murdered, one killed himself] at the house of the same name."

Mr Roberts said the Darbishire family had owned and managed local quarries for more than 70 years and had been prominent in the social, religious and economic life of the town.

He added: "It is a disgrace that there is no building, street etc which honours their name as once the leading citizens here in the town."