Many of you that follow me on Twitter and Facebook will have seen me mention about a “top secret” mission that I was going on with Rhyl Historian Stuart Jones and today I can reveal that we were asked to attend a tour of the Queens Buildings in Rhyl and to see the sad state of the building that they have been left in.
Here on Blazing Minds you may have seen the very popular article about the elusive Little Venice Rhyl, the Queens is above the mythical waterway and it was a true honour to be allowed into the building to take a look around.
Stuart and I had the opportunity to meet up and explore this last Edwardian building still standing in Rhyl. The Queens that is situated on the Rhyl coast road across from the Children’s Village and was lead into the building to meet up with various councillors that were attending to see how the work was going on.
The Queens hotel was in existence at least as far back in 1857 and was brought and made into a very modern hotel by Mr Greenhalgh, one of the old Rhyl Commissioners. Glan-Y-Don. This was the site on which the Queen’s Palace was later built. Opened on 1st August 1902 it was an immediate success.
The Queens Arcade and Hotel Company opened its doors for the first time and people were amazed at the 1st class accommodation, it seemed to have everything needed for a seaside holiday-Theatre, ballroom, restaurant, waxworks, winter garden, underground canal with gondolas, arcade of 35 shops, zoo, sideshows, all provided on a lavish scale with every modern refinery. Inside a fountain and Fernery decorated the arcade of the mentioned 35 shops, where one could buy and watch ice cream being made and have their braided.
It had everything for its era. One could spend the day their sampling its delights. The Queens was the Titanic of Rhyl, she dominated the seafront, on top was a large glass dome, when on a clear day one could see the hills of Ireland, even the rooftops provided shaded relief from the sun, massive palm leaves allowed people to walk in the shade before heading down for afternoon tea. If the Queens existed today she would still be the main attractions of the town.
Armed with my DSLR and Camcorder, we were told that there were certain areas that we could go and some we couldn’t, suffice to say after short while we could see why there were limitations as the building is decaying and has been left in a pitiful state, which is wicked shame as this once luxurious building has now become a shocking and saddening state of its former glory of Rhyl’s heritage.
With paint peeling off walls, water damage from the roofs that have clearly been left without much of a care, this wonderful building is somewhere that will now bring a tear to the eye of anyone that saw it in many of its various glory days.
We had a tour around the Queens Market, which was only recently been up and running, the first thing that goes through your mind having the chance to look at the condition of the building is it’s surprising that no one has been hurt by the decay that is falling down and being made ill by the damp etc.
Heading up some of the stairs that lead to the walkways which have not seen the light for many year, you can see the remnants of this historic building, screaming out with a last dying cry of the love that they once had, the floor, wet and unsafe to tread upon, you could feel your feet slowly sinking in some of the sections and due to this, we could only go a short way on this side of the walkway to look down on the spring-loaded dance floor that once had the love of laughter of those dancing the night away, now a shadow of its former self covered with makeshift market stalls.
We headed down the stairs and headed to the ones opposite, at the turn of the stairs, freshly fallen plaster and ornate ceiling architecture smashed on the floor as if it had given up clinging on to its past!
Along this side of the Queens building and the walkway, we found a room that had been closed to the outside world of the market and in there were some sturdy steps, climbing these it lead me to an amazing look ceiling with plasterwork that should have been visible to the public not hidden away to be forgotten about, a chance for a photo!
Further day the corridor and past Parker’s office, we were able to go out on to large balcony area, this is one of the many places I had been dying to get to for years, the place above the awful hanging ceiling above the market and a chance to see the blue of the ornate high ceiling with it white plasterwork, my gosh this must-have looks amazing back when it was freshly painted, but now it is damaged by water seeping through and section were fallen down with the daylight streaming through the cracks!
Back into the hallway and it was a chance to head to one of the two nightclubs that have not long closed in the building on the way we pasted some architecture that was almost sneaking out of the walls to let us know it’s still there somewhere, hiding from the other horrors of the once glorious Queens building.
Upon arrival to the first of the club areas that we were taken around this is again in a shocking state of disrepair, paint peeling off the walls, floors slightly uneven and a feeling of maybe being watched by the ghosts of good times past.
Down the stairs and back through the market area, up the corridor that leads to the coast road and the “car parks”, would lead us to the former nightclub downstairs.
Again this is an area that was steeped in some modern-day history and it’s a club that hasn’t really been closed that long, I still can’t believe it was still been used!
It’s a terrible thing to see when such an amazing building that is flooded with Rhyl’s history has been able to go into such a pitiful condition, this once-majestic building that has survived fire and floods, stood up to the changes of the world and the area, now sitting on the Rhyl coast road and wondering why it was left to become the way it is, why it wasn’t looked after with the historical care it deserved, it’s such a wicked shame for a building to become this way.
As for Little Venice, that still remains an elusive mystery, the fire that took hold of the building in the early 1900’s certainly brought the amazing glass dome on the top of the building with its encased floral garden crashing down and an end to the underground waterway before becoming the “Constantinople”, but there is always a glimmer of hope that a single shard of jade tile is lying around somewhere, just for someone to pick up and say, there you go, it must have looked amazing.
Need to know more? Then stop by and find out more about the Myth and Mystery of Little Venice Rhyl.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
