One of Bangor’s most historic quarters has stepped into the spotlight at this year’s Bangor Summer Festival.
Pendref, at the top of the High Street and steeped in heritage, has unveiled a striking new artwork by acclaimed Welsh printmaker Ann Lewis RCA. The piece celebrates the area’s distinctive architecture and colourful past, telling its stories in bold, intricate detail.
The centrepiece, a 10-foot-high vinyl reproduction of Lewis’s intricate linocut, depicts some of Pendref’s most iconic buildings, each with its own tale to tell.
These include:
- Listed cottages whose front steps mark the original level of the post road between London and Dublin.
- The Harp Inn, which once welcomed both Charles Dickens and engineer Thomas Telford.
- 154 High Street, now ‘So Chic’ clothing boutique, is linked to Owain Glyndŵr and immortalised in Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 2.
- The city’s only Art Deco building, the former City Cinema.
- Our Lady’s Church (1834) and Pendref Nonconformist Chapel (1881), both architectural landmarks.
- The Archdeacon’s House, tied to Glyndŵr’s 1405 Tripartite Indenture meeting.
“It’s a good news story for Bangor High Street,” said Jo Pott Mercer, whose Kyffin Café and Jo Pott Interiors, have been a cornerstone of Pendref for many years. “The artwork tells our story visually, and we unveiled it during the festival day when the whole area was buzzing with events.”
The unveiling also coincided with the opening of a new independent bookshop in Pendref, adding to the district’s growing cultural scene.
The project has been supported by Bangor City Council, which funded the vinyl installation. The original linocut, brimming with detail from intricate chimneys to Art Deco flourishes, is set to become a visual anchor for the High Street and a reminder of the layers of history embedded in its walls.
“Pendref is a living reminder of Bangor’s deep roots,” said Martin Hanks, Bangor City Director. “From medieval gatherings to 20th-century cinema nights, its streets have seen it all. This year, as we mark Bangor’s 1,500th anniversary, it’s fitting that we celebrate one of the city’s most historic quarters with artwork that captures its spirit for generations to come.”
From medieval meetings to 20th-century cinema queues, post coaches to coffee drinkers, Pendref has always been a place where people gather and stories unfold. This August, it’s telling those stories bigger and bolder than ever.
