The Ship Temperance Café Market Street/ Chapel Street Abergele

THE ABERGELE NEW CAFÉ - The new buildings are situated in a commanding position in the centre of the town, at the junction of Market-street and Chapel-street. The latter thoroughfare having now been widened, a much-needed improvement has been carried out. The whole of the ground floor of the new buildings is occupied by the cafe premises, and the caretaker's house, the rooms on the first floor being utilised for the purposes of a club and a girls' guild. The cafe is fitted up in stained whitewood, the tables and counter having copper tops. The smoke-room, behind the cafe, is a very spacious room, with windows facing Chapel-street, and is fitted up in oak and upholstered in leather. The dining-room, also facing Chapel-street, has accommodation for between 60 and 70 diners, and when not used for dining, the room (23ft. 6in. square) will be utilised for miscellaneous meetings. Adjoining the dining-room is a large pantry. The Club is approached by a separate entrance from Market-street. The billiard room contains a first-class table, and is beautifully fitted up in oak and upholstered in leather. The Girls' Guild room has- a separate entrance from Chapel-street. This spacious apartment, over the dining-room, is undoubtedly the most handsome of the whole suite. The fittings are in ivory enamelled whitewood, and it has a ceiling of dressed timber. There is separate lavatory accommodation on the ground floor for the Cafe, and on the first floor for the Club and Girls' Guild room. The style adopted for the execution is the old English style of domestic architecture. The ground floor storey is carried out in red Ruabon brick, and the first floor is faced with pebble dash. The. half-timber work and barge boards are of Dantzig oak. The roofs are tiled with dark Broseley tiles. The floors are of wood block, and the windows glazed with lead-lights. The contractors are Messrs. Jones and Prichard, Abergele, the work being carried out from the designs and under the superintendence of Messrs. Richard Owens and Sons, architects, Crosshall-street, Liverpool. [Weekly News and Visitors, Chronicle 22 February 1907 page 5

THE ABERGELE CAFE - Through the munificence of Mr J H Roberts, M.P., and other members of the Bryngwenallt family, Abergele to-day rejoices in the possession of one of the best equipped cafes and social club houses that any town could wish for. The building stands at the corner of Market Street and Chapel Street, on the site of the old Ship Inn (the licence of which has been extinguished), and constitutes a great town improvement, not only from an architectural standpoint, but on account of the long needed road-widening scheme which the Urban District Council have been able to carry out in conjunction with the building. ... In view of the formal opening of the building to-day (Friday) a brief description of the premises may here be opportune. A. pleasing Old English style of architecture has been adopted, the architects being Messrs Richard Owens and Son, Liverpool. The building contract was let to Messrs Jones and Prichard. Abergele, who erected the Rhyl Carnegie Free Library and the best materials have been used. The lower half consists of the best red bricks, and the upper portion is treated in the half-timbered and cement style while the windows consist of leaded lights. The ground floor comprises a cafe, dining room, smoking and recreation room, all of large dimensions and excellently lighted with rooms for the caretaker on the Chapel Street side of the premises, and the usual lavatory accommodation, etc. Besides the corner entrance to the cafe, there are separate entrances to other parts of the building in Market Street and Chapel Street, that in Chapel Street communicating directly with the rooms upstairs set apart for the use of the ladies. On the upper floor, the Market Street side is taken up with a spacious and well-equipped billiard room, with two immense bay windows. The Chapel Street side comprises a comfortably furnished reading room, a magnificent room, artistically furnished, for the use of ladies only, and other accommodation. The ground floors are all of pitch pine blocks. The decoration of the rooms has been carried out in a very pleasing manner by Messrs Needham Bros, Seymour Villa, Abergele. The ladies’ room is said to be one of the finest in the district. It contains a splendid bay window, and is luxuriously furnished. The walls are treated with light sage green duresco, with a white frieze and white enamelled woodwork and the passage leading thereto is treated in a similar manner. It is intended to make this room the headquarters of a Girls' Guild, conducted by Miss Roberts, Tanrallt, the members of which will have access to a library of carefully selected books. The billiard and reading rooms are treated with bluish green duresco, with a frieze of light stone colour, and while the woodwork of the former is of solid oak, that of the latter is treated with two shades of chocolate. The dining and smoke rooms look very cosy with their oriental red walls, with friezes of blush tint. The cafe is treated with grey-green duresco, with a frieze of bluish tint. The caretaker's rooms are also made to appear very bright and cosy. The whole scheme has been carried out in a manner that reflects great credit upon donors, builders and decorators alike. [Rhyl Journal 1 June 1907 page 8 ]

THE SHIP TEMPERANCE CAFÉ -The new buildings are situated in the most important site in the town, at the junction of Market-street and Chapel- street. The latter thoroughfare has been widened and a much-desired improvement carried out. On the ground floor there is a cafe 18-ft. 6-in. by 18-ft. 3-in., a smoke- room 20-ft. by 18-ft., and a dining-room 23-ft. 6-in. by 23-ft. 6-in., together with pantries and lavatory accommodation. The main entrance to the cafe is at the junction of the two streets, while the dining-room has a separate entrance from Chapel-street. On the first floor are the club premises, consisting of a billiard-room and library, with lavatories, having a separate entrance from Market-street. On this floor there is also a large Girls' Guild room, with a private entrance from Chapel- street. At the rear of the premises there is a keeper's house, containing a kitchen, parlour, and two bedrooms. The two principal elevations to Market-street and Chapel-street are carried out to the height of the first floor in red pressed brick, the upper storey being pebble dashed. The space between window heads on the ground floor and the sills on first floor being framed in oak, the gables are also half timbered, and have heavy oak barge board. The roof is covered with red tiles. The Girls' Guild room and billiard-room have large overhanging window, supported on oak brackets. The main entrances are surmounted with oak canopies. The whole of the ground floor is laid in wood blocks. The Guild room fittings, including the mantlepieces, are carried out in enamelled whitewood, those in the smoke-room and billiard-room being of oak. The smoke- room and cafe fittings are of a suitable, design, and the whole of the seating is upholstered in leather. The whole of the building has been carried out by Messrs Jones and Pritchard, contractors, Abergele, from the designs prepared by and under the superintendence of Messrs Richard Owens and Son, architects, of Liverpool. The fittings are made from designs by the architect by Messrs Haugh and Pilling, of Liverpool, and the grates and chimney-pieces are supplied by the Falkirk iron Company. [Denbighshire Free Press 8 June 1907 page 3]

Reference    Rhyl Journal 1 June 1907 page 8
Reference    Denbighshire Free Press 8 June 1907 page 3