One-man-band: Clough Williams-Ellis’ Architectural Ensemble at Portmeirion

Abstract

Portmeirion, a niche holiday resort in North Wales that was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis from 1925 to 1976, is usually seen by architectural historians as an ‘idiosyncratic playground of little interest’. In contrast, the village regards itself as an architectural site that not only formed part of the massive expansion of seaside tourism in Britain from the early 1900s, but also responded to this trend by using a unique and sustainable approach characterised by Williams-Ellis as ‘light-opera’. Whilst the characteristic look of Portmeirion corresponds to aesthetic decisions made by Williams-Ellis, it also reflects his lifelong effort to introduce pleasurable and accessible forms of architecture to the British public. This essay, by including a narrative mode of creative writing that describes my own journey to Portmeirion, aims to challenge the common association of the village in fictional representations such as the 1960s TV series The Prisoner, as well as tackling its long disregard within British architectural history. Instead, the essay positions Portmeirion as an important exemplar of the reactions in early-to-mid twentieth century Britain against what were regarded as unsympathetic rural leisure developments.