Portmeirion
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Portmeirion is a tourist village in
Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
,
North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an
Italian village Italian Village is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, that contains an array of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. It is a designated historic district, known for its historical and cultural preservation. The building types and arc ...
, and is now owned by a charitable trust. The village is located in the
community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
of
Penrhyndeudraeth Penrhyndeudraeth (; ) is a small town and community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The town is close to the mouth of the River Dwyryd on the A487 nearly east of Porthmadog, and had a population of 2,150 at the 2011 census, increased from 2,0 ...
, on the
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
of the
River Dwyryd The River Dwyryd ( cy, Afon Dwyryd, meaning a river of two fords) is a river in Gwynedd, Wales which flows principally westwards; draining to the sea into Tremadog Bay, south of Porthmadog. Geography The Dwyryd rises in the hills to the north o ...
, south east of
Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ffest ...
, and from
Minffordd railway station Minffordd railway station (translation ''Roadside'', literally ''Lip of the Road'') is a pair of adjacent stations on separate lines in Gwynedd, Wales. The mainline station opened as Minfford Junction on 1 August 1872 at the point where the ...
. Portmeirion has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, most famously as "The Village" in the 1960s television show ''
The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...
''.


History

Sir
Clough Williams-Ellis Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, CBE, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales. He became a major figure in the development of Welsh architec ...
, Portmeirion's architect, denied repeated claims that the design was based on the fishing village of
Portofino Portofino (; ) is a ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th century ...
on the
Italian Riviera The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( it, Riviera ligure; lij, Rivêa lìgure) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinall ...
. He stated only that he wanted to pay tribute to the atmosphere of the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
. He did, however, draw on a love of the Italian village stating, "How should I not have fallen for Portofino? Indeed, its image remained with me as an almost perfect example of the man-made adornment and use of an exquisite site." Williams-Ellis designed and constructed the village between 1925 and 1975. He incorporated fragments of demolished buildings, including works by a number of other architects. Portmeirion's architectural
bricolage In the arts, ''bricolage'' ( French for "DIY" or "do-it-yourself projects") is the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work constructed using mixed media. The term ''bricolage'' ...
and deliberately fanciful
nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...
have been noted as an influence on the development of
postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...
in architecture in the late 20th century. The main building of the hotel and the cottages "White Horses", "Mermaid", and "The Salutation" had been a private estate called ''Aber Iâ'' ( cy, Ice estuary), developed in the 1850s on the site of a late 18th-century foundry and boatyard. Williams-Ellis changed the name (which he had interpreted as "frozen mouth") to ''Portmeirion'': "Port-" from its place on the coast; "-meirion" from the county of Merioneth (Meirionydd) in which it was sited."Portmeirion" a BBC Wales documentary, 2006 The very minor remains of a
mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
(known variously as Castell Deudraeth, Castell Gwain Goch and Castell Aber Iâ) are in the woods just outside the village, recorded by
Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and English historians in the Middle Ages, historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and w ...
in 1188. In 1931 Williams-Ellis bought from the estate of his uncle, Sir Osmond Williams, Bt (1849-1927), the Victorian
crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
mansion Castell Deudraeth with the intention of incorporating it into the Portmeirion hotel complex, but the intervention of the war and other problems prevented this. Williams-Ellis had always considered the Castell to be “the largest and most imposing single building on the Portmeirion Estate" and sought ways to incorporate it. Eventually, with support from the
Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
and the
European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...
as well as the
Wales Tourist Board Visit Wales ( cy, Croeso Cymru) is the Welsh Government's tourism organisation. Its aim is to promote Welsh tourism and assist the tourism industry. History The Wales Tourist Board was established in 1969 as a result of the Development of T ...
, his original aims were achieved and Castell Deudraeth was opened as an 11 bedroom hotel and restaurant on 20 August 2001, 23 years after Williams-Ellis's death, by the Welsh opera singer
Bryn Terfel Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', ''Leporello'' and ''D ...
. The village of Portmeirion has been a source of inspiration for writers and television producers.
Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
wrote '' Blithe Spirit'' while staying in the ''Fountain 2'' (''Upper Fountain'') suite at Portmeirion.
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
and
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
came and other famous guests included
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
and
Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...
. In the late 1950s,
Stanley Long Stanley A. Long (26 November 1933 – 10 September 2012) was an English exploitation cinema and sexploitation filmmaker. He was also a driving force behind the VistaScreen stereoscopic (3D) photographic company. He was a writer, cinemato ...
, a former
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
photographer, came to create a collectible stereoview series through VistaScreen. The village has many connections to the
Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
. Their manager
Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...
was a frequent visitor, along with
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
, and
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
spent his 50th birthday there in 1993. It was while Harrison was in Portmeirion that he filmed interviews for
The Beatles Anthology ''The Beatles Anthology'' is a multimedia retrospective project consisting of a television documentary, a three-volume set of double albums, and a book describing the history of the Beatles. Beatles members Paul McCartney, George Harrison and R ...
documentary. Musician
Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...
visited whilst filming for the TV music show '' The Tube'', and was so impressed that he has had his studio and other buildings at his home in
Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...
built to a design inspired by Portmeirion. The grounds contain an important collection of
rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
s and other exotic plants in a wild-garden setting, which was begun before Williams-Ellis's time by the previous owner
George Henry Caton Haigh George Henry Caton Haigh (1860 – 11 February 1941) FZS, MBOU, DL, was a world authority on Himalayan flowering trees and exotic plants. He was also a famous ornithologist and his manuscript collection is lodged in The Natural History Museum. ...
and has continued to be developed since Williams-Ellis's death. Portmeirion is now owned by a charitable trust, and has always been run as a hotel, which uses the majority of the buildings as hotel rooms or self-catering cottages, together with shops, a cafe, tea-room, and restaurant. Portmeirion is today a major
tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
attraction in North Wales and day visits can be made on payment of an admission charge. The village was the setting of the inaugural
Festival N°6 Festival N°6 (Festival Number 6) is an annual art and music festival held in and around Portmeirion, North Wales. The festival presents a wide range of music genres across multiple stages. It is advertised as a family-friendly festival, and as su ...
, which took place in September 2012 and featured headline acts
Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pierc ...
,
Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums) ...
and New Order. The festival then ran each year in September at Portmeirion until 2018, when the festival organisers announced that the festival would be taking an indefinite break.


Architecture

Architecture critic
Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a wr ...
devoted a large part of a chapter of his 1964 book ''The Highway and the City'' to Portmeiron, which he called
an artful and playful little modern village, designed as a whole and all of a piece ... a fantastic collection of architectural relics and impish modern fantasies. ... As an architect, illiams-Ellisis equally at home in the ancient, traditional world of the stark Welsh countryside and the once brave new world of "modern architecture." But he realized earlier than most of his architectural contemporaries how constricted and desiccated modern forms can become when the architect pays more attention to the mechanical formula or the exploitation of some newly fabricated material than to the visible human results. In a sense, Portmeiron is a gay, deliberately irresponsible reaction against the dull sterilities of so much that passes as modern architecture today. ...  is prompted by heimpulse ... to reclaim for architecture the freedom of invention — and the possibility of pleasurable fantasy — it had too abjectly surrendered to the cult of the machine. Mumford, Lewis. "From Crochet Castle to Arthur's Seat" (1962) in ''The Highway and the City'' New York: New American Library, 1964
Mumford referred to the architecture as both romantic and picturesque in Baroque form, "with tongue in cheek." He described the total effect as "relaxing and often enchanting" with "playful absurdities" that are "delicate and human in touch", making the village a "happy relief" from the "rigid irrationalities and the calculated follies" of the modern world. The houses Anchor, Arches, the hotel building, Lady's Lodge, the inside of the Pantheon and the vaulted ceiling of Gate House are decorated with murals and frescoes by the Frankfurt-born artist and friend of Clough Williams-Ellis
Hans Feibusch Hans Nathan FeibuschFeibusch, Hans Nathan< ...
. Portmeirion Town Hall is a grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, incorporating stonework and the Hercules Hall from the demolished Emral Hall in Flintshire.


Chronology of construction


Filming location

Television series and films have shot exterior scenes at Portmeirion, often depicting the village as an exotic European location. These include the 1960 ''
Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...
'' episode "View from the Villa" starring
Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...
and the 1976 four-episode ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' story titled ''
The Masque of Mandragora ''The Masque of Mandragora'' is the first serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 4 to 25 September 1976. The serial is set in the fi ...
'' set in
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
Italy. The last episode of ''
Citizen Smith ''Citizen Smith'' is a British television sitcom written by John Sullivan, first broadcast from 1977 to 1980. It starred Robert Lindsay as Walter Henry "Wolfie" Smith, a young Marxist "urban guerrilla" in Tooting, south London, who is attempti ...
'', the Christmas 1980 episode ''Buon Natale'', was filmed partly in Portmeirion. In 2002 some scenes were filmed there for the final episode (at the time) of the TV series '' Cold Feet''. The town of Wiggyville in the
CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...
series ''
Gigglebiz ''Gigglebiz'' is a British children's comedy television programme (described as a 'live-action comedy sketch show' by the BBC) consisting of five series that have been broadcast on CBeebies, the BBC's younger children's channel, starting in 2 ...
'' is shot in Portmeirion as well. The village of Llan-ar-goll-en in the Welsh preschool show of the same name on S4C, was shot there. Portmeirion has been the location for music videos and concerts. The 1980s Scottish band
Altered Images Altered Images are a Scottish new wave/post-punk band who found success in the early 1980s. Fronted by singer Clare Grogan, the group branched into mainstream pop music, having six UK top-40 hit singles and three top-30 albums from 1981 to 19 ...
used Portmeirion in their video "See Those Eyes".
Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...
used Portmeirion as a setting in their 1987 recording of "The Passenger" for the "Laughing Prisoner" spoof. This video included various scenes from ''
The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...
''.


''The Prisoner''

In 1966–1967, Patrick McGoohan returned to Portmeirion to film exteriors for ''
The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...
'', a
surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...
spy drama in which Portmeirion played a starring role as "The Village", in which McGoohan's retired intelligence agent, known only as "Number 6", was incarcerated and interrogated, albeit in pleasant surroundings. At Williams-Ellis' request, Portmeirion was not identified on screen as the filming location until the credits of the final episode of the series, and indeed, Williams-Ellis stated that the levy of an entrance fee was a deliberate ploy to prevent the Village from being spoilt by overcrowding. The show, broadcast on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
in the UK during the winter of 1967-68 and
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
in the US in the summer of 1968, became a cult classic, and fans continue to visit Portmeirion, which hosts annual ''Prisoner'' fan conventions. The building that was used as the lead character's home in the series currently operates as a ''Prisoner''-themed souvenir shop. Many of the locations used in ''The Prisoner'' are virtually unchanged after more than 50 years. Because of its ''Prisoner'' connection, Portmeirion has been used as the filming location for a number of homages to the series, ranging from comedy skits to an episode of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary series '' The Celts'', which recreated scenes from ''The Prisoner''. Other occasions include: *In 1987 Jools Holland starred in a spoof documentary, ''The Laughing Prisoner'', with
Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
,
Terence Alexander Terence Joseph Alexander (11 March 1923 – 28 May 2009) was an English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the British TV drama '' Bergerac'', which ran for nine series on BBC One between 1981 and 1991. ...
and
Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a ...
. Much of it was shot on location in Portmeirion, and it included archive footage of McGoohan. *Portmeirion, along with the Welsh village of
Morfa Bychan Morfa Bychan is a village located in Gwynedd, North Wales, with a population of over 500, with an almost equal number of people born in England or Wales. The village Situated on the Llŷn Peninsula just west of Borth-y-Gest and Porthmadog, M ...
, was used as the location for the filming of the
Supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ( ...
video ''
Alright Alright, All Right or Allwright may refer to: Music Albums * ''Alright!'' (album), a 2007 album by Bogdan Raczynski * ''Alright'', a 2011 album by Jerry Williams * ''All Right'', a 1982 album by Himiko Kikuchi Songs * "Alright" (Cast song) * ...
''. The video includes numerous references to ''The Prisoner''. *
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
recorded a song called "The Prisoner" on their 1982 album, '' The Number of the Beast''. In a documentary programme about that album (as part of the ''
Classic Albums ''Classic Albums'' is a British documentary series about pop, rock and heavy metal albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music. Format The TV seri ...
'' TV series), lead singer
Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...
wanders through the avenues of Portmeirion and describes how the song was written and how the band's manager obtained permission from Patrick McGoohan to use dialogue from the show in the song's introduction. *The
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
music programme '' The Tube'' also produced videos for
XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...
's songs "The Meeting Place" and " The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul" filmed in Portmeirion with the band wearing costumes from ''
The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...
''. *In Series 12, Episode 13 of ''
Wheeler Dealers Wheeler Dealers is a British TV series originally produced by Attaboy TV for the Discovery Channel in the UK and for Motor Trend in the U.S. The programme is fronted by car enthusiast and former dealer Mike Brewer with mechanics Edd China (Seri ...
'' the finished
Caterham 7 The Caterham 7 (or Caterham Seven) is a super-lightweight sports car produced by Caterham Cars in the United Kingdom. It is based on the Lotus Seven, a lightweight sports car sold in kit and factory-built form by Lotus Cars, from 1957 to 1972. A ...
is taken to Portmeirion to pay homage to ''The Prisoner'', which featured the
Lotus 7 The Lotus Seven is a small, simple, lightweight, two-seater, open-top, open-wheel, sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1972. It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Cha ...
, the predecessor of the Caterham 7.


See also

*
List of gardens in Wales This is a list of notable gardens in Wales, open to the public either regularly or by appointment. Anglesey * Carreglwyd, Llanfaethlu * Cestyll Garden * Plas Cadnant * Plas Newydd Carmarthenshire * Aberglasney Gardens * Dinefwr Park * ...
*
Plas Brondanw Plas Brondanw () in Garreg, Llanfrothen, Gwynedd, North Wales, was the family home of Clough Williams-Ellis, creator of the Italianate architecture, Italianate village Portmeirion, and elements of similar architectural styles can be seen at both ...
*
Popeye Village Popeye Village, also known as Sweethaven Village, is a purpose-built film set village that has been converted into a small attraction fun park, consisting of a collection of rustic and ramshackle wooden buildings. It is located at Prajjet Bay/ ...
*
Portmeirion Pottery Portmeirion is a British pottery company based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. History Portmeirion Pottery began in 1960 when pottery designer Susan Williams-Ellis (daughter of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, who created the Italian-style Portmeirion Vi ...


References

Notes


External links


Official website

Photos of Portmeirion

Portmeirion: Architecture
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 Villages in Gwynedd The Prisoner Tourist attractions in Gwynedd Penrhyndeudraeth Seaside resorts in Wales Arts festivals in Wales