Brenhines welcomes you to The Menai



'Brenhines' through the glass entrance at The Menai.

Brenhines (Queen) stands proudly at the entrance of the new Menai function suite at St George's Hotel, Llandudno but her full meaning is known by the few. Until now.

She was conceived standing on the promenade in front of St George’s Hotel and experiencing the magic of the surroundings. She is a celebration of all that is Llandudno, Queen of Welsh Resorts. Imagine Llandudno not just as a place but as a spirit that surrounds us. 


The colours in this piece are representative of her surroundings; the two blues of her dress are the sea and sky, the yellow and copper of her hair are the beaches and the metal historically mined in the area.

The whole composition curves from her to echo the promenade itself with its’ pastel coloured hotels and in a continuous everlasting cycle, returns to her to give again.



In her full glory.



Along the coastal curves are seaglass ‘jewels’, glass that has made its way to the sea and been tumbled and smoothed by the tide to form beautifully frosted pieces of glass. A process that takes a hundred years, these actual pieces are from the Victorian period when Llandudno made its name.

The three ‘smaller’ round windows within the work represent (top left) The Great Orme, (right) The Little Orme and (bottom left) West Shore. The word ‘Orme’ is reported to be a Scandinavian word meaning, ‘worm’ or ‘serpent’ after a legend that the Vikings approached the North Wales coast to invade at Llandudno. Through the mist they saw what they thought were two giant serpents rising up out of the sea. This was to make them turn and flee. The serpents in this piece, in the shape of everlasting celtic knots, are there to once again, ‘protect’ her (Llandudno) to eternity.

The third roundel pictures ‘Alice’ as West Shore is synonymous Lewis Carroll’s work. In ‘Through the Looking Glass’, Alice herself becomes ‘Queen’.

As to confirm her greatness, the ‘Queen’ herself wears a ‘Welsh’ red crown encrusted with green and white ‘jewels’. Confirmation that she is truly, The Queen of Welsh Resorts!