I'm trying to locate an address that crops up in the 1880/1890'censuses in Caernarfon. The name of this address being Tan Yard Court, can anyone help please?

Having conferred with 2 other Caernarfon historians, not one of the 3 of us knew exactly where Tan Yard Court was, but suggest that there may be a clue in the 1881/1891 census as to the area in which your grandmother was born.

There were many small tanneries in the town in the mid 19th century the most of which were on Balaclava Road and became disused in the 1860's. Another tannery was in the Skinner Street/ Mill Lane area and we believe tnat Tan Yard Court could be in the vicinity of either of these two locations. Your grandmother was born in 1905 some yars before the majority of the Courts were demolished.

All three of us will keep our eyes peeled for any information that comes to light and will advise you of any progress that we may come across.

Regards

T. Meirion Hughes

Thank you for the information regarding Tan Yard Court. Im actually tracing my late mother in laws family Maggie Mary Thomas and she was brought up in William Street. I have traced her grandparents from her fathers side (William Robert Jones)to this address in 1871 census.They were both brought up in the same Court and married each other in 1887.Other members of this branch have been born in Hole in the Wall Street, Crown Street and Northgate Street so your information fits in well to this, Thanks.

As promised, I am writing this reply after receiving more information from my two fellow historians. Both Mr. Mervyn Hugheston Roberts, former Tannery Owner and local historian and Mr Keith Morris, webmaster of the much visited historical website "Caernarfon Traders" have been able to establish from researching the 1871 Census that Tan Yard Court was in the Crown Street area and close to Patent Slip Terrace, so the original suggestion that it could be near Balaclava Road was not that far out.

We, therefore, thank Mrs. S. Thomas for the question and for her previous reply to my earlier email and trust that this information will go some way to assist her to envisage the location of where her grandmother was born.

Regards,


T. Meirion Hughes