How aristocrat had Welsh town’s first phone installed to listen to opera

THE bizarre reason why an eccentric aristocrat installed the first telephone in a Welsh market town in 1881 has finally been revealed.

- STEVE BAGNALL Reporter

Local historian Clwyd Wynne discovered that Anglesey-born philanthropist Emily Fazakerley wanted to listen to an opera that was being staged in Denbigh, but wasn’t able to be there in person.

‘The phone, which was installed just six years after Alexander Graham Bell's landmark invention, was hooked up with the wealthy spinster’s plush mansion, Plas Castell, in the shadow of Denbigh Castle.

Clwyd uncovered the story while doing research for a lecture about The Buttermarket, which has undergone a £2.4m makeover.

‘The historic building, which dates back to 1848, is now owned by the Vale of Clwyd Mind association, and the museum is in the process of moving there from its old home at a former primary school, Ysgol Frongoch.

Clwyd will be giving the talk at the museum, where he is the chair of the board, at 7pm on Thursday, September 18.

It will be a timely event ahead of the annual Open Doors weekend from September 19 to 21, which will include lectures, guided tours and an opportunity to visit more than 30 historic sites in the town.

“The reason for having the phone installed was because an Italian operatic evening was being performed in the Assembly Room next to the Buttermarket but she didn’t want to be there in person, rather she wanted to listen on the phone with other local dignitaries present’ said Clwyd.

“She ordered the laying of a wire from her house to the Assembly Room by the Cheshire and Lancashire Telephone Company and had six ear tubes connected to it.