Portmeirion, the Welsh village with a riviera touch, turns 100

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The Italianate resort village was designed and constructed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975

Portmeirion, famous as the little village offering a vision of the Italian riviera while sitting on a stunning part of the Welsh coastline, celebrates its centenary this Easter.

The creation of architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, designed and constructed by him between 1925 and 1975, Portmeirion is far more than an Italianate copy.

An eclectic mix of styles, architectural illusions and re-purposed structural gems collected from an array of grand buildings that faced decline and demolition in other locations, it also served as the backdrop to 1960s cult TV^▸ (Thames Valley, or TeleVision, depending on context) show The Prisoner.

"I wanted to prove that you could develop even a very beautiful place without defiling it: in fact, if you did it well enough, you could even add to what nature had given you," Sir Clough told the BBC in an interview in the 1970s.

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However, it is the ongoing popularity with the wider public that keeps Portmeirion running, with about 250,000 people visiting the village in Gwynedd, north Wales, every year.

Portmeirion finance director Ian Roberts said: "We need to make sure we generate enough revenue for the upkeep of all these buildings, which is not cheap."

The village employs about 200 staff, which can rise to more 270 in summer.

The 61 bedrooms of the Portmeirion Hotel and Castell Deudraeth Hotel, and 13 holiday lets, are crucial to the business. They need constant investment.

"We need to maintain our standards, and improve the standards," Roberts said.

[Image from here is not available to guests]
Portmeirion is an eclectic mix of illusions and rehoused architectural oddities

(BBC article continues)