In Search of the Dally Collection.
4th June 2026
It was a wet and windy start to the walk as we headed off in Search of the (find spots) of the Dally Collection. We learned that this was a collection of artefacts found in Llandudno in the 19th century and acquired by full-time dentist and part time antiquarian Frederick Dally before his death in 1914. The meeting point was above the copper mines where we heard about the life of Dally and how his interest in collecting Llandudno’s history began. Crossing over to the copper mines we learned of the pieces of the collection that had been found there, including a small but very archaeologically important copper chisel. It was at this point that the weather sided with us and the rain stopped! The walk continued along Ty Gwyn Road where various other artefacts in the collection were discussed, including a smelter’s hearth and what is listed in Dally’s notes as a “scorpion stone”. We headed onto the Rocking Stone next, underneath where what Dally had mislabelled as a “Roman sword” was found. After descending Dinas Hill discussions focused on some of the finds that Thomas Kendrick had made, which eventually found their way into the Dally collection, only for them to be lost and turn up again in a junk shop in London!
Many thanks to Angela for leading this walk and thanks to Christine for the fantastic photo's.