History of the club.....
The time: August 28th, 1953
The place: Iscoed, Beaumaris
Two men (Mr John Joyce, local Pharmacist and Mr Fred Harding erstwhile member of Birkenhead Photographic society) met and came to a momentous decision. Calling some 10 like-minded individuals together, a meeting was held to establish the BEAUMARIS CAMERA CLUB.
It was decided that a suitable meeting place was required, and after rejecting hotels, for the fear of creating the wrong sort of club, the old Catholic Church Hall in Church Street was the home for the young camera club for two years. Although short of equipment, members were enthusiastic. A horizontal enlarger was constructed and a “dark (end) room” was lent to members without one. Prints had to be taken home to wash.
By 1958 the old David Hughes School Chemistry Laboratory became the meeting place. Allegedly, the caretaker of the school produced a banging noise on the central heating pipes at 10pm in order to hasten the ends of the meetings, which was highly embarrassing if a visiting lecturer was trying to finish a talk!
By 1967 after being in the Social Centre in Beaumaris for seven years, activities were terminated by the town council, owing to the need of extensive repairs which nobody was prepared to fund, and temporary headquarters were found in the Wesleyan Chapel Schoolroom in Menai Bridge. Over the years, several sites in the town have been home to the club ranging from the Capel Mawr (1971- 1974), the English Presbyterian Schoolroom (1975), but in 1988 it moved to its present site at St Anne's Catholic Church Hall in Dale Street.
The first annual exhibition was held on 26th June 1954 at the Bulkeley Arms Hotel, Beaumaris. The hire cost for the one day was 2 guineas (£2.10p) and 207 visitors came to view 74 prints by 14 members.
Since then the annual exhibitions have been held at a number of venues including: Beaumaris town hall; Community Centre, Beaumaris; Menai Bridge War Memorial Institute Hall; English Presbyterian Church Schoolroom (21st), Menai Bridge Library.
In 2003 the 50th Anniversary exhibition was opened by Lady Anglesey held at Beaumaris Leisure Centre.
From 2009 Beaumaris Leisure Centre has been the venue for an annual print exhibition. The prints being mounted and hung in frames hired from the North Wales Photographic Association.
The club received a grant from the Lottery funded “Awards for All Wales” which allowed us to purchase a laptop computer, digital projector and ancillaries.
The club membership has grown steadily over the years and now numbers over 40 members making us one of the larger clubs in the North Wales Photographic Association but we remain proud of our friendly and informal atmosphere. Membership of the Club is open to all those with an interest in photography. We have a varied programme which includes visiting speakers, monthly competitions, national and international exhibitions, monthly photographic walks and the always popular members' evenings. There is a wide range of expertise within the club, ranging from beginners to exhibitors in national and international open exhibitions.
If you are interested in finding out more about us why not get in touch?
The place: Iscoed, Beaumaris
Two men (Mr John Joyce, local Pharmacist and Mr Fred Harding erstwhile member of Birkenhead Photographic society) met and came to a momentous decision. Calling some 10 like-minded individuals together, a meeting was held to establish the BEAUMARIS CAMERA CLUB.
It was decided that a suitable meeting place was required, and after rejecting hotels, for the fear of creating the wrong sort of club, the old Catholic Church Hall in Church Street was the home for the young camera club for two years. Although short of equipment, members were enthusiastic. A horizontal enlarger was constructed and a “dark (end) room” was lent to members without one. Prints had to be taken home to wash.
By 1958 the old David Hughes School Chemistry Laboratory became the meeting place. Allegedly, the caretaker of the school produced a banging noise on the central heating pipes at 10pm in order to hasten the ends of the meetings, which was highly embarrassing if a visiting lecturer was trying to finish a talk!
By 1967 after being in the Social Centre in Beaumaris for seven years, activities were terminated by the town council, owing to the need of extensive repairs which nobody was prepared to fund, and temporary headquarters were found in the Wesleyan Chapel Schoolroom in Menai Bridge. Over the years, several sites in the town have been home to the club ranging from the Capel Mawr (1971- 1974), the English Presbyterian Schoolroom (1975), but in 1988 it moved to its present site at St Anne's Catholic Church Hall in Dale Street.
The first annual exhibition was held on 26th June 1954 at the Bulkeley Arms Hotel, Beaumaris. The hire cost for the one day was 2 guineas (£2.10p) and 207 visitors came to view 74 prints by 14 members.
Since then the annual exhibitions have been held at a number of venues including: Beaumaris town hall; Community Centre, Beaumaris; Menai Bridge War Memorial Institute Hall; English Presbyterian Church Schoolroom (21st), Menai Bridge Library.
In 2003 the 50th Anniversary exhibition was opened by Lady Anglesey held at Beaumaris Leisure Centre.
From 2009 Beaumaris Leisure Centre has been the venue for an annual print exhibition. The prints being mounted and hung in frames hired from the North Wales Photographic Association.
The club received a grant from the Lottery funded “Awards for All Wales” which allowed us to purchase a laptop computer, digital projector and ancillaries.
The club membership has grown steadily over the years and now numbers over 40 members making us one of the larger clubs in the North Wales Photographic Association but we remain proud of our friendly and informal atmosphere. Membership of the Club is open to all those with an interest in photography. We have a varied programme which includes visiting speakers, monthly competitions, national and international exhibitions, monthly photographic walks and the always popular members' evenings. There is a wide range of expertise within the club, ranging from beginners to exhibitors in national and international open exhibitions.
If you are interested in finding out more about us why not get in touch?
