Developments that were of benefit to Caernarfon, with which Llewelyn Turner had been connected, were discussed in detail in Part I.  In Part II, however, his concern for the living conditions of sailors in general is dealt with, along with his greatest contribution of all and which can be described as his legacy to his hometown.

A law was passed in Parliament in 1854 advocating the establishing of a Naval Force to be made up of part time volunteers and Llewelyn Turner was anxious that such a unit be formed in Caernarfon. In a meeting held at the Guild Hall he spoke eloquently in favour of the motion and later in 1862, during his term as Mayor, he was again asked to take part in a recruiting campaign in a similar meeting at the same venue.

The theme of his talk to the young merchant seamen of the town was: “Join the R.N.V.R. You will receive £6 per annum for attending a month’s course of instruction and you don’t have to complete the course in one month. This can be split into four separate weeks. Then after completing the stipulated number of years in the Reserve you will qualify for £12 a year pension for life.”

This was almost 50 years before the Old Age Pension Act of 1910 was passed, during Lloyd George’s period as Chancellor of the Exchequer, giving five shillings a week to couples over 65 years of age. A £1 a month pension in the late 1800’s could mean the difference between independence and spending the rest of one’s life in the Workhouse. A warm response was given to this talk and 27 young men of the town joined the R.N.V.R. the following Monday morning at the Custom’s House in Porth yr Aur.

Not only was Llewelyn Turner desirous of seeing the town of Caernarfon prosper, but he wished also that the people of the town had their share of that prosperity. He was a visionary and the greatest visionary Caernarfon produced in the 19. century and when has the town ever seen his like since? The best example of his prowess as a visionary has survived him and is still with us today in the form of the castle.

It was during his last term as Mayor in 1870, that Lord Caernarfon, Constable of the Castle, invited him to become his deputy and to be responsible for maintaining and renovating the centuries old building. He readily accepted the challenge, as many years before he had, in his mind’s eye, seen the potential there was in the castle as a tourists’ attraction, but was concerned about the poor state it was in at that time.

He employed a stone mason by the name of John Jones to be responsible for a team of workers to carry out renovations and both he and John Jones worked closely together for over 30 years to get the building up to the standard that it is in today.

Much of the shoddy work that John Jones’ predecessor had carried out had to be demolished and rebuilt. Some of the towers had to be re-roofed and re-floored. Nearly all the battlements had to be completely rebuilt and at least one tower restored.

All of this work was costly and even though Llewelyn Turner was successful in raising funds for some of these improvements, it is known for a fact that he had to dig deep into his own pocket to ensure that this important venture did not end up in debt.

At the same time, Llewelyn Turner insisted that the townspeople of Caernarfon should not have to pay an entrance fee to visit the castle and that the way to help maintain this historic building was to charge visitors for that privilege. And now, more than a century after his death the same ruling applies.

We, the people of Caernarfon, today, take pride in the fact that our town is a World Heritage Centre. Thanks to whom? Thanks to two persons in particular. Firstly, to a man born to a wealthy family, Llewelyn Turner, who recognized a potential in a ruin built by a conquering King in 1283 and secondly, to a Welsh craftsman, John Jones, who thoroughly deserved to be called, as he was, John Jones, Caernarfon Castle.