Some of our Welsh Heroes have plaques dedicated to their memory. A few have squares or even shopping centres named in their honour. Clough Williams- Ellis’s monument is the village he spent half a century creating.

By the shores of Tremadog Bay, Portmeirion stands like the capital of a neo-classical fantasyland. Its buildings, some of which were transported to the site

in pieces, reflect diverse European and sometimes Oriental influences. Together they form a uniquely entrancing whole.

The great Welsh-American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was fascinated.

He made a beeline for Portmeirion on his one and only visit to the land of his fathers.

As “The Village” it was popularised on television by The Prisoner, the lasting appeal of which owes much to Portmeirions’ special atmosphere. Noel Coward wrote Blithe Spirit there

A largely self-taught architect, Clough Williams-Ellis set up his own practice in his early twenties. Its success allowed him the freedom at Portmeirion to give full rein to his creative vision.

It first opened to the public in the 1926. But with new buildings added nearly every year, Portmeirion remained work in progress until 1972 by which time the newly knighted Sir Clough was in his nineties.

Sir Clough’s role in preserving Britain’s environment was immense. He founded the Council for the Protection of Rural England, later creating the CPRW in Wales.

These campaigning bodies played a major role in the creation of National Parks -three of them in Wales- as well as Green Belts to buffer against urban sprawl.

During the First World War he served with the Welsh Guards and Royal Tank Corps and was awarded the Military Cross.

Portmeirion’s continuing statement- that buildings can enhance rather than despoil their surroundings – remains one that architects and planners should never ignore.