The town was given its charter as a borough by Edward, the Black Prince, in 1355, and a market is still held each Wednesday in the centre of the town on 'Y Maes' (="the field" or "the town square" in English).

The town grew around the shipbuilding and fishing industries, and the granite quarry at Gimlet Rock (Welsh: Carreg yr Imbill).

The population in 1841 was 2,367.

During the 1890s, the town was developed by Solomon Andrews, a Cardiff businessman.
This work included the promenade, roads and houses at West End.
A tramway was built linking the town to Llanbedrog.
The trams ran until 1927 when the section of track between Carreg-y-Defaid and Tyddyn-Caled was seriously damaged by a storm.
Andrews ran the Cardiff Road section in 1928, and offered to sell the tramway to Pwllheli Corporation at the end of the season, but they did not take up his offer.
He then sold the assets, and the Corporation removed the tracks during the winter of 1928/29.

For many years a holiday camp run by Butlins operated a few miles from Pwllheli at Pen-y-chain.
During the Second World War it became a naval camp, HMS Glendower, and it operated a hospital for wounded servicemen at Brynberyl on the Pwllheli to Caernarfon road two miles out of town.
After the war, Butlins re-established the holiday camp.
The camp, now renamed Hafan y Môr ("Haven of the Sea"), has been redeveloped and is now run by the Haven group.
The town was given its charter as a borough by Edward, the Black Prince, in 1355, and a market is still held each Wednesday in the centre of the town on 'Y Maes' (="the field" or "the town square" in English).
The town grew around the shipbuilding and fishing industries, and the granite quarry at Gimlet Rock (Welsh: Carreg yr Imbill).
The population in 1841 was 2,367.
During the 1890s, the town was developed by Solomon Andrews, a Cardiff businessman. This work included the promenade, roads and houses at West End. A tramway was built linking the town to Llanbedrog. The trams ran until 1927 when the section of track between Carreg-y-Defaid and Tyddyn-Caled was seriously damaged by a storm. Andrews ran the Cardiff Road section in 1928, and offered to sell the tramway to Pwllheli Corporation at the end of the season, but they did not take up his offer. He then sold the assets, and the Corporation removed the tracks during the winter of 1928/29.
For many years a holiday camp run by Butlins operated a few miles from Pwllheli at Pen-y-chain. During the Second World War it became a naval camp, HMS Glendower, and it operated a hospital for wounded servicemen at Brynberyl on the Pwllheli to Caernarfon road two miles out of town. After the war, Butlins re-established the holiday camp. The camp, now renamed Hafan y Môr ("Haven of the Sea"), has been redeveloped and is now run by the Haven group.
Pwllheli