Europe · United Kingdom · Conwy County Borough
Gwrych Castle
The story
History of Gwrych Castle
Gwrych Castle is a Grade I listed country house near Abergele in Conwy County Borough, Wales. On an ancient site, the building was created by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh and his descendants over much of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
United Kingdom · Conwy County Borough
- Built
- 16th century
- Era
- Renaissance
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- Conwy County Borough
- UNESCO
- —
- Coordinates
- 53.283, -3.607
In depth
The fuller history
Gwrych (originally spelt 'Y Gwrŷch' meaning "The hedge") occupies an ancient site. The earliest description is recorded in an early 16th century deed: Indenture of demise, 20 April, 27 Henry VIII , by Owen ap Gruffith ap Jevaun ap Gruffith [Owen son of Gruffydd son of Ieuan son of Gruffydd], to Gruffith ap Jevaun ap Gruffith [Gruffydd son of Ieuan son of Gruffydd], for the term of his life, of two parcels of land, in the town of Abergelle (Abergele), in the comote of Isulat [Isaled hundred], within the lordship of Dembych (Dinbych), the one in a place called 'y gwrych', between the highway…
During the Second World War, as part of the Kindertransport programme, the Government used the castle from 1939 to 1941 to house 200 Jewish refugees; it was run by the Jewish Zionist youth movement Bnei Akiva. Daniel Sperber was born there in this period. After the war, the Dundonalds put the estate up for sale and in 1946 it was purchased by Robert Rennie who opened it as a visitor attraction, "The Showpiece of Wales". It was then sold to Leslie Salts and was said to have attracted nearly 10 million visitors.
In the 1980s the castle attracted motorcyclists from across Britain, and gained notoriety as a venue for drunkenness and antisocial behaviour. The police attended the area frequently to keep the peace. The castle closed to the public in 1987. It was bought in 1989 by Nick Tavaglione, an American businessman, for £750,000. His plans to renovate the building and create a centre for opera were not carried out and the castle was looted and vandalised, becoming little more than a derelict shell.
Key dates
- 1810Gwrych Castle was built between 1810 and 1825 by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh (1787–1861), in memory of his mother Frances Lloyd and her ancestors.
- 1878Winifred had married Douglas Cochrane in 1878 and became Countess of Dundonald on her husband's succession to the earldom in 1885.
- 1928In 1928, it was bought back by the late countess's former husband for £78,000 (equivalent to £4,200,000 in 2025), who then sold the contents to meet the cost.
- 1946After the war, the Dundonalds put the estate up for sale and in 1946 it was purchased by Robert Rennie who opened it as a visitor attraction, "The Showpiece of Wales".
- 2006The condition of the property was monitored by the trust, who lobbied Conwy council to compulsorily purchase the property, eventually placing pressure on the American owner, who put it up for sale in March 2006.
- 2021Years later, in June 2021, a new transformer and pole were installed after the trust had secured enough funds to pay for it.
Historical summary drawn from Wikipedia. Read the full article.
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