Plas Newydd, Llangollen, Wales.

 

Architectural detail at Plas Newydd, Llangollen, Wales.

This evening, I am posting information on Plas Newydd in Llangollen, N.E. Wales which is located about twenty five miles S.W. of Chester.

Plas Newydd , which translates as New Hall or New Mansion, was made famous by two aristocratic ladies of Irish origin whose lives straddled the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The two ladies were Lady Eleanor Charlotte Butler (1739-1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831) who, between 1798 and 1814. transformed a nondescript small cottage into an elaborate, Gothic themed home with planned garden. Subsequent owners undertook modifications, additions and alterations culminating in the current building and grounds.

More information:

• During the late 18th and early 19th centuries Llangollen was an emerging tourist destination. In tandem with this development, the ladies attracted many eminent visitors including aristocracy, military men and William Wordsworth (poet).
• Principal servant was Mary Carryll, a redoubtable character, also from Ireland.
• The house interior is richly embellished with high quality and elaborate oak carvings.
• Principal rooms are: State Room (ladies dressing room), Ladies Bedchamber, State Bedchamber (guest bedroom), Hall, Oak Room, Dining Room and Entrance Porch.
• The exterior Elizabethan style battens date form the late 19th century.
• The heavily ornamental canopies over the exterior ground floor windows (as illustrated in image above) were gifted by the Duchess of St Albans.
• Formal gardens at front of the house date from the late 19th century.
• At back of the house the ladies developed a romantic woodland garden incorporating the Cyffymen stream enhanced with wooden bridges, birch trees, a small temple and font removed from nearby Valle Crucis Abbey.

Plas Newydd is now owned and managed by Denbighshire County Council.

A pleasant and rewarding visitor attraction. Self-guided tours and refreshments are available.

Plas Newydd, Llangollen, Wales

Woodland garden at Plas Newydd, Llangollen, Wales

Plas Newydd, Llangollen, Wales