A fabulously successful and enjoyable tour of North Wales with the Irish Georgian Society was organised by Jimmy Valentine and the full details and photographs appear in edition No 34 of News & Record.
Members were based at the Hotel Plas Dinorwic, known locally as ‘The Pink Palace’ and situated in the village of Y Felinheli. The hotel has a wondeful situation facing southwest along the Menai Straits giving spectacular views.
Various country houses were visited, some as usual not being open to the public, with a few being National Trust. We went to Plas Cadnant a modest house of 1804 beautifully situated facing Mount Snowdon and where the owner, Anthony Tavernor has almost completed the restoration of the 10 acre garden that had been abandoned for fifty years when he purchased the house in 1995. The next stop was a complete contrast being Penrhyn Castle, a hugh forbidding house, one of the largest in the UK. It was built in the 1830’s and passed to the NT in 1951.
After lunch at Penrhyn we next visited Gorddinog Hall, the home of new Club members Mark Zaini de Ferranti and his wife. The real draw at Victorian Gorddinog is Mark’s collection of classic cars, including Rolls Royces’, Bugattis’, Mercedes’ and Alfa Romeos.
Dinner that evening was at Plas Newydd owned by the National Trust but still the home of the Marquis of Anglesey. Originally built in the 16th century the house was added to and remodelled at various times and is noe in the Gothick style.
On Sunday we took a beautiful drive along the North Wales coast then up the Vale of Conwy to Maenan Hall, the beautifully situated home of The Hon. Christopher McLaren. The highlight of the interior is the Great Hall with a soaring Gothic arched roof and very interesting early plasterwork dating from 1582. We then moved on the Garthewin where we had a picnic in the barn that had been converted into a theatre in 1938. The 9 bay house was rebuilt in the 18th century.
In the afternoon we went to Hendre House (not THE Hendre!) owned by 20-Ghost and SGA member Michael Tree who is carrying out a splendid restoration of the house that had been derelict for around 40 years. The house built around 1810 is two storied and has small elegant interiors. We then motored on to Glan-Conwy owned by Edmond Douglas-Pennant. In the mid 1630’s it was rebuilt and extended. The Georgian wing which dominates the house today dates from 1827.
The last house we visited that day was Voelas the home of Mr & Mrs David Wynne-Finch. Built by Clough Williams-Ellis in 1957-1961 as a two storey neo-Georgian block with its main feature being the 50 feet long Gallery built to house the magnificent collection of family portraits.
Our gala Dinner that evening was held at Yr Hen Lechan a restaurant just a few minutes walk from ‘The Pink Palace’.
On Monday we visited Portmerion, the great ouvre of Clough Williams-Ellis, with work commencing in 1925 with construction lasting until 1975 with later additions mainly twixt 1980 and 2006. The final visit of the week-end was to the gardens of Plas Brondanw, which had become the home of Clough Williams-Ellis and his wife after the first world war. The house dates from around 1500 but was sadly burnt out in 1951. Opposite the gate to Brondanw is a path through the woodland up to a wild look-out tower known as Pentwr where most of the group valiantly walked up to, for a final look at the magnificent Welsh countryside before dispersing to all corner of the British Isles after what had been, once again, a splendid tour.
