Earlier Houses: There was an earlier Elizabethan house on the site of the current house.

Built / Designed For: Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh

House & Family History: Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh built Gwrych Castle in 1819 in memory of his maternal family on the site of his ancestral home. The four-story building has numerous towers and embattled walls, with an enormous front of 1,300 feet; however, it is built on a shallow plan and is rarely more than one room deep. The house passed to Lloyd Hesketh's son and then onto his granddaughter, the Countess of Dundonald, by marriage. By the countess' death in 1924 Gwrych had evolved into the current building. The castle left the family's hands in 1946, when it was sold to Robert Rennie. In 1948 Leslie Salts purchased the castle and successfully opened Gwrych to the public for 20 years. Between 1968 and 1989 the castle had many owners and many different uses, e.g., a bar, a restaurant, a Medieval center, and as flats. California property developer Nick Tavaglione purchased Gwrych in December 1989, planning to convert it into a luxury hotel, with an opera house in the grounds; however, the Welsh National Opera went to nearby Llandudno and the castle remained empty. The building was ravaged by the weather and vandals, which was compounded by a long running ownership dispute that was finally resolved in 2005. The castle and 190 acres were put up for sale in March 2006 for a guide price of £1.5 million, but it failed to sell at the London auction on June 2, with the highest bid of £1,240,000 being short of the £1.5 million reserve price. In September 2007 it was announced that Clayton Hotels purchased the castle with the intent of converting it into a five-star hotel. Clayton declared bankruptcy in 2011, leaving Gwyrch unrestored.

Comments: SAVE Britain's Heritage: "Gwrych Castle is a fantastic, mock medieval castle conceived as a vast picturesque monument, a 19th century Camelot. It is now one of the most important buildings at risk in Britain."

John Bernard (J.B.) Burke, published under the title of A Visitation of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. I, p. 14, 1852.

John Preston (J.P.) Neale, published under the title of Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, among other titles: 2.S. Vol. II, 1825.

House Listed: Grade I

Park Listed: Grade II*

Past Seat / Home of: Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh, 19th century; Winifred Bamford-Hesketh, 12th Countess of Dundonald, 19th-20th centuries. Robert Rennie, 20th century. Leslie Salts, 20th century.

Current Ownership Type: Preservation Organization

Primary Current Ownership Use: Visitor Attraction

House Open to Public: Yes

Phone: 01745-826-023

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.gwrychcastle.co.uk

Historic Houses Member: No