Penrhyn Castle was begun in 1820 and completed by 1840 but includes an original spiral staircase dating to the 1780s and older remains within its walls. Its majestic and detailed architecture both inspires and surprises the visitor, but its dark side is that it was built by the owner profiting from the slave trade, managing the sugar plantations in Jamaica, under British jurisdiction, and from slate mines here in North Wales. We may take some comfort in knowing that this was 'the way things were done' in this era but ultimately we know that the owner treated his slaves better than most.
We enjoyed the self-guided tour around this impressive mansion following the directional arrows and National Trust volunteers' prompts. The rooms have been lovingly restored and display the quintessence of the period celebrating the wealth and glory of the Pennant family.
The National Trust care for Penrhyn Castle and within the walls, today, lies the underlying message of knowledge learned from historical values, now echoing into the present day. There is an excellent display on the Slave Trade which made the place what it is, together with the shackles that confined those who made this fortune and saw none of it.
Also, there is a fine Railway Museum, including a model exhibit, engine plates and several preserved engines, trucks and carriages. Another surprise is the Dolls' Museum with the old fashioned toys common in the period of the mansion. In the kitchens you can find a feast of cakes, pies and food, all fake but realistically tasty. We were also lucky to see keen visitors abseiling down the Ice Tower, another National Trust fun initiative.
Strolling through the grounds you can admire the wonderful, mature arboretum containing many species and the bog garden with the largest Gunnera plants I have ever seen, within the walled garden. Wandering under the trees you encounter the ruined church with its pet cemetery and the well maintained pathways entice you into the woodland.
Wikipedia has more details on the history:visit link
'Penrhyn Castle is a country house in Llandegai, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, in the form of a Norman castle. It was originally a medieval fortified manor house, founded by Ednyfed Fychan. In 1438, Ioan ap Gruffudd was granted a licence to crenellate and he founded the stone castle and added a tower house. Samuel Wyatt reconstructed the property in the 1780s.
History
The present building was created between 1820 and 1840 to designs by Thomas Hopper, who expanded and transformed the building beyond recognition. However a spiral staircase from the original property can still be seen, and a vaulted basement and other masonry were incorporated into the new structure. Hopper's client was George Hay Dawkins-Pennant, who had inherited the Penrhyn estate on the death of his second cousin, Richard Pennant, who had made his fortune from Jamaican sugar and local slate quarries. The eldest of George's two daughters, Juliana, married Grenadier Guard, Edward Gordon Douglas, who, on inheriting the estate on George's death in 1845, adopted the hyphenated surname of Douglas-Pennant.
Penrhyn is one of the most admired of the numerous mock castles built in the United Kingdom in the 19th century; Christopher Hussey called it, "the outstanding instance of Norman revival." The castle is a picturesque composition that stretches over 600 feet from a tall donjon containing family rooms, through the main block built around the earlier house, to the service wing and the stables.
It is built in a sombre style which allows it to possess something of the medieval fortress air despite the ground-level drawing room windows. Hopper designed all the principal interiors in a rich but restrained Norman style, with much fine plasterwork and wood and stone carving. The castle also has some specially designed Norman style furniture, including a one ton slate bed made for Queen Victoria when she visited in 1859.
Hugh Napier Douglas-Pennant, 4th Lord Penrhyn, died in 1949, and the castle and estate passed to his niece, Lady Janet Pelham, who, on inheritance, adopted the surname of Douglas-Pennant. In 1951 the castle and 40,000 acres (160 km²) of land were accepted by the Treasury in lieu of death duties from Lady Janet. It now belongs to the National Trust and is open to the public.
Penrhyn's attractions include a formal walled garden, extensive informal gardens, a dolls museum, an industrial railway museum, a model railway museum and an adventure playground. Hanging on its walls is one of the finest art collections in North Wales, with works by artists such as Rembrandt, Canalletto, Richard Wilson and Palma Vecchio. The family began collecting paintings from the early years of the 19th century; this significant collection was catalogued by the 2nd Lord Penrhyn's daughter Alice Douglas-Pennant. The castle has views over the Snowdonia mountains. In 2008/09 it was the National Trust's thirteenth most visited paid-entry property, with 156,575 visitors.
Cost
The cost of the construction of this vast 'castle' is disputed, and very difficult to work out accurately as much of the timber came from the family's own forestry, and much of the labour was acquired from within their own workforce at the slate quarry. It has been estimated that it cost the Pennant Family about £150,000. This is the approximate equivalent to about £49,500,000.'