Rhiwlas,_Llandderfel

Rhiwlas, Llandderfel

Rhiwlas, Llandderfel

Grade II registered historic park and garden in Gwynedd, Wales

Rhiwlas is an estate about 1 km (0.62 mi) to the north of the town of Bala, Gwynedd, Wales. It has been in the possession of the Price family for over four centuries. Rhiwlas Hall, a Regency extravaganza, was demolished in the 1950s and replaced by a smaller house designed by Clough Williams-Ellis. Many of the estate buildings remain and are listed structures, and the hall's gardens and landscaped park, landscaped by William Emes, are listed at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

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History and architecture

The Price family have owned the Rhiwlas estate since at least the 1540s.[1][2][lower-alpha 1] Richard John Lloyd Price (1843–1923) was a noted sportsman, who hosted Britain's first sheepdog trials at Rhiwlas in 1873.[4] Robin Price, the 15th generation of his family to farm at Rhiwlas, died in 2016. The estate remains privately owned by the Price family.[5]

The 19th-century Rhiwlas Hall was a large building constructed in 1809. RCAHMW describes it as being "three-storeyed and castellated with turrets",[6] while Cadw considers it to have been an "enormous rambling mansion".[7] The architect is unknown. Thomas Rickman undertook some work on the estate at the time of the reconstruction, including the entrance gate,[8] but Pevsner does not ascribe the house to him.[3] The hall was demolished in 1954, having suffered both wartime requisition and dry rot. The replacement, designed by Clough Williams-Ellis, is considered by Richard Haslam, Julian Orbach and Adam Voelcker, writing in their 2009 volume Gwynedd in the Pevsner Buildings of Wales series, to be among his best work.[3]

The gardens were designed by William Emes and are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.[7]

A number of historic estate buildings survive and are listed, all at Grade II. These include the game larder,[9] the ice house,[10] the castellated stables,[11] and the main gateway and estate walls.[8]

  • The gateway to Rhiwlas Hall, designed by Thomas Rickman and erected in 1813[8]

Notes

  1. Richard Haslam, Julian Orbach and Adam Voelcker, in their 2009 volume, Gwynedd, date the founding of the estate to Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd (Sir Rhys ap Meredith), who served as Henry VII's standard-bearer at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 and who subsequently received the Rhiwlas lands from the king.[3]

References

  1. [1]
    Owen, Robert. "Price family, of Rhiwlas, in the parish of Llanfor, Meirionethshire". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Price family, of Rhiwlas". National Library of Wales. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. [3]
    Haslam, Orbach & Voelcker 2009, pp. 654–655.
  4. [4]
    "Historic Landscape Characterisation – Bala and Llyn Tegid Historical Themes". Gwynedd Archaeological Trust. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  5. [5]
    Forgrave, Andrew (14 March 2016). "Rhiwlas estate owner Robin Price dies aged 69". North Wales Live. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  6. [6]
    "Rhiwlas Hall, Bala (28709)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  7. [7]
    Cadw. "Rhiwlas (PGW(Gd)25(GWY))". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  8. [8]
    Cadw. "Gateway and Screen Walls to Rhiwlas (Grade II) (24597)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  9. [9]
    Cadw. "Game larder at Rhiwlas (Grade II) (24622)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  10. [10]
    Cadw. "Ice house at Rhiwlas (Grade II) (24625)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  11. [11]
    Cadw. "Quadrangular Stable Complex at Rhiwlas, including Y Stablau and Stablau Isa (Grade II) (24621)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 24 February 2023.

Sources
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