myguideBritain Blog

A Castle in Wales

November 9th, 2007

I was asked by Juliana one of our experienced Britain guides this week if I knew anything about a particular castle, as she knew it was in the same area of North Wales that I was born and bred. The castle was Penrhyn Castle and she was looking to get a few pictures and details onto our website.

It’s strange how buildings can shape one’s life but my early years were totally dominated by this castle (and the family that lived there). You see, they were the only landowners in our corner of the world - Llandegai near Bangor in North Wales. The Pennant family was also the owner of the slate quarry in Bethesda, that had supplied the world with roof slate since the 18^th century. They had therefore been, for a few centuries, the largest employers in the area where farming and quarrying were the main occupations. They were also owners of vast sugar plantations in Jamaica, a fact the family was never keen to publicise - for understandable reasons.

My grandfather was a forester on the Castle estate, his brother, my great uncle, was a gardener in the Castle gardens. My father worked in the Penrhyn Estate’s solicitor’s office. They all lived in cottages owned by the estate. In our church in Llandegai the front pew was reserved for the the Pennant family (even though they only attended at Christmas and Easter). Much cap doffing went on in their presence I can tell you. The whole village of Llandegai was owned by the Penrhyn Estate with everybody working in the castle or it’s grounds.

The castle is actually a grand stately home built as late as 1826 with the profits from the quarries and the Jamaican plantations and is a fantastic building. By the time I came to be wandering around its corridors and rooms it was in the hands of the National Trust and open to the public following the death of 4^th Lord Penrhyn in 1949 and the transfer of the castle and part of the estate to the State by his niece and heir Lady Janet Douglas-Pennant (or “Lady Janet” to us poor locals!) in lieu of death duties. The castle houses some amazing treasures with probably the best art and furniture collection in Wales. I did not realise this at the time of course and was much more interested in the collection of steam engines in the castle mews. So even though I could be playing on the turrets of 3 of the greatest 13th century castles in the world that were each 30 mins bus ride from my house ( Conwy, Beaumaris and Caernarfon) this place was special - it had trains and being a train driver with a real train was much more fun than being a 13th century bowman with an imaginary bow.

Many of the houses owned by the National Trust in Britain came into their possession in the same way as Penrhyn Castle(in lieu of death duties) but to their credit they have done a great job in preserving and restoring these historic houses for the public. Each has its own unique story and they’re all part of the rich history and the untold wealth of the landed gentry of Britain. A tip - If you’re planning to visit some of these great houses than The Great British Heritage Pass is a very good way to save some money.

Coincidentally, and to bring this blog to a conclusion, it was another Juliana, the niece of the the first Lord Penrhyn, and heiress to the whole estate in 1840, who, together with her husband made the Pennant family one of the greatest landowners in England and Wales.

Entry Filed under: All of Britain, Wales