Plas Mawr

One of few 16th Century Elizabethan townhouses in Wales , Plas Mawr or ‘Great Hall’ is one of the finest of its kind in Britain.

The size and splendour of this curious whitewashed building in the centre of Conwy indicate the wealth and status of its owner a Welsh courtier called Robert Wynn. An Elizabethan adventurer, Wynn was born of landed but humble parents from the vale of Conwy who by fate became closely connected with the Tudor aristocracy and after travelling extensively around Europe on ambassadorial missions returned to Conwy as a merchant, justice of the peace and local gentry, when in the mid 16th Century, Welshmen were still forbidden to own property within the town.

Much of his wealth was ploughed into Plas Mawr and can been seen in the fine architectural features of mullioned and pedimented windows, crow stepped gables and inside elaborate fireplaces, the patterned plasterwork. The furnishings have been carefully restored based on a detailed inventory of the house’s contents made in 1644, so that the interiors fit the period perfectly. The finest item is the heraldic plaster over the mantel in the hall, dated the year Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe. It is brightly coloured and a vivid reminder of the progressive Elizabethan era.


This attraction is included in the Great British Heritage Pass.