Abbotsfield, Wrexham

Abbotsfield
The building's entrance
Former names	Abbotsfield Priory Hotel
Alternative names	The Lemon Tree Restaurant
General information
Type	Private residence (1863–20th century Council Area Education Office (20th century–1970s) Wartime nursery (20th century) Hotel (1982–present) Restaurant (2000–present)
Architectural style	Neo-Gothic
Location	Rhosddu, Wrexham, Wales
Address	29 Rhosddu Road
Coordinates	53°03′03″N2°59′45″W / 53.050735°N 2.995831°W / 53.050735; -2.995831
Completed	1863–1865
Renovated	2010 2020–21
Owner	Sam and Emma Regan (2014)
Technical details
Floor count	2
Design and construction
Architect(s)	James Reynolds Gummow
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Abbotsfield Priory Hotel
Designated	31 January 1994
Reference no.	1853 [1]

Abbotsfield is a Grade II listed building in Rhosddu, Wrexham, North Wales.

It was formerly a private residence, and later a council office, until it was converted into the Abbotsfield Priory Hotel in the 1970s, later adding a restaurant and bar. The building is now The Lemon Tree restaurant, bar and hotel.

Description

The building is located on the corner of Grosvenor Road and Rhosddu Road, ^[2] It is two storeys, ^[3] grade II listed, ^[4] and in the neo-Gothic ^[5] style. The building is of coursed and squared tooled sandstone, with the roof being made of slate and has scalloped bands and ridge cresting. The building is arranged as a L-plan with its entrance located at the centre, at the angle of the building's wings. The building's entrance contains an asymmetric gabled porch with polished granite shafts to a deep-moulded arch engraved with the text "Trust in God" on a scroll. ^{[3] [1]}

To the doorway's left is an advanced wing. ^{[3] [1]} While the interior of the building has largely retained its original layout, with details such as the encaustic-tiled entrance hall, and quatrefoil rossette panelled staircase still surviving. ^{[3] [1]}

History

The building was designed in the 1860s by local architect James Reynolds Gummow ^[5] as a private residence for Edward Jones. ^{[2] [3] [6] [7]} The building was the first house built on the Rhosddu end of Grosvenor Road, ^[6] and was constructed and built from 1863 ^[3] to 1865. ^[5]

In 1895, it was the home of John Arthur Eyton-Jones, a local surgeon. It later became an Area Education Office for the Denbighshire and later Clwyd council. ^{[2] [5] [6] [7]}

During the World Wars, one wing of the building served as the Abbotsfield Priory War Nursery. ^[5]

The council later sold building in the 1970s to become a hotel in 1982 ^[5] as the Abbotsfield Priory Hotel, a family-run hotel with fourteen bedrooms by 1995. ^[8] When it became a hotel and a bar in the 1970s and 1980s, various older pieces of other older Wrexham buildings were moved into the building, such as a mahogany bar from the Raglan Arms on Lambpit Street, with the mahogany structure serving as the building's bar. ^{[2] [7]}

In 2000, the building was converted into Graffiti Italiano, ^[9] an Italian restaurant. It is now "The Lemon Tree" restaurant, bar and independently owned hotel, with twelve and later 18 bedrooms. ^{[2] [5] [6] [7]} The hotel building underwent a complete refurbishment in March 2010, with the name "The Lemon Tree" being added, and was further renovated in 2020–21. ^[7] In December 2014, the restaurant was taken over by locals Sam Regan and his wife Emma. ^[10] The restaurant served food they self-described as "modern British". ^[11]

References

1. Cadw (31 January 1994). "Abbotsfield Priory Hotel (Grade II) (1853)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 10 June 2023.
2. "Abbotsfield Priory Hotel, Rhosddu Road, Wrexham. – "Wrexham History"". Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
3. "Abbotsfield Priory Hotel;The Lemon Tree, Rhosddu (96146)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 9 June 2023.
4. "The Lemon Tree | VisitWales". www.visitwales.com. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
5. "Hotels in Wrexham, Wrexham - Lemon Tree". heritagebritain.com. Heritage Britain. 2008.
6. "Buildings and Places of Wrexham Past and Present". chris-myers.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
7. "About". The Lemon Tree. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
8. "The Welsh Borderlands - Wrexham 1995 - Abbotsfield Priory Hotel". wrexham-history.com. Brochures from Wrexham Tourist Information Welsh Borderlands Campaign 1995. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
9. Live, North Wales (11 June 2003). "The Lemon Tree, Wrexham". North Wales Live. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
10. McCrum, Kirstie (7 April 2015). "First look at The Lemon Tree in Wrexham". WalesOnline. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
11. Magazine, Love Wrexham (5 February 2020). "The Lemon Tree Review – Food – Love Wrexham". Love Wrexham Magazine – local advertising to promote your business. Retrieved 8 June 2023.

Further reading

• Cadw – For a full architectural description