Plas Teg is a Grade I listed Jacobean house in Wales. [1] It is near the village of Pontblyddyn in Flintshire, between Wrexham and Mold. It is considered to be one of the finest examples of Jacobean architecture in Wales, and the finest in North Wales. [2] [3]
The house was built by Sir John Trevor I, a prominent courtier of King James I, in about 1610. [4] Sir John died in 1629 and his wife in 1643, leaving the house unoccupied as the English Civil War broke out. [2] It was twice raided by the Roundheads, but continued to be passed down to Trevor descendants until the early 20th century. [4] During the Second World War the house was requisitioned by the War Office to billet soldiers. In 1945, it was sold to an auctioneers company, which used it for storage.
By the early 1950s, Plas Teg was in a state of advanced decay and under threat of demolition. Following a public outcry, the derelict house received a Grade I listing from Cadw, protecting it from demolition. [2] A Trevor descendant, Patrick Trevor-Roper, purchased the house and partially restored it with funds from the Historic Buildings Council. [4] He then leased out the house until 1977, when Mr and Mrs William Llewelyn bought the house. The couple only used parts of the ground floor but the rest of the house became little more than a ruin.
In 1986 Cornelia Bayley acquired Plas Teg for £75,000. She carried out a series of works at a cost of £400,000, £199,000 of which was funded by Cadw. Ten months after purchase the house was opened to the public. It remains Bayley's private residence. Plas Teg in 2022 closed to the public pending repairs.
The county of Flintshire is said to be a land of spirits and hauntings. One notable case is that of the grey lady, described as the most popular of such entities in North East Wales. The old woman is reported to have been seen moving across the A541 adjacent to Plas Teg into the path of traffic. [5]
The courtyard entrance, walled garden, shrubberies and avenue are listed as Grade II in the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. [6]
Ghosthunting With... Girls Aloud was filmed at Plas Teg in 2006. [7] In 2010 Plas Teg featured on Country House Rescue , [8] in 2015 in Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners , [9] and in 2019 Hidden Wales with Will Millard. [10]
Alyn and Deeside was one of six local government districts in the county of Clwyd, north-east Wales from 1974 to 1996. There is still a parliamentary constituency of the same name.
Mark Baker is an architectural historian and author of several books on country houses, estates and their families. Baker has contributed to several television series and programmes. He became a Welsh Conservative Party councillor for Gele in May 2017.
Sir John Trevor I (1563–1630) was a Welsh politician.
Gwrych Castle is a Grade I listed country house near Abergele in Conwy County Borough, Wales. On an ancient site, the current building was created by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh and his descendants over much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The castle and its 236-acre estate are now owned by a charity, the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust.
Trevalyn Hall in Rossett, a Grade II* listed building, is an Elizabethan manor house near Wrexham in Wales. It was built by John Trevor in 1576. The Trevor family of Trevalyn were one of the leading families in East Denbighshire by about 1600 with numerous estates in both Flintshire and Denbighshire. The Plas Teg estate in Hope, Flintshire was also acquired by the Denbighshire branch of the family when it was purchased from a cousin by Sir John Trevor I (1563–1630) and it was he who built the present Plas Teg house in 1610.
Pentre Berw is a small village located on the island of Anglesey in north Wales. It lies about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the county town of Llangefni, and next to Gaerwen.
Nercwys is a rural village and community in Flintshire, Wales, which is surrounded by open countryside. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 585. The older, anglicised spelling of Nerquis can sometimes be found. It has a small school and a local bus service to Mold which is around 3 miles away.
Newton House is a Grade II* listed country house situated just to the west of the market town of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is partially owned and maintained by the National Trust and lies within Dinefwr Park and the grounds of Dinefwr Castle. The park and gardens are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The original house was built during the Medieval period on a site which has been occupied for at least two millennia. The current house was built by Edward Rice in the Jacobean style in 1660, though extensive changes were made in the 1850s in the Venetian Gothic style. The house played a role in the Rebecca Riots of 1843, when the occupant of the house at the time, Colonel George Rice, received a death threat with an empty grave dug in the ground. After 1956 the property fell into turbulent times when two owners died within the space of a few years. It was sold in 1974, and later fell into disrepair; it was occupied by squatters and thieves who removed beams and furniture.
In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In Wales, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Cadw.
In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade II* structures are those considered to be "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In Wales, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Cadw.
Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners is a Channel 4 television series about people with obsessive–compulsive disorder, narrated by John Thomson.
Plas Taliaris is a Grade I-listed building two miles to the north-east of Salem in Carmarthenshire, west Wales. It was first mentioned in 1336 and was owned by the Gwynne family until the house was sold in 1787. Most of the estate was sold in the 1950s and the house was restored in around 1989. Its gardens and park are registered on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Top-y-Fron Hall is a country house in the community of Connah's Quay, Wales. In 1977 it became a Grade II* listed building.
Leeswood Hall is a country house in Leeswood, Flintshire, Wales. Dating from 1742, it was built for George Wynne, the design being attributed to Francis Smith. Construction reputedly cost £40,000. The hall is a Grade II* listed building. To the northwest of the hall stand the White Gates, which have their own Grade I listing. The gates terminate the view from the hall across the lawns, an early and rare example of 18th century parkland design by Stephen Switzer, and a Grade I listed landscape of national significance.
Rhual is a Grade I listed building in Flintshire, Wales. This small mansion has medieval origins and is surrounded by a large landscaped park. The present building was constructed in 1634 by Evan Edwards, a member of a well established Flintshire family which traced its descent from the Welsh king Hywel Dda. He most likely incorporated an older medieval house into the north wing of the current building. The house has since been built upon further, and the east and south entrances were created in the 19th century.
Plas Madoc is a housing estate and former electoral ward near Acrefair, in the Cefn community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is located seven miles to the south-west of Wrexham, and contains The Land adventure playground, and a community-run leisure centre with a swimming pool. The area is one of the most deprived areas in Wales, and the fourth most deprived LSOA in Wrexham County Borough.
Flintshire is a county in the north-east of Wales. It covers an area of 437.5 km2 (168.9 sq mi) and in 2021 the population was approximately 155,100.
Pentrehobyn is a large house standing just to the south-east of Mold, Flintshire, Wales. The present hall dates mainly from the mid-17th century, although parts may be older, and it includes later additions. The estate was owned, and the hall built, by the Lloyd family, local landowners who served as agents to the Lords of Penryhn in the 19th century. The hall is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building. An attached llettau (lodgings) block has its own Grade I listing. The gardens and grounds are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Henblas is an Renaissance house in the village of Llanasa, Flintshire, Wales. The mansion dates from 1645 and was built by the Morgan family of Golden Grove, a country estate to the west of Llanasa, as a home for two unmarried sisters. The house is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building.
St Cynfarch and St Cyngar's Church, or simply St Cyngar's Church, or Hope Parish Church, is a Grade I listed parish church located in Hope, Flintshire, Wales. The Church in Wales church is dedicated to the Celtic saints Cynfarch and Cyngar. It is considered to be Flintshire's oldest church.
A book detailing the history of Plas Teg and the Trevor family was published in 2006. The expanded second edition tackles the theories regarding Judge Jeffreys.