Family sell historic mansion after 400 years of occupation
AJACOBEAN mansion is being sold by its owner for £2.5m, after the property has been in his family for more than 400 years.
The estate at Gwysaney Hall is recorded in the Domesday Book and had links to 9th century Welsh king Rhodri Mawr.
Its present hall was built on the current site in 1603 by Robert Davies and in 1645 was besieged and taken by Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads.
The property has been in the hands of the Davies-Cooke family for more than 450 years – but is now on the market.
The estate agent selling this stately home in Flintshire described it as one of north Wales’ finest and most historic residential houses. It was granted a Grade II* listing by Cadw in 1952,.
The core of the house is its 1603 Jacobean incarnation, with additional wings, additions and alterations occurring through the proceeding centuries.
Owner Richard Davies-Cooke said he was disappointed to give up the property, but added he had to be “sensible” and consider the future of his son and grandson.
“I feel very privileged to have inherited Gwysaney from my father, it’s a really lovely house, it’s very friendly, and every generation has done their bit to try and keep on top of things during the years,” Richard said.
One thing that past family members have had to repair is the front door, which is, remarkably, still the original.
“The Davies family were devout royalists and huge supporters of King Charles I and II,” Richard said. “But it was the time of the civil war, so Sir William Brereton was appointed by Oliver Cromwell to bring his army across to Gwysaney to sort out the troublemakers, such as my ancestor Robert Davies.
“It ended up with Brereton getting to Gwysaney and placing a cannon on the front lawn and the end result was the cannon ball struck the front door, and it had to be repaired – you can still see the repair mark on it.
“The house was breached and my ancestor Robert was taken off to Chester jail where he spent time until he paid the fine of £645 – today’s money it’s probably in excess of £1.25m!”
But cannonball damage has not been Gwysaney Hall’s most dramatic repair, with a wing of the house collapsing during the 19th century.
Richard explained: “Unfortunately, in 1825 a large crack appeared in the western wing of the hall which was caused by subsidence. Gwysaney was built on the top of the side of a hill and it was a bit too close to the edge – it took about 25 years, but we lost a top floor and we lost a wing, and that at wing included the family chapel. apel.
“So at the time there was a major reconfiguration of the hall. But now looking at the original floorplan, there can’t be much of the original hall all left, because use there are walls that have been put in where originally there hadn’t been one.
“So like many houses of that time there would have been a Great Hall for entertaining but that has now been subdivided into other rooms.”
The result of the incident and the reworking of the hall is the creation of a totally ‘new’ wing to the east, using mainly bricks and stone from the collapsed west wing.
With the spaces inside then reconfigured the hall that stands today is a welcoming home that offers a vast array of large but manageable rooms, all with a welcoming and cosy atmosphere.
“I think that is one of the key things of the hall. A lot of people might imagine that Gwysaney might be daunting, stuffy even, if someone was just looking at the facade, but I think actually many are surprised once they start looking through the photographs.
“Yes, there is tradition, and quite rightly so because of the history, but then really there has to be the modern element that we all enjoy today.
“There’s a lovely balance and even in the rooms that are modernised there are still elements that we want to keep in the tradition and in the style of Gwysaney and what it’s meant in history.
“So many properties of this age are foreboding, and when you go into them they are dark, whereas Gwysaney gives you that feeling of warmth and welcome.”
He added: “It’s a house of two eras in many respects – the traditional part of it, you know, the hall, the armaments, the formal brown bro furniture – it’s all there and keeps the history histor alive of how the hall has looked over the last 400 years, but here are other rooms in the house that are modern but still blend in well with the old.”
The property includes a range of rooms including three halls, a drawing room, smoking room, billiard room, study, garden room, more than a dozen bedrooms and four attic rooms, as well as two cottages, stables and 26 acres of surrounding land. There’s even a recently discovered priest hole.
Richard will still be living on the estate, by moving to a farm.
Richard said: “I feel very honoured and privileged to be here, and sad at the same time that it’s on my watch that we’ve had to take this decision, but we need to be sensible and look at the longer term future for my son and grandson. The new owners are taking on a legacy which has been running for a very long period of time, but I hope that they feel this is their home and that they are inclusive within a bigger wheel within the estate.”
■ Gwysaney Hall, cottages and 26 acres of grounds are for sale for £2.5m with estate agent Strutt and Parker (01244 354880).