Llannerch Hall

Llanerch Hall, Trefnant, Clwyd, Wales, is a country house with medieval origins. It was rebuilt twice at the beginning and at the end of the 17th century, was again rebuilt in the 19th century, and further modified in the 20th. The hall is now divided into flats, each with its own Grade II* listing. The parkland, now a golf course, conceals traces of a late 17th century Italianate terraced garden that rivalled those at Powis Castle. The gardens were entirely destroyed in the 19th century rebuilding. The house remains privately owned.

Llannerch Hall
Painting, c. 1662, showing the Italianate terraced gardens constructed in a "foreign, outrageously unnatural style"
TypeHouse
LocationTrefnant, Clwyd, Wales
Coordinates53.2394°N 3.4187°W / 53.2394; -3.4187
BuiltMedieval origins, rebuilt twice in the 17th century, again in the 19th century
Architectural style(s)Italianate
Governing bodyPrivately owned
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameNo 1 Llannerch Hall
Designated2 June 1983
Reference no.260
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameTemple, loggia and terraces east of Llannerch Hall including gates and walls to forecourt
Designated2 June 1983
Reference no.261
Llannerch Hall is located in Denbighshire
Llannerch Hall
Location of Llannerch Hall in Denbighshire

History

The site of Llannerch Hall has been occupied since medieval times and was formerly called Lleweni Vechan.[1] In the Tudor period, a house on the site was described by its owner, the Welsh-language poet Gryffydd ap Ieuan, as "a high-crested, too long sided, loose-eaved, short-raftered, rambling, soot-accumulating old ornament of ancient workmanship".[1] In the early 17th century the Llannerch estate came into the possession of Peter Mutton.[lower-alpha 1] Mutton, the son of minor Welsh gentry, pursued a successful career as a lawyer, becoming Clerk of the Crown for Denbigh and Montgomery, Attorney General for Wales and The Marches, and a knight.[3] His son, Mutton Davies, was a soldier, and the Continental gardens he saw on foreign tours encouraged him to create a spectacular terraced garden at Llannerch in the early 1660s.[4] Elisabeth Whittle, in her study The Historic Gardens of Wales, records a pool with a statue of Neptune, grottoes, cascades and gazebos, and suggests that the "foreign, outrageously unnatural style" employed led to a garden that, in its day, rivalled that at Powis Castle as "one of the most spectacular in Wales".[lower-alpha 2][6]

In the mid 19th century, the hall was largely rebuilt, taking on broadly its present appearance.[7] The 17th century gardens were almost completely destroyed.[6] In the early 20th century, the then owners, Captain and Mrs Piers Jones, employed Percy Stephen Cane to undertake further remodelling of the grounds.[8] In the 21st century, Llannerch Hall is divided into thirteen flats, all privately owned.[9]

Architecture and description

Llannerch Hall is of three storeys, and comprises a central block with 19th and 20th century extensions.[10] The style of the Victorian rebuilding has not found favour with critics. John Claudius Loudon, horticulturalist and historian of the Picturesque was not impressed, describing the estate as "much modernised and the fine old house too much so".[11] Edward Hubbard, in his Clwyd volume of the Buildings of Wales series, called it "dour, Italianate, cement rendered".[7]

Listing designations

Llannerch Hall is a Grade II* listed building.[1] Unusually, each of the thirteen flats into which the building is currently divided has its own separate listing: No. 1,[1] No.2,[12] No.3,[13] No.4,[14] No.5,[15] No.6,[16] No.7,[17] No.8,[18] No.9,[19] No.10,[20] No.11,[21] No.12,[22] and No.13.[lower-alpha 3][23]

In addition, a considerable number of buildings and structures on the wider estate are listed. These include: the temple, loggia, terraces and other works carried out by Percy Cane in the 20th century;[24] the coach house,[25] clock tower,[26] and a barn;[27] the Middle,[28] and Bottom Lodges;[29] and two bridges, all of which are listed at Grade II.[30][31]

The garden itself is listed Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.[32]

Notes
  1. Sources vary as to whether Mutton bought the estate,[2] or inherited it.[3]
  2. The 1662 painting of the garden at Llannerch illustrates the front cover of Elisabeth Whittle's volume, The Historic Gardens of Wales.[5]
  3. Cadw follows the same approach with the Victoria Terrace, Beaumaris, where Nos. 1-20 each has its own Grade I listing.

References
  1. Cadw. "No 1 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (260)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  2. Williams 1895, p. 66.
  3. "Sir Peter Mutton (1565 - 1637), judge and politician". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  4. "Llannerch Hall Garden (266313)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  5. Whittle 1992, front cover.
  6. Whittle 1992, pp. 27–28.
  7. Hubbard 2003, p. 290.
  8. "Llannerch Hall Garden". Denbighshire Sites & Monuments Record. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  9. "Llannerch Hall, St Asaph". Parks and Gardens UK. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  10. "Llannerch Hall (27410)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  11. "Llannerch Hall Garden". Denbighshire Sites & Monuments Record. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  12. Cadw. "No 2 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19187)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  13. Cadw. "No 3 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19188)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  14. Cadw. "No 4 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19189)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  15. Cadw. "No 5 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19190)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  16. Cadw. "No 6 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19191)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  17. Cadw. "No 7 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19192)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  18. Cadw. "No 8 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19193)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  19. Cadw. "No 9 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19194)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  20. Cadw. "No 10 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19195)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  21. Cadw. "No 11 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19196)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  22. Cadw. "No 12 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19197)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  23. Cadw. "No 13 Llannerch Hall (Grade II*) (19198)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  24. Cadw. "Temple, loggia and terraces east of Llannerch Hall including Gates and Walls to Forecourt (Grade II) (261)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  25. Cadw. "The Coach House (Grade II) (19207)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  26. Cadw. "The Clock Tower (Grade II) (19208)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  27. Cadw. "The Old Barn (Grade II) (19209)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  28. Cadw. "Middle Lodge (Grade II) (19211)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  29. Cadw. "Bottom Lodge (Grade II) (19210)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  30. Cadw. "Pont Llannerch (Grade II) (1420)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  31. Cadw. "Bridge over Former Railway Line at Llannerch Park (Grade II) (278)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  32. Cadw. "Llannerch Hall (PGW(C)41(DEN))". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2022.

Sources
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