Nantclwyd y Dre

The distinctive porch on stilts with chamber above was added to the original mediaeval street frontage in about 1693 by Eubule Thelwall, as was shown by tree ring dating of four samples. There is a fine surviving monument to Thelwall in Llanelidan Church. At the same time he built Nantclwyd Hall; the land was acquired through his marriage to the Parry heiress.

This cabinet contains finds of interest from the Lord's Garden. The Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust had an exploratory excavation in the Lord's Garden in late winter 2013 and here is a sample of the type of items found.

A unique handmade multifunctional recliner chair made by Mr. S. Dyer Gough who lived at Nantclwyd y Dre between 1926 and 1984, with his wife Jean and family. He was an architect, craftsman and historian and they made a big impact on Nantclwyd y Dre during the 50 years of their ownership. They were the last family that lived in the house.

A collection of traditional Staffordshire figures and willow pattern china as found in the house during the Dyer Goughs period.

An important kitchen innovation of the time. A clockwork device that enabled meat to be turned and roasted in front of the fire.

These four high-quality carved oak panels have been dated, and while the trees were felled soon after 1423, their carving style suggests a later date of 15-16th century. Despite the fleur de lys motifs on the shields in the panels, the timber is likely of Welsh origin (most probably from nearby Coed Marchan wood), and unlikely to be continental. The carvings most likely honoured Arthur (1486–1502), eldest son of Henry VII.[7][8]

Attributed arms of Ednyfed Fychan (an ancestor of Owen Tudor), used and quartered by Wynne of Coed Coch and of Plas Uchaf. Description: "Gules a chevron ermine between three men's heads in profile erased proper." The ermine can also be seen on the national flag of Brittany. Ednyfed is said to have first come to notice in battle, fighting against the army of Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester, who attacked Llywelyn at the behest of King John of England. Ednyfed cut off the heads of three English lords in battle and carried them, still bloody, to Llywelyn, who commanded him to change his family coat of arms to display three heads in memory of the feat.[9]

An example of the mediaeval horizontal hazel-wattle between the oak beams. They were 'sprung' into groves cut into the frame and interwoven round upright oak 'spars' also sprung into the frame. This exposed piece dates to c. 1435.[10]

Nantclwyd House was the first house on Castle Street to have a telephone installed. The Rev. Thomas Pritchard lived here from 1907 to 1917 – he was the Rector of Llanfwrog Church. The wooden case held two batteries that worked the microphone. By turning the handle of the Magneto a bell would ring in the exchange and the person would tell the operator which number they wanted to be connected to. Electricity arrived at Nantclwyd at around 1914, provided by the Ruthin Electricity Supply Company.

Between 1886 and 1893 Nantclwyd y Dre was run as Miss Charlotte Price's school for young ladies – daughters of the more prosperous tradespeople of Ruthin. The room is set as if they were to have a needlework lesson, showing typical needlework skills the girls would be learning, before they moved on to Ruthin County School at the age of 11 (now Ysgol Brynhyfryd).

This room was used as a changing room alongside the grandest bedchamber which was created during the Georgian updating by the Wynne family around 1734. The wallpaper reflects the craze for Chinese influence patterns around this time and is a hand-blocked reproduction of an English wallpaper design c.1750-1760. The occupants would have used chamber pots, stored in pot-cupboards, as seen here.

A 17th century toilet consisting of a chamber pot set inside a lidded seat. It is found in the ensuite of the Jacobean bedchamber. This is a copy of a 17th-century original now displayed at Plas Mawr, Conwy. Such stools of ease - which are basically a lidded box containing a chamber pot - became popular in Elizabethan times as they were much more convenient than a trip to an outside privy.

The table is set for dinner with its lovely pewter tableware and napery, real status symbols for the Parry family who added this room and the little ensuite next to it in about 1620. Tableware includes: pewter candlesticks, plates and porringers, a pewter ewer (or jug) and a basin for hand washing before and after meals, a pair of facon de Venise drinking glasses, Bellarmines salt glazed stoneware flagons and Rhineland imported drinking jugs.

This ornate plaster work ceiling was installed when this room was added to Nantclwyd y Dre's original street frontage in c.1663 by Eubule Thelwall. The plasterwork motifs include mulberries and pears. This type of plasterwork was very popular in 1660-70s. Eubule Thelwall was a keen gardener. To the right of the doorway is the remains of what was at one time the outside wall of the old house.

This room is part of the original mediaeval hallhouse – lovely simple hardwearing furniture with a typical scribe's desk. Typical mediaeval waxed canvas window coverings called fenestrals were used to keep out as much of the weather as they could. The rushlights didn't give out much light!

The Grade II listed building at the end of the walled garden of Nantclwyd y Dre dates to the early 18th century and only appears on prints after 1715. The upper floor of the building was used as a study room by the three daughters of the Dyer-Gough family when they were growing up here in the 1940s. It still offers beautiful views out over the Vale of Clwyd on a clear day. The ground floor room is now made out as a potting shed complete with gardening books and early 20th century tools.

White ostrich plumes top each corner of the four poster bed (called 'French bed' at that time) in the Jacobean chamber. These would have been the height of fashion in the early 17th century and would have adorned the bed to show the high status of its wealthy owner, Simon Parry. This 'corded' bed has three mattresses, a sign of high status as well as comfort. The bed is equipped with 'bedstaffs', which prevented piled bedclothes from falling off the bed.

One of the most striking features of the house is the gallery which runs along two sides of the hall. The wood of the gallery has been dated to around the late 17th century and it is thought that the heraldic panels set into it, were added at a later date, most likely by the Wynne family. The main balustrades indicate a date of c. 1680–90, but the stairs balustrades could be somewhat later, possibly c. 1730. Mrs Jean Dyer Gogh informed RCAHM that the gallery had been taken from St Saeran at Llanynys which was re-ordered c. 1768 and a second theory is that it was taken from Llanelidan Church, but to date there is no evidence of either. A 2002 report by Richard Morriss, however, suggests that the gallery was made for nantclwyd y Dre, rather than imported which dates the gallery to Eubule Thelwall's alterations c. 1662–95. The heraldic panels he dates at late 18th century.

This is an original piece of Georgian furniture (c. 1720) and would have been an essential item in any Georgian lady's bedchamber. The name at the time would have been 'a chest on a stand'. This room was created in 1773 and the panelling is original to the house.

This doorway leads to the attics which were the servants’ quarters during the Georgian period. However, the door is now kept locked and the attics undisturbed because it is now a bat roost. There are 3 species of bats living in the attics at Nantclwyd y Dre – pipistrelle, long eared and lesser horseshoe bats. The lesser horseshoes are the rarest and their colony size is estimated at 60 individuals.

During the house restoration, an inscription was uncovered behind the wooden pearwood panelling in the parlour. Written in pencil it reads "John Edwards joiner Holywell 15th of May 1926". This implies that the old panelling was introduced to the house as late as 1926.

Pewter handmade inkwell that also serves as a calendar as it has rotating rings around the base to adjust the day, date and month. Possibly Italian.