Gwydir Castle

Over het museum

Gwydir Castle is an ancient Welsh house in the Conwy Valley, on the edge of Snowdonia near Llanrwst. The Hall Range, the earliest surviving part, was built by the Coetmore family. After the Wars of the Roses the house was rebuilt around 1490 by Meredith ap Ieuan ap Robert, founder of the Wynn dynasty, and it was extended in the 1540s using reused Gothic building material from nearby Maenan Abbey. A fine Elizabethan porch and gardens followed in the 1590s, and Sir Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament, designed further additions around 1828.

For about two hundred years Gwydir was the seat of the powerful Wynn family. In the 1570s it was the home of Katherine of Berain, known as 'the Mother of Wales', and Sir John Wynn was created one of Wales's first two baronets in 1611. Later the house passed to the Willoughby de Eresby family, and in 1895 Charles Wynn Carrington bought it. In 1921 he sold the castle and its contents. William Randolph Hearst bought the Dining Room and the Oak Parlour, and the panelling was shipped to America. After a fire in 1922 the house fell into dereliction.

Arthur Clegg bought the castle in 1944 and began a restoration, but by the late 1980s it was derelict again. Peter Welford and Judy Corbett bought it in 1994 and have restored house and garden since, largely at their own expense. In 1998 the reinstated 1640s Dining Room, whose panelling had been found in a warehouse of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, was opened. The gardens are among the few in Wales with Grade I listed status, and the castle is known for its peacocks.

Hoogtepunten

• One of the finest Tudor houses in Wales
• Dining Room of the 1640s, recovered from New York and reinstated
• Grade I listed historic gardens with ancient yews and a knot garden
• Peacocks in the grounds
• Home of the Wynn family for around two hundred years

Vaste collectie

• The castle – A Tudor courtyard house of the Wynn family, now furnished with early furniture, including the reinstated 1640s Dining Room.
• The gardens – Grade I listed formal gardens with ancient yews, a Dutch garden, a Tudor Rose knot garden and a Senses Garden.

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Prices shown are those of the 2026 season; 2027 prices have not been published.

Toegankelijkheid

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Kinderen & gezin

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The castle lies in the Conwy Valley close to the market town of Llanrwst and the village of Betws-y-Coed, on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. The A55 coast road and the A5 give road access.

Service & horeca

• Café

An outdoor garden tea tent serves basic refreshments (coffee, tea and cake) throughout the summer months. Light refreshments such as tea, coffee or cream tea for groups can be arranged in advance.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Bruiloften / trouwceremonies

Weddings are offered at the castle; the castle also provides holiday accommodation.

Je bezoek plannen