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OK, bit of an old favourite this one.
Here's the history:
Brynkir Hall is located in the Cwm Pennant Valley just North of Criccieth in North Wales. Building work started on the Brynkir estate in back in 1644. Subsequently the estate and Manor house changed hands on a number of occasions including the passing of the house from generation to generation of the Huddart family.
Perhaps the most interesting other building on the estate is an 1821 6-story Gothic tower built on a nearby hill. It was built by Sir Joseph Huddart, who lived at the house between 1812 and 1841. He was a high sheriff of Caernarfonshire and was knighted for building the tower to welcome the Prince of Wales to the area. The property had previously been purchased in 1809 by his father, Captain Joseph Huddart, an important and influential English Captain, hydrographer, chartmaker, inventor (including the steam-driven machinery for binding rope from which he made his fortune) and entrepreneur, and passed to him on his father's death in 1816.
By the end of the 19th century, financial pressures began to bite and this led to the collapse of the Brynkir estate, and the abandonment of the buildings by 1910. The Hall was used as a Prisoner of War camp during World War 1 and later demolished. In April 1930 the estate was broken up and sold off in lots. The Tower faired better than the house itself. For many years a shell of four walls, in the early 1990s the folly was renovated and now provides superior holiday home accommodation.
Perhaps one of my first ever "visits" as a small child. I remember fighting my way through brambles and overgrown rhododendron bushes along what would have been the house's approach road to the decaying ruins of the house. We went multiple times in the 80s and 90s and the atmosphere at the place was always magical. I remember climbing the interior staircase of the folly right to the top of the tower and looking down to the ground floor as all of the intermediate floors had rotted away. The last time we went (early 90s) I remember climbing the hill to the tower only to be confronted by the extensive building works to restore the tower. Anyway enough of the memories, on with the pictures:
The Manor house itself:
Bryncir04_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir05_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir06_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir07_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir08_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir09_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir12_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir13_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir16_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir01_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The Folly:
Bryncir03_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir10_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir14_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Here's the history:
Brynkir Hall is located in the Cwm Pennant Valley just North of Criccieth in North Wales. Building work started on the Brynkir estate in back in 1644. Subsequently the estate and Manor house changed hands on a number of occasions including the passing of the house from generation to generation of the Huddart family.
Perhaps the most interesting other building on the estate is an 1821 6-story Gothic tower built on a nearby hill. It was built by Sir Joseph Huddart, who lived at the house between 1812 and 1841. He was a high sheriff of Caernarfonshire and was knighted for building the tower to welcome the Prince of Wales to the area. The property had previously been purchased in 1809 by his father, Captain Joseph Huddart, an important and influential English Captain, hydrographer, chartmaker, inventor (including the steam-driven machinery for binding rope from which he made his fortune) and entrepreneur, and passed to him on his father's death in 1816.
By the end of the 19th century, financial pressures began to bite and this led to the collapse of the Brynkir estate, and the abandonment of the buildings by 1910. The Hall was used as a Prisoner of War camp during World War 1 and later demolished. In April 1930 the estate was broken up and sold off in lots. The Tower faired better than the house itself. For many years a shell of four walls, in the early 1990s the folly was renovated and now provides superior holiday home accommodation.
Perhaps one of my first ever "visits" as a small child. I remember fighting my way through brambles and overgrown rhododendron bushes along what would have been the house's approach road to the decaying ruins of the house. We went multiple times in the 80s and 90s and the atmosphere at the place was always magical. I remember climbing the interior staircase of the folly right to the top of the tower and looking down to the ground floor as all of the intermediate floors had rotted away. The last time we went (early 90s) I remember climbing the hill to the tower only to be confronted by the extensive building works to restore the tower. Anyway enough of the memories, on with the pictures:
The Manor house itself:
Bryncir04_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir05_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir06_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir07_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir08_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir09_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir12_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir13_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir16_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir01_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The Folly:
Bryncir03_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir10_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bryncir14_1 by HughieDW, on Flickr
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