Tuesday, June 06, 2017

Plas Mawr

In a previous post I promised to write about our visit to Plas Mawr so I thought it was about time I got round to showing you some photos from that very sunny day in May.

Plas Mawr, in translation it means great hall, has been described as the finest Elizabethan town house in Britain. 


 Plas Mawr stands on the High Street in the historic walled town of Conwy in North Wales.  It's entrance is straight off the road through a gatehouse and a courtyard before you go up the steps to the front door of the house.


It was built by Robert Wynn who was the third son of local landowners.  He travelled widely in Europe and built up a great fortune through shrewd business activities. He bought the land for the new house in Conwy in 1570.



The house was very fashionable at the time and has influences from both his visits to London and to Europe.   He also used local Welsh plasterers to embellish the house with his initials and emblems and those of his family.  This plaster work has recently been restored at great cost and some of it has been painted in the vibrant colours it would have had originally.


Above The Great Chamber was the ceremonial centre of the late 16th century house.  The colours of the plaster work are as they would have been then but the room is furnished as it would have been according to an inventory of 1665 which was made after the death of Robert Wynn's grandson also called Robert.  In the 18th century the house came, through marriage, into the hands of the Mostyn family who were well known landowners in the area around Conwy and Llandudno.   Later during the 19th century the house was subdivided and rented out for many different uses.  It was at one time a school but also businesses run from there included saddlers and cabinet makers.  In the late 19th century the Royal Cambrian Academy of Arts became concerned about the state of the building and members gradually took out added ceilings and dividing walls and returned the building to how it was in earlier times.  They used the house as an art gallery but by the 1940s the building was becoming harder and more costly to maintain.  In 1993 it was placed in the hands of the state and CADW the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage who have undertaken most of the restoration you can see now when you visit.

More photos below of the inside of the house.


 Kitchen

 Bedrooms


 Inner courtyard above and below


On the top floor a room has been set out as it might have been when the building was subdivided into living and working areas.





There was also quite a large exhibition on water, health and hygiene in Tudor and Stuart Britain and a lot of information about healing herbs.

Plas Mawr is an absolutely delightful place to visit, I found it enchanting and could have spent ages in every room.

Apologies for the photo overload and also the quality of some of them as the sun was very bright through some of the windows and other areas were quite dark.

24 comments:

  1. I always enjoy all the photos so you can have a good look round. It looks a great place, no wonder they spent a lot on the restoration. Thanks Rosie 😊

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    1. It's great when these places allow photos to be taken. It is good that it is open and available for everyone to see:)

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  2. This is just the kind of old house I like to visit, I enjoyed the tour!

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    1. It's a great place with lots of interesting nooks and crannies to explore:)

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  3. Much prefer places like this to fancy palaces.

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    1. Me too, you can actually imagine living there:)

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  4. Looking at this post is like going on a vacation for me. I loved seeing your pictures. How amazing to be so near a place like this.

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    1. Thanks, Jenny glad you enjoyed visiting via my photos:)

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  5. I could easily live in a house like this. LOVE it. Thank you for sharing your photos :)

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    1. Thanks, Sandra glad you enjoyed the photos:)

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  6. I love to see all the photos, it is like having a personal tour without having been there. Such a joy to visit and learn all about this great place.

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    1. Thanks, glad you enjoyed the visit. I'm always amazed how these places survive the centuries so that we can viw them now:)

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  7. Thank you for the visit Rosie, it looks a fascinating place. Another for my list. B x

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    1. It's my favourite of the two old houses in Conwy even though Aberconwy is actually a lot older, both worth a visit:)

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  8. We have stayed in Conway a few times when the kids were young and loved it there, not sure I remember this house, it's wonderful and would love to visit it when we get the chance to go back.
    Amanda 🐰🐰

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    1. It is hidden away behind the gatehouse, you can see the house roofs on a side street but nothing prepares you for the inside, its wonderful:)

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  9. A wonderful tour of a beautiful house. Just love the restored plaster work - what a great job they have done. Thanks so much Rosie - your photos capture the house so well :)

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    1. There is a lovely atmosphere in the house, it's so light and airy and has a continental feel from its architecture in the courtyards and garden.

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  10. I would have found that place utterly fascinating. And inspiring too, as we continue to restore our own old place, be it nowhere near as grand!

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    1. I remember visiting many years ago before the restoration work, probably in the late 80s, I was so impressed with what they have done and there was so much more of it open to the public too:)

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  11. Some lovely things shown here Rosie. I think the ornate ceilings are particularly interesting. I hope you have a nice weekend. x

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    1. Thanks, Simone, hope you have a lovely weekend too and lots of sunshine:)

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  12. No apologies needed for too many photos, Rosie. I scroll back and forth enjoying them all and wondering about the creative energy that has preserved so many interesting things from the past. I noted the sock darning egg. I purchased an inexpensive darning egg in hopes it would inspire me to learn to darn, but my efforts thus far have been unimpressive :)

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    1. Thanks, Gracie glad you enjoyed the photos. I remember my Mum darning socks when I was a child, she had a wooden mushroom as we called them then to do both wool socks and the elbows of home knitted jumpers and cardigans:)

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