On Monday CJ, Jo and I went to Penrhyn Castle near Bangor in North Wales. None of us had been there before which is surprising given that its only 60 miles from The Wirral. The castle is a mock Norman castle built in 1820-32 [not 1920-32 as I originally wrote - thanks Meike] as a monument in stone to the powerful and wealthy Pennant family whose money originally came from Jamaican sugar plantations which was invested back in North Wales: in particular in the Bethesda slate quarry which at the end of the 19th century was the largest in the world. The castle was the country residence of the family and had over 300 rooms and a basic staff of 30 servants. We were not really expecting to be impressed but, in fact, we all were. It is certainly worth a visit. We will have to go back one day to see the walled garden.
The last photo is of a wonderful innovation of the time and the forerunner of the current door lever handle which allowed the servant bringing the morning tea tray up to a bedroom to open the door with their elbow (pressing the doorknob downwards) whilst carrying the tray thus removing the need for a second maid to accompany the first to open the door.
Wonderful! :^) Oh, I would love to see such a sight. With you being surrounded by many castles in your part of the world, I still had to giggle at your expectation not to be impressed. :^) (I am impressed.)
ReplyDeleteYou all have fun together!
Hugs,
C
Cynthia it's true: everything is relative and we have so many truly old castles (perhaps ten centuries instead of two). We are enjoying ourselves.
DeleteWhat a spectacular place. I'd love to visit it even though it's only "mock" Norman ;) It looks like it should be in a fantasy film.
ReplyDeleteMonica I'm not sure but it may well have been used as a film set.
DeleteWhat a lovely outing! And it looks as if you had perfect weather for it too. xoxo
ReplyDeleteWe did Carol. In fact the weather has been very kind to us so far this week.
DeleteThis is impressive.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I've missed it. I'll try and remedy that now. Thanks.
There's a railway museum of sorts in it as well Adrian.
DeleteWhat splendour....looks like a nice piece of history to visit...glad you all enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteIt also reminds me of a movie set.
I like the elbow assisted door lever handle.
Splendour was exactly the point of it being built Virginia: a demonstration of opulence and wealth.
DeleteJust cant imagine living like that - must be very different!
ReplyDeleteBeyond our wildest dreams Fiona and that was just the country summer residence.
DeleteYes, please do go back for the walled garden! The house looks grand, and I am sure the garden does not disappoint, either.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that we shall Meike although it will be next year now because we've other plans for this visit and if I come earlier next summer we'll see the garden in full flower.
DeleteThat really is an impressive sight probably a place of many impressive sights. Hard for we colonials to imagine such splendour.
ReplyDeleteYes Pauline such overindulgence these days is hidden away and, in any case, the grandeur displayed by such a home would be displayed in other ways now.
DeleteOh my God. This is so beautiful and amazing. Would love to take a stroll down all the paths. I bet it must have been a busy place, and the rooms look magnificent.
ReplyDeleteMersad
Mersad Donko Photography
Mersad it was superb. Many of the walls had the original Chinese wallpaper on. It had a lot of people visiting and in the grounds they had an art festival for children.
DeleteIt definitely is an amazing castle. Enjoyed your new post too.
DeleteMersad
Mersad Donko Photography
I've just altered the date of the construction of Penrhyn Castle to 1820-32. I made a typing error in the original post and said 1920-32. Actually as I always used to say to my staff - there's no such thing as a typing error only a checking error. As I both typed it and checked it though I can't escape blame either way. Thanks Meike for pointing it out.
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