Plas Newydd (New Hall), Llangollen, Wales: the house

When the Ladies of Llangollen moved into Plas Newydd it was simply a two-storey, stone cottage. Over the next fifty years (Sarah was the last to die in  1831) they gradually transformed it, turning the extension into a library, adding Gothic windows, window canopies and an elaborate porch.  The whole house, inside and out, was covered in their collection of carved oak pieces much of which was put together in jig-saw fashion.

In 1876 General John Yorke bought Plas Newydd and is responsible for the timber battens on the front of the house.

The Ladies held a 'porch warming' for their close friends.  Two 17th century bedposts support the roof and on either side of the door are seats with shelves above where they would have displayed items from their eclectic collections.

The imagery of much of the oak carving is taken from Classical and Biblical subjects.  The porch door features emblems from the four evangelists and the above door has Old and New Testament scenes.

On a door on the west side of the house there is a carving of the Harp and Crown of Ireland and the inscription, 'Sincerity, Fidelity and Industry', which refers to the three women, Lady Eleanor, Miss. Sarah Ponsonby and their faithful maid, Mrs. Carryll.

The maid, Mary Carryll, was as much a character as the two Ladies.  'She wore high heels and a stiff dress, using a profusion of hair powder and pomandum' and was a formidable and loyal servant who had helped the women in their flight from Ireland.  When she died in 1809 she left one of the fields to them which she had bought with her life savings.  The Ladies erected a three sided memorial to her in Llangollen churchyard in the place where they themselves planned to be buried.

Plas Newydd (New Hall), Llangollen, Wales. The garden and grounds

As you can see, the frontage of Plas Newydd is very different from the back of the house. The design styles of the formal and informal gardens reflect this and both areas are very interesting to walk and sit in. 

I wish that I had had more time to explore the woodland walks at the back of the house where the Ladies would have spent time and on occasions taken their many guests who called to see them... Robert Southey, Richard Sheridan, Josiah Wedgewood, Sir Humphrey Davy, Mrs. Piozzi (friend of Samuel Johnson).  William Wordsworth and his family took tea with them in 1824 and sent them a poem composed in the grounds.

This is Lady Eleanor's Bower at the back of the house which overlooks the valley through which the Cyflymen stream flows.  Here the Ladies built wooden bridges, planted trees and set up antiquarian stone objects that they had collected, influenced by the picturesque and romantic ideals of the day.

On the edge of the woods there are some more formal areas with striking features such as a viewing tower and iron lions.

In the Ladies' time the area was still meadowland where their cows grazed.  There was a shrubbery behind the house planted with lilac, syringa and white broom with borders of roses and banks of woodland flowers as well as a fruit and vegetable garden.

Although the gardens and grounds of Plas Newydd have been altered since the Ladies lived there it has been possible to recreate the character of the place using the archaeological survey, water- colours painted in the early 19th century and the Ladies' own diaries.

What caught my eye was this bird table and I was interested to see an illustration of a water-colour painting of the era included on an information plaque nearby.  I wonder if it is the original  structure?  In any case, it creates the romanticism that the Ladies would have enjoyed in their rural retreat.

This is the little dairy.

It was interesting looking through the windows to see the dairy equipment...

and amusing to look straight through one of them and see the inside of the door....

and also look through the window in the door to the opposite window.

Nearby is a beautiful wrought iron gate.

Plas Newydd (New Hall), Llangollen, N. Wales (1)

Llangollen: the River Dee and  corn mill  taken from the town bridge

During our recent trip by coach to North Wales we were taken to Llangollen, Denbighshire which is probably most well-known for hosting the International Music Festival (Eisteddford). This is now held in a permanent building, the Royal Pavilion, where all-year events take place.  You can read about Llangollen and places of interest nearby here.

As usual, our time was limited to an afternoon and so we chose to take a walk out of town to visit Plas Newydd; the house and garden which had once been the home of 'the Ladies of Llangollen'. 

The two ladies, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, were both of Irish aristocratic descent. Their close friendship caused them to leave Ireland to escape from unwanted suitors and start a new life in Llangollen in 1778 where they lived together with their maid, Mrs Mary Caryll, for almost 50 years.

The house and garden is in an area of outstanding natural beauty and with the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey, Valle Crucis, nearby and dramatic views of the ruins of a 13th century castle, Castell Dinas Bran on the hillside above the ladies attracted the attention of many well-known personalities of Regency society such as the Duke of Wellington, William Wordsworth and Sir Walter Scott who came to visit them.

Originally Plas Newydd was a small cottage, but the women soon started to make alterations and additions to the building in the Gothic style.  The interior was decorated with oak carving and  stained glass was inserted into oriel windows.  Visitors brought gifts that formed a collection of antiquarian objects;  pictures, wooden panels and furnishings, many of which would have come from 18th century churches that were being remodelled and upgraded in a different style and, therefore, discarded.

Unfortunately, there wasn't time to look around the interior of the house as the walk uphill took quite a time. Also photography is not allowed inside the house. After a cup of tea in the stable block I left my husband there and went over to the house to look at the carving on the exterior and walk around the formal gardens in front of it (created after the Ladies' life-time).  Then I wandered off into the informal area of the grounds that Lady Eleanor and Miss Ponsonby would have designed and cultivated and which would have delighted their guests.

Plas Newydd with a view of Castell Dinas Bran on the hill

The nearby Valle Crucis Abbey
Our driver stopped so that we could take a look
 at the ruins from the coach window!

The stable block tea room and shop

Stone carvings of the three ladies are incorporated into the archway.  

It was very appropriate to see the resident cat
as there's a painting of the ladies' pet cats
hanging in the house. I bought a poster of it
since I didn't see the real one.

I will write some more about Plas Newydd next time.  I hope you will click onto the links to read more about Llangollen.  

I didn't see Alice

We had a wonderful view of Llandudno's North Bay from our hotel bedroom window.

On the promenade is The Mad Hatter with the dormouse;  one of the Alice in Wonderland statues that can be seen in the town.  

Llandudno has a link with the author, Lewis Carroll, because the real Alice who inspired the Wonderland tales, Alice Liddell, spent vacations with her family at their holiday home, Penmorfa, on the West Shore. 

                                                                           
Not far away is the White Rabbit

There's a statue of Alice in Wonderland outside the train station and the Cheshire Cat is in an area of landscaped gardens with an open air theatre in the Happy Valley on the Great Orme.  A visitor can reach the summit of this headland on foot, tramway or cable car and perhaps we will return some day and explore this popular area of the town?

In the meantime, anyone for tea and a biscuit?   And since I didn't see Alice I bought a souvenir of lovely Llandudno from the Wonderland collection with a retail outlet at the information centre - a teabag or tea spoon rest to remind me of a happy time there.

We were blessed with good weather that week, but the storms have returned to parts of Britain, including Wales, and many areas have been hit with flooding once more.  People have been evacuated from homes and businesses so those of us who live on higher and drier ground remember them and hope that their situation will improve and there will be a respite in the bad weather and that the waters will subside.

Where's Alice?

This is a view from the window of our hotel where we stayed in Llandudno, North Wales...

and this one was taken during one of my walks around this seaside resort looking at the old buildings and structures. This structure looks like a bandstand.  In fact, it's a public convenience which is accessed down some steps. It seems to be in use although I didn't explore further!

  

The carved wooden statues are part of a literary trail.  I'm sure you can guess which book.

I only managed to visit the areas in the town near our hotel and take photos of some of the statues and sadly, not the main character, but the Victorian and Edwardian architecture is also interesting. 

The shopping areas with ironwork arcades is an aspect of the town I remember from when I was a child.  My aunt and uncle used to bring me here when I spent the Summer holidays with them when they lived in the county of Cheshire just across the Welsh border.  They retired to a village near Llandudno and last week my husband and I went to visit them on our free day travelling there by bus. As you can imagine, the visit to see my mother's sisters was a special one and an opportunity not to be missed. 

Have you guessed the book that has inspired the literary trail?  The author has a connection with Llandudno.  More about that next time - with some photos, of course! 

Caernarvon: a walk by the castle

After spending some time inside the castle walls we walked down to the marina at  the harbour which was also where our coach was parked.

The castle is situated by the mouth of the river and we watched the swing bridge open for boats to come into port from the Menai Strait. 

Just as I was taking a photo of the bridge from a different angle a seagull zoomed passed my face and got caught on camera before landing on the wall.

Just opposite the bridge is the mighty Eagle Tower which once had stone eagle sculptures on the battlements.

Walking through an entrance in the walled fortifications we were able to stroll around the old town.

This is the street which could be seen from the ramparts of the castle and the photo was taken from the main entrance bridge.

This is the oldest public house in the town where we stopped to have some refreshments before  boarding our coach.

I spotted these two swans as we left our town coach park and quickly took this photo through the window. I love swans and was surprised to see them there as I'm not sure whether the water is fresh or salt at this point at the mouth of the river.