![Downing Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Downing_Hall.jpg)
Downing Hall was built in 1627 by the Pennant family near
Whitford, Flintshire
Whitford ( cy, Maes Rhydwen) is a village, community and an electoral ward near Holywell in Flintshire, northeast Wales. The population of both the community and the ward taken at the 2011 census was 2,332. The community includes the villages ...
. It was later the home of
Thomas Pennant
Thomas Pennant (14 June OS 172616 December 1798) was a Welsh naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales.
As a naturalist he h ...
, the naturalist, traveller and writer. It was partially destroyed in a fire in the early 20th century and afterwards left derelict until it was demolished in 1953.
Early history
Downing Hall was built by the Pennant family in 1627,
[Photographic survey of Downing Hall, Whitford, undertaken by George Bernard Mason, National Buildings Record, in 1953]
Retrieved 2012-01-26. their principal seat being a mansion Bychton Hall at
Mostyn
Mostyn is a village and community in Flintshire, Wales, and electoral ward lying on the estuary of the River Dee, located near the town of Holywell. It has a privately owned port that has in the past had a colliery and ironworks and was invo ...
, Flintshire, built before 1572. The front of Downing Hall was set back with wings projecting forward on either side. On the south east side there was a prominent
bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room.
Types
Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or ...
with the family
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
above. On the front of the house was the
Welsh motto "Heb Dduw, heb ddim, a Duw a digon" (without God, without anything; God and enough). When Thomas Pennant inherited the estate, he described the house as being "incapable of being improved into a magnitude exceeding the revenue of the family."
It pleased him because it was "a small house with a large garden." Nevertheless, the house had some handsome rooms including a large hall, a parlour "capable of containing more guests than I ever wish to see in it at a time," a library by well stocked with classical, historical and natural history books and a smoking-room "most antiquely furnished with ancient carvings, and the horns of all the European beasts of chase".
18th and 19th centuries
Thomas Pennant inherited the house on the death of his father, David, in 1763. He refurbished the house, erected a new stable block and was probably responsible for creating the walled kitchen garden. He found the pleasure grounds badly neglected with the surrounding woods encroaching on the gardens and threw himself enthusiastically into improving them. He was helped in this by the discovery of a seam of lead on the estate which, when mined, brought in a useful income. He "laid open the natural beauties of the place", improved the scenery, created walkways, vistas and dingle
Dingle ( Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Kill ...
s and built a sunken passageway under the turnpike
Turnpike often refers to:
* A type of gate, another word for a turnstile
* In the United States, a toll road
Turnpike may also refer to:
Roads United Kingdom
* A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...
road. His son, David, who inherited the house in 1793, was also a keen gardener. He added the library wing [ and was responsible for the erection of productive glasshouses with vineries, a peach house, cucumber house and heated beds.][The Kitchen Garden at Downing Hall]
The Potting Shed. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
David's granddaughter Louisa was the last of the line of this branch of the Pennant family. She married Rudolph, Viscount Feilding, later to become the 8th Earl of Denbigh. Louisa died without issue in 1853 and Lord Feilding inherited the house. He employed the architect T. H. Wyatt to enlarge it [ and was also responsible for the rebuilding of the lean-to glasshouses. He did not live there most of the time, making his ]Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
house, Newnham Paddox
Monks Kirby is a village and civil parish in north-eastern Warwickshire, England. The population of the parish is 445. Monks Kirby is located around one mile east of the Fosse Way, around 8 miles north-west of Rugby, seven miles north-east of ...
, his main residence. Downing Hall was then let to various tenants as a sporting retreat.[
]
20th century
In 1920 the house was put up for sale and in 1922 there was a fire which seriously damaged the structure. It was never rebuilt and was demolished in 1953.[ Immediately before demolition, several photographs were taken on behalf of "Gathering the Jewels", a society devoted to commemorating the culture and heritage of Wales.][
In 2007, the only buildings remaining included the glasshouses, the coach house, the stables, the potting sheds, the upper and lower lodges, the clock tower and the gardener's cottage.][Thomas Pennant]
BBC North East Wales. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
References
External links
Photographs of Downing Hall
{{coord, 53.2978728, -3.2696638, format=dms, type:landmark, display=title
Houses in Flintshire
Buildings and structures in Flintshire
Country houses in Wales
Houses completed in 1627
Buildings and structures demolished in 1953
1627 establishments in England