Marle Hall (also Marl Hall) is a Grade II listed

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building in

Conwy County Borough Conwy County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy) is a county borough in Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south, and Denbighshire to the east. Other settlements in the county borough include Abergele, Betws-y-Coed, Colwyn Bay, Conwy ...

, North Wales, situated close to

Llandudno Junction Llandudno Junction ( cy, Cyffordd Llandudno), once known as Tremarl, is a village in the county borough of Conwy, Wales. It is part of the ancient parish of Llangystennin, and it is located south of Llandudno. It adjoins Deganwy and is to the ...

and

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History

The first Marle Hall was built by Sir Hugh Williams, 5th Baronet (1628–1686), of the Williams baronets, of Penrhyn. It was a Jacobean mansion (c.1661), then substantially expanded in the early 18th-century in the Georgian style. It passed by marriage out of the Williams family to Terence Prendergast (died 1776). A fire in the 18th century reduced the Hall to one wing, with the other parts left roofless. On the basis of a suggestion of 1875 by John Price (1803–1887) ("Old Price"), the Hall has been considered to have been a source for the poem "The Haunted House" by

Thomas Hood Thomas Hood (23 May 1799 – 3 May 1845) was an English poet, author and humorist, best known for poems such as " The Bridge of Sighs" and " The Song of the Shirt". Hood wrote regularly for ''The London Magazine'', '' Athenaeum'', and ''Punch' ...

. The Marle estate was subsequently bought by

Thomas Williams of Llanidan Thomas Williams (13 May 1737 – 30 November 1802) was a Welsh industrialist and Member of Parliament. At the time of his death, he was the richest man in Wales. Life Thomas Williams was born in Llanidan, Anglesey, the son of Owen Williams of ...

. Owen Williams, his great-grandson, sold it off in 1889, and Marle Hall went to

Corbet Woodall Corbet Stafford Woodall (6 April 1929 – 19 May 1982), was an English newsreader for the BBC. Born in Hampshire, he was educated as an Oppidan scholar at Eton College where he also excelled at sports. He worked in the 1950s for the New Ze ...

. By 1898 Marle Hall was used as a convalescent home, and it underwent restoration at the turn of the century. Since 1971 the property has been owned by

Warwickshire County Council Warwickshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Warwickshire in England. Its headquarters are located at Shire Hall, Market Square, in centre of the county town of Warwick. Politically the county is ...

who have operated it as an outdoors learning centre providing residential trips and courses for schoolchildren in Warwickshire. Activities on offer at the facility include canoeing, rock climbing and hiking, and it became a popular venue for educational trips from the Warwickshire, as well as other areas. The building received its listed status in 1950.

Pandemic times

In March 2020 the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

forced the facility to temporarily close. In December 2020, Warwickshire County Council's Cabinet proposed that its Marle Hall Centre for Outdoor Learning be closed permanently in 2021. In January 2021, a 7,000 signature petition to keep the facility open was presented to Warwickshire County Council, with many signatories emphasising the important role they felt outdoors learning can have for children. In August 2021, the council voted to sell the property, citing its high maintenance cost and under use in recent years, as well as the large amount of work that would be required to renovate and modernise it, estimated to be around £850,000 over ten years. Warwickshire County Council scheduled the facility's closure date for 22 October 2021, with schools that had booked places at the venue after that being offered help to make alternative arrangements.

References

{{coord, 53.29221, -3.8039, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade II listed buildings in Conwy County Borough Buildings and structures in Conwy County Borough Outdoor recreation in Wales Education in Warwickshire