Bodysgallen Hall is a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

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 Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, near the village of

Llanrhos Llanrhos (English: 'Church on the moor') is a village in the community of Conwy, in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The village lies between the towns of Conwy and Llandudno. Llanrhos was a civil parish from 1894 until 1974. The area was formerly pa ...

. Since 2008 the house has been owned by The National Trust. It is a Grade I listed building, currently used as a hotel. This listed historical building derives primarily from the 17th century, and has several later additions. Bodysgallen was constructed as a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

to serve as defensive support for nearby

Conwy Castle Conwy Castle ( cy, Castell Conwy; ) is a fortification in Conwy, located in North Wales. It was built by Edward I, during his conquest of Wales, between 1283 and 1287. Constructed as part of a wider project to create the walled town of Conw ...

. According to tradition, the site of Bodysgallen was the 5th century AD stronghold of

Cadwallon Lawhir Cadwallon ap Einion (c. 460-517 or 534), usually known as Cadwallon Lawhir ('Long Hand') and also called Cadwallon I by some historians, was a Welsh ruler around 500. Cadwallon was the son of Einion Yrth and Prawst ferch Deithlyn. He is often co ...

, King of Gwynedd,Rev. Robert Williams, ''The History and Antiquities of the Town of Aberconwy and its Neighbourhood'', (1835) who had wide-ranging exploits as far as

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

. The ruins of Cadwallon Lawhir's residence are on a woodland

knoll In geography, knoll is another term for a knowe or hillock, a small, low, round natural hill or mound. Knoll may also refer to: Places * Knoll Camp, site of an Iron Age hill fort Hampshire, England, United Kingdom * Knoll Lake, Leonard Canyon, A ...

above the present Bodysgallen Hall. By 1835 it was a ruin totally overgrown by thorns. According to the ancient record of Caernarvon, Bod Caswallon (Bodysgallen) was one of the townships called ''Tre Welyog'', meaning it was a unit of hereditary land (''gwely'') held in common by members of a wider family unit in medieval Wales, which was often divided and subdivided among heirs to the fourth generation; with the passage of time some of the smaller landholders might be "bought out" and become tenants of a larger estate. This possibly might have been one of three ''gwelyau'', originally belonging to Gloddaeth.

Cadwallon Lawhir heritage

The site was first occupied, according to tradition, by

(sometimes confused with another early Welsh leader

Caswallon Cassivellaunus was a historical British military leader who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He led an alliance of tribes against Roman forces, but eventually surrendered after his location was revea ...

, which led in the 18th century to the false etymology Bod Caswallon "dwelling place of Caswallon" for Bodysgallen). Cadwallon Lawhir ("Cadwallon Long-hand", possibly a reference to the extent of his authority) succeeded to the sovereignty of North Wales in AD 442 and lived until 517; however there is no evidence for or against him having a court at Bodysgallen. The 1620 block, built by Robert Wynn, finds its main entrance on the northwest exposure and has a 19th-century three storey

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

bay addition. On the ground floor the porch bay has a four-central headed doorway by first floor features of a transformed window and three

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

ed windows to the attic. Behind the porch, this doorway retains its original door and

latch A latch or catch (called sneck in Northern England and Scotland) is a type of mechanical fastener that joins two (or more) objects or surfaces while allowing for their regular separation. A latch typically engages another piece of hardware on t ...

. On the southwest exposure the bay nook windows on both ground and first floor are of 17th century mullioned construct.

17th century history

Robert and Katherine Wynn owned the property in the early 17th century. They developed the present-day building core with severe rectilinear architecture with pink

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

s. The initials K.W. and R.W. appear in the 1620 date stone on the southwest

. The largest rooms of the 17th century addition (and still today) are the ground floor or terrace level low hall and the great hall immediately above. Both rooms feature an unusual southwest corner construction of an unusual bay with windows on the south and west and a fireplace on the north side of the bay. Both fireplaces feature

overmantel The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and ca ...

s that display heraldic arms. In the great hall, these arms display the shouldered form rendered in

Plas Mawr Plas Mawr ( en, Great Hall) is an Elizabethan townhouse in Conwy, North Wales, dating from the 16th century. The property was built by Robert Wynn, a member of the local gentry, following his marriage to his first wife, Dorothy Griffith. Plas ...

, an Elizabethan townhouse in

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...

founded by a branch of the Wynns. The arms include the motto of the Mostyns, ''Auxilium Meum a Domino'' ("my help is from the Lord").

Mostyn and Wynn families

Viewfromatoptwrbodysgallencmichaelhoganlowres

Richard Mostyn, the

High Sheriff of Carnarvonshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire (or Carnarvonshire). The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in a county but over the centuries most of the responsibil ...

, as it was called then, owned Bodysgallen in Elizabethan times. On the marriage of Richard Mostyn's daughter Margaret to Hugh Wynn (born 1620) that Bodysgallen, along with Berthdu, passed to the Wynn family. Richard Mostyn's son, Colonel (and governor) Roger Mostyn, is thought to have added the northwest wing to Bodysgallen, while Roger's son Dr Hugh Wynn,

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...

of St Paul's Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral, is responsible for the northeast wing which had a date stone of 1730. When Dr Hugh Wynn died in 1761, his daughter Margaret (not to be confused with her great-grandmother Margaret Wynn née Mostyn) inherited Bodysgallen to add to her estates of Berthdu and Plas Mar. In 1776 she married Sir Roger Mostyn, 5th Baronet (a descendant of the Elizabethan Richard Mostyn) and thus returned Bodysgallen to the Mostyn lineage after 156 years of Wynn ownership.

Exterior architecture

The first recorded history of the site is in the mid 14th century in the "Record of Caernarvon". The core element of Bodysgallen Hall is the late 13th century

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

, intended to assist in defense of

. This five-storey tower is made of on site quarried pink

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

with grit dressings and has a slate roof. The square tower has a five-storey ascending anti-clockwise (non defensive) spiral staircase with one small room on each floor. Independent masonry analysis of this staircase dates it to the late 13th century. The staircase becomes narrower with height. The treads are 60 cm (2 feet) wide at the top with maximum tread depth of 31 cm (12 inches). The core tower has later additions of global wings, with consistent vernacular style:.Conwy Authority Council, ''Listing Details, Bodysgallen Hall'', Pen Tywyn Road, Record number 3334, Civic Offices Colwyn Bay (1950)

Gardens

Bodysgallen is situated on the west facing slope of Bryn Pydew hill within a broadleaf forest ecosystem between the first and second ridges south of the

Great Orme The Great Orme ( cy, Y Gogarth) is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old N ...

and Little Orme headlands. Surrounding lands, still owned by the estate, exhibit sheep

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...

and forests probably not very different from conditions 1000 years earlier. Thus it was natural to develop the gardens in a terraced form consistent with the surrounding forests. The tourist Richard Fenton noted in 1810 that Bodysgallen was "embosomed in woods of Noble growth, which are suffered to luxuriate their own way, without any fear of the axe". The original garden design dates from 1678 and is credited to Robert Wynn, son of Hugh Wynn, the original Wynn owner. The centerpiece sundial bears the date 1678. Robert laid the principal garden out in Dutch fashion, a sunken, high walled garden that became popular throughout Great Britain in the early 17th century. Today this garden consists of a low-growing

topiary Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants w ...

maze. Below and to the east is the larger walled rose garden; other prominent garden features are a rectangular

lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

pond and a series of smaller herb and perennial gardens below the pineapple stone cottage and to the north. A

croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the W ...

lawn is found to the north of the main building.

Area setting

The site has frontage on the north side of the

A470 The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigat ...

about one mile south of the seaside resort of Llandudno. The terraces at Bodysgallen command wide views towards the north and west.

References

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External links

Area map illustrating location of Bodysgallen Hall
Grade I listed buildings in Conwy County Borough Houses in Conwy County Borough Tourist attractions in Conwy County Borough Country houses in Wales Hotels in Conwy County Borough National Trust properties in Wales Grade I listed houses Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales