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Vaynol or ''Y Faenol'' (
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
) is a country estate dating from the
Tudor period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began wit ...
near
Y Felinheli Y Felinheli (), formerly known in English as Port Dinorwic, is a village and community beside the Menai Strait ( cy, Y Fenai or ''Afon Menai'') between Bangor and Caernarfon in Gwynedd, northwest Wales. History Toponymy Etymologically, its ...
in Gwynedd,
North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...
(). It has of park, farmland, and gardens, with more than thirty
listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, surrounded by a wall which is long. "''Y Faenol''" means "the manor" and is a
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form of the Welsh word ''maenol''. The buildings on the estate include two Grade I listed halls: Faenol Old Hall, much of which dates from the Williams' period of ownership, and Vaynol Hall, built in 1793 and extended during the 19th century. Once Vaynol Hall was built, Faenol Old Hall became a farmhouse and subsequently deteriorated; in 2003 it appeared on the
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...
's ''
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
'' programme, championed by
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. In 2009, the BBC revisited the project, and said that Faenol Hall was now "in private ownership and has been restored". There is also a Grade I listed chapel and a very old barn on the site. The Vaynol estate should not be confused with the neighbouring
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
land called Glan Faenol.


History

The estate's origins are in the 16th century, when the bishops of Bangor sold property belonging to their manor, Maenol Bangor. The estate was developed during that century by the Williams family. It passed to the Crown on the death without issue of
Sir William Williams, 6th Baronet Sir William Williams, 6th Baronet (– 23 December 1696) of Faenol (Vaynol) was a Welsh politician and landowner elected as MP for Caernarvonshire from 1689 until his death. Career Williams was born in around 1663, the son of Sir Griffith ...
in 1696. In 1723 it was presented to John Smith of Tedworth, Wiltshire, and in 1762 passed to his nephew
Thomas Assheton Smith I Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
(1752–1828). Assheton Smith was later MP for Caernarvonshire and then Andover (UK Parliament constituency), Andover, and his son, also Thomas Assheton Smith (1776–1858), Thomas (1776–1858) sat for the same constituencies but was known as a cricketer, Master of Foxhounds and owner of steam yachts. Assheton Smith I was the 3rd largest landowner in Gwynedd. This area of Wales is known for its Slate industry in Wales, slate production, and the Assheton Smiths profited from slate quarrying as owners of the Dinorwic Quarry, which made a profit of £30,000 in 1856 (). Even after farms were let on long leases to encourage good tenant behaviour, slate remained the family's main economic interest. The Assheton Smiths extended their estate through enclosure, despite strong opposition from local farmers, including the enclosure of existing properties at Gallt-y-foel. The Assheton Smiths remained in possession of the estate until the 20th century. In 1847, it passed to Mary Astley, niece of Thomas Assheton Smith of Vaynol, who married Robert George Duff, a distant cousin of the Earls of Fife. Vaynol passed in turn to their two eldest sons (the first of whom, George William (1848-1904 ), left no son; his wife and daughter had Snowdon Mountain Railway locomotives named after them ) and they took the surname Assheton-Smith instead of Duff. The younger son, Sir Charles Garden Assheton-Smith, was created a baronet in 1911. He sold 30 farms from the estate in 1914. His son and grandson the 2nd and 3rd baronets, reverted to the name of Duff. Sir Michael Duff, 3rd Baronet had an adopted son, Charles David. At the beginning of the 20th century, the estate amounted to of land and had 1,600 tenants. The Prince and Princess of Wales (later King George V and Queen Mary of Teck, Mary) stayed there as guests of the Assheton Smiths during a visit to North Wales in May 1902. To celebrate the 1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary and to improve Caernarfon, the town walls and some adjoining property, which belonged to the estate, was handed over to the Ministry of Works. The estate's remaining property in Caernarfon was offered for sale in 103 lots in 1957. In 1967 21,000 acres, including the north face of Snowdon, was sold to two property companies, jointly, for a reputed £1½ million. Vaynol, its home farm and some adjacent property were retained by the estate trustees and Sir Michael Duff. The Dinorwic slate quarries at Llanberis, which were owned by a family company, were not sold. Later in the year, the property companies sold 13,000 acres of Snowdon land to the Welsh Office for £140,000. Further properties were sold to tenants and 138 lots were offered for sale by auction in 1968. Sir Michael Duff's obituary claimed that the 1967 sale was forced on him by high taxation.The Times 20 March 1980


Attractions

In the second half of the 19th century the park had a zoo, but it was dismantled by 1900. The park has been the setting for Bryn Terfel's Faenol Festival since 2000, and in 2005 it hosted the Eisteddfod, National Eisteddfod. On 25 August 2006, Irish vocal pop band Westlife held a concert for their Face to Face Tour supporting their album Face to Face (Westlife album), Face to Face. BBC Radio 1's Radio 1's Big Weekend, Big Weekend was held at the park in May 2010.


Vaynol cattle

The estate began breeding the rare Vaynol cattle, a type of White Park cattle, in the 1870s. A herd was kept there until the death of the owner Sir Michael Duff in 1980, when the estate was sold and the herd was moved to a series of locations in England.


References


External links


The Faenol History websiteThe official Faenol websiteThe story of the last family to live on the estateFaenol Festival
{{coord, 53.202, -4.193, display=title, region:GB_type:landmark Pentir Houses in Gwynedd Country houses in Wales Tourist attractions in Gwynedd Grade I listed buildings in Gwynedd Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales Grade I listed houses in Wales