Wynnstay is a country house within an important landscaped park 1.3 km (0.75 miles) south-east of Ruabon, near

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, Wales. Wynnstay, previously Watstay, is a famous estate and the

family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families ...

of the Wynns. The house was sold in 1948 and is under a private ownership as of 2020. The estate remains under the ownership of the Williams-Wynn family. Wynne Stay, seat of Sir Watkins Williams Wynne, 1793

Wynne Stay, seat of Sir Watkins Williams Wynne, 1793

During the 17th century,

Sir John Wynn, 5th Baronet Sir John Wynn, 5th Baronet (1628 – 11 January 1719) was a Welsh landowner and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1679 and 1713. Early life Wynn was the only son of Henry Wynn of Rhiwgoch, Merioneth, ...

, inherited the Watstay Estate through his marriage to Jane Evans (daughter of Eyton Evans of Watstay), and renamed it the Wynnstay Estate. The gardens were laid out by Capability Brown. Wynnstay was Brown's largest commission in Wales, work beginning in 1774 and completed in 1784, a year after his death. He replaced the older formal gardens with lawns which swept right up to the house overlooking the lake. Famous occupants of the house and estate included

Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet (23 September 1749 – 24 July 1789) was a Wales, Welsh landowner, politician and patron of the arts. The Williams-Wynn baronets had been begun in 1688 by the politician Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of ...

. During the 19th century, Princess Victoria stayed there with her mother, the Duchess of Kent. In 1858 Wynnstay was destroyed by fire and was rebuilt on the same site. After the house was vacated by the Williams-Wynn family in the mid-20th century, in favour of the nearby Plas Belan on the Wynnstay estate, it was bought by Lindisfarne College. When the school closed due to bankruptcy, the building was converted to flats and several private houses. The house is a

Grade II* 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 ...

listed building. The gardens underwent a process of refurbishment, which was completed by 2016.

References

External links

*Transcript of information from ''Picturesque Views of Seats of The Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland'' edited by F. O. Morris (published c.1880
1860 – Wynnstay Hall, Ruabon, Wales
{{Wrexham Ruabon Houses in Wrexham Grade II* listed buildings in Wrexham County Borough Country houses in Wales Gardens by Capability Brown Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales Grade II* listed houses in Wales