Llangoed Hall is a country house hotel, near the village of Llyswen, in

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

, Mid Wales. It is known for its decoration in

Laura Ashley Laura Ashley (née Mountney; 7 September 1925 – 17 September 1985) was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She originally made furnishing materials in the 1950s, expanding the business into clothing design and manufacture in the 1960s ...

fabrics and styles, and was owned by Sir Bernard Ashley, the widower of the designer. It is a Grade II* listed building.

History

The Hall, originally known as Llangoed Castle, was donated to the church in 560 by Prince Iddon in expiation of his sins. It may have also been the site of the legendary White Palace, home of the first

Welsh parliament The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

. A mansion existed from 1632. It was in the possession of the Macnamara family for two generations until 1847, but changed hands to settle a gambling debt. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Clough Williams-Ellis Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, CBE, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales. He became a major figure in the development of Welsh architec ...

re-designed it as a country house, retaining the surviving Jacobean porch as part of the south wing but creating several Arts and Crafts additions. Sir Bernard Ashley bought Llangoed Hall in 1987 and opened it as a hotel in 1990. The Ashley family sold the hall to

Von Essen Hotels Andrew Davis (born 12 February 1964) is a British businessman who founded the von Essen Group, which included Von Essen Hotels, PremiAir and the London Heliport. Early life and career Davis went to St Bede's Comprehensive School. Reigate Gramm ...

in November 2010 for an undisclosed sum. The property was put up for sale again in February 2012 after Von Essen went into administration in April 2011.

Hotel

Sir Bernard Ashley's intention was to recreate Llangoed Hall as an

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

house, replete with high-society Edwardian customs, period furnishings and antique fittings. The hotel also has an art collection with pieces by Whistler,

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarge ...

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

Andrew Melville Andrew Melville (1 August 1545 – 1622) was a Scottish scholar, theologian, poet and religious reformer. His fame encouraged scholars from the European continent to study at Glasgow and St. Andrews. He was born at Baldovie, on 1 August 154 ...

John Duncan Fergusson John Duncan Fergusson (9 March 1874 – 30 January 1961) was a Scottish artist and sculptor, regarded as one of the major artists of the Scottish Colourists school of painting. Early life Fergusson was born in Leith, Edinburgh, the firs ...

and

Albert Lynch Albert Lynch (1860–1950) was a Parisian painter of German-Peruvian ancestry. Biography Alberto Fernando Lynch was born on 26 September 1860 in Gleisweiler in the Rhineland of Germany, and baptised there on 21 March 1861. His father, Diego Ly ...

. Bedrooms are individually designed and decorated with furnishings from

and Sir Bernard's

venture company Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

Elanbach, which he created in 2000 and is based in the hotel's grounds. It won the ''Best Restaurant in Wales'' award in its first year.

References

External links

Official website
{{Powys Country houses in Powys Castles in Powys Hotels in Wales Grade II* listed buildings in Powys Country house hotels Arts and Crafts architecture in Wales