Mostyn Hall is a large house standing in 25 acres (10 hectares) of garden near the village of

Mostyn Mostyn is a village and community in Flintshire, Wales, and electoral ward lying on the estuary of the River Dee, located near the town of Holywell. It has a privately owned port that has in the past had a colliery and ironworks and was invol ...

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, Wales. It is designated by

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

as a Grade I

listed building 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 ...

History

It is not known for how long a building has been present on the site, but the great hall is thought to have been built by 1470. The house was substantially upgraded in 1631-2 by Roger and Mary Mostyn, descendants of Ieuan Fychan, whose grandson had adopted the Mostyn surname. Since 1660 the hall has been the seat of the Mostyn Baronets, and since 1831, of the barons Mostyn. In the 1840s the 1st Baron Mostyn commissioned architect

Ambrose Poynter Ambrose Poynter (16 May 1796 – 20 November 1886) was a British architect. He was one of the founding members of the Institute of British Architects in 1834. Early life Born in London on 16 May 1796, he was second son of Ambrose Lyon Poynter ...

to remodel the house, which was carried out mainly in 1846–47 in a

Jacobethan The Jacobethan or Jacobean Revival architectural style is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance (15 ...

style inspired by the pre-existing building. Porth Mawr is a former Tudor gatehouse block to the south west of the house which dates from 1570. Ornamental entrance gates leading to the house were designed in early 18th-century

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style by the

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

architect John Douglas and constructed by James Swindley in 1896. The hall is still in the hands of the Mostyn family. Since 2014 it has been open to the public on a limited number of days in the year.

Architecture and description

Listing designations

Mostyn Hall is listed Grade I, the highest grade, as is Porth Mawr. A number of barns and agricultural buildings on the Mostyn Estate are listed Grade II* including the

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

and attached range, a barn to the north-east, another to the north-west, and a farm range to the south-west. A house, and

weighbridge A truck scale (US), weighbridge (non-US) or railroad scale is a large set of scales, usually mounted permanently on a concrete foundation, that is used to weigh entire rail or road vehicles and their contents. By weighing the vehicle both emp ...

are listed at Grade II, as are John Douglas's gates. On the wider estate, listed structures include an

icehouse Icehouse or ice house may refer to: * Ice house (building), a building where ice is stored * Ice shanty, a shelter for ice fishing also known as an ''Icehouse'' * Ice skating rink, a facility for ice skating. * Ice hockey arena, an area where ice ...

, the

walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate c ...

, and a

gamekeeper A gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper), or in case of those dealing with deer (deer-)stalker, is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g. areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure there is enough game for shoo ...

's cottage. At the estate's perimeter, a number of lodges and their associated gates and railings all have Grade II listings including Drybridge Lodge, Ivy House, Penlan Lodge, and Seaview Lodge.

Gallery

Mostyn Hall.jpg, Mostyn Hall. c.1781 Wales mostynhall 2014-05-16.jpg, Porth Mawr Wales mostynhall 2014-05-07.jpg, Mostyn Hall gates Drybridge Lodge, Mostyn (geograph 4166353).jpg, Drybridge Lodge Mostyn sketch 02559.jpg, Sketch of the courtyard at Mostyn before the house was remodelled in the 1840s

References

Sources

External links

{{commonscat
Official website
Houses completed in 1470 Houses completed in 1632 Grade I listed buildings in Flintshire Grade II* listed buildings in Flintshire Houses in Flintshire Grade I listed houses John Douglas buildings Country houses in Wales