Bodysgallen Hall facts for kids
| Bodysgallen Hall | |
Quick facts for kids  |
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| Hotel facts and statistics | |
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| Location | Conwy county borough, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 53°17′47.85″N 3°48′10.05″W / 53.2966250°N 3.8027917°W |
Bodysgallen Hall is a beautiful old manor house in north Wales, close to the village of Llanrhos in Conwy county borough. Since 2008, The National Trust has owned it. It's a special historic building, called a Grade I listed building, and today it's used as a hotel. Most of the building you see today was built in the 1600s, but parts were added later. Bodysgallen started as a tower house way back in the Middle Ages. It was built to help defend Conwy Castle nearby. Legend says that in the 400s AD, Cadwallon Lawhir, a powerful king of Gwynedd, had his stronghold here.
The old ruins of Cadwallon Lawhir's home are on a small hill in the woods above Bodysgallen Hall. By 1835, these ruins were completely covered by thorny bushes. An old record from Caernarvon says that Bodysgallen was once part of a special type of land called Tre Welyog. This meant the land was shared by a large family group in medieval Wales. Over time, smaller land owners might have sold their parts and become tenants of a bigger estate.
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The Old Tower and Its History
The oldest part of Bodysgallen Hall is a watchtower built in the late 1200s. It was meant to help protect Conwy Castle. This tower has five floors and is made from pink sandstone found nearby. It has a slate roof. Inside, a spiral staircase goes up five floors, with one small room on each floor. Experts believe this staircase was built in the late 1200s. The staircase gets narrower as you go up.
The main entrance to the 1620 part of the building, built by Robert Wynn, faces northwest. It has a porch that was added in the 1800s. The doorway on the ground floor still has its original door and latch.
Who Lived Here? The Wynn and Mostyn Families
In the early 1600s, Robert and Katherine Wynn owned Bodysgallen. They built the main part of the house we see today. You can see their initials, K.W. and R.W., on a stone dated 1620. The biggest rooms from the 1600s are the low hall on the ground floor and the great hall above it. Both rooms have special fireplaces with family coats of arms above them. One of these coats of arms includes the motto of the Mostyn family: Auxilium Meum a Domino, which means "my help is from the Lord."
Later, Richard Mostyn, who was a high official in the area, owned Bodysgallen. When his daughter Margaret married Hugh Wynn in the 1600s, Bodysgallen became part of the Wynn family's properties. Richard Mostyn's son, Colonel Roger Mostyn, is thought to have added a wing to the northwest side of the house. Roger's son, Dr. Hugh Wynn, added the northeast wing, which has a date stone from 1730.
When Dr. Hugh Wynn passed away in 1761, his daughter Margaret inherited Bodysgallen. In 1776, she married Sir Roger Mostyn, who was a descendant of the earlier Richard Mostyn. This brought Bodysgallen back to the Mostyn family after 156 years of being owned by the Wynns.
Beautiful Gardens
Bodysgallen is located on a hillside facing west, surrounded by a forest. The land around it, which the estate still owns, has sheep pastures and forests, much like it did a thousand years ago. Because of this, the gardens were designed in a terraced style that fits with the surrounding woods.
The original garden design dates back to 1678. It's believed that Robert Wynn, a son of the first Wynn owner, designed it. A sundial in the middle of the garden is also dated 1678. Robert created the main garden in a Dutch style, which was popular in Britain in the 1600s. It's a sunken garden with high walls. Today, this garden has a low topiary maze, which is a maze made from carefully trimmed bushes.
Below this main garden, to the east, is a larger walled rose garden. Other cool parts of the garden include a rectangular lily pond and smaller herb and flower gardens. There's also a croquet lawn north of the main building.
Location
Bodysgallen Hall is located on the north side of the A470 road, about one mile south of the seaside town of Llandudno. From the terraces at Bodysgallen, you can see wide views towards the north and west.
