Historical background
The former seat of Lord Newborough of Glynllifon, centred
on the house of 1836-48, which includes some elements of the
house designed and built by Sir Thomas Wynne in 1751. The associated
structures include a large stable block of 1849 and an estate
workshops complex of the 1850s. The present park is based around
the Afon Llifon, partly canalized and rerouted between 1826
and 1832. It includes part of the former Orielton estate, centred
on Plas Newydd, built in 1632 by Thomas Glynne and restored
by the Hon. Frederick Wynn between 1887 and 1914.
The substantial wall which encloses the demesne was built
in the 1830s, when some small farmhouses on the periphery of
the existing gardens were demolished. The Llifon formerly powered
a corn-mill, later adapted to provide power to the estate workshops
in nineteenth century, and a possible pandy, converted into
an ornamental ruin. The bijou fort ( Williamsburg ) was constructed
in the 1760s, with later additions.
Key historic landscape characteristics
18th - 19th century parkland and gardens
The grounds and house are included in the Cadw/ICOMOS Register
of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens at Grade 1 as ‘an outstanding,
extensive eighteenth- and nineteenth-century park and pleasure
ground' preserving many of its Victorian and earlier features.
Their future is uncertain, not least because of the fragmented
nature of the ownership of various parts of the parkland. The
greater part of the demesne and the house itself remain in
local authority hands, but have been unsuccessfully offered
for sale. The estate workshops area, which contains much original
machinery, is now restored and open to the public as a visitor
attraction under the care of Cyngor Gwynedd, though its future
is uncertain. Fort Williamsburg is in poor condition and closed.
Parts of the grounds are used as an agricultural college, along
with the home farm. Other parts of the walled enclosure are
in private ownership.
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Landscape Character Map
