Plas Newydd
Encyclopedia
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is a large village and community on the island of Anglesey in Wales, situated on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. This village has the longest place name in Europe and one of the longest...
, Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, is the country seat of the Marquess of Anglesey
Marquess of Anglesey
Marquess of Anglesey is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, a hero of the Battle of Waterloo...
. The family's former principal seat at Beaudesert
Beaudesert (house)
Beaudesert was an estate and stately home on the southern edge of Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. It was one of the family seats of the Paget family, the Marquesses of Anglesey...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, was sold and demolished in the 1930s.
The house is situated on the bank of the Menai Strait
Menai Strait
The Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.The strait is bridged in two places - the main A5 road is carried over the strait by Thomas Telford's elegant iron suspension bridge, the first of its kind,...
and has views of Snowdonia
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
.
History
The estate can be traced to the 15th century when it was held by the Griffiths family, owners of a large estate in nearby BangorBangor, Gwynedd
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
. The house originated in the 14th century; the earliest section is the Great Hall with symmetrical entrances at either end. From there the house was expanded towards the Menai Strait
Menai Strait
The Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.The strait is bridged in two places - the main A5 road is carried over the strait by Thomas Telford's elegant iron suspension bridge, the first of its kind,...
and two towers were added.
The building was greatly altered in the 18th century by James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
who refaced it, blended the towers into the building front, and substantially made it into the building that stands today. At the end of the 19th century the 5th Marquess
Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey
Henry Cyril Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey , styled Lord Paget until 1880 and Earl of Uxbridge between 1880 and 1898, and also known as "Toppy", was a British Peer who was notable during his short life for squandering his inheritance on a lavish social life and accumulating massive debts...
had the chapel turned into a theatre. Plays were put on regularly, with the Marquess often taking the lead role himself. After the 6th Marquess
Charles Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey
Charles Henry Alexander Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey GCVO was a British peer.Paget was born in 1885, the son of Lord Alexander Paget, was educated at Eton and the Royal Military College Sandhurst and in 1905 he succeeded as Marquess of Anglesey on the demise of his childless cousin, the 5th...
inherited the estate, all the furniture was sold to help restore the solvency of the family after the 5th Marquess' huge spending. The family also sold off their main home and their London house and moved into Plas Newydd permanently. The 6th Marquess made the final big changes to the house by removing the crenellations from the roof, disposing of the theatre, knocking three servants' rooms together to make the dining room and covering over a courtyard to provide a roof for the servants.
The house has been owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
since 1976. There are now a tearoom and a second-hand bookshop, and historical cruises along the Menai start from the house.
HMS Conway
In 1949 the training ship HMS ConwayHMS Conway (school ship)
HMS Conway was a naval training school or "school ship", founded in 1859 and housed for most of its life aboard a 19th-century wooden battleship. The ship was originally stationed on the Mersey near Liverpool, then moved to the Menai Strait during World War II. While being towed back to Birkenhead...
was moored in the Menai Straits near Plas Newydd. The ship was supported from the small dock in the grounds of the estate. Following the loss of the ship in 1953, the school built temporary facilities in the grounds near the current reception centre. These were used for teaching and housing the senior cadets. The younger cadets were accommodated in the eastern wing of the house. The former stables building was used for teacher accommodation, classrooms and a laboratory. These arrangements continued until 1964 when the entire school moved into a new purpose-built building in the grounds of the estate. The school was closed in 1974 although the school's building still stands.
Points of interest
The house contains Rex WhistlerRex Whistler
Reginald John 'Rex' Whistler was a British artist, designer and illustrator.-Biography:Rex Whistler was born in Eltham, Kent, the son of Henry and Helen Frances Mary Whistler...
’s largest painting, measuring 58 by. It is the largest single canvas in Britain. There is also an exhibition with many examples of his work.
The 7th Marquess of Anglesey
George Paget, 7th Marquess of Anglesey
George Charles Henry Victor Paget, 7th Marquess of Anglesey DL FSA FRHistS FRSL , styled Earl of Uxbridge until 1947, is a British peer....
still retains rooms at the house. Lady Rose McLaren
Lady Rose McLaren
The Lady Rose Mary Primrose McLaren was a British aristocrat, the fourth daughter of the 6th Marquess of Anglesey....
grew up at the house along with the 7th Marquess - her brother.
At the house there is also a Military Museum which contains campaign relics belonging to the 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Field Marshal Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH, PC , styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as The Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British military leader and politician, now chiefly remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry against...
, mementos of the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
and the Anglesey Leg
Lord Uxbridge's leg
Lord Uxbridge's leg was shattered by a cannon shot at the Battle of Waterloo and removed by a surgeon. The amputated limb went on to lead a somewhat macabre after-life as a tourist attraction in the village of Waterloo in Belgium, where it had been removed and interred.-Waterloo:Henry Paget, 2nd...
.
In January 2010, the grounds became the first part of North Wales to be included in Google Street View
Google Street View
Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from various positions along many streets in the world...
, thanks to a scheme to include National Trust properties by using the Google Trike where vehicular access is limited.http://www.webuser.co.uk/news/top-stories/439367/national-trust-sites-added-to-google-street-view