Bryn Bras Castle
{{Short description|Grade II* listed country house in Gwynedd, Wales}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Bryn Bras Castle
| native_name =
| native_language =
| image = Castell Bryn Bras - geograph.org.uk - 321210.jpg
| image_size = 260
| caption =
| alt = View across fields to castle on a ridge.
| type = House and garden
| locmapin = Wales Gwynedd
| coordinates = {{coord|53.1404|-4.1789|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| location = Llanrug
| area =
| built =
| restored_by =
| architect = Thomas Hopper
| architecture = Romanesque Revival
| governing_body = Privately owned
| owner =
| designation1 = Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales
| designation1_offname = Bryn Bras
| designation1_date = 1 February 2022
| designation1_number = PGW(Gd)41(GWY)
| designation2 = Grade II*
| designation2_offname = Bryn Bras Castle
| designation2_date = 29 May 1968
| designation2_number = 3804
| designation3 = Grade II
| designation3_offname = Gladiator statue (north) at Bryn Bras Castle
| designation3_date = 29 August 1999
| designation3_number = 22259
| designation4 = Grade II
| designation4_offname = Gladiator statue (south) at Bryn Bras Castle
| designation4_date = 29 August 1999
| designation4_number = 22260
| designation5 = Grade II
| designation5_offname = Pan figure and pool in walled 'knot' garden at Bryn Bras Castle
| designation5_date = 29 August 1999
| designation5_number = 22258
}}
Bryn Bras Castle is a Grade II* listed country house located on the old road between Llanrug and Llanberis in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. The house, which remains privately owned, is a Grade II* listed building and its gardens and landscaped park are listed at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
History
The castle was built in a neo-Romanesque style between 1829 and 1835 on the site of an earlier structure by architect Thomas Hopper for Thomas Williams (1795–1874), a lawyer. It was bought in 1897 by Capt. Frank Stewart Barnard, High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire for 1903–04, who stayed at the castle until his death in 1917, running it as a stud. It was later owned by the oil millionaire Duncan Elliot Alves (1870–1947), who was Mayor of Caernarvon for six years and High Sheriff of the county for 1931–32. After Alves' death in 1938 the estate changed hands a number of times and much of the surrounding land was sold off.{{cite web| url = http://www.coflein.gov.uk/pdf/CPG041/| title = Bryn Bras Castle| access-date = 22 July 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150704142007/http://www.coflein.gov.uk/pdf/CPG041/| archive-date = 4 July 2015| url-status = dead}} The site of the first motorcycle Dragon rally in 1962, the house has been converted into apartments.
Architecture and description
The castle is a Grade II* listed building.{{NHAW|num=3804|desc=Bryn Bras Castle|grade=II*|access-date=18 February 2023}} Two elements of the castle's structure have their own listings, the boundary walls
{{NHAW|num=22262|desc=Boundary wall, screen and gateway, SW side of Llanrug-Llanberis 'Mountain' Road at Bryn Bras Castle|grade=II|access-date=18 February 2023}} and the gates and turrets.{{NHAW|num=22261|desc=Boundary wall, gateways & turrets at Bryn Bras Castle|grade=II|access-date=18 February 2023}} The gardens are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.{{NHAW|uid=169|num=PGW(Gd)41(GWY)|desc=Bryn Bras Castle|class=HPG|access-date=6 February 2023}} A number of features within the gardens have their own listings; a pair of statues of gladiators,{{NHAW|num=22259|desc=Gladiator statue (north) at Bryn Bras Castle|grade=II|access-date=18 February 2023}}{{NHAW|num=22260|desc=Gladiator statue (south) at Bryn Bras Castle|grade=II|access-date=18 February 2023}} a statue of the god Pan in a pool,{{NHAW|num=22258|desc=Pan figure and pool in walled 'knot' garden at Bryn Bras Castle|grade=II|access-date=18 February 2023}} and the knot garden in which it stands,{{NHAW|num=22255|desc= Walled 'knot' garden at Bryn Bras Castle|grade=II|access-date=18 February 2023}} and an observatory.{{NHAW|num=22256|desc=Observatory at Bryn Bras Castle|grade=II|access-date=18 February 2023}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Bryn Bras Castle}}
- [http://www.brynbrascastle.co.uk Bryn Bras Castle]
Category:Registered historic parks and gardens in Gwynedd
Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Gwynedd
Category:Houses completed in 1835