Dolmelynllyn Estate

The Dolmelynllyn Estate is approximately {{convert|5|mi}} north of Dolgellau, Gwynedd, in the southern area of the Snowdonia National Park. It is over {{convert|500|ha}} in extent and includes landscapes that vary from river terraces to high moorland, as well as boulder-strewn woodland. The highest point on the estate is at {{convert|500|m}}, just above Bryn Bedwog.Latham, J. "An Archaeological Field Survey of the Dolmelynllyn Estate." 1983. National Trust. The estate sits within and alongside the village of Ganllwyd.{{Cite web |last=Gardens (en) |first=Parks and |title=Dolmelynllyn - Ganllwyd |url=https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/dolmelynllyn |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=Parks & Gardens |language=en |archive-date=2021-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614151827/https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/dolmelynllyn |url-status=live }}

Its geology is predominately Middle-Upper Cambrian strata, but also includes Barmouth grit and Gamlan flags, as well as Cefn Coch grit.Hughes, W. R., A. M. R. Murphy, and A. C. Roberts. "A survey of buildings on the Dolmelynllyn Estate." Journal of the Merioneth Historical and Record Society= Cylchgrawn Cymbeithas Hanes a Chofnodion sir Feirionydd 10: 38-47.

Griffith Vaughan (died {{c.|1700}}), the fourth son of the antiquary Robert Vaughan, settled at the estate in the late seventeenth century. His great-grandson, also Robert Vaughan, sold it approximately a century later.{{Cite book |last=Nicholas |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WQ6wkDw8DnUC&dq=Dolmelynllyn+Estate&pg=PA684 |title=Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales |date=1991 |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Com |isbn=978-0-8063-1314-6 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828030632/https://books.google.com/books?id=WQ6wkDw8DnUC&dq=Dolmelynllyn+Estate&pg=PA684 |url-status=live }}

File:Ganllwyd_NNR_-_panoramio_(16).jpg

In 1796 William Alexander Madocks purchased the estate, using inheritance from the death of his father.{{Cite web |title=MADOCKS, William Alexander (1773-1828), of Tan-yr-allt, Caern. {{!}} History of Parliament Online |url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/madocks-william-alexander-1773-1828 |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=www.historyofparliamentonline.org |archive-date=2022-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117030409/https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/madocks-william-alexander-1773-1828 |url-status=live }} He paid £1550 for the farm and £950 for the timber and underwood.{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Sheila |title=The Dolmelynllyn Estate: A Short History |publisher=National Trust |year=1992 |pages=5, 13, 15, 19–20, 22–23}} He created a ferme ornée (ornamental farm) there, where he entertained friends such as Thomas Love Peacock. He was attracted to the location due to its proximity to the waterfalls of Rhaeadr Ddu, Pistyll Cain and Rhaeadr Mawddach.{{Cite journal |last=Hayman |first=Richard |date=2014-06-01 |title='All Impetuous Rage': The Cult of Waterfalls in Eighteenth-century Wales |url=https://doi.org/10.1179/1466203513Z.00000000017 |journal=Landscapes |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=23–43 |doi=10.1179/1466203513Z.00000000017 |s2cid=130820784 |issn=1466-2035 |access-date=2022-07-25 |archive-date=2022-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828030633/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/1466203513Z.00000000017 |url-status=live }} One of Madocks's building schemes included building paths to enable improved access to Rhaeadr Ddu. He also built a privy in the shape of "an old broken tower". However, despite making many changes, Madocks only lived there intermittently, for perhaps four years. By c.1810 he had mortgaged the estate to a group of investors. Despite his entrepreneurial schemes, Madocks died in 1828 owing money to a wide variety of creditors.

The estate appears to have been part of a complex set of financial arrangements in the intervening decades after Madocks's death, with a timber merchant called Robert Roberts holding the tenancy for some, if not all of the period.

In 1850 the estate was purchased by Charles Reynolds Williams, who made extensive alterations to the landscape that are still present, including the addition of a formal lake, new driveways, formal gardens and a kitchen garden.{{Cite web |last=Forgrave |first=Andrew |date=2011-05-25 |title=Britain's biggest bee bole found near Dolgellau |url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/britains-biggest-bee-bole-found-2699614 |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=North Wales Live |language=en |archive-date=2020-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020170551/https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/britains-biggest-bee-bole-found-2699614 |url-status=live }} He passed the estate on to his son, Romer Williams, in 1892.{{Cite web |title=The Dolmelynllyn Collection - Archives Hub |url=https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb220-z/dn |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk |archive-date=2022-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828030652/https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/0c0248b1-a7f5-348a-be33-a8c66168f85a |url-status=live }}

In 1903, Romer Williams sold the estate, moving to Newnham Hall in Northamptonshire. The purchaser was Alexander Campbell Blair of Bronmeillion in Llandudno, who bought it for £11,850. Campbell Blair left the estate to the National Trust as a legacy in his will when he died in 1936. As of 1992, the Trust had purchased two further parcels of land to add to the estate: the upland fringe of Maes Mawr, which had previously belonged to the Vaughans and another more northerly piece of land.

File:Coed_Dolmelynllyn_woodlands_-_geograph.org.uk_-_533886.jpg

Dolmelynllyn Estate's woodlands include rare temperate rainforest and ancient woodland.{{Cite book |last=Benson |first=Jen and Sim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0YmEAAAQBAJ&dq=dolmelynllyn&pg=PT489 |title=Short Runs in Beautiful Places: 100 Spectacular Routes |date=2020-04-01 |publisher=National Trust |isbn=978-1-911657-18-7 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Wild places in South Snowdonia |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/south-snowdonia/features/wild-places-in-south-snowdonia |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=National Trust |language=en |archive-date=2022-04-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419192535/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/south-snowdonia/features/wild-places-in-south-snowdonia |url-status=live }} The Coed Ganllwyd National Nature Reserve (NNR) lies within the estate and covers 183.77 hectares.{{Cite web |date=2010-11-26 |title=Coed Ganllwyd - Countryside Council for Wales |url=http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes/national-nature-reserves/coed-ganllwyd.aspx |access-date=2022-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126203735/http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes/national-nature-reserves/coed-ganllwyd.aspx |archive-date=2010-11-26}} Within, and also extending beyond the boundaries of the estate, are several significant areas, including: the Meirionnydd Oakwoods and Bat Sites are Important Plant Areas and Special Areas of Conservation;{{Cite web |title=Where to See {{!}} Meirionnydd Oakwoods Habitat Management Project |url=https://www.meirionnyddoakwoods.org.uk/where-to-see/ |access-date=2022-07-29 |language=en-GB |archive-date=2022-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729145948/https://www.meirionnyddoakwoods.org.uk/where-to-see/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Meirionnydd Oakwoods IPA |url=https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/nature-reserves-important-plant-areas/important-plant-areas/meirionnydd-oakwoods |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=Plantlife |language=en |archive-date=2019-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709195601/https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/nature-reserves-important-plant-areas/important-plant-areas/meirionnydd-oakwoods |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Coedydd Derw a Safleoedd Ystlumod Meirion/ Meirionnydd Oakwoods and Bat Sites - Special Areas of Conservation |url=https://sac.jncc.gov.uk/site/UK0014789 |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=sac.jncc.gov.uk |archive-date=2022-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729145945/https://sac.jncc.gov.uk/site/UK0014789 |url-status=live }} the Ganllwyd Sites of Special Scientific Interest.{{Cite web |title=Natural Resources Wales / Find protected areas of land and sea / Ganllwyd |url=https://naturalresources.wales/guidance-and-advice/environmental-topics/wildlife-and-biodiversity/protected-areas-of-land-and-seas/find-protected-areas-of-land-and-sea/?lang=en |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=naturalresources.wales |language=en-gb |archive-date=2022-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729144221/https://naturalresources.wales/guidance-and-advice/environmental-topics/wildlife-and-biodiversity/protected-areas-of-land-and-seas/find-protected-areas-of-land-and-sea/?lang=en |url-status=live }} The woodlands are notable for their wide variety of rare bryophytes and lichens, including the genus Lobaria, in particular Lobaria pulmonaria.{{Cite journal |last=Pentecost |first=A. |date=1987 |title=The Lichen Flora of Gwynedd |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/lichenologist/article/abs/lichen-flora-of-gwynedd/4CFD92AD764C782767512DB1A5C43E9A |journal=The Lichenologist |language=en |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=97–166 |doi=10.1017/S0024282987000124 |s2cid=84393492 |issn=1096-1135 |access-date=2022-07-25 |archive-date=2022-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725183920/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/lichenologist/article/abs/lichen-flora-of-gwynedd/4CFD92AD764C782767512DB1A5C43E9A |url-status=live }}K. N. A. ALEXANDER, Historic parks and pasture-woodlands: The National Trust resource and its conservation, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 56, Issue suppl_1, December 1995, Pages 155–175. The estate also has a population of the epiphytic lichen, Agonimia octospora, which rarely occurs outside the New Forest.

The estate has successfully used conservation grazing by Highland cattle to restore and manage the woodland.{{Cite web |title=Cattle working to protect the Celtic Rainforest |url=https://www.denbighshirefreepress.co.uk/news/18102722.connor-twins-help-keep-celtic-rainforest-good-shape/ |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=Denbighshire Free Press |language=en |archive-date=2019-12-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215145040/https://www.denbighshirefreepress.co.uk/news/18102722.connor-twins-help-keep-celtic-rainforest-good-shape/ |url-status=live }} Its woods supplied green oak to support the conservation of Egryn, a medieval farmhouse also owned by the Trust.{{Cite journal |last=Green |first=Elizabeth |date=2009-01-01 |title=Egryn |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13556207.2009.10785038 |journal=Journal of Architectural Conservation |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=27–47 |doi=10.1080/13556207.2009.10785038 |s2cid=220316745 |issn=1355-6207}}

The Welsh National Sheepdog Trials took place on the estate in 2018.{{Cite web |title=Dolmelynllyn, LL40 2HP - Welsh National Sheep Dog Trials |url=https://www.welshnationalsheepdogtrials.org.uk/trials-diary/2018/09/22/dolmelynllyn-ll40-2hp/wales/wales/ |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=www.welshnationalsheepdogtrials.org.uk |archive-date=2022-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725183906/https://www.welshnationalsheepdogtrials.org.uk/trials-diary/2018/09/22/dolmelynllyn-ll40-2hp/wales/wales/ |url-status=live }} In 2019 pine martens were recorded on the estate for the first time; they were lured there from territories nearby with jam and eggs.{{Cite news |date=2019-06-07 |title=National Trust attracts pine martens with... jam and eggs |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-48560661 |access-date=2022-07-25 |archive-date=2022-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725183917/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-48560661 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Pine marten return to Snowdonia woods |url=https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/south-snowdonia/press-release/pine-marten-return-to-snowdonia-woods- |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=National Trust |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725183906/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/south-snowdonia/press-release/pine-marten-return-to-snowdonia-woods- |url-status=live }} In 2021 The Guardian named the estate as one of the United Kingdom's top ten places for a spring walk.{{Cite web |date=2021-03-14 |title=Blooms with a view: 10 of Britain's best spring walks |url=http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/mar/14/10-best-spring-walks-britain-uk |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725165202/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/mar/14/10-best-spring-walks-britain-uk |url-status=live }}

File:The_Plas_Dolmelynllyn_Hotel_-_geograph.org.uk_-_542336.jpg

Dolmelynllyn Hall is the former centre of the estate and was run as a hotel, until it closed for refurbishments.{{refn|The hotel closed for refurbishments in 2022.|name=first|group=note}} It is a Grade II listed building, that was expanded by Charles Williams during the nineteenth century, around an earlier core, probably designed by his brother, George Williams of Liverpool.{{Cite book |last=Tyler |first=Ric |url=https://discoveringoldwelshhouses.co.uk/library/ABR/mer%20052_ABR_24_Dolmelynllyn%20Hall.pdf |title=Dolmelynllyn Hall, Ganllwyd, Gwynedd: Architectural Record |publisher=The North-West Wales Dendrochronology Project in partnership with The Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales |year=2012 |access-date=2022-07-26 |archive-date=2022-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828030652/https://discoveringoldwelshhouses.co.uk/library/ABR/mer%20052_ABR_24_Dolmelynllyn%20Hall.pdf |url-status=live }} The earliest part of the building dates to the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. Its Tudor-effect half-timbering was added after 1890. One former name is the Oakley Arms. North Lodge stands at the driveway to the hall; it is now a farmhouse.{{Cite web |title=MNA156571 {{!}} National Trust Heritage Records |url=https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA156571 |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729150013/https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA156571 |url-status=live }}

The estate is home to the highest concentration of bee boles in Wales. A bee bole is a cavity in a wall, built to hold a skep.{{Cite web |title=Welsh honey is the bee's knees - Mêl Cymreig yn taro deuddeg |url=https://www.madryn.co.uk/blogs/news/welsh-honey-is-the-bee-s-knees-mel-cymreig-yn-taro-deuddeg |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=Bwydydd Madryn Foods |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725165131/https://www.madryn.co.uk/blogs/news/welsh-honey-is-the-bee-s-knees-mel-cymreig-yn-taro-deuddeg |url-status=live }} There are 46 boles, built in the nineteenth century, likely by the owner of the estate Charles Williams.

The estate also includes Nant Las{{snd}}a nineteenth-century observatory rented out by the National Trust as a holiday cottage.{{Cite web |author1=Zoe West |date=2020-10-27 |title=8 amazing National Trust properties you can spend the night in |url=https://www.womanandhome.com/travel/8-amazing-places-to-stay-this-spring-351144/ |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=Woman and Home Magazine |language=en |archive-date=2021-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018110756/https://www.womanandhome.com/travel/8-amazing-places-to-stay-this-spring-351144/ |url-status=live }} The estate also included a water-powered corn mill, potentially built by the Vaughan family, which was later converted to a sawmill and turning-mill. As a turning-mill it mainly produced broom handles.

There are several ruined farms across the estate, the oldest of which is likely to be Berth-Lwyd. The gardens and park are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.{{NHAW|uid=162|num=PGW(Gd)33(GWY)|desc=Dolmelynllyn|class=HPG|access-date=6 February 2023}}

Eighteen sites of potential prehistoric date occur at scattered locations across the estate. They include a wide range of monument types: hut circles, cairns, cists, enclosures, platforms and a possible chambered tomb are all represented. There are two cairnfields on the estate: one near Berth-Lwyd, which also includes an enclosure; the other near Hafod y Fedw, a former farm. The Bronze Age cairn and cist at Cefn Coch are a scheduled monument.{{Cite web |title=MNA135813 {{!}} National Trust Heritage Records |url=https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA135813 |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk |language=en |archive-date=2022-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828030637/https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA135813 |url-status=live }}

Medieval and post-medieval landscapes are represented by an estate-wide mosaic of remains which are associated with the past agricultural landscape. Monuments include walls, sheepfolds, enclosures, platforms and the remains of buildings.

The estate includes the remains of the gold-mining industry. The first mine to open was at Berth-Lwyd in 1860.{{Cite web |last=Hayward |first=Will |date=2018-08-09 |title=All the gold mines in Wales and what they produced over centuries |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/gold-mines-wales-what-produced-15003344 |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=WalesOnline |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725165130/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/gold-mines-wales-what-produced-15003344 |url-status=live }} Joseph Mosheimer, an American prospector who had worked in the Californian gold fields, was commissioned by the Welsh Gold Mining Company to establish the mill and mines there. A tramway to the workings was established in 1864. It had ceased production by 1866, having processed 648 troy ounces of gold.

A mine was then reopened further up the hillside at Cefn Coch, following the same lode.{{Cite book |last=Breverton |first=Terry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8TaIAwAAQBAJ&dq=Dolmelynllyn+Estate&pg=PP66 |title=Wales' 1000 Best Heritage Sites |date=2010-10-15 |publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited |isbn=978-1-4456-2013-8 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2022-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828030652/https://books.google.com/books?id=8TaIAwAAQBAJ&dq=Dolmelynllyn+Estate&pg=PP66 |url-status=live }} The remains of the mill are ruins, but visitors to the estate are able to reach them; they include two water-wheel pits. At the edge of one of the pits is a grinding device, unique to Welsh gold-mining, known as an "edge-runner".{{Cite web |last=Latham |first=John |title=Dolmelynllyn, Berth-lwyd, Gold Mine Works |url=https://coflein.gov.uk/en/ |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=Coflein |language=en |archive-date=2022-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802150451/https://coflein.gov.uk/en/ |url-status=live }} A reservoir was built at the site. In addition to these sites, there are also other traces of trial adits across the estate.

Copper was also mined on the estate from 1861 to 1865 and again from 1891 to 1895.

File:Approaching the Cefn Coch Mine Mills - geograph.org.uk - 538743.jpg|alt=|Approaching Cefn Coch ruins

File:Inside Cefn Coch Gold Mine - geograph.org.uk - 539166.jpg|alt=|Closed-off mineshaft at Cefn Coch

File:Adit and rise in the upper section of the Cefn Coch Gold Mine - geograph.org.uk - 742008.jpg|alt=|Adit and rise in the upper section of Cefn Coch mine

File:Ruined buildings at Cefn Coch Mine - geograph.org.uk - 2105597.jpg|alt=|Ruined buildings at Cefn Coch

File:Ruined building of Cefn Coch Mine - geograph.org.uk - 2105670.jpg|alt=|Ruined building at Cefn Coch

{{reflist|group=note}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1892/mar/24/gold-mining-royalties Gold-mining royalties] (Hansard, 1892)
• [https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/gbr/wales/gwynedd/13056_dolmelynllynhall/ Giant Sequoia] (Monumental Trees website)
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvN31CSuL_A Dolmelynllyn - mosses and liverworts] (YouTube)
• [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/south-snowdonia/trails/ornamental-lake-walk-dolmelynllyn Ornamental Lake walk, Dolmelynllyn]
• [https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/trails/-dolmelynllyn-estate-walk Rhaeadr Ddu and Cefn Coch walk]

Category:National Trust properties in Wales

Category:Registered historic parks and gardens in Gwynedd

Category:Snowdonia

Category:1936 establishments in Wales

Category:Temperate rainforests

Category:Waterfalls of Gwynedd