Rhiwlas, Llandderfel
{{Short description|Grade II registered historic park and garden in Gwynedd, Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Rhiwlas
| native_name =
| native_language =
| image = Y Rhiwlas NLW3363533 (crop).jpg
| image_size = 260
| caption = The 19th-century Rhiwlas Hall (now demolished), photographed by John Thomas {{circa|1885}}
| alt =
| type = House and garden
| locmapin = Wales Gwynedd
| coordinates = {{coord|52.9201|-3.5981|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| location = Bala
| area =
| built =
| restored_by =
| architect = Clough Williams-Ellis
| architecture =
| governing_body = Privately owned
| owner =
| designation1 = Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales
| designation1_offname = Rhiwlas
| designation1_date = 1 February 2022
| designation1_number = PGW(Gd)25(GWY)
| designation2 = Grade II
| designation2_offname = Quadrangular Stable Complex at Rhiwlas, including Y Stablau and Stablau Isa
| designation2_date = 31 January 2001
| designation2_number = 24621
| designation3 = Grade II
| designation3_offname = Game Larder at Rhiwlas
| designation3_date = 31 January 2001
| designation3_number = 24622
| designation4 = Grade II
| designation4_offname = Ice House at Rhiwlas
| designation4_date = 31 January 2001
| designation4_number = 24625
| designation5 = Grade II
| designation5_offname = Gateway and Screen Walls to Rhiwlas
| designation5_date = 31 January 2001
| designation5_number = 24597
}}
Rhiwlas is an estate about {{cvt|1|km|mi|abbr=off}} to the north of the town of Bala, Gwynedd, Wales. It has been in the possession of the Price family for over four centuries. Rhiwlas Hall, a Regency extravaganza, was demolished in the 1950s and replaced by a smaller house designed by Clough Williams-Ellis. Many of the estate buildings remain and are listed structures, and the hall's gardens and landscaped park, landscaped by William Emes, are listed at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
History and architecture
The Price family have owned the Rhiwlas estate since at least the 1540s.{{cite web|url=https://biography.wales/article/s-PRIC-RHI-1475|first=Robert|last=Owen|title=Price family, of Rhiwlas, in the parish of Llanfor, Meirionethshire|publisher=Dictionary of Welsh Biography|access-date=24 February 2023}}{{Cite web|url=https://archives.library.wales/index.php/price-family-of-rhiwlas|title=Price family, of Rhiwlas|publisher=National Library of Wales|access-date=24 February 2023}}{{efn|Richard Haslam, Julian Orbach and Adam Voelcker, in their 2009 volume, Gwynedd, date the founding of the estate to Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd (Sir Rhys ap Meredith), who served as Henry VII's standard-bearer at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 and who subsequently received the Rhiwlas lands from the king.{{sfn|Haslam|Orbach|Voelcker|2009|pp=654–655}}}} Richard John Lloyd Price (1843–1923) was a noted sportsman, who hosted Britain's first sheepdog trials at Rhiwlas in 1873.{{Cite web|url=http://www.heneb.co.uk/hlc/balathemes.html|title=Historic Landscape Characterisation – Bala and Llyn Tegid Historical Themes|publisher=Gwynedd Archaeological Trust|access-date=24 February 2023}} Robin Price, the 15th generation of his family to farm at Rhiwlas, died in 2016. The estate remains privately owned by the Price family.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/rhiwlas-estate-owner-robin-price-11039432|title=Rhiwlas estate owner Robin Price dies aged 69|first=Andrew|last=Forgrave|date=14 March 2016|publisher=North Wales Live|access-date=24 February 2023}}
The 19th-century Rhiwlas Hall was a large building constructed in 1809. RCAHMW describes it as being "three-storeyed and castellated with turrets",{{Coflein|num=28709|desc=Rhiwlas Hall, Bala|access-date=30 September 2021}} while Cadw considers it to have been an "enormous rambling mansion".{{NHAW|uid=155|num=PGW(Gd)25(GWY)|desc=Rhiwlas|class=HPG|access-date=6 February 2023}} The architect is unknown. Thomas Rickman undertook some work on the estate at the time of the reconstruction, including the entrance gate,{{NHAW|num=24597|desc=Gateway and Screen Walls to Rhiwlas|grade=II|access-date=24 February 2023}} but Pevsner does not ascribe the house to him.{{sfn|Haslam|Orbach|Voelcker|2009|pp=654–655}} The hall was demolished in 1954, having suffered both wartime requisition and dry rot. The replacement, designed by Clough Williams-Ellis, is considered by Richard Haslam, Julian Orbach and Adam Voelcker, writing in their 2009 volume Gwynedd in the Pevsner Buildings of Wales series, to be among his best work.{{sfn|Haslam|Orbach|Voelcker|2009|pp=654–655}}
The gardens were designed by William Emes and are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
A number of historic estate buildings survive and are listed, all at Grade II. These include the game larder,{{NHAW|num=24622|desc=Game larder at Rhiwlas|grade=II|access-date=24 February 2023}} the ice house,{{NHAW|num=24625|desc=Ice house at Rhiwlas|grade=II|access-date=24 February 2023}} the castellated stables,{{NHAW|num=24621|desc=Quadrangular Stable Complex at Rhiwlas, including Y Stablau and Stablau Isa|grade=II|access-date=24 February 2023}} and the main gateway and estate walls.
{{Gallery
|File:Prth Rhiwlas.JPG|The gateway to Rhiwlas Hall, designed by Thomas Rickman and erected in 1813
}}
Notes
{{notes}}
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book
|last1=Haslam |first1=Richard |last2=Orbach |first2=Julian |last3=Voelcker |first3=Adam
|title=Gwynedd
|series=The Buildings of Wales
|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1023292902
|year=2009
|publisher=Yale University Press
|location=New Haven and London
|isbn=978-0-300-14169-6
|oclc=1023292902 }}