1. The History
Set in its two-and-a-half acre grounds, Bontddu Hall is situated in Snowdonia National Park, five miles along the Afon Mawddach from Barmouth, overlooking the Irish Sea. The 20-bedroom mansion was built in 1873 for a wealthy English family. Formally known as Bryn Tirion, it was used as the country residence of the Mayor of Birmingham. It later passed into the ownership of the Hall family who ran it as a hotel that, over the years, attracted a number of famous guests, including prime-ministers Sir Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain and actors Richard Burton in 1949 during the filming of “The Last Days of Dolwyn” and Sean Connery whostayed here during the filming of “First Knight”.
A couple of archive shots of the hall in its heyday:
The Hall was bought by London-based businessman, Tong Yung-soo in 2001 and continued to operate a luxury hotel until 2004 when the new owner cited staffing difficulties as a reason for closing the hotel. He then announced that they would use the hotel as their private residence. Since then, restoration work had been on-going but unfortunately the property suffered a serious fire on the 5th June 2020, that tragically resulted in the death of the owner's wife.
The hall was then offered to the market for sale at a price tag of just under a million pounds, predominantly for redevelopment of the existing hall, or for an incoming buyer to develop as required, subject to relevant planning permissions and consents from the local authority.
2. The Visit
Last minute bit of intel about this place led me to visit here as I was in the area. Pretty prominent in terms of the main road and relatively easy to get into. It’s a sad sight as the old bit with the tower was no more than a shell. Beyond that, not a lot to say, so on with the pictures!
3. The Pictures
Front gate:
View from the road:
Through the gardens:
And we’re in!
Ground floor level of the tower:
This is where the heart of the fire was:
And it’s not looking good:
On to the bit that didn’t get totally destroyed by the fire:
Stacked up old TVs from the guest bedrooms:
This was the best bit. The Hotel’s former bar area:
Including this chap:
This lovely walking stick stand and mirror also survived the blaze:
This was the former dining room, off the bar, that looks like it was undergoing restoration at the time of the fire:
And some nice old wooden paneling:
Take a pew:
Set in its two-and-a-half acre grounds, Bontddu Hall is situated in Snowdonia National Park, five miles along the Afon Mawddach from Barmouth, overlooking the Irish Sea. The 20-bedroom mansion was built in 1873 for a wealthy English family. Formally known as Bryn Tirion, it was used as the country residence of the Mayor of Birmingham. It later passed into the ownership of the Hall family who ran it as a hotel that, over the years, attracted a number of famous guests, including prime-ministers Sir Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain and actors Richard Burton in 1949 during the filming of “The Last Days of Dolwyn” and Sean Connery whostayed here during the filming of “First Knight”.
A couple of archive shots of the hall in its heyday:
The Hall was bought by London-based businessman, Tong Yung-soo in 2001 and continued to operate a luxury hotel until 2004 when the new owner cited staffing difficulties as a reason for closing the hotel. He then announced that they would use the hotel as their private residence. Since then, restoration work had been on-going but unfortunately the property suffered a serious fire on the 5th June 2020, that tragically resulted in the death of the owner's wife.
The hall was then offered to the market for sale at a price tag of just under a million pounds, predominantly for redevelopment of the existing hall, or for an incoming buyer to develop as required, subject to relevant planning permissions and consents from the local authority.
2. The Visit
Last minute bit of intel about this place led me to visit here as I was in the area. Pretty prominent in terms of the main road and relatively easy to get into. It’s a sad sight as the old bit with the tower was no more than a shell. Beyond that, not a lot to say, so on with the pictures!
3. The Pictures
Front gate:
View from the road:
Through the gardens:
And we’re in!
Ground floor level of the tower:
This is where the heart of the fire was:
And it’s not looking good:
On to the bit that didn’t get totally destroyed by the fire:
Stacked up old TVs from the guest bedrooms:
This was the best bit. The Hotel’s former bar area:
Including this chap:
This lovely walking stick stand and mirror also survived the blaze:
This was the former dining room, off the bar, that looks like it was undergoing restoration at the time of the fire:
And some nice old wooden paneling:
Take a pew:
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