Gwaenynog

The Myddelton family (variously Myddleton and Middleton) claimed lineal descendant from Rhirid Flaidd (c.1160-1207), himself descended from of the kings of both Gwynedd and Powys.[1] From the reign of Edward IV, when David Myddelton served as Receiver for North Wales, the family established themselves as landowners and politicians, serving as governors of Denbigh Castle and as members of parliament for Denbighshire and Denbigh Boroughs.[2] During this period, Gwaenynog was the family's main home in North Wales, but was superseded in around 1590, when Thomas Myddleton (1550-1631), Lord Mayor of London, bought Chirk Castle as his principal seat.[2] Gwaenynog passed to a cadet branch of the family, and declined in importance.

In the 18th century, when home to Colonel John Myddleton, the estate was embellished with a Neoclassical monument erected to commemorate a visit to Gwaenynog by Hester Thrale and her friend, Samuel Johnson. While Johnson appeared to enjoy Myddleton's company, remarking that he was "the only man who in Wales has talked to me of literature",[3] he was less impressed by the monument itself suggesting, "it looks like an intention to bury me alive".[4]

In the late 19th century, the Gwaenynog estate was bought by Oliver Burton (son of James Burton), on whose death it passed to his younger brother Fred Burton, whose wife Harriet was Beatrix Potter's aunt. Potter spent many holidays at Gwaenynog and its gardens, particularly the walled kitchen garden, provided inspiration for her story, The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, published in 1909. Potter undertook many drawings of the gardens which formed the basis of her illustrations for the book.[5][lower-alpha 1] Mr Macgregor's potting shed still stands and is itself a Grade II listed structure, along with the kitchen garden walls.[6]

Gwaenynog remains the private home of the Burton family although the gardens generally open in the summer.[7]

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales describes Gwaenynog as a "rambling 19th century mansion", its Tudor elements concealed under later renovations and enlargements.[8][lower-alpha 2] Cadw notes the house's "complex and irregular plan."[9] Of two main storeys, the house was greatly altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. Edward Hubbard, in his Clwyd volume of the The Buildings of Wales series, suggests that the 18th century styles retain greater presence in the interior, while the exterior is largely encased in a Tudor Gothic makeover of the 1870s.[4] The house is listed at Grade II*.[9] The gardens are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales,[10] and the walled kitchen garden,[6] and the column commemorating Dr Johnson's visit have their own Grade II listings.[11]

• Hubbard, Edward (2003) [1986]. Clwyd. The Buildings of Wales. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09627-5.