The History of Gwydir Castle.
Gwydir Castle is situated in the beautiful Vale of Conwy in the foothills of Snowdonia. Regarded as one of the finest Tudor houses in Wales, the castle was the ancestral home of the powerful Wynn baronets, descended from the Kings and Princes of Gwynedd and one of the most significant families in Wales during the Tudor and Stuart periods.

The first castle was built by Howell Coetmore, who fought under the Black Prince as commander of longbowmen at the battle of Poitiers in 1356. Following the Wars of the Roses the castle was rebuilt in around 1490 by Meredith, founder of the Wynn dynasty and a leading supporter of King Henry VII. Originally a fortified house, Gwydir acquired additions in the 1540's (incorporating reused gothic building material from nearby Maenan Abbey), and was given a fine Elizabethan porch and gardens in the 1590's. Further additions were made in 1828 to designs by Sir Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament.

In the 1570's Gwydir was the home of Katherine of Berain, cousin of Queen Elizabeth I and the castle has associations with the Babington Plot (1586) and the Gunpowder Plot (1605). Other historical figures linked with the castle include Lord Leicester (Queen Elizabeth's favourite) Inigo Jones, 'the Father of English Palladianism', Bishop Morgan, translator of the first Welsh Bible and Archbishop John Williams, Lord Keeper under Charles I.

There is a long tradition of entertaining royalty at Gwydir. King Charles I is said to have visited in September 1645 as guest of Sir Richard Wynn, Treasurer to Queen Henrietta-Maria and Chief Groom of the Royal Bedchamber. In 1899 King George V and Queen Mary stayed here as Duke and Duchess of York. More recently, in July 1998, HRH The Prince of Wales opened the newly reinstated 1640's Dining Room, the fine panelling and carving of which was dramatically recovered from the Metropolitan Museum in New York in 1996.

Hall of Meredith c. 1490

Famous for its peacocks, the castle is also known for its many ghosts and has the reputation for being one of the most haunted houses in Wales.

The Dining Room in 1896