[ad_1]
A vast architectural gem, often nicknamed “the Welsh Versailles”, is crumbling into ruin, despite its Grade-I heritage status and several unique claims to fame, much to the distress of the building’s many fans.
Now the sad state of Kinmel Hall, a mansion near Rhyl in Conwy and the largest surviving country house in Wales, has prompted the launch of a campaign to shame its owners, a property company based in the British Virgin Islands, into either explaining their intentions, fully restoring it or selling it on.
But to begin with the “Kinmel Resurrection” campaign is targeting Conwy Council and the Welsh government, who members believe both have a duty to help to preserve the mansion, now neglected for a decade. Originally built in 1876 by a rich copper mining family named Hughes, Kinmel Hall has been on the Victorian Society’s annual list of top 10 endangered buildings.
It has been owned for 10 years by Acer Properties Ltd BVI. During this time, campaigners argue, little maintenance work has been carried out and many of the most striking features of the grand mansion, constructed in the glamorous chateau style fashionable in the late 19th century, are now disintegrating or have been damaged by leaks.
It was designed by William Eden Nesfield and the layout of its unusual 18 acres of walled gardens was drawn up by his father, William Andrews Nesfield, and his brother Arthur Markham Nesfield, the man behind much of the design of Regent’s Park.
“We would really like to know what the owner’s plan is and what the point of owning it is? When do they intend to do something?,” said Rosie Burton of The Friends of Kinmel Hall. Burton, who is also chair of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation in Wales, added that just leaving gutters blocked can have a serious effect. “A building of this importance cannot be left to rot.”
With 12 entrances and 365 windows, the hall is a spectacular example of what is known as a “calendar house” and as such is not easy to maintain. Aside from clever mechanical innovations that once powered both a lift and a fountain, the fittings were also thought remarkable in their day because of an ornate oak fireplace in the library, damaged during a break-in eight years ago.
It was believed to have been presented to the Hughes family by Queen Victoria. Kinmel Hall remained a residential seat for the Hugheses and their wider relatives until 1929. It then went on to become a boys’ school, a health spa for the treatment of rheumatism, a military hospital, and then, after the second world war, a girls’ school until a fire forced its closure.
The wider estate surrounding the hall has been owned by the same family, the Fetherstonhaughs, since 1786. They sold on the freehold to the house in 2001, since when it has passed through several owners before being bought in 2011 for £1.45m by the present owners, who have not made their intentions for the site known.
The Friends organisation is now working together with The North Wales Development Trust to find a solution.
Conwy Council has placed an injunction to prevent “unauthorised” work on the site and is exploring further action. Earlier this month a council spokesman said: “Due to the lack of any recent progress, we’re exploring other enforcement options to seek further repairs. We aren’t currently considering powers that might result in compulsory purchase. The building remains a high priority concern.”
The owners’ solicitor was contacted for comment but did not respond.
[ad_2]
READ SOURCE
