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Bodelwyddan is set in 260 acres of parkland. As well as being a historic house/castle and museum, it is a partner of the National Portrait Gallery, it also has large areas of formal gardens, a woodland, adventure playground, garden maze, Victorian games room, as well as an area of Practice Trenches from the First World War.
The Castle The history of the house and estate extends back from before 1460, originally built by the Humphrey's family of Anglesey as a manor house. It was extended and built over a 200 year period by the Williams family when it was purchased in 1680 by Sir William Williams, who was then speaker in the House of Commons. Although the house seen today was reconstructed between 1830-1852 by Sir John Hay Williams. The Williams family made their fortune from lead mining until the 1850's when this income source dried up. By the First World War the estate had reduced in size and the house became a recuperation hospital for wounded soldiers, and during this time the estate was used by soldiers from the nearby Kinmel Camp (see below). In 1920 it became a private school for girls being leased by the Lowther College, and it was purchased by them in 1925. It is thought to have been one of the first private school for girls to have it's own swimming pool, it also had a private golf course. Boys were admitted from 1977 and the college remained here until 1982 when it had to close for financial reasons. It was then purchased by the local county council, then Clwyd County Council who developed it as a museum, gallery and visitor attraction. Partnerships were formed with the National Portrait Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts to enable the display of many important national treasures at the Castle. To house these collections, the interior was sympathetically restored to its Victorian splendour. Its collections include portraits from the 19th Century, furniture from the V&A Museum and sculptures from the Royal Academy of Arts. As well as the displays on loan from it's partnerships it also houses artefacts from the history of the house and estate including photographers of it's time as Lowther College. With parts of the house dating from the 15th century then there are bound to be stories of ghostly goings on and a number have been reported over the past few years including, a lady in the sculpture gallery, shadowy figures drifting down corridors, a blue lady in the team room and unexplained noises and lights. It was used as a location for an episode of 'Most Haunted' which was screen on Living TV. Today part of it is leased to the Rank Organisation for it's first Warners Holiday hotels, while the Williams Hall remains the museum of the national collections and this is under the control of a charitable trust. The Parkland and Gardens The castle is set within 260 acres of parkland and this is made up of woodland walks, historical sites, nature trails, and the formal gardens, all of which is open for the public to visit. The formal gardens, originally designed by Thomas Mawson in 1910 includes a small lake, colonnades, mulberry trees, an aviary and the Williams Obelisk and off this is the Garden Maze, with quizzes and interactive displays for the children. From the gardens you can access:-
The Practice Trenches Within the parkland are some practice trenches used during the First World War. The local training camp for the area was Kinmel Park Camp, which is located not too far from the Castle, it operated for many years but is remembered by many as the camp where the infamous riots took place after the First World War. Training was an important activity during this time and it helped to prepare newly recruited soldiers, many of whom had never considered the intricacies of 'modern' warfare. Note: It is possible to take photos of the castle building from the car park area. From some points within the grounds you are also supposed to be able to see nearby Rhuddlan Castle and St Asaphs Cathedral.
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