They’re the Downton Abbeys of Wales – the country homes where the gentry lived a life of pampered luxury while beyond the grand estates much of Edwardian Britain survived in six-to-a-room squalor. Now a new book tells the story of the Welsh Downtons, the families who lived in them and the servants they depended on. Darren Devine reports.

When the last ox to plough the field at Edwinsford died the animal’s hoof was preserved by the Williams-Drummond family that occupied the grand Carmarthenshire estate.

The hoof was to become a symbol of rural decline as industrialisation eroded a way of life that had survived for centuries and saw the servants that underpinned the Welsh gentry head for the cities.

Now a new book tells the story of Wales’ country homes from their peak of around 800 properties dotted around the length and breadth of the country to modern day decline when only about 200 survive.

Y Plas: The Story Of The Welsh Country House tells how the properties were thriving in Edwardian Britain at a time when the country was “one of the most unequal societies in early twentieth century Europe”.

Gallery: Take a look and step inside some of the Welsh Downton Abbeys

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It was an age when the 1909 census gave examples of six people per room, and an average of ten people per house – overcrowding that was an alien concept to those at the top of the social scale.

The Welsh Country house was the perfect microcosm of this rigidly divided nation, with the masters and mistresses of the grand country pile sitting at the top bedecked in the opulence of their sweeping estates.

But co-author of the book Mark Baker, who believes ITV’s Downton Abbey is broadly accurate in its portrayal of early 20th century country house life, says the homes were a unifying force and the loss of so many is a “scandal”.

Conservationist Mr Baker, who wrote the book with TV producers Dewi Gregory and Sian Price, said: “There was a bond between family and their staff. It’s something that has really been forgotten during the 20th century – how these estates were centres of life for much of Wales.

“Not only for the cultural and social aspects, but also the economic. They were major employers and a lot of these great houses used to be tourist destinations. “You’d have visitors coming to see them and there are some great travel itineraries from the 19th century about which houses to go to and what to see on the route.”

 

Of the 200 or so functioning homes that survive Mr Baker said the most impressive examples are Mostyn Hall, in Flintshire, Nantclwyd Hall, in Denbighshire, and Bodorgan Hall, on Anglesey.

Mostyn Hall is in the hands of the Mostyn family, who own much of Llandudno.

The Grade I listed hall has been home to the family since 1660, and was re-modelled in the mid-19th century in a Jacobean style inspired by an earlier building.

Nantclwyd Hall, in Llanelidan, dates from the mid-18th century and is owned by Sir Philip Naylor-Leyland, having been in his family for generations.

The visionary Welsh architect behind the Itialianate village of Portmeirion, Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, left his unique mark on the grade II* listed home after being brought in by the Naylor-Leyland family.

His creations include a fibreglass temple, a clock tower, gazebos, a ceremonial arch, a dovecote and formal gardens.

Completed in 1782 the neo-classical Bodorgan Hall, which is grade II listed, is home to Sir George and Lady Jean Meyrick. The whitewashed Anglesey cottage the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stayed in during their three-year stint on the island forms part of the family estate.

Alongside Wales’ 200 or so thriving country homes there are between 50 and 100 in varying states of dilapidation.

Research suggests since the start of the 20th century around 200 country homes have been lost in Wales.

Surviving under-threat gems include Ruperra Castle, in Caerphilly, and Kinmel Hall and Gwrych Castle, both in Conwy.

Mr Baker, 28, added: “It’s pretty scandalous that very little has been done to prevent these losses.”

Dubbed the Welsh Versailles grade I listed Kinmel Hall is set in 18 acres of walled gardens and was put up for auction for £1.5m last year.

The Victorian home was bought by owners whose intentions were said to be to redevelop it as a hotel.

Known as the “showplace of Wales” Gwrych has lain crumbling and unloved, but owners Castell Developments have a £20m grand plan to turn it into a five-star hotel.

Grade II-listed ruin Ruperra was damaged by fire during World War II and estimates have suggested it would cost up to £30m to restore.

Y Plas: The Story Of The Welsh Country House also recounts the S4C reality series of the same name that this year saw 18 people living the roles of masters and servants in a Welsh country house.

The book is available throughout Wales and from publishers truthdepartment.com priced £20.