Gyrn Castle is a Grade II-listed

castellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

mansion in

Llanasa Llanasa is a village and community in the county of Flintshire, north-east Wales. Llanasa is described as one of the ancient parishes of Flintshire. It originally comprised the townships of Gronant, Gwespyr, Kelston, Golden Grove, Picton, Tr ...

in Flintshire.

History

It was built between 1817 and 1824 by John Douglas, who incorporated parts of a previous house on the Gyrn estate, dating to the late 17th century, on a site overlooking the Dee estuary. The estate of Gyrn belonged in the early 17th century to the Mostyns of

Cilcain Cilcain is a village and community, near Mold in Flintshire, north-east Wales. The village has an industrial history and includes the Millennium Woods, a post office, a public house, a parish church, a primary school (Ysgol y Foel) and a village ...

. In 1749 ownership passed to the Reverend Samuel Edwards of Pentre Hall by his marriage to Charlotte Mostyn. The estate was sold in 1750, and passed by inheritance through three owners until its sale in 1817 to John Douglas, a cotton manufacturer. Douglas remodelled the house in 1817–24, probably by adding a third storey, expanding the floorplan with the addition of the projecting dining room at the north end and a picture gallery and tower at the south end. The Douglas family sold Gyrn in 1853 to

Edward Bates Edward Bates (September 4, 1793 – March 25, 1869) was a lawyer and politician. He represented Missouri in the US House of Representatives and served as the U.S. Attorney General under President Abraham Lincoln. A member of the influentia ...

of Hampshire, a ship owner and politician. He did little to alter the house, but did add numerous outbuildings. The mansion was listed on 17 February 1983 "as a C19 country house notable for its castellated style typical of the C19 Picturesque movement, the result of remodelling an earlier house on the site". Gyrn Castle remains in the ownership of the Bates family. The grounds now include two fishing lakes and facilities for shooting game. The house itself is hired out for wedding receptions and filming.

The grounds

Gyrn Castle was listed by

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...

principally because of the grounds, described as a "Nineteenth-century picturesque layout centred on a series of lakes with a circuit walk". There are five lakes, made from the widening of the Afon-y-garth stream during Douglas' re-modelling of the house. Four smaller lakes flank a central lake with two islands. The area surrounding the lakes is wooded, mainly with

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

and

horse chestnut The genus ''Aesculus'' ( or ), with species called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species ...

, and the banks are planted with

rhododendrons ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nativ ...

. The circuit walk is an unpaved path through the woods.

References

{{coord, 53, 19, 22, N, 3, 19, 48, W, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Flintshire Houses completed in 1824 Grade II listed buildings in Flintshire Grade II listed houses