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Bryntysilio Hall

Houses in DenbighshireRegistered historic parks and gardens in Denbighshire
Bryntisilio Hall
Bryntisilio Hall

Bryntysilio Hall is a country house in Llantysilio, Denbighshire, north Wales, two miles west of Llangollen. It was the summer residence of Sir Theodore Martin, the author of Life of The Prince Consort, the official biography of Prince Albert, and of his wife, Shakespearean actress Lady Martin (Helena Faucit). Sir Theodore wrote most of the book whilst at Bryntysilio, which was their summer residence. He was knighted for his work and became a close friend of Queen Victoria. It was written 1874-1880. On 26 August 1889 (the late Prince Albert's birthday), during Victoria's visit to North Wales, she visited Bryntysilio Hall and took tea there. Sir Theodore showed the queen the writing desk where most of the work was written. Lady Martin died at Bryntysilio Hall on 31 October 1898. She is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London. A memorial tablet is in Llantysilio Church. Sir Theodore died at Byntysilio Hall on 18 August 1909, and his coffin was taken by train to London for burial. The Llangollen Advertiser of 27 August 1909 reported "For two miles along the banks of the Dee the road was lined with sympathisers, and blinds were drawn at all residences along the route" Originally a small cottage called Braich y Gwynt, it was purchased in 1865 and was greatly enlarged, the work being completed in 1870. Occupied by the military in World War II the house was afterwards restored, but much reduced in size by Sydney Aston before being later sold to Walsall Schools Holiday Camp Trust as an outdoor education centre.Bryntysilio Outdoor Education Centre currently proves quality outdoor & adventure education for schools across the UK.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Bryntysilio Hall (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

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Latitude Longitude
N 52.982 ° E -3.1975 °
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Bryntysilio Outdoor Centre


LL20 8BS , Llangollen
Wales, United Kingdom
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Bryntisilio Hall
Bryntisilio Hall
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St Tysilio's Church, Llantysilio
St Tysilio's Church, Llantysilio

Llantysilio Church is a parish church in Llantysilio, near Llangollen, Denbighshire, North Wales.It sits on uprising land from the banks of the river Dee close to the local beauty spot of the Horseshoe Falls and source of water for the Llangollen canal. The canal is a World Heritage Site and it starts here and continues eleven miles to Chirk (and include the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct). It is dedicated to St Tysilio who lived in the 7th century.It was built in the 15th century and then restored and modified by the German-born Charles Beyer, one of the prominent engineers of the Victorian era, and noted philanthropist, who died in 1876 whilst at residence at nearby Llantysilio Hall, only months after moving into his new mansion house, which he had just built and fitted out. He was buried in the church yard in the grounds of his 700-acre Llantysilio Hall estate. His gravestone of Aberdeen granite weighs over 2 tonnes. His will augmented the salary of the, then vicar of Llantysilio, H Humphrey for the rest of his life. He also left his Llantysilio Hall estate to his godson Sir Henry Beyer Robertson, who became owner of Brymbo Steelworks and a director of the Great Western Railway. The church features a medieval carved wooden lectern of a black crow or (raven). The graveyard also holds the tomb of Thomas Jones of Llantysilio Hall. He left no will and this led to two grave robbing incidents looking for the will. The second attempt was thwarted by the church warden who summoned the police.

Llantysilio Hall
Llantysilio Hall

Llantysilio Hall is a Grade II* listed country house in Llantysilio, near Llangollen in Denbighshire. It is on the bank of the River Dee and adjacent to the historic Horseshoe Falls, the source of the Llangollen Canal (the eleven miles of the canal to Chirk is a World Heritage site). The estate was purchased by the Victorian locomotive designer and builder Charles Beyer in 1867. He was co-founder of Beyer, Peacock & Company, one of the world's leading locomotive manufacturers. Beyer, a bachelor, built the 25-bedroom mansion house, soon after his business partner, Henry Robertson, rebuilt nearby Palé Hall, Llandderfel. Samuel Pountney Smith of Shrewsbury was the architect. The hall was lavishly decorated. For example, the larger, south-facing, drawing room has a Carrara marble chimneypiece with giallo antico columns and three cameos in the frieze, of Queen Victoria, Robertson's wife (formerly Elizabeth Dean of Brymbo Hall, who met Queen Victoria at Palé Hall when her son – and Beyer's godson – Henry Beyer Robertson played host and was subsequently knighted), and Shakespearean actress Helena Faucit (Beyer's nearest neighbour, at Bryntysilio Hall, with her husband Sir Theodore Martin, author of the official biography of Prince Albert, Life of the Prince Consort). The smaller room has a similar chimneypiece depicting William I, German Emperor, Otto von Bismarck, and Helmuth von Moltke the Elder. These pieces were probably made c. 1874, some three years after the start of the German Empire. Charles Beyer died at Llantysilio Hall on 2 June 1876. He was buried at Llantysilio Church, in the grounds of his estate. Henry Robertson was the head engineer of the Llangollen and Corwen Railway and he also owned and rebuilt the Chainbridge hotel and rebuilt the historic chain bridge, which is a short distance down the river bank. Rob old hall was demolished in 1875. When Beyer died the estate was bequeathed to his godson Sir Henry Beyer Robertson (Henry Robertson's son). Sir Henry Robertson became head of Brymbo Steelworks, responsible for its rescue in the 1930s and the development of the new blast furnaces. He was also a director of the Great Western Railway.