Penrhyn Castle, Medieval castle in Llandygai, Wales
Penrhyn Castle is a Romanesque Revival castle in Llandygai, Wales, featuring an elevated fortified tower and detailed stonework throughout. Rooms inside display art collections and historical objects that reflect the building's past and purpose.
The present structure was designed by Thomas Hopper in 1820, replacing an earlier fortress that stood on the site. Its construction was funded by wealth generated from Jamaican sugar plantations and Welsh slate quarries.
The castle displays paintings showing enslaved people working on Jamaican sugar plantations, commissioned by Baron Richard Pennant during the 1800s. These works reveal the building's ties to colonial trade and the wealth that built this place.
The National Trust manages the site, offering guided tours through rooms, gardens, and a railway museum displaying old locomotives. Visit during warmer months when gardens look their best and more areas of the building are open to visitors.
The castle tower features an Italian inscription 'essere amato amando' connected to a romance between the Baron's daughter and an Italian gardener. This hidden message tells a personal love story carved into the building's stonework.
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