 Chirk Castle
Looking down menacingly over the surrounding estate, this austere and squat
Welsh border castle has suffered a turbulent history, succumbing to
several changes of ownership and witnessing numerous renovations during
the 700 years of its existence. First built as an imposing defensive
structure for the powerful Marcher lord, Roger Mortimer, at the beginning
of the 14th century, Chirk Castle became the subject of continual
power struggles between the Crown and a succession of controversial
contemporaries for the next three centuries.
When Sir Thomas Myddelton purchased Chirk Castle in 1595, a tenuous stability was established with
the result that descendants of the same family still reside at Chirk Castle
today. As founder of the East India Company, and a benefactor of the
lucrative expeditions by Drake, Raleigh and Hawkins during the 16th
century, Myddelton's wealth enabled him to buy Chirk Castle and gradually transform
it from the formidable fortress to a comfortable country mansion. Although
his own preference was to remain in London, where he became Lord Mayor
in 1613, his son lived at Chirk Castle with his wife and family. Sustaining
severe damage from a parliamentary force in 1659, the house underwent
a programme of major building work, very much in the style of Captain
William Winde, followed by a more elaborate and costly transformation
just 100 years later by Joseph Turner.
During the Victorian period, a great deal of Gothic work was introduced at Chirk Castle, much of it attributed
to A W Pugin and J G Grace who were working together at the time on
the Houses of Parliament. Almost no trace of this remodelling work survives,
with the exception of some of the medieval features created by Pugin
still evident in the Cromwell Hall, as a result of Lieutenant Colonel
Ririd Myddelton's restoration work in the 1950s. He decided to bring
his ancestral home back to the graceful and restrained lines of the
18th century neo-classical look.
Unsurprisingly for a family home spanning several centuries, Chirk Castle contains a revered collection
of paintings, period furniture, and a miscellany of personal items. Boasting
a magnificently painted ceiling, depicting scenes from Greek mythology,
the saloon is hung with four beautiful Mortlake tapestries, and a fabulous
long gallery displays many items that were part of the original furnishings
when the room was completed in 1678.
From the courtyard there is access to the servants' hall, a room built in the early 16th
century as a dining hall but during the 1760s was converted for use by
the domestic staff. The distinct smell of old wood and fire smoke lends
an authentic musty atmosphere to the gloomy, low-ceilinged hall that would
often seat up to forty servants at meal times.
The formal gardens and pleasure grounds at Chirk Castle are very impressive, and any time spent exploring these
areas will be well rewarded. Secreted between various shrubberies, rock
gardens and wild flower patches, are an assortment of odd little buildings
and features. A huge statue of Hercules, that once formed part of a pair
standing at the front entrance to Chirk Castle, has been re-erected on the
high ground in front of the woodland where he can still watch over the
comings and goings on the Chirk estate. |
