Geograph - photograph every grid square

Bodelwyddan Castle (Welsh: Castell Bodelwyddan) is a Grade II* Listed Building (Cadw reference 1383 Link Coflein). It was built around 1460 by the Humphreys family of Anglesey as a manor house. The castle which stands today was reconstructed between 1830 and 1832 by Sir John Hay Williams, who employed the architects Joseph Hansom (inventor of the Hansom cab) and Edward Welch to refurbish and extend the house, turning it into a castellated mansion with a long, limestone estate wall and formal gardens. During the First World War, the house was used as a recuperation hospital for wounded soldiers and the grounds were used by soldiers based at the nearby Kinmel Camp as a practice ground for trench warfare.

Between 1920 and 1982, the castle was used by Lowther College, a public school for girls. It was then purchased by Clwd County Council and is now a museum. Part of the site was leased to the Rank Organisation in 1994 for development into a luxury hotel, Bodelwyddan Castle Hotel which is now run by Warners. The historic house and grounds are not part of the hotel but are managed by Bodelwyddan Castle Trust, an independent registered charity and are open to the public.

See other images of Bodelwyddan Castle