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Last updated
05 September, 2008

On these pages you can have the chance to read peoples memories of Gwrych and what it means to them. If you have any memories of Gwrych you’d like to share please E-mail them to us. We are also interested in pictures of the interior of Gwrych from the 50’s through to the 80’s. If you have any you’d like to share with us, please scan them and E-mail them to us.

These are the thoughts of the individuals concerned
which may not reflect the views of the Trust

The McCready Family from Cheshire write:
We used to visit Gwrych Towers Campsite regularly and visited the Castle as part of our main annual holiday all through the sixties and seventies.
The Little boy in red looking up at the Castle (on the left of the postcard on the right) reminds them of a young Mark Baker, who looked at Gwrych Castle in awe of it's magnificence.
Mrs McCready calls this shot “young Mark Baker - studying Gwrych Castle”.
From this, Mrs. McCready believes Mark's belief in the building and the unbelievable deterioration, has spurred Mark to work with determination and consistency - which also led to his work in forming the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust.
The McCready family look forward to working with the Trust and would like to thank Miss. Dutton for her continuity with the Gwrych Towers Campsite.
The postcard depicts Market Street, Abergele and the time is encapsulated in our memories as a period of great importance during these years of raising the family, dreaming of visits to Gwrych Castle and the quaintness of Abergele remains with us.

Margaret from Liverpool writes
I first fell in love with Gwrych Castle three years ago (2000), I was on holiday in Towyn, travelling on the No 12 bus to Llandudno, and saw what looked like a Castle in the trees, I was curious, so the next day I paid a visit, I couldn’t believe what I saw.
As I walked along the pathway towards the Castle what I saw for the first time, a beautiful looking building. I stood in front of it I couldn’t move, it was breathtaking. After I managed to move my legs, I went to look around, I felt so tiny against the huge tall walls of this beautiful castle. After seeing what I could I sat on the grass in front and just looked. I didn’t want to leave it. Even through vandalism, fire and weather it still has a beauty of it’s own.
My best memory so far has been my latest visit to Gwrych Castle in August this year. Unfortunately we missed the presentation at Abergele Library but did purchase Mark Baker’s latest book “The Rise and Fall of Gwrych Castle”. After reading the book, Colin my husband turned into a tour guide for me. Book in hand we walked the route described, with Colin explaining to me the different parts of the Castle. After learning all about the Castle I wanted to find the marble staircase, I found it. After seeing the picture of it with its red carpet in the book looking so beautiful and regal I felt sad looking at it the way it is now.

Kevin from Southampton writes:
My own recollections of Gwrych are many. In summary:
It was during that hot summer of 75 that I first became enchanted by Gwrych. it was an impressionable teenager that got recruited to the Knights of Gwrych that year, to perform jousts and fights for visitors in the grounds of the Castle. I suppose, looking back now, there was a kind of romance to the place which somehow got into your blood and left you smitten by its grace and elegance. The main entrance was wood-panelled, warm and rich, its stain glassed windows and gothic arches envied an almost religious feel, like you were entering somewhere hallowed. At the end of the hail, set back around the corner one found the famous marble staircase, descending up towards a church-like stained glass window.

Returning back to Gwrych in 2003 for the first time in almost 28 years, I stood amongst the rubble that once was that magnificent marble stairway and shook with horror and disbelieve at what I was seeing. I saw Mark Baker a few days after that, and he asked me if I had seen the stairway, and I lied and said no, that it had seen only a back stairway that I had somehow forgotten about so difficult was it to come to terms with the present ruinous condition of a once majestic building. I felt angry and could not understand how anyone could have allowed Gwrych to deteriorate so badly, I remember those days of that long hot summer of 75 at Gwrych, and the good and the greatness of its domain that allowed me to fall in love with a building.

Good luck with everything you do for Gwrych. I know that, like myself, you people also care greatly about its welfare.

Tim from Glossop writes:
Whenever possible my wife and I love to travel to North Wales and it was during our honeymoon in Betws-y-Coed (1996) that my fascination with castles began. My interest in this beautiful castle is still very strong and I constantly check for any good news on your website.
The first time I actually managed to get close to the castle was last August. I was left so deeply saddened that this could have been allowed to happen to such a magnificent building.

Julianna from Australia writes:
I live in Victoria, Australia and have a love for all castles. I don't know what it is that draw's me to them, but I think it is because they have so much history behind them. Maybe it's just the romantic and mysterious aura that surrounds them. I'm a Geological Engineer, so perhaps it's the rocks they're made from or the fact that they are still standing after all these years.
Julianna collects all things castle, a rare Gwrych photo was amongst her collection - she has kindly donated a copy for Mark Baker's site on the history of Gwrych www.gwrych.co.uk.