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27 April, 2008

This could be yours at £1.5m

Aug 4 2005 Exclusive By Hywel Trewyn, Daily Post

ONE of Wales' finest historic buildings which has fallen into disrepair was yesterday up for auction with a price tag of £1.5m.

The Grade l listed Gwrych Castle near Abergele was built in 1819 on the site of an ancient house by Lord Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh, grandfather of Winifred, Countess of Dundonald.

It was a blueprint for most of the mock castles along the North Wales coast, but is now recognised as the most important building at risk in Wales.

Its current owner - American property developer Nick Tavaglione - bought it in 1989..

But his plans to restore it as a five-star hotel and opera house never materialised.

Uninhabited, it was a sitting target for vandals who smashed the stained glass windows and heavy wooden front door and wrote graffiti all over the walls.

It was also a magnet for thieves who removed fireplaces, windows, chandeliers and carved oak panelling as well as parts of its magnificent 52-stepped marble staircase.

As well as the castle, Gwrych is being sold with 300 acres of woodland - however most of the site has preservation orders covering its woodland.

Secretary of the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust Mark Baker welcomed the news.

Mark, studying history and architecture at the University of Wales, Bangor, set up a society for the Friends of Gwrych when he was only 12 and has always loved the castle.

He said: "Hopefully a change of ownership will save the castle. The problem is the condition of the building. It is completely derelict. Is it worth £1.5m? It would take about £4-5m to restore before furnishing."

He added that the building is in a very dangerous condition with some parts having collapsed.

Estate agent Chris Dibb of Beresford Adams, Llandudno, said it will go under the hammer at the New Connaught Rooms, London on December 14.

The castle is in the top 4% of historic buildings in the UK
 

Castle to go under the hammer

Aug 11 2005 By Justine Bailey, North Wales Weekly News
 
AN American businessman who for the past 16 years has shown no interest in the historic castle he owns, has finally had a change of heart.

Last week news broke that Nick Tavaglione, who bought Gwrych Castle in Abergele in 1989 has put it up for auction with a whopping £1.5 million price tag.

The historic landmark will now go under the hammer at the New Connaught Rooms, London, on December 14.

The news has been welcomed by 20-year-old student Mark Baker, secretary of the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, who has campaigned to save the building since the age of 12. "It is something we have prepared for, but I admit I was a bit taken aback when I first heard the news," he said.

"Although there is a lot of land around it, 260 acres are leased long-term to the Forestry Commission and the land around the castle itself is partly within Sites of Special Scientific Interest, so a buyer would not be able to do much to the grounds. Also, because the castle is a Grade I listed building, there has to be a boundary between it and any new building."

Last week's news came only days after the results of a feasibility study revealed years of neglect and vandalism on the castle are less severe than originally thought.

It had been thought the study would discover the only way of preserving the monument would be as a "controlled ruin", but in fact the outcome means it would be possible to rebuild it.

In recent months Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust has been trying to persuade Conwy County Council to enforce a Compulsory Purchase Order.

It may be possible that Mr Tavaglione got wind of the plans, prompting him to put the castle up for sale.

If he were to get the asking price at auction he would make £750,000 profit on his purchase, with his original intention being to turn it into an opera house.