View source for Vaynol

{{Short description|Country estate in Gwynedd, Wales}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
[[File:Plas_y_Faenol,_Pentir_(Caern)_NLW3361483.jpg|thumb|Vaynol Hall, c.1875|alt=]]
'''Vaynol''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|v|eɪ|n|ɒ|l}} or '''''Y Faenol''''' ([[Welsh language|Welsh]] {{IPA|cy|ə ˈveɨnɔl|}}) is a country [[estate (house)|estate]] dating from the [[Tudor period]] near [[Y Felinheli]] in [[Gwynedd]], [[North Wales]] ({{gbmapping|SH536695}}). It has {{convert|1000|acre|km2}} of park, farmland, and gardens, with more than thirty [[listed buildings]], surrounded by a wall which is {{convert|7|mi|km}} long.  "''Y Faenol''" means "the [[Manorialism|manor]]" and is a [[lenition|mutated]] form of the Welsh word ''maenol''.

The buildings on the estate include two [[Grade I listed]] halls: Faenol Old Hall, much of which dates from the Williams' period of ownership, and Vaynol Hall, built in 1793 and extended during the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-4166-vaynol-old-hall-pentir| title= Vaynol Old Hall, Pentir| publisher= British Listed Buildings|access-date= 25 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-4173-vaynol-hall-pentir| title=Vaynol Hall, Pentir| publisher= British Listed Buildings|access-date= 25 July 2015}}</ref> Once Vaynol Hall was built, Faenol Old Hall became a farmhouse and subsequently deteriorated; in 2003 it appeared on the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Restoration (TV series)|Restoration]]'' programme, championed by [[Robert Hardy]]. In 2009, the BBC revisited the project, and said that Faenol Hall was now "in private ownership and has been restored".<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/features/restoration/seriesone.shtml| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090428123236/http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/features/restoration/seriesone.shtml| archive-date = 2009-04-28| title = BBC - Restoration Revisited - Series One Updates}} </ref> There is also a Grade I listed chapel and a very old barn on the site.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-4172-chapel-of-st-mary-to-n-of-vaynol-old-hall-|title= Chapel of St Mary to N of Vaynol Old Hall, Pentir|publisher= British Listed Buildings| access-date = 25 July 2015}}</ref>

The Vaynol estate should not be confused with the neighbouring [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] land called Glan Faenol.

==History==
[[File:Y Faenol Old Hall - geograph.org.uk - 17257.jpg|thumb|Faenol Old Hall]]
The estate's origins are in the 16th century, when the [[Bishop of Bangor|bishops of Bangor]] sold property belonging to their manor, Maenol Bangor.<ref>''Dinorwic'' by Reg Chambers Jones, Bridge Books, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-84494-033-2}}</ref> The estate was developed during that century by the Williams family. It passed to the Crown on the death without issue of [[Sir William Williams, 6th Baronet]] in 1696. In 1723 it was presented to John Smith of [[Tedworth House|Tedworth]], Wiltshire, and in 1762 passed to his nephew [[Thomas Assheton Smith I]] (1752–1828).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Origins of the Faenol Estate - A Rumbustious Tale|url=http://www.faenolhistory.co.uk|author=Katie Withersby Lench}}</ref> Assheton Smith was later MP for [[Caernarvonshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Caernarvonshire]] and then [[Andover (UK Parliament constituency)|Andover]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=ASSHETON SMITH, Thomas (c.1752-1828), of Faenol, Caern. and Tidworth, Hants.|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/assheton-smith-thomas-1752-1828|website=History of Parliament Online|access-date=2020-06-01}}</ref> and his son, also [[Thomas Assheton Smith (1776–1858)|Thomas]] (1776–1858) sat for the same constituencies but was known as a cricketer, [[Master of Foxhounds]] and owner of [[steam yacht]]s.<ref>{{cite DNB |wstitle= Smith, Thomas Assheton |volume= 53 |last= Boase |first= George Clement |author-link= George Clement Boase |pages=134-135 |short= 1}}</ref>

Assheton Smith I was the 3rd largest landowner in Gwynedd. This area of Wales is known for its [[Slate industry in Wales|slate]] production, and the Assheton Smiths profited from slate quarrying as owners of the [[Dinorwic Quarry]], which made a profit of £30,000 in 1856 ({{inflation|UK|30000|1856|2016|fmt=eq |cursign=£}}). Even after farms were let on long leases to encourage good tenant behaviour, slate remained the family's main economic interest. The Assheton Smiths extended their estate through [[enclosure]], despite strong opposition from local farmers, including the enclosure of existing properties at Gallt-y-foel.

The Assheton Smiths remained in possession of the estate until the 20th century. In 1847, it passed to Mary Astley, niece of Thomas Assheton Smith of Vaynol, who married Robert George Duff, a distant cousin of the Earls of Fife. Vaynol passed in turn to their two eldest sons (the first of whom, George William (1848-1904 <ref>Obituary Carnarvon & Denbigh Herald 25 November 1904</ref><ref>Will Carnarvon & Denbigh Herald 16 December 1904</ref>), left no son; his wife and daughter had Snowdon Mountain Railway locomotives named after them <ref>Johnson, Peter; An Illustrated History of the Snowdon Mountain Railway; Oxford Publishing Co, 2010</ref>) and they took the surname Assheton-Smith instead of Duff. The younger son, Sir Charles Garden Assheton-Smith, was created a baronet in 1911. He sold 30 farms from the estate in 1914.<ref>Western Mail 1 August 1914</ref> His son and grandson the 2nd and 3rd baronets, reverted to the name of Duff. [[Sir Michael Duff, 3rd Baronet]] had an adopted son, Charles David.<ref>Liverpool Echo 27 April 1967</ref>

[[File:Entrance Gates to Vaynol - geograph.org.uk - 116789.jpg|thumb|left|The gates to the Vaynol Estate]]
  
At the beginning of the 20th century, the estate amounted to {{convert|36000|acre|km2}} of land and had 1,600 tenants. The Prince and Princess of Wales (later King [[George V]] and Queen [[Mary of Teck|Mary]]) stayed there as guests of the Assheton Smiths during a visit to North Wales in May 1902.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Prince of Wales in North Wales |date=9 May 1902 |page=8 |issue=36763}}</ref> To celebrate the 1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary and to improve Caernarfon, the town walls and some adjoining property, which belonged to the estate, was handed over to the Ministry of Works. The estate's remaining property in Caernarfon was offered for sale in 103 lots in 1957.<ref>The Times 13 September 1957</ref> In 1967 21,000 acres, including the north face of Snowdon, was sold to two property companies, jointly, for a reputed £1½ million. Vaynol, its home farm and some adjacent property were retained by the estate trustees and Sir Michael Duff. The Dinorwic slate quarries at Llanberis, which were owned by a family company, were not sold.<ref>The Times 14 July 1967</ref><ref>Birmingham Daily Mail 15 September 1967</ref> Later in the year, the property companies sold 13,000 acres of Snowdon land to the Welsh Office for £140,000.<ref>Birmingham Daily Mail 8 November 1967</ref> Further properties were sold to tenants and 138 lots were offered for sale by auction in 1968.<ref>The Times 31 May 1968</ref> Sir Michael Duff's obituary claimed that the 1967 sale was forced on him by high taxation.<ref>The Times 20 March 1980</ref>

== Attractions ==
In the second half of the 19th century the park had a zoo, but it was dismantled by 1900. The park has been the setting for [[Bryn Terfel]]'s [[Faenol Festival]] since 2000, and in 2005 it hosted the [[Eisteddfod|National Eisteddfod]]. On 25 August 2006, Irish vocal pop band [[Westlife]] held a concert for their [[Face to Face Tour]] supporting their album [[Face to Face (Westlife album)|Face to Face]]. [[BBC Radio 1]]'s [[Radio 1's Big Weekend|Big Weekend]] was held at the park in May 2010.

==Vaynol cattle==
{{main article|Vaynol cattle}}
The estate began breeding the rare [[Vaynol cattle]], a type of [[White Park cattle]], in the 1870s. A herd was kept there until the death of the owner Sir Michael Duff in 1980, when the estate was sold and the herd was moved to a series of locations in England.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.faenolhistory.co.uk/ The Faenol History website]
*[http://www.vaynol.co.uk/ The official Faenol website]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/sites/bangor_life/pages/vaynol_secrets.shtml The story of the last family to live on the estate]
*[http://www.brynfest.com Faenol Festival] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227225532/http://www.brynfest.com/ |date=27 February 2015 }}

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[[Category:Pentir]]
[[Category:Houses in Gwynedd]]
[[Category:Country houses in Wales]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Gwynedd]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Gwynedd]]
[[Category:Registered historic parks and gardens in Gwynedd]]
[[Category:Grade I listed houses in Wales]]