Holyhead, United Kingdom - May 31, 2025

Our Welsh adventure took us to the magnificent Penryn Castle, located near Bangor in Gwynedd, North Wales. This impressive castle, with its dramatic castellated turrets and stunning architecture, sits overlooking the Menai Strait with breathtaking views of the North Welsh coastline extending eastward toward Chester on the English border.

In the 15th century, the Penrhyn estate was the centre of a large landholding developed by Gwilym ap Griffith and began as a fortified manor house with an adjoining chapel.

The Pennant family had owned Jamaican sugar plantations since the middle of the seventeenth century. By the 1730s, they had moved back to England, becoming established as merchants in Liverpool and London, while still benefitting as absentee landlords from the profits of their Jamaican estates – and the hundreds of enslaved African people working for them. 


Richard Pennant (1737–1808), MP for Liverpool, and the first Baron Penrhyn, established Penrhyn Castle as the family seat. He campaigned against the abolition of slavery and invested the Jamaican profits in his Caernarfonshire agricultural estates and the Penrhyn Slate Quarry.  History of Penrhyn Castle and Garden|Wales | National Trust

The castle was rebuilt between 1820 and 1837 for George Hay Dawkins Pennant on the proceeds of the North Wales slate industry and sugar plantations in Jamaica.  It was designed by architect Thomas Hopper, requiring twelve years of work by skilled craftsmen, builders, and laborers. We were able to walk through many parts of the castle including the Grand Entrance Hall, the Library, the dining room, the kitchens and the bedrooms.  The castle contains many remarkable elements.  


The Henry Hawkins painting: A significant artwork depicting the slate quarry and workers being observed by the Pennant family and their guests - directly connecting the castle to the local slate industry





Intricate ceiling work that was unfortunately painted lime green during World War II (much to everyone's dismay)








The slate bed built for Queen Victoria. 





The elaborate kitchen complex with its pastry rooms, larders, scullery, and servants' quarters


Even WCs built into the turrets for the ultimate in castle convenience.
And lastly, we visited the beautiful walled garden.


The castle and the gardens were beautiful and are now managed by the National Trust.  

The Penryn Slate quarry was the largest quarry in the world at the end of the 19th century.  It is also significant in British history because of 2 large strikes over better pay and safer conditions.

Welsh slate such as that quarried at Penrhyn was designated by the International Union of Geological Sciences as a 'Global Heritage Stone Resource' early in 2019 in recognition of its significant contribution to world architectural heritage.







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