Mountain Bikes and Penny Farthings (Erddig Hall)

Member Name: merv

Product:	Erddig Hall
Date:	13/10/02 (691 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Historically important, More interesting than most stately homes t, Beautiful gardens and country park

Disadvantages: None

Now that I’ve finally hung up my football boots, my main form of exercise other than a brisk walk down to the local is my bright yellow mountain bike. Puffing and panting through our rather hilly village I’m not exactly a good advert for healthy exercise, so I tend to keep to the country lanes and in particular the local National Trust estate’s country park. It’s a lovely place to go biking – flat and relatively quiet, with lots of interesting things to see and the opportunity to do some ‘mildly adventurous’ off-roading.

The place in question is Erddig Hall, which always reminds me of the late sixties when I first started working in Wrexham and would occasionally see this strange old bloke dressed in old fashioned tweeds riding a penny farthing bike down the main street. The odd thing was, nobody but me seemed to find it out of the ordinary.

I remember making some enquiries and discovering that the odd-ball in question was the local squire Philip Yorke who lived with his brother in a rather magnificent hall a couple of miles south of Wrexham.

No one seemed to know much about him or his family except that he was supposedly very rich and rather eccentric. It was only when Squire Yorke and his brother died and left this magnificent hall to the National Trust, that people in Wrexham and the rest of the country discovered that he didn’t have much money at all, but he had a house which is undoubtedly a national treasure. Every member of the Yorke family who lived in this vast country house had an undeniable appreciation for its history and its treasures, each in turn preserving and restoring whatever required attention. Despite this, the house became severely run down after the First World War and, without sufficient money, and with the onset of the Second World War, the situation deteriorated further.

The final straw came when the coal industry was nationalised in 1947, effectively t
aking away the estate's major source of income, and this was immediately followed by the National Coal Board's decision to mine directly under the house, compounding the declining structural state of the house. It was only through grit and determination, not to mention some small measure of eccentricity on the part of the last two Yorke brothers, that Erddig has survived so remarkably intact.

This fascinating house set in incredibly picturesque grounds is like a time capsule displaying the trappings of everyday life of bygone years, and affording an intimate glimpse into the history and lifestyle of a prominent Welsh family and their servants. It is an absolute delight to explore because unlike many great country homes filled with priceless art collections and exquisite furnishings, Erddig is just crammed full of treasures that say more about the different personalities of the family members. One thing all the owners of the house had in common was the fact that none of them liked to throw anything away, however worthless or insignificant the article might have seemed at the time, and this adds immensely to the interest.

Upstairs the rooms contain a vast and original collection of 18th century furniture and are filled with the accumulated treasures - from the rare and the beautiful to the trivial and commonplace. The collection of gilt and silver furniture is considered to be one of the finest and best documented in any country house, while the state bed, made in 1720 and upholstered in beautifully embroidered Chinese silk is especially fine. The stunning state rooms display most of their original 18th and 19th century furniture and furnishings, including some exquisite Chinese wallpaper. There are fascinating displays of letters written home during the wars describing the conditions and events of the time.

Below stairs a wonderful collection of portraits, photographs and verses record the people who spent their lives on the estat
e, and tell of the Yorke family's high regard for their servants. The servants and estate workers at Erddig were always highly thought of by the Yorke family, and this relationship is amusingly demonstrated in some of Philip's grandfather’s artistic work. It was he who started the unusual tradition of having the servants painted, and these pictures would be accompanied by quirky little ditties. Many of these delightful paintings can now be seen hanging in the servants' hall and along the corridors.

In the estate buildings are the joiner and blacksmith’s work shops, the Midden Yard with its saw mill and cart sheds and the Stable Yard with its tackroom, carriages and vintage cars and cycles, including the famous penny farthing. The laundry, bakehouse and kitchen have hardly changed at all.

Erddig's walled garden is one of the most important surviving 18th century gardens in Britain. It has rare fruit trees, a canal, a pond and hosts the National Ivy Collection. The National Trust has restored Erddig garden using a bird's eye view of 1739 and illustrations of the nineteenth and twentieth century additions, including a parterre and a Victorian garden.

As the house is built on a hill within the grounds a hydraulic pump was constructed to pump water to the house. Adjacent to the pump house a folly known as the Cup and Saucer was built. The water from the stream cascades down a large hole in the middle of an artificial pond and then emerges from a tunnel about 20 metres downstream.The construction of the pump and the folly are an indication of the skill and engineering skills of workmen, hundreds of years ago.

The 1,900 acre estate also includes an extensive country park with many woodland walks and nature reserves as well as the site of an 11th century Motte and Bailey castle, one of the finest in the area. It was covered with trees and vegetation but is currently being cleared to show the commanding po
sition this castle had over the surrounding area.

Erddig also has one of the best National Trust café’s I’ve visited and loads of special events of which the ‘Apple Festival’ which I visited last week, is my particular favourite. A couple of years ago they had a last night of the proms evening on a beautiful and barmy August night – great atmosphere, wonderful music, a couple of bottles of dry white and a glorious firework display. It was a real night to remember.

The House is open daily from 23rd March to 3rd November, except Thursdays and Fridays, but it is open on Good Fridays. Between March and September it is open from 12.00pm to 5.00pm, in October 12.00pm to 4.00pm, with the last admission one hour before closing.

The Garden is open for the same period and times as the house from March to the end of June, whilst in September it is open between 11.00am and 6.00pm, and July and August from 10.00am to 6.00pm, and October 11.00am to 5.00pm.

The Shop and plant sales are open the same period as the property 11.00am to 5.30pm. they are also open from 3rd November to 17th December on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, between 11.00am and 4.00pm.
Charges are Adults £6.60, Children £3.30, Families £16.50 and parties of 15 and over £5.30 each.

For the Garden and outbuildings only, Adults are £3.40, Children £1.70, Families £8.50 and parties of 15 and over £2.70 each. National Trust members are of course free.
Erddig is 2 miles south of Wrexham, signposted off the A483 and A525. tracelling by train the nearest stations are Wrexham Central which is approximately 1 mile away, and Wrexham General which is 1.5 miles, both via Erddig Road and footpath.

It really is a great place to visit and who knows you may catch a glimpse of this strange old bloke on a yellow mountain bike doing wheelies over the badger sets.

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