Plas Teg

Plas Teg circa 1860 when it was owned by Colonel Trevor Roper.

Plas Teg is a Jacobean house in Wales. Located near the village of Pontblyddyn, Flintshire between Wrexham and Mold, it was built by Sir John Trevor I in about 1610.^[1] At the time of construction it was the most advanced house in Wales. Throughout the early 17th Century it was primarily a family home and the setting for lavish entertainments put on by the Trevor family. It was only after the death of Lady Margaret Trevor, wife of Sir John Trevor, and the onset of the Civil War, that the house was tenanted out and the family resided at their other residences.^[1]

According to The Archers Register, a Year Book of Facts for 1865 Plas Teg was a venue for the Royal British Bowmen (RBB). On 10 August 1865, an RBB meeting was held at Plas Teg and ninety arrows were shot at 60 yards. For the ladies, Miss H. Trevor Roper scored 34 hits and recorded a score of 116, coming third. Lady Edwardes came first with 58 hits and a score of 230. For the gentlemen, Mr Henry Potts came first with 89 hits and a score of 293; Mr R. Trevor Roper was in sixth place, with 23 hits and a score of 69.

The estate finally left the hands of the Trevors around 1930. During the second world war, the house and outbuildings were requisitioned by the War Office to house soldiers and it was during this time that the decay of Plas Teg began.^[1] By the mid-1950s, Plas Teg was in a state of advanced decay and under threat of demolition. Following a public outcry, the derelict house was purchased by a Trevor descendant, Patrick Trevor-Roper, who partially restored the building with funds from the Historic Buildings Council.^[1] He then leased out the house until 1977 until Mr and Mrs William Llewelyn bought the house. The couple only used parts of the ground floor but the rest of the house became little more than a ruin. Fortunes dramatically changed in 1986 when Cornelia Bayley (the present owner) acquired Plas Teg for £75,000. She carried out a series of works at a cost of £400,000, £199,000 of which was funded by CADW. Ten months after purchase, the house was opened to the public and still is to this day. A book detailing the history of Plas Teg and the Trevor family was released by Mark Baker in 2006 and has been reprinted October 2007 after selling out. The revised second edition tackles the theories regarding Judge Jeffries as well as expanding on the history of Plas Teg.

Plas Teg is said to be one of the "most haunted" houses in Wales and has featured on ITV's Extreme Ghost Stories and Living's Most Haunted programme on two occasions. The second occasion was featured as part of the Halloween Most Haunted Live! series on 31 October 2007. It was also featured in Ghost Hunting With... Girls Aloud in 2006, where the girls visited the house as their first location, where they claimed to have experienced paranormal activity.^[2]

The county of Flintshire is said to be a land of spirits and hauntings. One notable case is that of the grey lady, described as the most popular of such entities in North East Wales. The old woman is reported to have been seen moving across the A541 adjacent to Plas Teg into the path of traffic.^[3]

On 4 March 2010, Plas Teg was the subject of a Channel 4 television programme presented by hotelier Ruth Watson as part of her Country House Rescue series.^[4] The episode was rebroadcast on 29 September 2011 and again in February 2012.

References

Further reading

Baker, M. Plas Teg – A Jacobean Country House. Mold: 2006.

External links

• Plas Teg - official website
• Book by Mark Baker on Plas Teg on Country House Biographies
• BBC Wales - ghosts of Plas Teg
• BBC Wales - video tour of Plas Teg
• BBC Wales - photos of Plas Teg

Coordinates: 53°07′47″N 3°04′02″W / 53.12972°N 3.06722°W / 53.12972; -3.06722