Carreglwyd: A Short History

Carreglwyd was built in 1634 by Dr William Griffiths. He was the Chancellor of St Asaph and Master of the Rolls to Charles the First. His grandfather, Sir William Griffiths had been the Rector of Llanfaethlu for 44 years. Charles the First gave Dr Griffiths one of the five Edward Bower copies of Van Dyke’s portrait at the time of his trial. This portrait hangs in the Dining Room of Carreglwyd today.

“Carreglwyd opened its doors to the public for the first time in 1996”

In 1755 John Griffiths, the great, great grandson of Dr William Griffiths, having inherited Carreglwyd, married Mary Trygarn, the heiress of a long line of Hollands of Berw and of Richard Trygarn of Trygarn. Mary remodelled Carreglwyd in the late 18th Century. Their son Holland Griffiths inherited Carreglwyd on the death of his father in 1776 and Berw in 1799.

Richard Trygarn Griffiths, the son of Holland Griffiths, married Emma Mary Carpenter in 1838, the daughter of Captain Digby Thomas Carpenter and Emma Stanley, daughter of Sir John Thomas Stanley and Margaret Owen of Penrhos. Their only child, Maria Emma Elizabeth Conway Griffiths inherited Carreglwyd and in 1880 married Sir Chandos Stanhope Hoskyns Reade 8th Bart of Shipton, Oxford.They had no children and Sir Chandos died in 1890.

Lady Reade built the Griffith Reade Coffee House in the village of Llanfaethlu in 1892 as an alternative meeting place to the Public Houses of the era. In 1993 this building was renovated to mark its Centenary. Today it combines the roles of Village Hall, Shop, Cafe, Hairdresser, and Lifelong Learning Centre .

Lady Reade died in 1917 and Carreglwyd passed to her cousin Major Frederick Carpenter, grandson of Thomas Digby Carpenter and Emma Stanley. He married three times but did not produce any children. On his death in 1937 Carreglwyd passed to his nephew, Frederick Noel Carpenter. Frederick Noel died in 1955 and was succeeded by Thomas Stanley Carpenter, his eldest son.

Thomas Stanley died in 1992 and was succeeded by Thomas Stanley Holland.

Tom married Ninni Karin in 1984 and they have three children, Laura, Digby, and Talula along with Kristian and Erik from Ninni’s first marriage.

Carreglwyd opened its doors to the public for the first time in 1996, and following the first upgrade of the car park, more formally in 1998.

The renovation of the Stable Block was completed in 2010, with the first Wedding in May that year. Since then Carreglwyd has hosted over 50 weddings and events, and the Gottwood Festival has become a thriving fixture in June each year, attracting over 5,000 people from all over the world.