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Vaynol/ˈveɪnɒl/ orY Faenol (Welsh[əˈveɨnɔl]) is a countryestate dating from theTudor period nearY Felinheli inGwynedd,North Wales (grid referenceSH536695). It has 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of park, farmland, and gardens, with more than thirtylisted buildings, surrounded by a wall which is 7 miles (11 km) long. "Y Faenol" means "themanor" and is amutated form of the Welsh wordmaenol.
The buildings on the estate include twoGrade 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.[1][2] Once Vaynol Hall was built, Faenol Old Hall became a farmhouse and subsequently deteriorated; in 2003 it appeared on theBBC'sRestoration programme, championed byRobert Hardy. In 2009, the BBC revisited the project, and said that Faenol Hall was now "in private ownership and has been restored".[3] There is also a Grade I listed chapel and a very old barn on the site.[4]
The Vaynol estate should not be confused with the neighbouringNational Trust land called Glan Faenol.
The estate's origins are in the 16th century, when thebishops of Bangor sold property belonging to their manor, Maenol Bangor.[5] The estate was developed during that century by the Williams family. It passed to the Crown on the death without issue ofSir William Williams, 6th Baronet in 1696. In 1723 it was presented to John Smith ofTedworth, Wiltshire, and in 1762 passed to his nephewThomas Assheton Smith I (1752–1828).[6] Assheton Smith was later MP forCaernarvonshire and thenAndover,[7] and his son, alsoThomas (1776–1858) sat for the same constituencies but was known as a cricketer,Master of Foxhounds and owner ofsteam yachts.[8]
Assheton Smith I was the 3rd largest landowner in Gwynedd. This area of Wales is known for itsslate production, and the Assheton Smiths profited from slate quarrying as owners of theDinorwic Quarry, which made a profit of £30,000 in 1856 (equivalent to £2,572,850 in 2016). 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 throughenclosure, 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[9][10]), left no son; his wife and daughter had Snowdon Mountain Railway locomotives named after them[11]) 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.[12] 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.[13]
At the beginning of the 20th century, the estate amounted to 36,000 acres (150 km2) of land and had 1,600 tenants. The Prince and Princess of Wales (later KingGeorge V and QueenMary) stayed there as guests of the Assheton Smiths during a visit to North Wales in May 1902.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16][17] Later in the year, the property companies sold 13,000 acres of Snowdon land to the Welsh Office for £140,000.[18] Further properties were sold to tenants and 138 lots were offered for sale by auction in 1968.[19] Sir Michael Duff's obituary claimed that the 1967 sale was forced on him by high taxation.[20]
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 forBryn Terfel'sFaenol Festival since 2000, and in 2005 it hosted theNational Eisteddfod. On 25 August 2006, Irish vocal pop bandWestlife held a concert for theirFace to Face Tour supporting their albumFace to Face.BBC Radio 1'sBig Weekend was held at the park in May 2010.
The estate began breeding the rareVaynol cattle, a type ofWhite 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.