Brynbella is aneoclassicalvilla built near the village ofTremeirchion inDenbighshire, northeastWales, byHester Piozzi and her husband, Gabriel Piozzi. It was the seat of theSalusbury family from 1794 until 1920. The name is partWelsh and partItalian, meaning "Beautiful Hill" (bryn +bella).
In 1794, Hester Piozzi began the construction of Brynbella with her husband in order to provide the family with a new seat after the destruction ofLleweni Hall, which had reverted to the ownership ofStapleton Cotton, 1st Viscount Combermere due toprimogeniture. It was built out ofPortland limestone in the style of thePalladian villas which she had seen during her self-imposed exile inItaly. There, Gabriel Piozzi became accustomed to British society, although his position as aCatholic continually undermined his position amongst the local gentry.
The building was designed by Clement Mead who exhibited the design at theRoyal Academy in 1794. Construction took place between 1792 and 1795 at a cost of £20,000.[1] Letters between Clement Mead and the Piozzi family about the construction of the hall can be found in theUniversity of Manchester Library.[2]
After her death in 1821, the house became the possession of her adopted son,Sir John Salusbury Piozzi Salusbury. Like his namesake,John Salusbury, Hester's son had little idea of estate management and continued to dabble in politics and the emergingbanking industry then erupting inLondon. Piozzi Salusbury spent relatively little time on his estate and as a result, it languished. He later sold off much of the original furniture made byInce and Mayhew andThomas Chippendale in order to modernize the house in accordance with the then-popular Victorian style of furniture.
After Piozzi Salusbury's death in 1858, it became the property of Rev. Sir Augustus George Salusbury who was then participating in the settlement ofNew South Wales. The decision to rent Brynbella full-time was undertaken by Salusbury's son, who continued to live inAustralia. After his death in 1918, it fell into the hands ofFrederic Salusbury who sold the estate two years later due to the extensive repairs that were necessitated after half a century of neglect.
After its original sale in 1918, Brynbella was continuously sold to a number of different families. The hall was given Grade II* listed building status in 1951.[1] In 1994, it was purchased as a private residence and remains so today.
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53°14′28″N3°22′38″W / 53.2410°N 3.3771°W /53.2410; -3.3771