Descendants of lord who rebuilt North Wales historic mansion helping with restoration
The owners of Pool Park Estate near Ruthin have forged a union with the family that formerly owned the Grade II listed country estate. Andrew and Louisa Godfrey bought Pool Park at Efenechtyd in January after it had lain empty for years after closing as an asylum in the 1980s.
The estate was once one of five deer parks associated with nearby Ruthin Castle, which was sold in the early 16th century to John Salesbury, who held it alongside Rhug and Bachymbyd. It was rebuilt by William Bagot, 2nd Lord Bagot in 1826-1829 to the designs of John Buckler, who is believed to have remodelled Blithfield Hall a few years earlier.
The Bagot family chose to live at Blithfield Hall in Staffordshire and rented Pool Park to a series of tenants. These included George Richards Elkington, a Birmingham electroplater, Robert Blezard, a Liverpool brewer, and, lastly, Sir Ernest Tate, president of Tate and Lyle, the sugar refiners.
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Now William Bagot’s direct descendant Commander Charlie Bagot Jewitt, who still lives in Blithfield Hall, has been in touch with the Godfreys to help them with their renovation project.
Charlie has a keen interest in the restoration of Pool Park and has visited the property to meet Andrew and Louisa. The Godfrey family has also been down to Blithfield Hall on a number of occasions to begin to gather historical evidence and to view the areas of the hall, and its grounds, that have been replicated in the design of Pool Park.
Andrew, 48, managing director of the Godfrey Group, which provides housekeeping and facility services to the leisure industry across the UK, said: “It has been amazing to meet Charlie and his wife Cosy and to find out more about Pool Park Estate and the links with Blithfield Hall. It’s an exciting union which will be invaluable in ensuring an authentic restoration.
“Our primary aim for the Pool Park site is to sympathetically restore both the manor house and the gardens to their former state and to preserve the wonderful history of this site so that generations may appreciate it for years to come. We want more people to know about Pool Park Estate so that we can bring visitors to the area and help support local businesses in Ruthin and the surrounding areas.
“It has been very exciting to talk to a direct descendant of the Bagot family and to find out more about the history of the estate. There are many aspects of Pool Park, both in the manor house and the gardens, that were designed to replicate elements of Blithfield Hall.
“Charles also has a collection of coats of arms which used to hang in the magnificent entrance hall of the house, and an Elizabethan oil painting, commissioned by Sir Walter Bagot in 1675, in which I spotted Pool Park’s Welsh hills in the background.”
Pool Park Estate was sold out of the ownership of the Bagot family in 1928 after the son and heir was killed in the First World War. It has stood empty since 1989.
Charlie, whose ancestors arrived in England in 1066 with William the Conquerer, said: “I’m delighted that Andrew and Louisa have taken on the restoration of what was once a magnificent family home belonging to the Bagot family. They have very impressive plans to save it.
“There’s lots of historical information I’m helping them with and some similar features in both properties such as the beautiful wood panelling so they can see where the inspiration came from. It’s lovely to see the history and heritage being revived.”
Louisa Godfrey, a former headteacher, said: “Andrew and I have a real love for this property and a passion to see it brought back to its original state, as it would have looked when it was completed in 1829.
“Our renovation will include a sympathetic restoration of the manor house to celebrate and preserve the history of the house. Where important features have been lost, we propose to replicate these features using the same materials, where possible.
“We also plan to source period furniture, where possible, to provide that feeling of ‘stepping back in time’. As custodians of this site, we believe it is our duty to understand and preserve its history for future generations.”
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