Vaynol Hall

Vaynol Hall is a substantial, mid-18th century country house of white-painted stucco with slate roofs concealed behind high parapets, standing in an 'L' plan configuration. The southeast front features ten bays, including a three-storey canted bay and a projecting wing on the right also set forward and canted. The ground floor windows are set within shallow arched recesses and are mostly 16-paned sash windows with horns. A panelled door with an overlight is located within the canted bay. The parapet incorporates a band and slight cornice. A two-storey stair projection, distinguished by a particularly tall window, is set back at the southwest end. On the northeast front, a classical portico was added in 1910, providing the main entrance from the driveway and featuring a winged symbol on the fascia. The portico leads into a lobby with a domed roof. The southwest front presents seven window bays, including a splayed ground floor on the right. The garden to this side is bounded on the southeast by a rebuilt brick wall adorned with acorn finials and, to the southwest, by a balustraded wall with a concrete handrail, terracotta balusters and oval, fluted urns.

The interior is characterised by a complex plan and a classical mid-Georgian style, with principal rooms located in the eastern part leading off a north-south rectangular inner hall – aligned with the former main entrance – and an east-west corridor terminating in a tall staircase hall in the Rococo manner. Elaborate plasterwork is present in many rooms, complemented by panelled doors and wall panelling, especially along the corridor. Fine marble chimneypieces are featured throughout. The grand staircase rises within a panelled hall that includes a cantilevered upper flight, barley-twist balusters, foliated tread ends, and a marbled handrail. The stairwell is lined with intricate plasterwork arranged in vertical, mainly naturalistic trails, reminiscent of those found at Powderham Castle in Devon. The archway at the top of the staircase demonstrates Gothick detailing to the soffit. The inner hall showcases fluted columns and broken-pedimented architraves, with garlanded urns enriching the ceiling. One public room exhibits a Rococo ceiling. Adjacent to this, the main drawing room is finely fitted in a Palladian style akin to the work of William Kent, featuring a deeply coved cornice above panelling, punctuated by fluted Corinthian pilasters. The quality of this work reflects contemporary English fashions and may be attributable to John Smith, a leading politician who owned the property in 1723 and, through his London connections, likely acquired knowledge of the foremost styles of the day. At the end of the corridor is an added circular lobby in a Grecian style, possibly contemporary with the portico. The walls of this lobby are decorated with trompe-l'oeil paintings depicting local scenes, including the Dinorwic Quarry and Vaynol, and the lantern dome is supported by marble effect iron columns, set on a marbled floor. The library to the northwest exhibits fluted Ionic pilasters.