# Hafodunos Hall



## mr_bones (Jul 24, 2007)

Situated in Llangernyw, North Wales. This once grand George Gilbert Scott masterpiece lays as an almost gutted shell following a fire in late 2004. It had stood derelict for more than a decade before the fire after its last use as a private school.

It was built in 1864 and even today, shows remnants of its extravagant use of marble and sandstone arches and a general theme of luxury and attention to detail.

Pictures taken after the fire are sad to say the least, especially if you see what it looked like before! There is more about the site at www.hafodunos-hall.co.uk, the owner sells a very thoroughly written and illustrated book on the site which i purchased with no regrets!

Some of my photos.....


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## Foxylady (Jul 25, 2007)

That's a truly fabulous building, Mr. B, and your pics certainly do it justice. Thoroughly enjoyed seeing those and love the night shots. Did you see the ghost? 
Thanks for that and the link. Some interesting history there.

Cheers
Foxy


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## jas (Jul 25, 2007)

HI Mr Bones
Thanx for photos that place looks amazing!! I so wish i could go there! Just my cup of tea that is. Im just going to have to sort something out.
Thanx again
JAS


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## lost (Jul 25, 2007)

Very nice Mr. B, like the light-painting and night shot action. Did you spend the night in _there_?


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## mr_bones (Jul 25, 2007)

Cheers Foxy - didn't see any ghosts and i spent the night in a room halfway up the clocktower! Some strange noises though 

Jas - where abouts are you based? Perhaps if you went to a few other places in the area you could make a trip of it 

Lost - YES! however the night shots are from my first trip (Fuji Noise!), when we got there last time it was pouring with rain.


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## lost (Jul 25, 2007)

I thought they might have been from the Fuji with the fisheye action going on.


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## Lightbuoy (Jul 25, 2007)

My oh my, what a lovely building!
Yet another superb set of pics Mr Bones -good job! 
In particular like the night pic with the starlit sky behind. Thanks for posting these. Cheers also for that interesting link.

Lb


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## sheep2405 (Jul 25, 2007)

Really nice work dude, glad Im not the only one that uses a fisheye.

S


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## mr_bones (Jul 25, 2007)

Thanks Sheep2405 and LB! Its a great building but was a lot more grand just a few years ago. I don't think my pictures do it full justice.


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## jas (Jul 26, 2007)

mr_bones said:


> Cheers Foxy - didn't see any ghosts and i spent the night in a room halfway up the clocktower! Some strange noises though
> 
> Jas - where abouts are you based? Perhaps if you went to a few other places in the area you could make a trip of it
> 
> Lost - YES! however the night shots are from my first trip (Fuji Noise!), when we got there last time it was pouring with rain.



Im from south wiltshire near stonehenge so im quite far away from wales, yeah, will have to find out about some other places and go for a weekend or something.
Thanx
JAS


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## tonyque2 (Jul 26, 2007)

Hi Mr B 
Great set of photos and fabulous location. What a grand old building - even after such a disasterous fire. Thanks Tony


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## King Al (Jul 30, 2007)

Love the pic’s mate, the first three are really great, I like the beams and those grand pillars are cool


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## jo2107 (Sep 13, 2007)

Fantastic pictures and what a lovely building - such a shame it's been left to ruin.

Would love to pay a visit 

Thanks


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## Mel (Feb 20, 2008)

im goign to have to find the directions to this place, im in north wales and this could be my first explore with a camera  

lovely pics!!


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## mr_bones (Feb 20, 2008)

Mel said:


> im goign to have to find the directions to this place, im in north wales and this could be my first explore with a camera
> 
> lovely pics!!



Good luck Mel, hope you enjoy it.


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## smileysal (Feb 26, 2008)

Good grief, how on earth did i miss this post?  sorry 

What an absolutely beautiful building. I bet it was stunning when it was lived in both as a home, and also as a school.

So much plasterwork still left there. and love the gothic stonework, and the stained glass windows that are still intact. the conservatory looks gorgeous, and the stairs. 

Awesome. Will have a search for any pics of it when it was built or lived in now.

Cheers Mr B, brilliant pics.

 Sal


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## mr_bones (Feb 26, 2008)

Cheers Sal, yeah it's a grand old building. Shame it's got into such a sad state now.

Glad you liked it

Mr. B


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## SnakeCorp (May 6, 2008)

smileysal said:


> Awesome. Will have a search for any pics of it when it was built or lived in now.


I think you might like these pics:
http://www.uer.ca/locations/show.asp?locid=21797
http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/themeitems/26101

I was up at Hafodunos at the weekend (it's up for sale again - offers invited) and it hasn't changed much, apart from that a few more bits of it have been nicked. 

SC


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## SnakeCorp (May 11, 2008)

mr_bones said:


>


Sorry to have to report that this bas relief has now been destroyed, after the wall it was set into collapsed. I found it in bits all over the floor, surrounded by piles of bricks. It's official title was 'Eros and Anteros contending for the butterfly', crafted by John Gibson back in the 1860s.

SC


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## Foxylady (May 11, 2008)

SnakeCorp said:


> Sorry to have to report that this bas relief has now been destroyed, after the wall it was set into collapsed. I found it in bits all over the floor, surrounded by piles of bricks.



Oh, that is just so sad!


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## mr_bones (May 12, 2008)

That is a real shame to hear, but thankyou for the update. How is the rest of the site looking?


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## SnakeCorp (May 13, 2008)

mr_bones said:


> That is a real shame to hear, but thankyou for the update. How is the rest of the site looking?


Here's a very recent photographic tour of the Estate:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davellandudno/sets/72157604861257020/

SC


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## mr_bones (May 14, 2008)

Nice one SC, quite thorough coverage of the place - never even ventured to the tennis courts before to see the CX.

Thanks for sharing


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## soldiergirl (Aug 3, 2008)

I have said this on the other threads for hafodunos but I didn't realise there were so many fans!!! I work for a builders merchant and one of our customers but a bid in which he had the result for on monday but he's not giving up any clues. Either way it will be sympathetically renovated into apartments, which is his business. So expect Hafodunos to change dramatically soon

Soldier xx


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## SnakeCorp (Aug 5, 2008)

soldiergirl said:


> I have said this on the other threads for hafodunos but I didn't realise there were so many fans!!! I work for a builders merchant and one of our customers but a bid in which he had the result for on monday but he's not giving up any clues. Either way it will be sympathetically renovated into apartments, which is his business. So expect Hafodunos to change dramatically soon
> 
> Soldier xx


I understand *coughs* that there is a little more to the situation than that. There's a couple of bidders, to start with. Initial bids had to be put in by the 27th July and those bids would then be considered and a second round of negotiations would then take place with serious potential purchasers. I doubt a deal will be concluded before the end of August, unless some crazy millionaire has stepped forward with a knockout bid!! So we won't know until then. 

As fantastic a place as it is, it is worth very little on the open market - renovation costs for the main building alone would be truly horrendous (it's basically a case of take it back down to the exterior walls and completely rebuild) and in this dead housing market, you'd never get your money back if you converted it into apartments! Combine that with the fact that it is in the middle of nowhere effectively and Grade I listed, and it would be a big problem for anyone to make money out of it. 

SC


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## soldiergirl (Aug 28, 2008)

SnakeCorp said:


> unless some crazy millionaire has stepped forward with a knockout bid!!
> 
> SC



*coughs* you might be closer to the truth than you think


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## SnakeCorp (Sep 7, 2008)

soldiergirl said:


> *coughs* you might be closer to the truth than you think


You do know that when SFJ Ltd bought Hafodunos a couple of years ago, they only paid £295k for it and that was BEFORE the main house burnt down! It's worth bugger all now. Still showing on the estate agents site as 'for sale'', btw.

SC


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## SnakeCorp (Jan 27, 2010)

Just an update - Hafodunos was sold recently to a couple from Altrincham who are drawing up plans to restore it as a single dwelling. It's not going to be apartments, thank god.

SC


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## pointofimpact (Jan 27, 2010)

these pics are pretty insane, loving the angles and composition, quite like the fish eye one as well, would like to see some more like that.

 Nice Job


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