Brynbella

About this place

Above the Vale of Clwyd, near Tremeirchion in Denbighshire, stands Brynbella, a neoclassical villa built in the 1790s by the writer Hester Piozzi and her husband Gabriel, an Italian musician.

Its name fuses their two languages: bryn for hill, bella for beautiful.

The house sits within a seven-acre garden and a further two acres of woodland, looking out over a forty-acre listed park across a ha-ha.

It opens to visitors on a limited number of set days, so it is worth checking ahead before a visit.

History

The Piozzis built Brynbella after Hester Piozzi's return from Italy, and the house passed into the Salusbury family, who held it as their seat from 1794 until 1920. Hester Piozzi, born Hester Lynch Salusbury, had been a close friend and correspondent of Samuel Johnson before her second marriage to Gabriel Piozzi, which scandalised polite society at the time.

Architecture

The house is a neoclassical villa built on a slope, with landscaped terracing linking it to the wider park on its western side.

Worth knowing

Hester Piozzi, who built the house, was a leading figure in Samuel Johnson's literary circle and one of the best-known women of letters of her generation.

Gardens & grounds

The grounds include an award-winning gravel garden designed by Andy Sturgeon, a walled garden and water gardens, set within the Vale of Clwyd's area of outstanding natural beauty.

Facilities