Photo: Llywelyn2000 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Erddig is a Grade I listed historic building in Denbighshire, cared for by the National Trust. Read about its history, architecture and gardens, plus how to visit and what's nearby.
About Erddig
Erddig's central block was built between 1684 and 1687 for Joshua Edisbury, on an estate just south of Wrexham in Wales.
The National Trust has cared for the house and its surrounding parkland since 1973.
What sets Erddig apart is its collection of servant portraits and poems, commissioned by the Yorke family to honour the people who worked there rather than the owners themselves.
The below-stairs rooms and estate workshops survive largely intact, giving a rare look at how a country house actually ran.
Read more on WikipediaHistory of Erddig
John Meller bought the house in 1714 and added the flanking wings in the 1720s, furnishing the rooms with much of the seventeenth-century furniture still on show today, including a rare lit a la duchesse state bed with its original silk hangings. Meller left Erddig to his great-nephew Simon Yorke in 1733, and five generations of the Yorke family lived there until Philip Scott Yorke gave the house and its roughly 1,900-acre estate to the National Trust in 1973. The house was designated a grade I listed building in 1952.
Architecture of Erddig
The original block, built for Edisbury in the late seventeenth century, was extended with Georgian wings by Meller in the 1720s, giving the house its current symmetrical front.
Gardens & grounds at Erddig
The walled garden and wider parkland show various phases of development from the early eighteenth century onwards. The grounds include a stretch of Wat's Dyke and the remains of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle.
Facilities
Plan your visit to Erddig
Nearest station: Wrexham Central Rail Station (1.3 miles)
Places to visit near Erddig
Erddig Museum
View Erddig Museum on heritage mapCaergwrle Castle
View Caergwrle Castle on heritage mapChirk Castle
View Chirk Castle on heritage mapHistoric places nearby
Within 5 miles of Erddig there are 1 historic properties, including 1 museum.
Within 10 miles of Erddig there are 11 historic properties, including 5 historic houses, 2 castles and 2 museums, across Historic Houses, Cadw and National Trust sites.
Within 20 miles of Erddig there are 32 historic properties, including 11 historic houses, 6 castles and 4 historic buildings, across Historic Houses, Cadw and English Heritage sites.
Facts
The country house where the servants, not the family, got the formal portraits.
- Type
- historic building
- Location
- Denbighshire, Wales
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