Llanrwst: Long-lost chairs returned to castle after 101 years

Peter Welford was over the moon to have the chairs back at the Tudor manor house

A long-lost set of chairs have been returned to their castle home 101 years after they were sold at auction.

The 12 walnut seats were carved for the Wynn family of Gwydir Castle in the 17th Century.

The Tudor manor house, in Llanrwst, Conwy county, was sold in 1921 with most of its contents ending up in an English art collection.

The owners have spent almost 30 years restoring the building and looking for the original furniture and fittings.

After buying it in 1994, husband and wife Peter Welford and Judy Corbett managed to locate oak panelling from the dining room in a New York museum warehouse.

They also found its 430-year-old dining table and a 400-year-old chest of drawers.

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Then they received an email in 2021 from staff at the Schroder Collection, the private family collection of the Schroder banking family.

The 12 walnut seats were carved for the Wynn family of Gwydir Castle in the 17th Century

Ms Corbett said: "The email said that they'd heard about our work to restore the castle and find the furniture which was sold in 1921.

"They thought they might have Gwydir's dining chairs, but asked could we confirm this.

"Thankfully, we have a copy of the original sale catalogue from the 1921 auction, along with a picture of the chairs in the castle before everything was sold."

The chairs originally sold in 1921 for 1,700 guineas and are considered very rare, she said.

They are William and Mary chairs, a furniture design common between 1700 and 1725.

The chairs pictured in the castle before they were sold in 1921

"So it was easy to confirm that they were the same ones as had once been here," Ms Corbett said.

"We were amazed when the Schroder Collection then said they would donate them to the castle."

Gwydir Castle, built in about 1490, was the ancestral home of the Wynn family, who were descended from the kings of Gwynedd.

It has hosted King Charles I, in 1645, and King George V and Queen Mary in 1899, when they were Duke and Duchess of York.

Mr Welford said: "We went to collect them and carefully installed them in the dining room where visitors will be able to see them when we open for the summer season.

The property has hosted kings and queens over the centuries

"The chairs are made of walnut wood and exquisitely carved. There was a real excitement when they returned home for the first time in over a century.

"We are still trying to trace the panelling from another room, the oak parlour, which was sold to the American newspaper owner William Randolph Hearst at the auction in 1921.

"But so far, it's eluded us, despite all our detective work. If anyone does know where it is, please get in touch."