Greater Llanelidan Heritage

Yesterday, Llanelidan & district was the first of this year's areas to allow people to wander round heritage sites under the Open Doors banner. Llanelidan & district sounds so metropolitan, so urban, so *important*. Yet, of course, this tiny village is itself the strangest, with church & pub separated from former Nantclwyd estate workers' cottages by an extensive cricket pitch and fields.

The rear of Nantclwyd Hall was extensively remodelled in the 20th century under Vivyan Naylor-Leyland by Clough Williams-Ellis, to include formal gardens and an Italianate-feel to the building's rear

Points of interest open to the public stretched from Capel Rhug to the Church of St Mary, Derwen, to Woodlands Hall, Bontuchel.

The lawned area outside Nantclwyd' Hall's walled garden is said to be the place in 1873 where the modern game of lawn tennis was invented. For those in the know, there was this commemorative plaque marking that game's centenary

But the main attraction had to be Nantclwyd Hall gardens. Last open to the public in 2000, then as part of the National Gardens Scheme, understandably yesterday the grounds drew considerable numbers. Going back to Sir Vivyan Naylor-Leyland's days (1924-1987) the hall was often open for local events but these have now long ceased.

Site of the original tennis court and the Hall's modern equivalent

The gardens were in good condition and well kept. This was remarkable since no one really lives there any more, with the family staying either in London or at their larger Peterborough estate. Back in 2000, members of the family were still young and they would spend part of their summers here.

The kitchen garden was nowhere near as well stocked as it was in 2000 but, again, why go to such lengths if no one will benefit. There was also very little colour within the gardens themselves, with a handful of sweet peas, lupins, hydrangea, nasturtiums and marigolds, mostly confined to the kitchen rather than ornamental garden.

Plenty of visitors to the Hall

The second most interesting open building was St Mary's, Derwen. It's always sad when a place of worship closes, as this one did in 1999. By this time, the congregation was less than half a dozen but, strangely, it still retained an organist to the bitter end. The rector who closed it was the highly regarded Revd Chris Potter of Llanfair who later became very revered as the dean of St Asaph and venerated as the archdeacon of Mold. His successor tried to close St Elidan's, Llanelidan, but locals fought it and as a result have coalesced as a church community.

After Derwen's closure, St Mary's soon passed to the charity Friends of Friendless Churches and, within, there was evidence of the work that the organisation had done in preservation.

The 15th century rood screen and loft—the loft being one of only 24 complete examples now left in Britain—has recently undergone restoration by the Friends

The church is rare is having both a rood screen and a rood loft above plus, of course, the famous Derwen churchyard cross. The church and village have a vantage point high above the upper Vale of Clwyd, with splendid views overlooking the U-shaped valley. This sets Derwen apart from its neighbour Clawddnewydd.

You can't really count Woodlands Hall as being part of Llanelidan & district. With for-sale caravans juxtaposed, it was nevertheless open under the banner of greater Llanelidan but was something of a major disappointment. Though available between 11.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m., there was no effort at all on the part of the management to welcome visitors and no display material or signage. It may as well not have been open. A total waste of time, you were simply left to your own devices and, looking around, felt very uncomfortable & out of place. This was most definitely the low point of the day.