Plas Newydd

This 16th-century house was remodelled by John Cooper of Beaumaris in 1783-6 and between the 1790s and 1820s by James Wyatt and his assistant, Joseph Potter of Lichfield. Their client was Henry, Earl of Uxbridge; his son Henry, who lost a leg at Waterloo, was created 1st Marquess of Anglesey. Architecturally, Plas Newydd belongs to the early 19th century and the ‘cult of styles’, cheerfully mixing Neo-classical and picturesque Gothick. Still, it is very much rooted in the 1930s, when the 6th Marquess of Anglesey refurbished the house and employed Rex Whistler to create an immense Italianate dining room mural. Aside from the mural, the interior is mainly Neo-classical with very good examples of late 18th-century Gothick work in the hall and music room. Outside, the sinuous shape of the landscape, framed by drifts of trees and shrubs, was set out by the leading designer of the period, Humphry Repton.

Plas Newydd, Anglesey

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A family home with interiors designed with the help of Sybil Colefax and a collection including items relating to the 1st Marquess and the Battle of Waterloo, the 7th Marquess and his family, and works by Rex Whistler. 2015 is the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and this year for the first time the study of the 7th Marquess is open. It was in this room that the 7th Marquess wrote much of his history about his heroic ancestor, the 1st Marquess of Anglesey.

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