Wern y Wylan, Llanddona is ‘a group of Arts and Crafts houses overlooking the bay, built c. 1934 by Gordon Jackson for the Verney family as a kind of artistic colony equipped with concert hall, petrol station, shop and hotel. Rendered and timber-clad, with a profusion of gables and hips. A prominent Germanic tower at the centre’ Halsalm, R., Orbach J., and Voelcker, A., (2009) The Buildings of Wales: Gwynedd (p. 145)

According to Cadw, Harry Verney’s vision was for the development to become ‘the Glyndebourne of the North’ and the original plans included ‘shops, petrol pumps, swimming pools and saunas, lare guest houses and the hotel at what is now known as Wern y Wylan Court; the hall across the road from the hotel would been the focus of the development, housing the concert hall complete with sprung dance floor. Sadly, the fortunes of the Verney Estate and the development at Wern y Wylan were to suffer with the outbreak of the Second World War. The hotel has now been internally re-planned to provide several independent holiday flats’ although the interiors retain ‘some original brick fireplaces and moulded coving’

Cadw also provides a detailed description of the exterior of the hotel: ‘Early C20 hotel with later C20 alterations and additions. The building has rendered or timber clad elevations with brick dressings, green slate roof with tiled ridge and large brick stacks. The complex is a striking essay on the Arts and Crafts/neo vernacular style characterised by a carefully articulated plan, variety in massing, and expressive use of materials and detail. The principal elevation faces the road to southeast; the main entrance was originally between semi-octagonal brick piers offset to the right, now part infilled and with large 3-light window with shallow lights at head. Above the window is an embossed gutter with floriate bosses along the length and there is an ogee-patterned hopper, beyond a narrow light to R; there is a paired leaded light to left. In the roof above the former entrance there is a hipped roofed square plan water tower which originally stored water for the entire complex at Wern-y-Wylan. At the base of the tower are modern casement windows; there is a flat-roofed dormer with modern windows to L and smaller dormer with small, paired casements to right. Flanking the former entrance are slightly advanced gable bays, to the right with small-paned casements, that to the left is timber clad with ground floor small-paned casement windows, a modern light in the gable apex above. The bay to the far left is further advanced, the ground floor has coloured margin pane detailing in leaded lights, modern first floor windows and modern timber porch to the far left. The main entrance was later moved to be set in a gabled bay in the north-east elevation, to the left is an advanced bay with small-paned casement windows, the water tower above has a painted "blind" window at the head and a small diamond light to the right. The entrance is within a broach-stop chamfered arch of 2 orders, the outer arch bears weathered motifs including a portcullis at the head of the arch. Above the entrance is a canted oriel window of small-paned casements. To the right of the entrance there are 2 hipped gable dormers with small-paned casement windows, the ground floor has an original casement window of 3-lights to R and a modern 3-light window to the left. The advanced gabled wing at the far right has modern windows and entrance with brick surround in the south-east angle. The rear (north-west) elevation has a modern glazed conservatory to the left of a massive, shouldered brick stack; to the right is a 4-window range of modern lights emulating the original small-paned casements. The south-west elevation has been modernised and has modern windows. There are advanced gabled wings, one to the left end and two to the right; one wing to the right has a canted oriel window, the other has an advanced ground floor with modern French windows and patio.’ The Court is Grade II listed as ‘a striking essay in Arts and Crafts architecture; it retains much of its original character in the use of materials and retention of some architectural features. The hotel is the best-preserved building of this interesting and ambitious twentieth century development.'

RCAHMW, 2 August 2021

Cofnod Safle

Wern y Wylan, Llanddona