Wynnstay Park Mansion is situated in important landscaped grounds, the mansion was formerly the principal seat of the Williams-Wynn family, one of the most powerful families in N. Wales. It developed from a 17th century timber-frame structure, only the added stone tower of 1706 now surviving. The house was enlarged and remodelled in 1736-8 by Francis Smith of Warwick and his son, who also designed the stable block. A large assembly room was added and James Wyatt carried out some works, but ambitious proposals were never realised. The building was recased, probably by Benjamin Gunmow in the early 19th century. Works by CR Cockrell and Benjamin Ferey were proceeding when fire damaged much of the building in 1858. After the fire Ferrey rebuilt in 16th century French Renaissance style with sandstone ashlar and areas of sandstone rubble.

Associated with:
Park/gardens (Nprn35620: Park = Nprn37456; Garden = Nprn86654)
Workshop courtyard & sawmill (Nprn301422, 3057)
Stable court (Nprn37457)
Chapel, formerly orangery (Nprn3056)
Dairy pavilion, onetime chapel (Nprn301423).
RCAHMW AP94-CS 0164
RCAHMW AP965134/41

Wynnstay workshop courtyard:
These single storey mid 19th century buildings form a 'U' shape courtyard range part bounded to the east by the heated semi-circular brick kitchen-garden wall and has cart entrances in north and south sides. The Wynnstay sawmills are situated within this area and are noted separately (NPRN 3057). The north and west range of workshops are part of the stone external wall, but are part built of brick with slate roofs, having small-paned windows and boarded doors. The original usage is uncertain, but they have recently been used as store/workshop for masons, carpenters, glaziers, plumbers, electricians, mechanics and include a common room. However the range to the north was originally built as a stable and the open sheds to the north-west were cart/implement sheds. At the south-east corner an external weigh bridge has the surviving weight mechanism, probably with adjacent office. The separate south range of buildings consists of a forge and workshops formerly with belt-driven machinery, only the drive wheels and axle surviving. The drive wheels were belt driven from the sawmill and the axle may also have driven the forge bellows. These brick buildings have voussoired brick blind-arches on their south side, including some stone walling and stone columns, which indicate there was an earlier carthouse building at this point.
The kennels noted on the O.S. map have now been demolished (see earlier photo).

W.C. Holmes, a gas engineer of Huddersfield recorded in his book of 1874 to have built a gasworks at Ruabon. The gasworks would have lit the house and estate with gas light and they appeared on the 1873 OS map.

Visited GAW /CSB 30/04/97

GA Ward 12/5/97