Plas Teg: A Jacobean Country House

Plas Teg in Flintshire is perhaps the most important Jacobean country house in Wales. This book charts the story of the Trevor family, it was through Royal favour they acquired land, power and money, enabling the creation of the Plas Teg Estate. The book provides the stories of each subsequent owner and their effect on the house, grounds and locality up to the present day. What happened when the house was ransacked by Cromwellian soldiers? Who was Lady Dacre whose ghost supposedly haunts the corridors of Plas Teg? What lies behind the dark walls of the haunted mansion? All of these questions are answered within the pages of this book.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements List of Illustrations Foreword by Michael Tree Introduction Chapter One - The Early Owners of Plas Teg Chapter Two - The Trevors Chapter Three - The Trevor-Ropers Chapter Four - Twentieth Century Chapter Five - Present Day Chapter Six - The Gardens and Outbuildings Bibliography About the Author Appendices A - An inventory of the goods at Place Tege B - Memorial inscription of Lord and Lady Dacre C - Diary of Charlotte Blanche Trevor-Roper

About the Author :
From the age of nine Mark Baker has been spearheading a campaign to save one of Wales's most important buildings at risk; nineteenth century Gwrych Castle in Abergele, North Wales, which has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair over the past seventeen years after plans for an opera centre by its American owner fell through. Mark's passion for historic buildings, art and architecture, has been present from a very young age and fuelled him to try and halt the decline of Gwrych Castle, once upon a time nicknamed 'Showplace of Wales'. Mark's enthusiasm and determination generated a huge response, particularly in the media, numerous articles and magazines, as well as radio and television interviews which have featured Mark and the castle; bringing the plight of the castle to the greater awareness of the public. Mark also contacted the organisation SAVE Britain's Heritage and at the age of twelve was invited to become the youngest honorary life member. Three years ago he was also asked to become the Welsh representative of the Young Georgians. His dedication to the campaign for Gwrych Castle has also gained the support of many figures, such as HRH The Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister Tony Blair. At the age of twelve Mark set up ASFOG (A Society for the Friends of Gwrych) to raise greater awareness and then in 2001 founded a registered charity The Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust which today has over 300 members, making it one of the largest building preservation trusts in Wales. After extensive research and collation of information into the history of the Castle, Mark decided to write and publish a book entitled 'The Rise and Fall of Gwrych Castle', which was released in 1999. Following this publication a collection of old postcards and photographs put together gave rise to 'Gwrych Castle: A Pictorial History' which was published in 2000. After the success of the first book, a second edition of it along with a biography of Winifred, Countess of Dundonald came out in 2003. In 2005 he released a book on Hafodunos Hall, in Llangernyw, North Wales; Hafodunos was on the cusp of its salvation before being devastatingly gutted by fire in October 2004 by arsonists and the book sought to document it history. This was followed up with articles in the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust bulletin and the Georgian Group Cymru. Mark has known Mrs Bayley and Plas Teg for several years and through his love for historical buildings and heritage, he was inspired to write his sixth book on the history of this remarkable building. Much of the material and information about Plas Teg has previously been unpublished or unavailable in the public domain, bringing together the most comprehensive work on this nationally important house.