Plas Newydd House & Garden

A country house set in gardens, parkland and woodland on the north bank of the Menai Strait, Plas Newydd dates back to the 13th century, though the earliest parts of the current building were built in the early 16th century, and was eventually the country home of the Marquesses of Anglesey before ownership passed to the National Trust in 1976. The house now contains several exhibitions of items and artworks of historical importance. Among others, these include:

Military Museum

The Military Museum exhibits items and pictures of the 1st Marquess and his part in the Battle of Waterloo curated by the late 7th Marquess.

The Whistler mural

One of the largest murals in the United Kingdom, painted by artist Rex Whistler – one of the ‘bright young things‘ who had achieved considerable artistic significance before his untimely death at Normandy in 1944 aged only 39.

The Saloon

Once the main sitting room, and featuring fantastic views from its large bay window, The Saloon contains pastoral landscapes painted by the Flemish artist, Balthasar Paul Ommeganck, dating back to 1789. The Saloon also has a temporary collection of unfinished Whistler artworks.

The Gothick Hall

With a plaster ceiling painted to look like marble, and wooden columns designed to look like stone, The Gothick Hall can play tricks on the eyes. Its walls feature paintings which includ Van Dyck’s full-length portrait of the Duchess of Buckingham, Katherine Manners.

Finding Plas Newydd is fairly simple from either bridge – simply join the A5 until the A4080 (Fford Brynsiencyn) and follow the road until you see the brown and white signposts which will direct you the short rest of the way. All in all, the journey is around ten minutes from the crossing to the site.