Kinmel Hall in North Wales was once one of the grandest homes in the country, but has been left to rot for the past two decades – and now faces an uncertain future
If you happened to have £950,000 burning a hole in your pocket and fancied acquiring a colossal, eerie, and allegedly haunted Welsh estate, then unfortunately you’ve missed out on what some would call the deal of a lifetime.
That’s because for just under a million pounds, you could have snapped up Kinmel Hall back in 2021 – a once-magnificent but now crumbling Grade I listed property nestled in the North Welsh countryside.
Constructed during the 1870s by copper mining tycoon Hugh Robert Hughes, this so-called “Welsh Versailles” spent most of its existence as a testament to opulence and magnificence, though a string of misfortunes and questionable choices have left it in ruins.
Whilst the estate has deteriorated throughout the 21st Century, during its heyday it featured 365 windows, 12 separate entrances, and an incredible 122 rooms spanning over 80,000 square feet, making it amongst the most expansive and impressive houses in Britain.
Within its walls, Kinmel Hall showcased exquisite decorative ceilings, wood-panelled surfaces, and sweeping corridors adorned with magnificent portraits.
The property even housed a collection of wooden panels presented by Queen Victoria herself, allegedly as gratitude following her stay at the hall, reports the Mirror.
Those very panels have since been stolen as the remainder of the building descended into decay.
The estate has stood vacant since the dawn of the new millennium, after enduring a lengthy and convoluted past that saw it serve as a girls’ boarding school, a military medical facility, a Christian retreat centre, and an unsuccessful hotel venture.
In 1975, a catastrophic blaze ravaged vast sections of the structure, and despite numerous restoration attempts throughout the decades, Kinmel Hall has never fully bounced back.
Within its walls, chambers once crafted for grand entertainment now stand hauntingly empty. Scorch marks from the inferno remain visible.
Water pours through damaged roofing. Glass panes lie shattered.
Heritage organisations and preservation societies have continuously sounded the alarm, cautioning that without immediate action, the structure faces the threat of irreparable deterioration.
In 2021, Kinmel Hall changed hands for £950,000 when developer Chris Cryer purchased it, announcing plans to finance repairs through temporary luxury camping accommodation positioned within the estate.
Yet this strategy sparked fury among local heritage campaigners, prompting the council to serve an enforcement order requiring removal of the structures, arguing they’re harming the site’s historical significance.
Alarmingly for the property’s current proprietors, projections suggest complete renovation would require approximately £70 million.
Numerous observers worry these sums will prove prohibitive, condemning Kinmel Hall to perpetual uncertainty – too significant for demolition, yet too costly for repair.