Plas Teg: Once in a Generation Welsh House Clearance
We have begun the first quarter of 2025 with an exciting project.
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Rogers Jones & Co have been selected to remove and sell the contents of Plas Teg, one of Wales' most important and historic houses. A rare Jacobean survivor.
About Plas Teg
- 1610 Constructed by Sir John Trevor I, a wealthy and influential politician, near the village of Pontblyddyn in Flintshire. Sir John was a Member of Parliament, Secretary to the Council of the Marches, and later became a trusted advisor to King James I.
- 1645 Sacked twice by Roundhead troops in the Civil War, during General Brereton's invasion of Flintshire.
- 1685 Served as a courthouse during and after the Monmouth Rebellion.
- 1823 Extensively restored by Charles Blayney Trevor-Roper.
- 1939-45 Used by the War Office as housing for soldiers during WWII.
- 1945 Sold to an auction company that used the house for storage.
- 1952 Given Grade I listed status by Cadw, protecting it from the threat of demolition.
- 1986 Purchased by Cornelia Bayley for £75,000.
The Restoration of Plas Teg
The house was purchased by former antiques dealer Cornelia Bayley in 1986 when in a state of complete disrepair.
Coincidentally, the purchase was in the same year that the seminal book ‘The Lost Houses of Wales’ by Thomas Lloyd was published. In which the author described Plas Teg as ‘outstandingly important’ under the chapter ‘Houses in Danger’.
"...the roofs has more or less gone, trees were growing through the building and birds were flying around inside. Most of the flagstones, lead, chimneypieces and panelling had been stolen, although mercifully the main doorcases survived"
With help from Cadw, Cornelia carried out major renovation works on Plas Teg, and used her years of experience in the antiques trade to furnish the Jacobean mansion and its grounds.
Ten months after purchasing the property, Cornelia began opening it to the public for tours. And the house featured on Channel 4's Country House Rescue.
But in 2022 Plas Teg closed to the public in order to carry out major renovation works.
If you believe in that sort of thing…
Plas Teg has been host to several ghost hunting TV shows, including Ghost Hunting with... Girls Aloud, with no fewer than 15 ghosts said to haunt the Jacobean mansion.
One of the most famous ghosts is said to be Lady Dorothy Trevor, the daughter of the original owner of Plas Teg. Lady Dorothy had fallen in love with a local farmer's son, Iorwerth, much to her father's disapproval. One night, as she attempted to elope with Iorwerth, she ran to a nearby well to collect jewels which she had buried, and in the darkness tripped and fell down the well to her death.
''These are the sort of jobs that come around once in a blue moon and are rarely forgotten. Most definitely a once in a generation house clearance.
I was warned about the scale and nature of the task before visiting Plas Teg for the first time but it was no preparation - I was truly gob-smacked . Room after room was packed full of period furniture, interesting sculpture, ceramics and all manner of curios. The antiques don’t stop inside the house either, they extend to the garden with impressive statues and lovely high quality garden ornaments''
‘’I was called in by Ben Rogers Jones to provide a secondary independent assessment of the contents of Plas Teg in the autumn of 2024, as required by the legal process.
Entering the historic house was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my long career. I was stunned by the amount of ambience of the surroundings and the range of the furnishings.
Carved marble throne chairs from Hyderabad sat alongside high Style Regency furniture and carpets from the Orient. I envied the reference library and imagined how some sensitive restoration could bring these treasures back to life’’
We have been instructed by Power of Attorney to sell the contents of Plas Teg.
This will include a Plas Teg Principal Interiors auction of furniture, garden statuary and related effects.
Please note that the items have been removed from the property and viewings of the collection will be by appointment and held at a warehouse, local to the great house. 24 hour security is now in place at Plas Teg.
The collection also includes an extensive array of antique ceramics. This part of the collection will be offered across various Rogers Jones auctions (starting on January 21st), with the provenance detailed as The Cornelia Bayley Collection from the historic Welsh Jacobean house, Plas Teg.
