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BANGOR COUNTY COURT. I

WELSH BOLL\ Y. i

TOTAL DE STRUCTION OF WYNNSTAY…

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TOTAL DE STRUCTION OF WYNNSTAY BY FIIIE. The ancient baronial mansion of Sir Watkin Wil- Hams Wynll, Bart M.|>„ situate in the county of 1 >enbijjn, and within one mile of Kuabori, was en- tirely destroyed by fire early 011 S turdav morning last. I lie respected baronet, with Lady Wynn, had onlv returned to Nvvllllstlv I)%- the express train on 1 inlay evening, and the t imijy circle was increased by the visit of the Earl and Countess Vane and their two chihlren, C"J, the Hon. W el1ington Cotton and Mrs Cntton, Hugh Williams, Esq of L('am;n?tnn (hrothp).nt-)awtnSh-\Vatkin),andCaptninBu)ke- ?y.of Windsor, On Friday ni^ht the inmotes of ?ynnstayrrtircdtnrcstsonnaf'tprtwch'po'ctnck, and all was in quiet repose, with the exception of the watchman in attendance to walk i-ound the hall and to attend to the pasonieter fires belonging to the pri- vate gasworks, from which the house and the adjoin- ing buildings are supplied. The night was exceed- ingly stormy, a strong wind blowing, with alternate showers of rain and sleet. Between two and three o'clock in the morning, T,ady Vane's nurse was fortu- natelv awoke by one of the children, and on getting up she felt convinced that she melt something burn ing. She rushed to her ladyship's bedroom and gave an alarm of fire. Lord Vane immediately alarmed the establishment, At once Sir Watkin and Captain Bulkeley proceeded to make an examination,when all doubts were removed by smoke issuing from under the door of the library, adjoining the new picture gallery. Sir Watkin exclaimed. "ly God, the house is on fire." They opened the library door, when out hurst dense smoke, and the flooi- of the room seemed one red mass of fire. Ventilation having now heen allowed, the flames spread with fearful rapidity. There was not a moment to lose, and the ladies had to rush out by the back entrance, with not an aiticle of clothing but their night dresses, and thus they r. e(I ib.1, t in the storm, almost unconscious with the intense excitement. Tlie suddeness of the alarm, and the terrific sight which met theirgaze, when the inmates began to lecover their consciousness, after being aroused from their sleep, produced a scene at once heart-rending and indescribable. Lord Vane ran along a passage, exclaiming () find, where is my son, and he immediately hurried to the bedroom where his children had been sleeping, through fire and smoke, and brought them away in his arm'. He next attempted to secure Lady Vane's jewels, but he was too late, the flames had extended too far. They were valued at £ (i,000. l'he jewels of the Hon. Mrs. Cotton, valued at £ 1,500, were also lost, along with her clothing, as also a large sum of money belonginc to the lion, Cotton. Oil the alarm being given, a small fire-engine, on the premises, was brought into use, and thirty stable- men, with numbers of the surrounding residents, promptly came into the scene, and rendered every assistance in their power. A man on horseback was also despatched to Wrexham, where he alarmed the town in th ? midst of its stillness. T wo "I gill-, alld a body of ifremen were at once despatched for W vnnstay.as i,eil as an engine from Col. lliddulph's, Chirk Castle, The strength of the w'nd was such, coupled with the quantity of highly comhnstihlc material in the hall, and probably the gas, that the engines hrd not the slightest effect, though abundant- ly supplied with water from ornamental ponds, close by. Even the rain and sleet seemed only to add fresh vigour to the Runes, Sir Watkin, Captain Bulkeley, the lion. Wellintou Cotton, and Mr. Williams, were unremitting in their exertions to save everything possible, but to little effect. Sir Watkin had two or three nairow escapes- At one time he rushed into the drawing-room and saved a portrait of his father; he returned to bring away that of his mother, but could not succed, and he stumbled out at the doorway from suffocation, and rolled a distance off. At ano'her time a portion of the wall, fell in just where he had been standing a few seconds before. His left hand was so bur;>ed and cut that he has now to carry it in a sling. The wind drove the flames from the quarter where the plate-chest was situated, and after forcing in the iron door the muniments and plate were sived, as well as the greater portion of L;>d-' Wynn's jewels, and the valuable title-deeds and documents belonging to the family. The plate is said to he worth £ '20,000. The linen in store was also carried away The flames reached their height about six o'clock, when the scene was awfully grand. The flames streamed out through the roof and filled every window, ami the eflect was heightened by the country round about being thickly clad in snow. From this time the fire raged less furiously, from exhaustion of combustible ni-itfer, and the fears at one time entertained of the extensive and magni- ficent range of stabling, built of stone, igniting, now began to subside, though it was clear their safety was chiefly attributable to the direction of the wind. Dining-room, drawing-room, billiard-room, library, with a rare and valuable collection of books and manuscripts, the entrance-ball, saloon gallery, bed- rooms, alcove, pantries, and waiting-rooms, were completely destroyed, with their vaiied treasures in magnificent furniture, splendid decorations, and ap- parel. The carpet on the drawing room floor was quite a marvel in its way, having been manufactured expressly for the room, at a cost of £1,000, The hearth-rug, belonging to;it was saved. Many very valuable paintings were lost, including one by Van. dyke, another by Schneide, the portrait of Williams, by Mengs, so much admired at the Manchester Ex- hibition, and a number of family pictures, indeed only about four of the family pictures, by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Davie, have been saved. Most fortu- nately, the valuable collection by early masters, many of which were at the Marchester Exhibition, had y ()' yet been brought down from London. The celebrated painting Wynnstay Hunt" was amongst the saved. A quantity of china and glass, but com- paratively a small portion, was saved. and so were two or three rich cabinets, a rich table, and a few articles of general furniture, but extremely few, con- sidering the extent and magnificence of the residence. The plate, litieii, an,1 general furniture which were saved from the conflagration were stored in the stables; the paintings and valuable pieces of furni- ture were taken to the residence of Mr. Cope, the gardener. When the confusion had a little abated, the gentlemen got an overcoat or two forthe ladies, so unexpectedly thrown almost shoeless into the bleak night, and they were conducted to the house of Mr. Simpson, the head groom, situate with- in a short distance of U'ynnstay, where they receiv- ed every attention, and remained until late in the day. The portion of the premises which have suffered the least by the fire, are the rooms of the domestics, including the kitchens, still-room, and the other otlices; but this may iie attributed to the direction of the wind and to the exertions of the firemen after the destruction of the more important portion of the house. Considerable difficulty and much loss were experi- enced from the want of the ladders, and although there were some on the premises, they were not brought into use, owing, no doubt, to the general alarm and perplexity which existed, and to the ab- sence of Nir. Laycock, the house carpenter, who did not sleep on the premises. In the course of Saturday, Captain Burlinson, Sir Watkin's agent, and Mr. Ferrey, architect, were telegraphed for, and on ar- rival they immediately commenced an investigation, as to the cause of the fr e, but with no satisfactory result. In the course of the day most of the gentry in the locality visited the site of the catastrophe, and the most sincere feelings of sympathy and affection have been universally expressed towards Sir Watkin and Lady" ynu, This being the most destructive fire that has ever occured probably in North Wales, during Saturday crowds from all carts were congregated to see the rnin. On Monday afternoon the engines were still playing, and the apperance of the edifice was most lamentable. 1 hat which, a day or two before, wa3 was a stately mansion, surrounded by an exquisitely arranged arden, was now a mass of tottering walls and smoking embers. Portions of the walls were in a threatening condition, whilst other portions had fallen en masse, on to the lawn. The beautiful flower gardens had heen completely laid waste; but the extensive kitchen gardens remained as before. The pieces of burnt beams, old iron, patches of carpets, wood, &c. lay like. avast wreck over the once charming lawn, inside, where stood the draw- ing-room, over which were the sleeping apartments of Ladv Vane and the Hon. Mrs. Cott«i, is a mass of debris, which contains the costly jewels lost by those ladies, as well as gold and other valuables, ihis admixture is being carefully searched, under the su- perintendence of the Hon. Wellington Cotton and a few others, and their persevering researches have, we are glad to say, proved in some measure success- ful, as several diamonds, gold nuggets, and other va- luables have been discovered among the ruins. Marble chimney pieces lying fractured, door-locks. Dresden china, iron bedsteads, glass miniatures, broken pedestals, fractured statues and statuettes, See., were mixed up with tne embers. Here lay the bust of some illustrious character, headless the, e liy the bust of the Iron Duke," without a nose and round about were empty niches falling to pieces. Here and there, gold and ornamental work were still left in small patches on the walls. The very extensive a i(I well- known ale and wine cellars were saved from fire, excepting or.e but the rnb- bish that had fallen into that one seemed lik(? redhot cinders, and hot water dripped through the brick arches, which were three or four feet thick. Where the library bad been, masses of black substances lay, of the shape of hooks, but hard and wet, mixed with craps of black-letter books (some partially legible), rntisic, and engravings. The library was celebrated for its rich stores of rare books and choice manu- I I scripts. In the kitchens, which escaped most of all, were wet, cold, and hungry firemen, and groups of "helps," before an Old English" fire-place, in com- pinionsilil) with joints of beef and nitittoii, in quan- | tity sufficient for a regiment, together with bread, ale. Src. The loss of of property. including the building, valuable paintings magnificent furniture, Sic, is computed at from 7C60,000 to £ 70.00(1; but in an ancient baronial man¡ion like that of Wynnstay there were many heirlooms and other tokens which no amount of money can ever replace. Neither house nor furniture was insured, although Sir Watkin has his town residence insured, as also his farming stock. This is the more curious when we remember that the worthy baronet is a Trustee 01' the Provincial (Welsh) Insurance Company, and must oftentimes, in Ida otlicial capacity with that company, point out the advantages and prudence of insurance. A- to the unfortunate cause of the fire, nothing is positively known it remains, and is likely to do, a mystery. Some think that the itas ignited, but there was no explosion. Others, with moie apparent cor- rectness, attribute it to the careless over-heating of the fires for the purpose of drying the new picture gallery. But there is littl > doubt the fi e originated from that apartment of the library which is contigu- ous. Thpre is no reason, however, to suppose that it is other than the result of accident. Sir Watkin and Lady Wynn, who are for the pre- sent residing at a small residence called Boyddltan, in the vicinity of the former mansion, bear their great loss with true Christian fortitude, and are deeply thankful to a gracious Providence that no human life I was sacriifced. Lady Wynn cannot, however, but i regret the loss of the portrait of her brother, the late Captain Wynn, of the '2,'ird Koyal Welsh Fusiliers, who was killed at the Alma, at the commencement of the Crimean campaign She also feels the loss of 'tpet f,ily," which was left in her maid's bedroom but two other of her domestic pets, "Topsy" and Dot, escaped the flames. The Earl and Countess Vnnr, wjth L1Jt;jr two children, left early on Saturday morning, as best they could the Countess minus her magniifcent jewels and other valuables; the Earl had the good fortune to save his watch, but his money he had lost, and a friend lent him a t;) z)oio, to enable hirn to pay his way. On Monday and Toesday, Col. Wynn, 1\lr. C. W. W. Wynn, Capt. Bulkeley, the Hon. Wellington Cotton, Capt. Deaman, the Chief Constable for Den- bighship.Capt. Burlinson, the agent of Wynnstay estates, Mr. Ferrey, architect, Mr. Allen, of the I Wynnstay Arms, Kuabon, and others belonging to the household, with about 140 labourers, were busily engaged, some in the working of the engines, which were still playin on the smouldering ruins, and others in searching out the valuables which the' burning element could not destroy. Sir Watkin was much gratified, and expressed his warmest satisfaction at the exertions and assistance which the neighbouring populace had rendered upon the unfortunate occasion. It is a matter of con- gratulation that no lives were lost, nor any serious casualty happened, when the time of the fire breaking out is considered and the great rapidity of the flames, yet Sir Watkin and the house-steward, Mr. DI illl chett, had a narrow escape; they had gone down into the cellars to acertain the temperature, when about 30 tons of blick-work fell down near were they were standing; but, being warned of the danger, they were enabled to shelter themselves under an archway and so remained unscathed. The house was situated on some rising ground in the midst of a magnificent park and the front, facing the south, commanded some of the most beautiful seen- ery in Wales, including the vale of Llangollen. The edijice had been enlarged from time to time, but it general style was Grecian, and it was built of brick, with fine white stone facings it had a semi- circular front, with two wings, the appearance of which was at once noble and graceful. It is said the celebrated architect Inigo Jones, in the time of Charles I. designed the first portion and, within recent years, Professor Cockerell, li.A. had enlarged it with a saloon. capable of accommodating from five to six hundred persons. Still later, alter- ations had been going on in the interior to construct a picture gallery, aud to effect other improvements. These had progressed so far that fires for some time past had been kept up for the purpose of drying the gallery, preparatory to the removal of a large col- lection of valuable paintings chiefly those sent by Sir Watkin to the Manchester Exhibition, now at at his town residence. At the north east side of the hall were the servants' offices, and at the east a small old theatre. A distance off there is an extensive range of stables. Of the mansion nothing remains perfect but an old tower, bearing the date of 170G, in which were deposited the family plate, muniment papers, t and other important documents.— Chester Courant.

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