The hereditary estate of the ancient and honourable family of Sir Watkyn
Williams Wynn, Bart. A porter resides at a small house on the left side
of the entrance to the park, who admits all strangers requesting it. A
beautiful road leads to the mansion, and large herds of deer exhibit
their graceful forms and agility among the surrounding trees. Offa’s
Dyke runs through the grounds, which are of very great extent, well
wooded, tastefully laid out, and kept in nice order. The house is very
extensive, and the stables also capacious. The premises have acquired
their present magnitude by various additions made at different times by
the possessors.
In the eleventh century it was the residence of Madog Gryffydd Mailor,
{8a} Lord of Bromfield, and of Dinas Bran, near Llangollen. It was then
called Wattstay, from another old dyke still visible, named Watt’s Dyke;
and the space between that and Offa’s Dyke was a sort of neutral
territory, on which the Welch and Saxons used to traffic with each other.
{8b} When the noble family of the Wynns became its possessors, the
original name was changed to Wynnstay. The house is replete with
elegance and convenience, and is the seat of hospitality as unbounded as
the benevolence of its owner’s heart. Under the auspices of the late and
present noble possessors, both the edifice and grounds have nearly
attained the ne plus ultra of perfection; yet at this time a vast
addition is making to the magnitude of the park, by changing the
direction of the road to Oswestry. In short, Wynnstay is one of the most
beautiful seats, not only in Wales, but even in the United Kingdom.
In the park stands a fluted freestone column, erected to the memory of
the late Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart. by his mother, who survived him. The
elevation, after a design by Wyatt, is about one hundred feet, and is
surmounted by a bronze urn. The base also is of bronze, decorated with
eagles and oak leaves, and bears this inscription:—
“Filio optimo, mater, eheu! superstes.”