Erddig - Wrexham, Wales (NT)
Erddig, like so many grand houses, was built as a celebration and statement of position, in this case, the appointment of Joshua Edisbury as High Sheriff of Denbighshire in 1682. His father, John, was steward to Sir Thomas Myddelton of nearby Chirk Castle and a local barrister, so although the family was minor gentry in the county, Joshua obviously felt the need to establish a somewhat more elevated social position for his descendents. Work began in 1684 on the dramatic setting above the River Clywedog and the house was set out very much as we can see it today; plain and regular exterior, with two symmetrical floors inside and a lower ground floor for the service rooms.
The East Front
Although there are documents detailing the panelling, plasterwork and some fireplaces of the original design, there is unfortunately no extant description of how the interior was decorated and apart from some individual pieces, such as the incised lacquer screen of six panels now in the State Bedroom, much of the furniture was subsequently sold off to pay debts run up by the owners of Erddig. Joshua's social ambitions were found to be beyond his purse and although the house itself was of relatively modest proportions and decoration, together with the furnishing and the elaborate formal garden, on top of the financial demands made on him by his relations, Joshua's financial affairs were in ruins by the late 1690's. He called on his friend Elihu Yale (benefactor of the American university) for help, but the friendship turned sour and Joshua was forced to turn to his brother, Dr John Edisbury, who in turn was ruined by the affair. He was found to have stolen Chancery fees (he was a lawyer) in a vain attempt to buy off his brother's creditors. He died in disgrace in 1713 and Joshua, having been previously declared bankrupt in 1709, died in obscurity in London, despite the valiant loyalty of his servants back at Erddig to maintain the house, which was let in his absence.
By 1716, the estate had been purchased by John Meller for £17,000. Meller was also a barrister, but whereas the Edisburys had been generous to a fault with their family, Mellor was mean and impecunious with his. However, he spent lavishly on his new home and full records of his furnishings, most of which survive at Erddig, were kept. New marble chimneypieces and window seats were added in the Entrance Hall and sumptuous fabrics in rich colours graced successive rooms. Mirrors became a feature of the house, as they still are, with fine gilded frames. The upstairs rooms were more plainly furnished. In the 1720's, Meller added wings to join the main house to Edisbury's outlying pavilions but he didn't have long to enjoy the extended house and he died after years of ill health in 1733.
As he had never married, Erddig was left to his nephew, Simon Yorke, who had helped with the arrangements for the furnishing. Although he had grand relations (Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke was his cousin) Simon did little to the house, concentrating on developing the garden. After much encouragement from his relations, he was finally married at the age of 43 to a 19 year old heiress, Dorothy Hutton. She seems to have had some difficulty in running the large house and regretted their absence from London as they wintered in Chester rather than the capital. Their only son, Philip, was born in 1743 and it is his mark which shows most plainly on the house today. A precocious child who knew his own mind, Philip declared himself a vegetarian at the age of 5 and later studied avidly at Cambridge, becoming a barrister and inheriting Erddig at the age of 23.
After a difficult three years or so, Philip married Elizabeth Cust in 1770, after falling in love with her, despite opposition and the threat of disinheritance. Fortunately, his uncle didn't alter his will and Philip came into substantial money, as well as a fine collection of pictures and china including the late seventeenth century Delft orange-tree pot now in the Tapestry Room. His mother moved at last to London with her talented maid, Betty Radcliffe, who made the remarkable models on display in the Gallery. Delicate structures of mica, mother-of-pearl and glass, the intricate models include 'The Ruins of the Temple of the Sun at Palmyra' and The Chinese Pagoda'. There are fine portraits of the Yorkes in the Dining Room, that of Philip is by Gainsborough. The young couple set about redecorating Erddig, Elizabeth ordering quantities of materials and Philip re-casing the whole of the west, garden front in stone. James Wyatt, then a young and up and coming architect, provided some designs, including the three-bay pediment on the exterior, the new stable yard and kitchen, with its large Venetian window and new mahogany doors in the main house. Philip's dread of fire was already apparent and work was undertaken to try to improve the chimneys. Wyatt employed Joseph Rose the Younger (also a favourite craftsman of Robert Adam) to provide fine plasterwork ceilings in the Hall and the new Drawing Room. The State Bedroom was created on the ground floor and the nursery filled with the Yorkes' seven children. Elizabeth died in 1779 after the premature birth of a girl and Philip married again in 1782, having a further six children by Diana Meyrick.
Although an M.P., Philip never spoke in the House of Commons and disliked politics. He was more involved in local affairs and devoted much of his energy to his house and gardens at Erddig. He began the tradition here of portraits in written and pictorial forms of the servants, which form such a large part of the charm of Erddig - the glimpse we get of the people who worked there, not just those who owned it.
Simon Yorke II inherited Erddig in 1804, his half-brothers and sisters moved out with their mother, but the families remained on good terms, as the record of wedding presents to Simon show. Simon made the last major change to the house by removing Meller's dressing-room and enlarging the Dining Room, decorating in the Regency style. Further work was carried out in the Agent's Office, Housekeeper's Room and the Still Room.
Simon III's time maintained the family tradition of care and preservation of the house's treasures, without too much alteration. The blue glass bottles dotted around the house date from this time and were an early form of fire extinguisher. He also continued the family's eccentric celebration of their servants, with bad verse and later photographic rather than painted portraits. Simon's son Philip II was forced into marriage in 1877, but his unfortunate wife Annette Puleston left him shortly after their honeymoon without a word of explanation or farewell. It was not until she died and Philip was 50, that he was free to start a new life. He married again in 1902, this time to a fellow cyclist and he proposed to her under the Gainsborough portrait of his ancestor. Simon Yorke IV inherited the estate at the age of nineteen in 1922, having been too young to fight in the First World War. However, right across the country, the war had an immediate and permanent effect on the staff employed in such vast numbers on the large estates. Simon did not have the capability demanded of such critical times and even dismissed his estate manager. Becoming increasingly cut off, he disconnected the telephone, stopped the post and the house fell into disrepair, not helped by the now nationalized Coal Board's mining far beneath the house. His brother Philip inherited in 1966 and showed more aptitude for coping with the now parlous state of the house. He was as gregarious and company loving as his brother had been reclusive. The Coal Board made good the subsidence (earlier Simon had refused their help) and the National Trust began to take an interest. Philip was determined to keep together the family curiosities that had been preserved by his ancestors and Erddig was handed over to the Trust's care in the 1970's.
On visiting Erddig now, you first pass through the yards, outbuildings and servants rooms, containing a wealth of information about life for those below stairs. The gardens too are a delight with unusual pleached lime trees now marking the position of the original garden walls, demolished in the eighteenth century.