Carreglwyd:
A Short History.
Nearly four centuries of history on Anglesey.
Carreglwyd has stood on the western edge of the Isle of Anglesey since 1634. Four centuries of family, landscape and change… from the era of Charles I to the present day.
HISTORY
Carreglwyd was built in 1634 by Dr William Griffiths, Chancellor of St Asaph and Master of the Rolls to Charles I. His grandfather, Sir William Griffiths, had been the Rector of Llanfaethlu for 44 years. At the time of his trial, Charles I gave Dr Griffiths one of the five Edward Bower copies of Van Dyck’s portrait, which hangs in the Dining Room at Carreglwyd to this day.
In 1755, John Griffiths, great-great-grandson of Dr William Griffiths, inherited Carreglwyd and married Mary Trygarn, heiress of a long line of Hollands of Berw and of Richard Trygarn of Trygarn. Mary remodelled the house in the late 18th century. Their son Holland Griffiths inherited Carreglwyd on his father’s death in 1776, and Berw in 1799.
Richard Trygarn Griffiths, son of Holland Griffiths, married Emma Mary Carpenter in 1838, daughter of Captain Digby Thomas Carpenter and Emma Stanley, herself the daughter of Sir John Thomas Stanley and Margaret Owen of Penrhos. Their only child, Maria Emma Elizabeth Conway Griffiths, inherited Carreglwyd and in 1880 married Sir Chandos Stanhope Hoskyns Reade, 8th Baronet of Shipton, Oxford. They had no children, and Sir Chandos died in 1890.
Lady Reade built the Griffith Reade Coffee House in the village of Llanfaethlu in 1892, conceived as an alternative meeting place to the public houses of the era. Renovated in 1993 to mark its centenary, it today serves as village hall, shop, café, hairdresser and lifelong learning centre.
Lady Reade died in 1917 and Carreglwyd passed to her cousin Major Frederick Carpenter, grandson of Thomas Digby Carpenter and Emma Stanley. He married three times but had no children, and on his death in 1937 the estate passed to his nephew Frederick Noel Carpenter. Frederick Noel died in 1955 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Thomas Stanley Carpenter.
Thomas Stanley died in 1992 and was succeeded by Thomas Stanley Holland. Tom married Ninni Karin in 1984 and they have three children, Laura, Digby and Talula, alongside Kristian and Erik from Ninni’s first marriage.
Carreglwyd opened its doors to the public for the first time in 1996, and more formally in 1998 following the first upgrade of the car park. The renovation of the Stable Block was completed in 2010, with the first wedding held there in May of that year. Since then Carreglwyd has hosted over 50 weddings and events. The Gottwood Festival and Tonnau Tropical Garden Party have become thriving annual fixtures, drawing thousands of people from across the world each June.
Key moments in the life of the estate.
Carreglwyd built and estate established by Dr William Griffiths
The house is first recorded and the estate boundary established on the western shore of Anglesey.
John Griffiths inherits and marries Mary Trygarn; she later remodels the house
Lady Reade builds the Griffith Reade Coffee House in Llanfaethlu
Carreglwyd opens to the public for the first time
Renovation of the Stable Block completed; first wedding held on site
Gottwood Festival established, becoming an annual fixture with it’s 15th addition taking place in 2026
“Diolch to Carreglwyd for providing a little nirvana in this mad world.”Guest at Gardener’s Cottage