Built in the style of a Norman castle in the early 19th century, Penrhyn Castle became the home of Lord Pehrhyn, the owner of Bethesda's Penrhyn Quarry. It is one of Britain's most revered mock castles.

However, it is also a poignant reminder of the social injustices of the age. It was built using the profits gained from the slave trade by the Pennant family. Later, it was the home of the ruthless George Sholto Gordon Douglas Pennant, whose dealings with the slate workers in Bethesda culminated in one of the longest industrial disputes in Britain: the Great Penrhyn Quarry Strike of 1900 to 1903.

Today, it is owned by the National Trust and boasts beautiful gardens, a railway museum, one of Wales' finest art collections and glorious views of Snowdonia.

Dominiek Van Dooren

June 30, 2025

Penrhyn Castle’s dominant stone façade belies more than its internal red-brick construction. Built in the early 19th century, its formidable architecture, opulent interiors and art collection draw on a long history of sugar and slate fortunes, social unrest and the longest-running labour dispute in British history. Owned by the Pennant family, Penrhyn is a prime example of how wealth derived from slavery has shaped Welsh buildings and local labour history. Richard Pennant, a staunch anti-abolitionist, used his fortune – acquired from slave-owning sugar plantations in Jamaica – to fund roads, railways, schools, hotels, workers’ cottages, churches and farms in North Wales. The Penrhyn Slate Quarry and Port Penrhyn, founded by the Pennants, dominated the Welsh slate industry for almost 150 years. Penrhyn Castle’s vast rooms, rich neo-Norman architecture and opulent furnishings are steeped in this colonial history. Penrhyn Castle is situated on the Menai Strait, with the peaks of the Eryri (Snowdonia) in the background, overlooking the quarry and harbour from which the slate was exported all over the world. It is surrounded by wooded and open parkland, ideal for exploring, and a walled garden that predates the castle and provides a peaceful haven for relaxation.
(National Trust)

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Location: Llandygai, Gwynedd, North Wales, Wales, United Kingdom

Penrhyn Castle

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