The Society urges Kinmel’s British Virgin Islands registered owner Acer Properties, which has owned the building since 2011, to come forward with firm plans for Kinmel’s future.
Grade II*-listed, 1868, W.E. Nesfield
Kinmel Hall, or ‘The Welsh Versailles’ as it is colloquially known, is regarded as one of the most ambitious and unusual French-inspired country houses in Britain: the house is built on an irregular plan designed by W.E. Nesfield, and at a scale unusual for North Wales, with its façade running to a length of more than 500ft. Country Life noted in 1969 that ‘Kinmel is an amazingly palatial house for a commoner to build himself, even a Victorian commoner and a very rich one’, and it has been argued that the references to Christopher Wren are ‘thought-provoking’, given Nesfield’s preference for ‘Queen Anne Revival’ and ‘Old English’ buildings, which he designed with his some-time collaborator, Richard Norman Shaw. The fortunes of the house started to decline in 2001, when it fell out of use, and was acquired by Acer Properties, a property developer based in the British Virgin Islands, for redevelopment as a destination hotel. The building has been subjected to theft and vandalism, and though the owner claims to have to have stepped up security to prevent this, the building remains unused and neglected with redevelopment plans seemingly no closer to implementation.
Griff Rhys Jones, The Victorian Society Vice President, said ‘These are buildings that need help, and we need your help. The national exposure from inclusion in the Society’s Top Ten often leads to new inerest in the buildings which can help save them’.
Director of the The Victorian Society, Christopher Costelloe, said ‘We’re grateful to everyone who nominated Kinmel Hall. Kinmel Hall is a Grade I-listed building meaning that the Government has recognised its national importance. It is very sad that what is perhaps the greatest surviving Welsh country house is left lying unused and neglected. I urge the public to share Griff’s message, to help ensure a strong scheme is brought forward soon to ensure its future survival.’
Status Update / March 2026
The house was put up for sale in 2021 and subsequently sold to a developer who established a campsite within the grounds. The local council intervened on the basis that planning permission had not been obtained for the construction of camping pods and their position in the Venetian Garden was not appropriate, given its listed status. Since then, the community-led Kinmel Hall Preservation Trust has staunchly opposed alternative campsite proposals for the site in the hope that this will force the owner to sell or repair the house, but no action has been taken. The Trust was wound up in 2024, at which point the projected cost for restoring the house had risen to £20 to £30 million.