Inside £4m mansion owned by Queen Elizabeth’s cousin with 17 bedrooms, swimming pool & Bridgerton-style decor
A MASSIVE 17-bedroom mansion once owned by the Queen’s cousin has gone on sale for £4m.
Penylan Mansion in Cardigan, Wales, was owned in the 1930s by Lady Audrey Beatrice Morris, a distant cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Grade II-listed property has undergone an elaborate 20-year restoration, complete with hand-made four-poster beds, marble worktops and alabaster fireplaces.
It has a sweeping Bridgerton-style staircase, opulent marble hall and its own ballroom.
The property comes with a self-contained home within the building, a swimming pool, 13 acres of grounds and three separate cottages.
Penylan Mansion was designed by the renowned architect Edward Haycock, and constructed around 1854 on the site of an older, 18th-century residence.
It was extended and redecorated around 1905, with intricate stencilling, painting, and cornice work.
Visitors to the main property arrive into a grand foyer, leading to the central entrance hall with its original staircase and hand-painted wall friezes.
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Each side of the hall are two large reception rooms – currently laid out as an opulent dining room – and a drawing room for receiving guests.
Next to the drawing room is a ballroom, which looks out over the gardens to the side of the property.
With a sprung floor, full length mercury mirrors and intricate cornice and panel work, the space could easily pass for a set on regency romp Bridgerton.
At the rear of the ground floor is a large sitting room, looking over the gardens which is next to a private study.
A rear hallway gives access to another, smaller reception room, along with a cloak room and boot room.
The gym and pool complex are on this floor, along with a Clive Christian Furniture Company kitchen.
A covered central courtyard allows access into the annexe, which is connected to the main manor house with stairs leading down into the basement which has dry storage and a wine cellar.
Upstairs, the first floor contains the mansion’s principal bedrooms, with the largest found along the eastern and southern side of the building.
There are nine bedrooms on this level plus a luxurious dressing room.
The main bedroom is positioned above the ball room with a bay window overlooking the gardens.
Like most of the principal bedrooms it has handmade Clive Christian cabinetry.
There are five bath or shower rooms on this floor, with a further five bedrooms on the building’s western side.
The second floor was originally servants’ quarters but now contains three bedrooms along with a bathroom.
The internal annexe has three bedrooms but could be re-absorbed back into the property, say estate agents Country Living Group.
Outside, the new owner will have thirteen acres of gardens, fields, and woodland to enjoy.
A large lake, which was dredged and re-lined by the current owners, runs along beside the main entrance driveway – and there is also a fountain.
The former coach house has been converted into two separate cottages with a triple garage and storage, and there is a further two-bedroom detached cottage as well as additional parking and unconverted outbuildings.
James Skudder, of the Country Living Group, said the property belonged to a local family who had loved living in the house and restoring it.
He said: “They’ve decided to sell now because, although they love the property they are trying to future-proof by downsizing.
“They are realistic that they won’t be able to maintain the upkeep going years down the line
“The house is one of the most remarkable properties in the UK and the mansion has enjoyed an interesting previous life, including as a school.
“Due to the expansive living accommodation throughout the entire house, I think the ideal buyer would look to move this into a boutique style hotel.
“There is fantastic commercial potential here.”