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Doctor buys neglected Welsh castle decades after falling in love with it as a boy

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June 12, 2018

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Doctor buys neglected Welsh castle decades after falling in love with it as a boy — Gwrych Castle has been saved after a campaign spearheaded by a local doctor. (Picture: Wales News)

A doctor enchanted by a fairytale castle as a child has bought it to save it from years of neglect.

Dr Mark Baker, 33, fell under the spell of the castle after playing around its six miles of walls as a schoolboy.

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But he saw it fall into ruins – and aged just 11-years-old he set up a trust in a bid to save the castle.

Over 20 years later has discovered it was due to go to auction for £600,000 – and Mark feared he could miss out.

But just one day before the sale the trust were able to buy the castle thanks to funding from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

A history lover enchanted by a fairytale castle (Gwrych Castle)) as a child saved it from ruin - just one day before it went to auction. Dr Mark Baker, 33 (Pictured) fell under the spell of the castle after being led around its six miles of walls as a youngster. He returned to visit the castle when he was 11-years-old and found it looking like a "nuclear fallout." So Mark set up a trust in a bid to save the castle and over 20 years later has finally been able to buy it. The historic structure was due to go to auction for ??600,000. ?? WALES NEWS SERVICE — Dr Mark Baker, 33 fell under the spell of the castle after being led around its six miles of walls as a youngster. (Picture: Wales News)

Mark said: As a child, I would pass the castle every day to and from school, and at the age of eleven founded the castle trust.

Now twenty-one years later, we are in a position to purchase and realise that vision.

Mark started Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, a registered charity, and fundraised to restore the castle.

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He also wrote a book called the Rise and Fall of Gwrych Castle aged just 14 – and met Tony Blair and Prince Charles after starting a campaign to save it.

He said: I find it amazing that 20 years of campaigning has helped do this.

In another 10 years we would hope that the whole building will be fully restored and back to its former glory and will be completely open to the public.

A history lover enchanted by a fairytale castle (Gwrych Castle PICTURED) as a child saved it from ruin - just one day before it went to auction. Dr Mark Baker, 33, fell under the spell of the castle after being led around its six miles of walls as a youngster. He returned to visit the castle when he was 11-years-old and found it looking like a "nuclear fallout." So Mark set up a trust in a bid to save the castle and over 20 years later has finally been able to buy it. The historic structure was due to go to auction for ?600,000. ? WALES NEWS SERVICE — The castle has fallen into disrepair. (Picture: Wales News)

Gwrych castle in Abergele, North Wales, was built between 1812 and 1822 and sits within 160 acres of picturesque grounds.

It was built by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh as a memorial to his mothers ancestors, the Lloyds of Gwrych.

Winifred Bamford-Hesketh, later Countess of Dundonald, inherited it in 1894.

She died in 1924 and her will declared Gwrych should be bequeathed to King George V so the Royal Family had a permanent base in Wales.

This request was declined and it was given to St John of Jerusalem.

In 1925 the Earl of Dundonald, Winifreds husband, bought back the castle for £78,000 and during World War II Gwrych housed 200 Jewish child refugees.

A gradual decline began when Gwrych Castle finally left the familys hands in 1946.

The front stretches more than 1,500ft and contains 18 towers with views over parkland towards the Irish Sea. The main house is believed to have had 120 rooms.

The trust now hope to restore it and open it to the visiting public.