The owners of historic Gwrych Castle in Abergele have put the site up for auction.
Edwards Property Management bought the 200 year old castle in 2010 and sister firm Castell Developments were given the go-ahead in 2012 for a massive restoration project
The £25m dream was to create a five-star country hotel with 75 bedrooms, spa and banqueting facilities with investors needed to turn this into a reality.
Now though the castle is being offered for sale with Pugh Auctions.
The landmark and its 160 acre grounds are on offer for over £600,000 at a sale at the AJ Bell Stadium, Manchester, on April 17.
All that remains of the main Gwrych Castle is the external shell. The roof structure, all intermediate floors and most of the interior finishes have been lost.
Thirty acres of the site is subject to a 25 year lease to the Preservation Trust and Natural Resource Wales.
The agreement details that they will restore the outbuildings and visitors centre to operational use and also restore the formal gardens. Work is set to start on restoring the Melon House.
Gwrych Castle was previously bought by Yorkshire-based hoteliers Clayton Homes in 2006, who announced a three-year £6m regeneration project to convert the ruined building.
But they fell into administration.
Owners Edwards Property Management said they would release a statement on Tuesday.
Gwrych Castle - History
Gwrych Castle was built between 1812 and 1822 by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh as a memorial to his mother’s 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 (Winifred’s husband) bought back the castle for £78,000 and during World War II Gwrych housed Jewish refugees.
A gradual decline began when Gwrych Castle finally left the family’s hands in 1946. Leslie Salts bought it in 1948 and opened Gwrych to the public for 20 years. Between 1968 and 1989 it had many owners and uses, including a medieval centre. Gwrych closed to the public in 1985.
Californian Nick Tavaglione purchased Gwrych in 1989, with the hope of restoring the castle into a hotel and opera house. This never materialised.
Gwrych Castle Trust facilitated a sale to Clayton Hotels in 2006. Around £500K was spent on consolidating the site with a view to converting it into a hotel but they went into receivership. In 2010, Gwrych was purchased by Edwards Property Management.
