Bodysgallen Hall

Bodysgallen Hall
Location within Wales
General information
Location	Conwy county borough, United Kingdom
Coordinates	53°17′47.85″N 3°48′10.05″W / 53.2966250°N 3.8027917°W / 53.2966250; -3.8027917
Website
http://www.bodysgallen.com/

Bodysgallen Hall is a manor house in Conwy county borough, north Wales, near the village of Llanrhos. Since 2008 the house has been owned by The National Trust. It is a Grade I listed building, currently used as a hotel. This listed historical building derives primarily from the 17th century, and has several later additions. Bodysgallen was constructed as a tower house in the Middle Ages to serve as defensive support for nearby Conwy Castle. According to tradition, the site of Bodysgallen was the 5th century AD stronghold of Cadwallon Lawhir, King of Gwynedd, who had wide ranging exploits as far as Northumberland.

The ruins of Cadwallon Lawhir's residence are on a woodland knoll above the present Bodysgallen Hall. By 1835 it was a ruin totally overgrown by thorns. According to the ancient record of Caernarvon, Bod Caswallon (Bodysgallen) was one of the townships called Tre Welyog, meaning it was a unit of hereditary land (gwely) held in common by members of a wider family unit in medieval Wales, which was often divided and subdivided among heirs to the fourth generation; with the passage of time some of the smaller landholders might be "bought out" and become tenants of a larger estate. This possibly might have been one of three gwelyau, originally belonging to Gloddaeth.

The site was first occupied, according to tradition, by Cadwallon Lawhir (sometimes confused with another early Welsh leader Caswallon, which led in the 18th century to the false etymology Bod Caswallon "dwelling place of Caswallon" for Bodysgallen). Cadwallon Lawhir ("Cadwallon Long-hand", possibly a reference to the extent of his authority) succeeded to the sovereignty of North Wales in AD 442 and lived until 517; however there is no evidence for or against him having a court at Bodysgallen.

The 1620 block, built by Robert Wynn, finds its main entrance on the northwest exposure and has a 19th-century three storey gabled porch bay addition. On the ground floor the porch bay has a four-central headed doorway by first floor features of a transformed window and three mullioned windows to the attic. Behind the porch, this doorway retains its original door and latch. On the southwest exposure the bay nook windows on both ground and first floor are of 17th century mullioned construct.