History of Erddig

Early history: contested land 

In the 8th century, Wat’s Dyke was built to formalise the boundary between the historic kingdoms of Wales and Mercia (present-day Midlands).

The dyke largely consists of an earthen bank with a ditch on the Welsh side. Some well-preserved sections survive within Erddig’s park.

Following the conquest of 1066, the Normans used Wat’s Dyke in the construction of a motte-and-bailey castle called Wristleham.

17th century: Building and bankruptcy - Joshua Edisbury 

It was John Edisbury (c.1608-1677) who acquired the Erddig estate, but his eldest son Joshua (d.c.1718), who made his mark on it. 

In 1682, Joshua was appointed High Sheriff of Denbighshire. The following year he commissioned Thomas Webb, freemason of Middlewich in Cheshire, to build a new house at Erddig, and soon afterwards established formal gardens. 

Work began in 1684, but costs quickly spiraled to over £8000. By the late 1690s, Joshua was in dire financial straits and began to take out loans.

A loan from Elihu Yale 

One of his creditors was Elihu Yale, who made his fortune with the East India Company as Governor of Fort St. George at Madras (now Chennai). When Yale (who was forced to leave Fort St. George after accusations of extortion and murder) called in his debts, he demanded exorbitant rates of interest and their friendship collapsed. 

In 1709 Joshua Edisbury was declared bankrupt and left Erddig forever.

18th century: John Meller’s improvements

John Meller (1665–1733), lawyer and Master of the High Court of Chancery, bought Erddig in 1714, becoming sole owner in 1716. 

Meller extended the house, adding wings to the north and south. He created a suite of ‘rooms of parade’ along the East Front which largely still survives. He commissioned leading London makers to create tapestries, pier glasses and the spectacular state bed covered with embroidered Chinese silk. Meller also added a formal garden with extensive pleasure grounds. 

Inheritance: the Yorke family

Following his death in 1733 the house and estate passed to Meller’s nephew, Simon Yorke (1696–1767) who later married Dorothy Hutton (1717–87) a wealthy heiress.

Simon was the first of six generations of Yorkes bearing the forename Simon or Philip.  Each made alterations to Erddig and added to its treasure trove of family possessions.

Philip Yorke I 

Simon’s son, Philip I (1743–1804), inherited Erddig in 1767. In 1770 he married Elizabeth Cust (1750–79), youngest daughter of Sir John Cust of Belton in Lincolnshire, Speaker of the House of Commons. Elizabeth’s dowry, along with the Hutton inheritance, paid for the remodelling and redecoration of the house.

Philip I commissioned landscape designer William Emes (1729/30-1803) to improve the parkland and resolve the flooding in the lower meadows. In 1779 Philip invited local people to enjoy the parkland ‘for their Health and Amusement’. 

Welsh social history

Philip I was a scholar of Welsh genealogy. He published ‘Tracts of Powys’ in 1795 and ‘The Royal Tribes of Wales’ in 1799. These dynasties are celebrated in what is now known as the Tribes Room.

In the 1790s, Philip I commissioned Denbighshire artist John Walters to paint portraits of six household staff. The tradition of commemorating servants in this way continued until the 1920s. The portrait of a coachman is one of very few surviving 18th-century British portraits of a person of colour.

Artist servant

Elizabeth Ratcliffe (c.1735-1810) worked as lady’s maid to Dorothy Yorke (d.1787). She created artworks which are still in the house today, including the model of ‘The Ruins of the Temple of the Sun’ in 1773. 

19th century

Simon Yorke II (1771–1834) inherited in 1804 and increased estate rents. Following his marriage to Margaret Holland (1778-1848), he made significant alterations to the interior of the house, including Thomas Hopper’s 1826 Neo-classical dining room.

Simon Yorke III (1811-94) was active in the management of the estate, felling timber for sale and replanting trees and building Manor Farm and Forest Lodge. Simon and his wife Victoria Cust (1823-95) developed the gardens, adding steps to connect the saloon to the parterre, re-laid with new fountains. 

20th century: decline and rescue

Inheriting Erddig in 1894 Philip II (1849-1922) married Louisa Scott (1863-1951) and had two sons, Simon and Philip. With declining fortunes, Philip and Louisa worked to preserve the house and its contents with ever fewer servants. 

Simon Yorke IV (1903–66) inherited in 1922 at just 18 years old. During the 1930s, many of Erddig’s estate buildings rapidly became derelict in the approach to the Second World War (1939-45).

The American Army used Erddig’s park for accommodation and training ahead of the Allied Invasion of Normandy (D-Day 6 June 1944).

Coal mining

Mining had been an important part of Erddig since the 17th century.

However, from 1947 Erddig faced one of its greatest dangers. Mining shafts were driven directly underneath the house from nearby Bersham Colliery. The south wing of the house began to sink, cracks appeared in walls, water poured through leaking roofs, and wet rot was rampant.

Philip Yorke III and the National Trust 

Philip III (1905-78) had previously been an actor, theatre producer, teacher and holiday tour manager. He was determined to keep Erddig intact. Philip moved into the house with no telephone, mains water or electricity. He set up camp in a different room every night and created burglar alarms out of empty dog-food tins tied together with string.  

In 1968 Erddig’s principal treasure, the state bed moved to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London for repair.   

In 1973 Philip gifted the house and estate to the National Trust and sold land raising £1 million to fund the restoration. The National Coal Board paid £120,000 compensation and agreed to stop mining beneath the house. 

Over the course of four years, specialists worked with the local community to restore the house, contents and grounds. More than 130 volunteers helped repair the historic textiles alone. The outbuildings and gardens were brought back to life. It was the most comprehensive restoration project the National Trust had ever undertaken.  

In 1977, Erddig opened to the public, visitors entering via the joiners’ shop, timber yard and smithy, before proceeding to the laundries and kitchen, only then heading to the state rooms with their remarkable furnishings.

Erddig today

The National Trust has continued to care for and develop Erddig. In 2018, Conservators began an eight-year project to restore the state bed, funded by The Wolfson Foundation. In 2025, nine hectares on the southern edge of the Erddig estate were designated ‘Hafod y Bwch Commemorative Woodland’, part of the Welsh Government’s National Forest Programme, offering a place for reflection to remember those lost to COVID-19 while also creating green space for all to enjoy.

Further reading:

Griffiths, E. Philip Yorke I (1743-1804): Squire of Erthig, Wrexham: Bridge Books, 1995.

Hardy, J, Landi, S and Wright, C.D. A State bed from Erthig, Victoria and Albert Museum booklet. 1972.

Veysey, G. Philip Yorke Last Squire of Erddig, Wrexham: Bridge Books. 2002.

Waterson, M. The Servants’ Hall: A Domestic History of Erddig, London and Henley. Routledge & Kegan Paul. 1980.

YALE family, of Plâs yn Iâl and Plas Grono Wrexham | Dictionary of Welsh Biography