Erddig Hall is a Grade-I listed National Trust property in Wrexham, Wales. It comprises a country house built during the 17th and 18th centuries amidst a 1,900 acre estate, which includes a 1,200-acre landscaped pleasure park and the earthworks of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle.
Erddig has been described as 'the most evocative Upstairs Downstairs house in Britain' due to the well-rounded view it presents of the lifestyles of all of its occupants, both family and staff. The eccentric Yorke family had an unusual relationship with their staff and celebrated their servants in a large and unique collection of portraits and poems. This collection, coupled with well-preserved servants' rooms and an authentic laundry, bakehouse, sawmill, and smithy, provide an insight into how 18th to 20th century servants lived.
The state rooms contain fine furniture, textiles and wallpapers and the fully restored walled garden is one of the most important surviving 18th century gardens in Britain.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.