Get the biggest stories sent straight to your inbox Sign up for regular updates and breaking news from WalesOnline Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

This is Westbury Castle.

It's a remarkable, huge listed building that was built in the 1820s and is set in eight acres of sloping woodland.

It was once home to the Mostyn family, the nearest Welsh cousins of the Tudor dynasty, so it's got bags of history.

Previously known as Talacre Hall the house was the culmination of four centuries of growth and prosperity for the Mostyns.

It boasts a west wing that accommodated up to 56 servants and has been dubbed the Welsh Downton Abbey.

It overlooks the Irish Sea, the Great Orme, Anglesey and the Cumbrian Hills.

(Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker)

Westbury Castle is actually on the market as a development opportunity and is split into four separate plots: The Mansion House and Abbey Chapel, The West Wing, The Bell Tower and The Westbury Lodge and Stable Block.

The chapel is currently used as a leisure suite and gym. It has a pitched slate roof, diamond leaded stained glass windows and oak parquet flooring. The original altar remains in the former sanctuary.

Wash basins, baths and toilets were once installed in some rooms to accommodate pilgrims on retreat at the abbey.

(Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker)

In 2013, developer owner Ian Ringwood, who had owned the house for two years at that point, estimated he would have spent around £2m by the time he has finished restoring the property.

Mr Ringwood said this included getting permission to transform the property’s “dilapidated” west wing into 11 luxury apartments. There are a total of 15 properties within the estate.

The house is being sold along with a number of outbuildings set in seven acres, including the abbey, a three-bedroom detached lodge, and a riding school.

Secret hideaways in Wales you'll never want to leave

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

(Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker) (Image: Rightmove/Lock and Parker)

Who were the Mostyns?

With their links to the Tudors, the Mostyns of Talacre enjoyed prosperity and stability during the turbulent days of Henry VIII’s numerous marriages.

A separate branch of the family, the Mostyns of Mostyn, developed Llandudno as a Victorian seaside resort and still own much of the town.

The land covered by sand dunes at Talacre was then, as now, known as the Warren, because of a large rabbit colony.

In Tudor Britain the Crown claimed ownership of the colonies because of their importance in the domestic food supply and only favoured families were granted rights to breed and kill the animals.

The Mostyns of Talacre were one such fortunate family in Wales – indicating the extent of their influence.

The original estate was home to Basingwerk Monastery, which brought with it the land and minerals that underpinned the family’s prosperity.

So much so that despite being punished for their Catholic faith following the Reformation and support for the Royalists during the Civil War they continued to prosper before Edward the seventh Baronet of Mostyn built Talacre Hall between 1825 and 1829.

The £70,000 (around £7m at today’s value) house with octagonal turrets inspired by landmark Elizabethan buildings like Hampton Court Palace replaced an earlier Jacobean ancestral home.

Westbury Castle is marketed by Lock and Parker for £4.95 million.