The Attingham Study Programme 2027:

The Historic House in Wales

5 – 11 June

Wales has often been overlooked in British country house studies, overshadowed by a focus on the historic houses of England and Scotland. Recently however, new research has emerged to redress this balance, revealing a rich and distinct landscape, where the country house was often the centre of cultural life, where women were important patrons and managers of vast Welsh estates, and where travellers from England and beyond admired and celebrated the historic houses they encountered.

Based in North Wales, this intensive seven-day Attingham Study Programme will examine the Welsh country house and its wider estate. It will look at the architecture, contents, and context of the houses, as well as the people who lived and worked in them. The Programme’s first base will be Bangor University, whose Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates (ISWE) has been leading the way in archival research for the last ten years. From there it is planned to visit several significant houses including Penrhyn Castle where the slate furniture and fittings are a strong visual reminder of how profits from industry enabled the building and collections. On Ynys Môn (Anglesey), we will explore Plas Newydd and the hidden gardens of Plas Cadnant. We will travel west to Portmeirion, the fantasy village created between 1925 and 1976 by the Welsh architect and environmentalist Clough Williams-Ellis, whose home Plas Brondanw we will also see. The castles of Gwydir and Gwrych will illustrate in differing ways the complexities of caring for historic buildings in the twenty-first century.

The course will travel through North Wales via Thomas Telford’s A5 road to Llangollen where we will visit another Plas Newydd, home of the “Ladies of Llangollen”, an Irish couple who sought sanctuary in Wales. We will spend the last two days of the course in the estate village of Hawarden where we will be based in Gladstone’s Library, Britain’s only residential library, founded by former Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone in 1894. From our base in Flintshire, Powis Castle and Erddig are within easy reach.

The Study Programme will include visits to other privately-owned houses as well as those listed. As with all Attingham courses, we will be supported by a team of expert lecturers and onsite speakers.

Course Director

Elizabeth Jamieson

Course Coordinator

Rita Grudzień

ENROLMENT AND FEES

The course fees will be published shortly. This amount includes standard college accommodation and most meals. Tuition, admissions and travel by private coach during the course are also included. All bedrooms are for single occupancy and have en-suite facilities.

Applications

The deadline for applications is Friday 29 January 2027. All candidates will be notified by the middle of March 2027 if they have been awarded a place.  Payment of fees in full will be due by Thursday 25 March 2027, and should be made by bank transfer.

Participants are strongly advised to insure against cancellation, as no refunds will be made following payment unless the place can be filled by another suitable candidate.  In such a case, an administrative fee of £200 will be applied.

Before applying, please read our Terms and Conditions. If you have any access requirements or additional needs, please contact us to discuss how we can best support your participation in the course. Our goal is to ensure that every participant has a safe, enjoyable and rewarding experience, and we are always happy to answer any questions about accessibility and the practical requirements of the course.

Scholarships

Please note that all US-based applicants who wish to enquire about scholarships should go through the course page on the American Friends of Attingham website whilst applicants based in Australia should refer to the Copland Foundation website. See below for details.

Scholarships for applicants from countries other than the USA or Australia

Applicants who are unable to meet the fees are first encouraged to approach their institutions for full or partial financial assistance before applying for the course. Some scholarship funding through The Attingham Trust is available thanks to the generous support of various individuals and charitable foundations. Any candidate wishing to apply for a scholarship must complete the scholarship application at the bottom of the application form and provide details of their current salary. Anyone awarded full scholarship funding by either their institution, or The Attingham Trust, or a combination thereof, will be required to make a personal contribution of £200 to The Attingham Society Scholarship Fund.

Any queries can be directed to Rita Grudzien, 

Scholarships for applicants from the USA

US-based applicants seeking scholarship support should apply directly to the American Friends of Attingham using the specific scholarship form, available online at: AFA Scholarship Form. Any queries can be directed to Erin Kuykendall,

Scholarships for applicants from Australia

Applicants from Australia seeking scholarship support should refer to the Copland Foundation website at www.coplandfoundation.com.au and submit their application by Saturday 28 November 2026.

Please note that The Attingham Trust is a registered charitable incorporated organisation. Our courses are provided occasionally, on a not-for-profit basis and to a limited group of participants. This trip does not, therefore, constitute a ‘package holiday’ for the purpose of the Package Travel Regulations

The Attingham Trust reserves the right to adjust fees if there is a substantial change in the exchange rate, as these were assessed on the basis of assumptions made in October 2026. Should this prove to be necessary, members will be informed by April 2027.

Image credit: Penrhyn Castle, Gwynedd © Tom Parnell, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.