0:00:11 > 0:00:14If you turn your back on the town, take the village track,
0:00:14 > 0:00:19follow the unmade road, you'll find something absolutely extraordinary.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21The hidden houses of Wales.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25In this series, I'll be turning back the clock.
0:00:25 > 0:00:31I'll be stepping over the threshold of some incredible places,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35seeking out scandal-packed histories.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39Bricks and mortar are never going to be the same again.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46In this episode, we'll be visiting a house whose previous owner fought in the civil war.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51Well, he was actually wounded during the skirmish outside Caernarfon,
0:00:51 > 0:00:55taken prisoner and he died about two days later.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Where sci-fi superheroes battle with the Sealed Knot.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03My Cromwellians seem to be beating your stormtrooper!
0:01:03 > 0:01:04Go on, stormy! Get 'em!
0:01:04 > 0:01:09And where past residents may still be hanging around.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12I heard a very definite loud voice, very loud.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15- It was a loud, shrill sort of... - "Urrgh!"
0:01:36 > 0:01:41I'm looking for a hidden house now that has so much to say for itself.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46Although to be honest, I think it's nothing like as chatty as its owner.
0:01:46 > 0:01:52Talhenbont is a 17th century house nestling in 75 acres of woodland,
0:01:52 > 0:01:57with views of one of North Wales' most picturesque coastlines, the Llyn peninsula.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01It's now the family home of Gillian and Roger Goode.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09Bowling along the drive, there's something quite imposing
0:02:09 > 0:02:12about all of this woodland and about this drive
0:02:12 > 0:02:16which would make me feel that as you swung round the corner...
0:02:16 > 0:02:17Yes, look.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20There would be something rather..
0:02:20 > 0:02:24I don't know, rather stern about this house.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Although, there's an enormous amount of effort been made
0:02:28 > 0:02:32to make it feel cosy and homey.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Yeah, I think it's rather nice to take a foreboding manor house
0:02:42 > 0:02:45and make it homey with chintz curtains.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Greetings. I'm being savaged by an ancestral beast.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- How nice to meet you!- How do you do? - Welcome to the hall.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02- My son, Paul, my husband, Roger, and Cassandra.- Hello, Cassandra.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06- Comes to life after midnight. - Bit wooden, isn't she?!
0:03:08 > 0:03:11This is the tale of an Essex family
0:03:11 > 0:03:14who fell in love with the good life.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Gill Goode was a glamorous Knightsbridge salon hairdresser,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21and husband Roger, a city accountant.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26But in 1969, they and their three children
0:03:26 > 0:03:30swapped '60s suburbia for Talhenbont,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32a run-down estate in North Wales.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39Bought for the surprisingly small sum of £80,000,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42the Goodes had a vision to convert its five outbuildings
0:03:42 > 0:03:44into luxury holiday cottages,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48and then use the income to renovate Talhenbont itself.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Over 30 years later, and it's been transformed.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58That's mostly down to the irrepressible Gillian.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02This is extremely grand, isn't it?
0:04:02 > 0:04:05- I love your warm welcome. - This is the court room.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Sheriff of the county used to reside here,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11and he used to hold court for the vagabonds and rogues.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13Now what about the dead animal thing?
0:04:13 > 0:04:16- Ah. They were presents. - When did you hunt those?
0:04:16 > 0:04:19No, they were presents for Roger's birthday and they've all got names.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- Yes.- I'm sure they have. - That's Roland the ram.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26- Roland the ram.- And Dennis the deer. This is Roger's mother on the wall.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- Oh, right!- Looking very posh.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31I think that is absolutely sensational.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Anyone else would have taken their glasses off
0:04:34 > 0:04:39- but obviously not... - I've got the glasses, the jewellery and the dress all upstairs.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42At Christmas time she has a moustache on and a bow.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44It's very, very grand here.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Roger, Roger! Roger!
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Are you giving him sympathy or something?
0:04:51 > 0:04:54I'm just thinking, there you are in this great big manor house,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57miles away from people with this firebrand!
0:04:57 > 0:05:01- I know.- You don't take anything seriously.- No, life is a laugh.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04You do and I think that is what's so brilliant about this place.
0:05:04 > 0:05:10You're not going to be put down by all of this sort of scary history.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13You're going to make this place your own.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15- Absolutely, have done for 32 years. - Good for you.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23The house came with 75 acres of woodland.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31But unbeknown to them, it also came with
0:05:31 > 0:05:35a lifetime of backbreaking restoration.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40So what were you faced with when you first saw this room?
0:05:40 > 0:05:45- Because it looks immaculate now, but was it this crisp?- Oh, no.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50The panelling was all mouldy, half of it was on the floor.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53The window sills, they were all rotten.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55So I brought two very elderly carpenters in
0:05:55 > 0:06:00and they worked for three months in this room
0:06:00 > 0:06:06- and they totally did a wonderful job.- Did you enjoy doing this
0:06:06 > 0:06:08as much as you enjoyed doing some of the other rooms?
0:06:08 > 0:06:13I enjoyed every single room to its utmost.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- So you like having a different look? - I love interior design.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- I'm getting that.- I love it.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23I love every room to say something different when you walk in it.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26- What did you want this room to say? - I'm old,
0:06:26 > 0:06:29I'm full of character. Should have said that about myself!
0:06:29 > 0:06:34I'm old, I'm full of character, I'm warm and friendly
0:06:34 > 0:06:38but I have a tremendous grandeur about me. And that's what the fabric should say.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40- It is sounding more like you. - Thank you!
0:06:45 > 0:06:48The house, the furnishings, the grounds -
0:06:48 > 0:06:53they're all a total reflection of Gillian's effusive character.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58But now, on the verge of a big birthday, she feels it's time to move on
0:06:58 > 0:07:01and so Talhenbont is up for sale.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05The estate won't be passed down to her children,
0:07:05 > 0:07:10as the Goodes want to use the proceeds of the sale to fund their retirement.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14Youngest son, Paul, gave up a career in recruitment in London to return home
0:07:14 > 0:07:19in the hope of keeping Talhenbont in the family.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27You came with your parents from Essex.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30You came to North Wales when you were three,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33and you've completely immersed yourself, haven't you?
0:07:33 > 0:07:36- Yeah.- You've become totally naturalised. You speak Welsh.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- Yup.- Do you see yourself as being Welsh?- Totally Welsh.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I'm a Welsh boy through and through.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Having lived here since I was three years old,
0:07:45 > 0:07:49I went to school in the local village, in Llanystymdwy.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53Welsh is my first language, so I consider myself completely Welsh.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57You would love to take on what your parents started,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59bring it further into the 21st century.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Make it commercial, make it viable.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04That inherently is why I came back from London,
0:08:04 > 0:08:09was to set something up and eventually take over the estate.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14Mum and Dad wanting to decide to move back to Essex
0:08:14 > 0:08:16was a bit of a drawback.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21Um...it was upsetting, but you know, we've learnt to move from that.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25It just seems so strange to me that she's wanting to move away,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27you know, to what?
0:08:27 > 0:08:30To something small, to something quiet, to something suburban,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- these don't seem like words to describe her.- No.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39She's a big personality. The house seems full, every room seems full.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Her spirit is around the whole house, it doesn't seem empty.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50Gill's decision to turn her back on the house she rescued is an odd one.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52There isn't an inch of Talhenbont
0:08:52 > 0:08:55that hasn't absorbed her life-giving DNA.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02It's difficult to know what to do with a house like this...
0:09:02 > 0:09:05'She and husband, Roger, have tried to right some of the wrongs
0:09:05 > 0:09:09'committed to Talhenbont by previous owners.'
0:09:09 > 0:09:12This is interesting, all this panelling.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15yes, this was added by one of the previous owners,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18but just this wall here.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22We've subsequently added all those down there, and at the far end.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30So you had to do quite a lot of rationalising what was already here.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33People had modernised it over the years,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37- but it wasn't very well thought-out. - Yes.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39We've tried to turn it back to the original.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54Look at this! This feels very Gillian in here.
0:09:54 > 0:10:00It was our daughter's bedroom from the age of nine to about 19.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04- Yeah. But who chose the wallpaper? - My wife did!
0:10:08 > 0:10:12- Who lives here?- We live here. - You live here.- We live here, yes!
0:10:12 > 0:10:16In this room in particular, I feel as if I've walked into
0:10:16 > 0:10:19much more of a Hollywood-style boudoir.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23That's mainly for Gillian I think, the credit for the decorations.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- Do you leave those decisions to her?- We do it together,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29but usually she chooses what we're going to have!
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Brilliant. So where do you hang out? Where's your inner sanctum?
0:10:33 > 0:10:34Is it the greenhouse?
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Look at that on the stairs!
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Make sure Roger gets all the words right? She's never far away, is she?
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Look, she's scampering away! Quick! Catch her!
0:10:46 > 0:10:50That's nice. You're never alone in a house like this, are you?
0:10:50 > 0:10:52- That's right, that's right! - 'Poor Roger.'
0:10:52 > 0:10:54But they make a wonderful team,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58and like all wonderful teams, only one person's in charge.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05- Wow, look at this. - This is the lounge.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08This is very, very grand, isn't it?
0:11:08 > 0:11:10- Look at this fireplace! - When we moved here,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13the fireplace was totally blocked up
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and there was just a tiny little fire in the middle here.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20So Roger and I got sledge hammers and we knocked it all out.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23But if you look over with a torch over the rim inside,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26you'll see it goes back in depth as much again.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28It was absolutely massive.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31You see, fascinating though all that is,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34I'm still reeling at the vision of you with a sledge hammer.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37What on earth did you wear? Clutch bag at least?
0:11:37 > 0:11:41No, white stiletto heels. Don't forget, I'm an Essex girl.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45- You're giving all Essex girls such a good name.- I know!
0:11:45 > 0:11:49- Can I point out my bit of Latin on there?- Go on.- Non nobis nati.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- Which means? - We were not born for ourselves.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54- And is that your coat of arms?- No.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59But I could have my own somewhere. I could make it up myself.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01What's through here? C'mon, continue the tour.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- The dining room. - But I tell you what...
0:12:04 > 0:12:06If we go anywhere near the dungeon, come and get me
0:12:06 > 0:12:10- if I'm not out in five minutes. All right?- Come on, darling, with me.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Talhenbont was built in 1607 by William Vaughn
0:12:24 > 0:12:26for his new wife, Anne.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29William must have been pretty proud of his new home,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32because he put his name above the door.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38A few years later, after his untimely death,
0:12:38 > 0:12:43his wife and young son face a very tumultuous time in Welsh history.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49It's the 1640s and in most of Great Britain, there's a civil war.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53In Wales, everyone's kind of biding their time a little bit more.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Trying to see what the outcome will be.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Trying to work out exactly which course to hang their hat on.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04After the sad demise of her first husband, Anne remarries.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08And her new beau William Lloyd would take Talhenbont
0:13:08 > 0:13:10right to the centre of Oliver Cromwell's civil war,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13by declaring his support for parliament.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17He becomes an incredibly energetic part
0:13:17 > 0:13:22of the icily efficient Cromwellian New Model Army.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28And yes, you'd be correct in thinking that the soldier on the right is a woman.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30No, women didn't fight in Cromwell's army,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34she's the soldier on the left's wife, OK?
0:13:36 > 0:13:39It was William Lloyd's connection to the war
0:13:39 > 0:13:42that's led to a local legend about Talhenbont.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47Local folklore is so funny, because this is the story of Cromwell's horses,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49that you get so often.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53That Cromwell somehow keeps his horses in a house and it gets wrecked.
0:13:53 > 0:13:54Did he actually do that?
0:13:54 > 0:13:58I don't think that is actually the case.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03It's a case of two stories becoming mixed up.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Because the owner of the house, William Lloyd, did support parliament.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11And then in 1648, when there was a skirmish just outside Caernarfon,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13he was in charge of 20 horses
0:14:13 > 0:14:17which were actually garrisoned at Caernarfon Castle.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20But I think that the two stories have intermixed
0:14:20 > 0:14:22and they think the horses were actually here.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24And what eventually happened to William Lloyd?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27He was actually captured,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30he was wounded during the skirmish outside Caernarfon.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Wounded about eight times apparently and taken prisoner.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36And because his wounds were left untended, he died two days later.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Violent death seems to stalk the owners of Talhenbont.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44There is also the tale of the mistress and her lover.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46But I'll stop there,
0:14:46 > 0:14:50because I know someone who can tell that one so much better than I can.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54- So this is the...? - The butler's quarters.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59Now, this is the story. The squire, he goes off to Chester,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02gets to the gates, forgets his sword.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Comes rushing back to the house here.
0:15:04 > 0:15:09All the maids are twitting and laughing and he said "Where's my wife?"
0:15:09 > 0:15:11"Don't know, sir, don't know."
0:15:11 > 0:15:14And in such a temper he flew up the stairs here to the butler's quarters,
0:15:14 > 0:15:16because he had an idea.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21And underneath the eves there lay the butler with his wife.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25He gets his sword out and rams the butler through the guts,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28and he lays dying halfway down the stairs.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30And my lady lays dying on the floor here.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35And the maids that have worked throughout the house told me 30 years ago
0:15:35 > 0:15:38when they were made to scrub the floorboards,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41the blood stains came back the next day.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45So actually, the blood stains could be anywhere.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47This red spot probably doesn't count does it?
0:15:47 > 0:15:49It's a bit of fluff!
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Look how broad that board is there.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Oh, these boards are 1600.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00It is extraordinary to know that these have survived a civil war.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05We can't be sure if this gruesome butler story is true or not,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08but going back to what we do know.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11William Lloyd's death in the civil war
0:16:11 > 0:16:15meant that the ownership of the house reverted to Anne's son from her first marriage,
0:16:15 > 0:16:21and so the Vaughns remained in charge of Talhenbont for the next hundred years.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29By 1800, the Vaughns had built Talhenbont
0:16:29 > 0:16:31into one biggest estates in North Wales,
0:16:31 > 0:16:36eventually covering over 1600 acres.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Luckily for Gill, it's a little bit smaller now.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43So how much garden have you got?
0:16:43 > 0:16:48We've got here about 75 acres. So, six acres of formal garden.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51And 70 acres of woodland.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Nothing prepares me for that.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59That is extraordinary.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Stunning.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05And you've done all of this?
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Yes, with the help of some labourers.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Yeah.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14So what was here?
0:17:14 > 0:17:17It was just thick woodland.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18And when we first came here,
0:17:18 > 0:17:22I stood down by the river and looked up at the place and thought,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25"Ooh, terraces and steps down the middle."
0:17:28 > 0:17:31- Why did you want to move to the country, though?- Roger did.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34But Roger had always looked in, I think it was
0:17:34 > 0:17:37The Telegraph on a Thursday, large places for sale.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41And he had the opportunity to leave his firm,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44and he said "Come on, let's do something different."
0:17:44 > 0:17:46So I said, "Fine, OK, let's go."
0:17:46 > 0:17:50So we did. With three young children, we came here and started digging.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53You know what, though, if you move, there'll be one thing
0:17:53 > 0:17:56- that'll never ever forgive you for moving.- What?
0:17:56 > 0:17:57- That house.- Well.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01You know, you have created this. This is planet Gillian.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03And it's a very, very lovely place to be.
0:18:03 > 0:18:09I don't want to see you in Essex. I want to see you here forever.
0:18:09 > 0:18:10This is so you.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Could you do a bit of gardening for me, please?
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Because it's getting a bit too much now.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Actually, I don't do digging,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23but I do know of a couple of Cromwellian soldiers and a Stormtrooper
0:18:23 > 0:18:27who could probably be put to better use.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Now, you're going to have to bear with me on this one.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Sorry, but I'm afraid my Cromwellians seem to be beating your Stormtrooper.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Go on, Stormy, get 'em!
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Oliver Cromwell 1, Darth Vader 0.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47This is what Paul Goode,
0:18:47 > 0:18:51the self-appointed would-be successor to the Talhenbont estate,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54has done to prove his business credentials.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57He's created a paintballing centre
0:18:57 > 0:19:00with a sci-fi spin - good business these days, apparently -
0:19:00 > 0:19:03on land adjoining the Talhenbont estate.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Having got to know and love your mother's taste in garden design,
0:19:13 > 0:19:15I can see where all this comes from.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19But instead of gnomes, you've got Stormtroopers and paintballing.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Having been brought up on Talhenbont since the age of 3,
0:19:23 > 0:19:28having 100 acres of woodland to play around with as a kid
0:19:28 > 0:19:30gives you a lot of inspiration further on in life,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and I think that's where a lot of my inspiration came from.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Speaking absolutely frankly and very, very baldly,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39the sale of the house isn't going very well, is it?
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- It isn't, really.- How long has it been on the market?- Five, six years.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46If the house was situated in one of the home counties,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49it would have been snapped up very quickly.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52So we have to appreciate the geography of where we're at.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Does she really, really want to move, do you think?
0:19:56 > 0:19:59I think she really does.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03At her, age she does want some form of retirement.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Talhenbont is now on the market.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Offers in excess of two million are welcome, by the way.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19But buyers with the energy to take on a project like this are hard to find.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29You're moving on.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33But you are having a bit of trouble selling the house, aren't you?
0:20:33 > 0:20:37- We are indeed. - There is an option to bring your children in on this one.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40What's holding you back about saying, "I tell you what, guys,
0:20:40 > 0:20:45let's form a new dynasty. You know, you take it over from us"?
0:20:45 > 0:20:50Well, I would like the money. That is so important.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53I would have loved to have been in a position to say,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57"Here you are, kids. Take it over, run it and I'll keep an eye on it once a year."
0:20:57 > 0:21:01But basically we have to retire on what we've created.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07It's not the first time that Talhenbont has been on the market.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12When the Vaughn male line came to an end,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16the estate ended up in the very incapable hands of the Mostyns,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18who bankrupted the place.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26In 1884, the estate was parcelled up and put under the hammer.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28The house minus its vast lands
0:21:28 > 0:21:31caught the eye of its next-door neighbour,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35a man with the rather splendid name of Owen Jones Ellis-Nanney.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Ellis-Nanney Senior was by all accounts an amiable fella,
0:21:41 > 0:21:42well-liked by everybody.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46And at the ripe and rather randy old age of 53,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48he decided he needed an heir.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51So he got himself a 23-year-old child bride,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54the daughter and heiress of a local banker,
0:21:54 > 0:22:00and it was actually her money that allowed him to buy Talhenbont.
0:22:00 > 0:22:06So Ellis-Nanney Senior became squire, and his new wife did indeed produce an heir -
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Hugh Ellis-Nanney who, after inheriting Talhenbont,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12would take his place in British history
0:22:12 > 0:22:15as the man who lost to Lloyd George,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19the only Welshman to ever become Prime Minister.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24You'd anticipate him as the sitting squire to then be the local MP.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27That's the way it's happened for generations.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31But actually he comes second to Lloyd George. How did that happen?
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Well, it was 1890,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39and a kind of groundswell of Welsh national feeling
0:22:39 > 0:22:42was beginning to speed up.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45When it came time for the election, he didn't want to stand.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49- But they couldn't find anybody else to do it. - So he's doing this through duty.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Privately he'd much rather not. He was very pleased that he lost?
0:22:53 > 0:22:54Yeah, I'm sure he was.
0:22:54 > 0:23:00Lloyd George wins that election by...circumstances, to a certain extent.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03I mean, he is getting a lot of votes there,
0:23:03 > 0:23:07but the fact that he actually wins is a very close-run thing?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10It was close-run, but the fact that it happened at all
0:23:10 > 0:23:11was a miracle of the times.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14The fact that he was even standing was a miracle of times. Yeah.
0:23:16 > 0:23:22But as Lloyd George's fortunes blossomed,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Talhenbont's declined.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29And by the time Gillian and Roger got their hands on it,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32the house was a shadow of its former self.
0:23:32 > 0:23:38Talhenbont's empire-building squires would have been furious.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45And Gillian thinks that some of those former residents may still be hanging around!
0:23:45 > 0:23:48She's had various encounters in the house,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51and believes the spirits like a bit of string music.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56She's got a photograph that was taken whilst a friend played guitar in the Tudor bedroom upstairs
0:23:56 > 0:23:58that appears to show a spirit orb or two.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Luckily for us, our Lloyd George expert, Twm Morys,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03is also an accomplished plucker,
0:24:03 > 0:24:08so we've asked him to stick around to entertain the spirits.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10- You've seen one ghost. - Yes, definitely.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13- And it was a ghost of a lady... - In housekeeper's uniform.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15In a housekeeper's uniform.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18I walked in the door at 11 o'clock one night
0:24:18 > 0:24:20and I thought, am I seeing things?
0:24:20 > 0:24:23No, I'm not seeing things.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25I tell you, I wasn't spooked when I saw her,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29but the hair stood up on the back of my head.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Come on, let's go. I think leave your orbs down here.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35I'll leave the orbs down here and we'll go.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37As well as Twm and his harp,
0:24:37 > 0:24:41I've also asked a North Wales ghost-busting group to come along
0:24:41 > 0:24:44and see whether there's anyone there.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47HARP PLAYS
0:24:54 > 0:24:57First reactions? Anything compelling?
0:24:57 > 0:25:02- I have picked up a name. Deborah. - Anything else? Have you felt anything?
0:25:02 > 0:25:04I heard a very definite loud voice, very loud.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- It was a loud, shrill sort of... - HE GROANS
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Yeah, like a moan.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Could it be sort of Welsh?
0:25:17 > 0:25:21- Have you felt anything in this room? - No.- OK!
0:25:23 > 0:25:25I think this is a very sort of cosy room.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27I'm just seduced by the curtains,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31so I'm operating on a very superficial level here.
0:25:31 > 0:25:32Now, what about orbage?
0:25:32 > 0:25:35The light is certainly perfect for orbs.
0:25:35 > 0:25:36It's good orb-light.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Semi-darkness. We've got the infra-red camera.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Is there a band called the Orb?
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Locally, there's quite a big deal about the fact that,
0:25:44 > 0:25:49in the 20th century, people haven't stayed here for very long.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Apart from Milady Gillian, who's been here over 30 years.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57She seems to be being encouraged to stay, rather than repelled.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59I think they like you, and I feel as well that,
0:25:59 > 0:26:05because you're outward and bubbly and a very confident person,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08they love...they know that they can come around you.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10They like that as well.
0:26:10 > 0:26:11I recognise that they're here.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14And if I feel that somebody is in the room,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16it is generally on this side I feel it.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19So if there is somebody around and I know they want to talk to me,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21I'll talk to them.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24But yes, I go around cursing and swearing all over the place,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27so I'm afraid they're used to an Essex girl here.
0:26:27 > 0:26:28Well, there we are.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Even the spirits can't get a word in edgeways!
0:26:31 > 0:26:37Contact with any of Talhenbont's former residents failed to materialise.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41Whether spiritual or historical,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Talhenbont's past has been a pleasure to enjoy.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51But it's its future that remains shrouded in mystery.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54You want to move back to Essex.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57You don't. You want to stay here,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01and you...you see yourself as actually, you know,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04wanting continue to occupy this space, don't you?
0:27:04 > 0:27:08I do, yeah. The passion is there to take it on.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11I think when something runs through your veins as much as
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Talhenbont does within the whole family,
0:27:13 > 0:27:18you know, a concerted effort will be made to...
0:27:18 > 0:27:20- See what you can do? - To see what we can do.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23The bottom line is the next couple of years will be crucial,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27because there is a bit of a Sword of Damocles hanging over the place.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31No-one really knows what it will be, if it will be,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34- this time next year. - Correct, absolutely correct.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37- Who knows what's round the corner? - I've got a tip for you.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39- One word - heiress.- Heiress?
0:27:39 > 0:27:44- Go on, go and find one.- Right. - Oh, yeah. Marry money!
0:27:44 > 0:27:47- Marry money. - Of course! That's the answer.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Marry gold. And I don't mean washing-up gloves.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Absolutely, you're absolutely right. Wonderful idea.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Go on, sir. Heiress. They're out there. Find one.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Yes, go for it. Go for it. Brilliant.
0:28:10 > 0:28:15I'm really beginning to think that actually Gillian protests too much.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19I don't think she ever wants to leave this place at all,
0:28:19 > 0:28:21and I don't think that Talhenbont Hall,
0:28:21 > 0:28:25and indeed its astral plane inhabitants, want to see her go.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Because I think this place has really enjoyed
0:28:27 > 0:28:31being the background to her larger-than-life lifestyle,
0:28:31 > 0:28:37and I actually do believe that these old stones have loved
0:28:37 > 0:28:41the veneer of 20th century glamour that Gillian's given them.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:48 > 0:28:51E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk