Last week, a few of us from the team traveled over to North Wales to take a proper look at Penrhyn Castle.
Standing between the Menai Strait and the foothills of Eryri, it occupies an incredible position on the coast. The views from the estate are exceptional—looking one way out across the open sea, and the other toward the soaring heights of Yr Wyddfa (Snowden).
Designed in the early nineteenth century by Thomas Hopper, Penrhyn itself is an exercise in massive scale. Hopper chose the Norman Revival style, drawing on the architecture of early medieval fortresses. With its thick stone walls, soaring keep, and heavy Mona marble masonry, Penrhyn was built to project unyielding physical power and dominance over that spectacular setting. Its sheer bulk to command attention and demand awe.
Back home in Shropshire, Soulton Hall operates on a different frequency, even if it carries its own distinct kind of confidence. With its complex Renaissance geometry, solar alignments, and Saxon roots, Soulton wears its intellectual puzzle work on its sleeve.
The contrast in their underlying aims is striking.
