Busby was subsequently sacked and Thomas Rickman engaged, while Bamford-Hesketh's ambitions grew from a Regency style country house into an enormous Gothic Revival castle.

Bamford-Hesketh's heirs continued his building and at various times C. E. Elcock and Detmar Blow worked at the castle until it achieved its final, immense, extent.

In the later Victorian and Edwardian eras the castle was run as a full-scale country house, receiving visits from Queen Victoria and Edward, Prince of Wales.

The presiding spirit was Winifred Bamford-Hesketh, Lloyd Bamford Hesketh's granddaughter, his sole heir, and Countess of Dundonald following her wedding to Douglas Cochrane in 1878.

The next decades were disastrous for the structure; failed plans for development saw the castle asset-stripped of much of its fabric and furnishings, including the lead roofs, and by the 21st century it was a ruined shell.

[2][3] Situated within the Gwrych Castle Estate are a pair of Iron Age hillforts, a Roman shrine, lead and silver mines and medieval battle sites; the last of these[4] are recorded on stone tablets at the principal entrance.

[13][14] The marriage was not a close one, and Winifred spent much of her time at Gwyrch and in London, choosing not to accompany her husband overseas when he served as General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada between 1902 and 1904.

The castle remained the countess's personal property, and on her death in 1924 she bequeathed it to King George V, in the hope that it would become the principal Welsh residence of the Prince of Wales.

After the war, the Dundonalds put the estate up for sale and in 1946 it was purchased by Robert Rennie who opened it as a visitor attraction, "The Showpiece of Wales".

In the early 1960s it was an occasional venue for the famous motorcycle Dragon Rally, and in the 1970s it was used as a centre for medieval re-enactments, attracting tourists with such events as jousting and banquets.

[24] In the 1990s it was occupied by New Age travellers who "sold off fittings, including fireplaces and stained glass, and stripped the slates and lead from the roof".

The aims of the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust are: 'to preserve for the benefit of the people of north Wales and of the nation, the historical, architectural and constructional heritage that may exist in and around Gwrych Castle, Abergele, North Wales in buildings (including any building as defined in Section 336 of the Town & Planning Act 1990) of particular beauty or historical, architectural or constructional interest.

'[33] Further aims were also explained in a Welsh-language article setting out their hopes to promote Welsh-based crafters, artists, musicians, and other creative avenues; "It's clear which path we want to follow - one that supports Welsh culture.

[35] Due to the high cost of repairs and restoring lost content, the trust relies on volunteers or/and philanthropists who contribute their time, experiences, knowledge and skills.

[53] In February 2020, Gwrych was briefly shown on S4C's subsidiary Hansh, where a Welsh artist and researcher for the trust, Rhŷn Williams, spoke about mental health and using his art as therapy to cope.

[54] In November 2020, History Hit host Dan Snow interviewed Mark Baker, who has dedicated his working life to saving the castle.

[56] Subsequently, in May 2021, with their involvement at the castle, Mark Busk-Cowley, Roy Callow, Steve Kruger, Andy Milligan, James Tinsley and Mathieu Weekes won BAFTA awards for their contribution on the series.

[59][60] The castle has been used as a location of a number of films including; Holiday on the Buses (1973),[61] Prince Valiant (1997),[62] Dragon Crusaders (2011),[63] and Saint Dracula 3D (2012).

and John Lewis & Partners, the castle and the show's celebrity trials were made into a downloadable asset to play within the Fortnite franchise.