Horsley Hall, Gresford

Horsley Hall was a Jacobethan-style house with formal gardens, near to Gresford, Wrexham County Borough, that was destroyed in 1963.

[1] Members of the Powell family who owned the hall included, in about 1540, Thomas Powell, the Constable of Holt Castle, who built 'Plas Y Horsli' a timber building surrounded with a moat on the site.

[5] Between 1907 and 1912, the hall was enlarged, remodelled in a Jacobethan style, and had a formal garden laid out by the architect George Herbert Kitchin (1870–1951).

The hall had an outer and entrance hall, Saloon, hall with beamed ceiling, library, gallery, four reception rooms, 20 principle bedrooms and dressing rooms, theatre room, school room, 9 bathrooms, servants bedrooms, head grooms house, chauffeurs cottage, gardeners flat, stabling for 18 horses and 3 garages.

[2] At the start of the Second World War, Horsley Hall was still standing and requisitioned by the army.

[2] During the war, it was for training and accommodation by Number 12 Camp, Royal Pioneer Corp.[11] Built in the formal gardens were Nissen huts, garages and military building.

[2] On 20 April 1950, Horsley Hall was mentioned in the House of Commons when a Member of Parliament raised a question about Lance-Corporal Sankey, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, never seen again and reported as a deserter after leaving the camp on 25 September 1944.

Horsley Hall, for a short time, was used as a private school but demolished in 1963.

[7] Horsley Hall, and in the grounds, a dovecote and gazebo are Grade II listed buildings by CADW.

The main reason for the listing is, "survival of a structure of an extensive Edwardian garden, with some massive rock work and a few fine ornamental trees".

[7] Some badly deteriorated parts of the hall remain, and the formal gardens are overgrown.

[15] George Herbert Kitchin (1870–1951) Between 1907 and 1912 George Herbert Kitchin was the architect responsible for remodelling the Hall into a Jacobean style and laid out the formal gardens.

Thomas Powell A Constable of Holt Castle, who build 'Plas Y Horsli' on the estate in about 1540.