Yesterday, I featured the exquisite United Kingdom homes of Serena Fresson and her daughter Alice Naylor-Leyland. My obsession continues as Alice and her husband Tom were just featured in Vogue for a weekend jaunt they held recently at Tom’s family home, Nantclwyd Hall in Denbighshire, Wales… complete with home tour! The 17th-century mansion has been in Tom’s family for generations. The interiors were decorated by John Folwer in the 1950s and remain untouched. Known as the “Prince of Decorators,” John Fowler was the most influential interior decorator of his generation. As Vogue explains…
The original house, built in 1622, was owned by the Thelwell family and was later purchased by the Naylor-Leyland clan in the mid-19th century. They enlarged it with Victorian extensions, leaving only the original oak sitting room and bedroom untouched, and they also kept the name: Nantclwyd, which means “the brook over the river Clwyd.” During the 1950s, Tom’s grandfather commissioned the famous Welsh architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis to remove the Victorian extensions from the original 17th-century home and add a subtly pink-hued facade facing the garden front, as well as a new clock tower, garden pagodas, and a fiberglass temple.
The interiors received a refresh as well when Tom’s father enlisted interior designer John Fowler to update the estate. Fowler famously lent his talents to Buckingham Palace and is often credited with inventing the humbly elegant decor that is now commonly associated with traditional English country homes: a reverence for the past mixed with a thoughtful use of color and jaunty patterns. Today, Fowler’s ingenious style is everywhere at Nantclwyd Hall—the floral fabric wall coverings, the pink Victorian seating, and the classic canopy beds.
Let’s take a tour of Nantclwyd Hall! Photography by Jooney Woodward.
You can read more about Nantclwyd in Vogue here. And below are a some highlights from Alice and Tom’s “Great Gatsby meets Downton Abby” party, also featured in Vogue…
Click here to see more of this fabulous party in Vogue. And if you are interested in learning more about John Fowler (Colefax & Fowler) the inventor of English Country Chic, Vogue has rounded up their top 15 favorite Instagrams featuring Alice (@aliceinherpalace)… and yours truly (@theglampad)!!! You will also want to pick up a copy of John Fowler: Prince of Decorators by Martin Wood. It features an extensive feature of Nantclwyd… and you can also catch additional glimpses from Alice’s Instagram account! Click here to read my earlier post about Alice Naylor-Leyland and her mother, Serena Fresson. I just adore classic British style!

Oh LOVE that last image especially <3
Looks like a great life.
Never Enough
Just wonderful! I think that small structure is called a “Folly”.