Woodlands Hall—a short history

The present building was constricted about 1870, although there has been a building on the site for many hundreds of years. The deeds show that there was once a traditional Welsh long cottage here. The current mock-Tudor mansion was constructed for a Miss Jane Bremner. Many of the wooden carvings that you now see in the hall were brought back from overseas. It is believed that they were given to Miss Bremner by the captains of ocean-going liners in thanks for the services that she provided as a singer. A private chapel was installed he first floor and the remains of the stained glass windows are still there. After she died in 1939, the contents of the hall were auctioned off in a three day sale. Included were many paintings by old masters and furniture of high quality. The hill stood empty for many years following her death and during the war it was requisitioned for use as a school and possibly as a hospital. After that period, the estate was broken up and the land sold off in parcels. lt was in the 1950s that a Mr Poole purchased what was left of the estate and began a Country Club in the hall and a caravan park with less than 20 units set out among the trees between the hall and the entrance to the park. It was

then sold to Mr Lloyd of Lloyd’s Caravans who acquired shooting rights over the nine acres of the a adjoining park. It was then sold again and passed through the hands of various owners until eventually in 1982 it was purchased by Bob and Graham Davies. The hall was subsequently leased out to tenants. In 1987, it was closed for eight months while major renovations were carried out. Central heating and double glazing were installed and a conservatory restaurant was added. This allowed the provision of an exclusive a Ia carte restaurant named Bremner’s, named after the original owner. A complete overhaul was carried out of all rooms creating six en-suite bedrooms. And some six hears ago (c. 2010) a leisure suite was built to enhance these facilities. In 1978, there was a 78 year old gardener still working part time maintaining the grounds, a Mr Ted Hession who, as a young man, had from the time of his marriage, been the first occupant of the hall’s coach house. To this day, there are rumours of a ghostly apparition haunting Woodlands Hall. This history was kindly supplied by Lyons Holiday Park, a local family company who are the current owners of Woodlands Hall.