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Erddig, Wrexham - Portraits of a Community |
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The Yorke Family
The first Phillip Yorke (1743-1804) refashioned and remodelled the house, preserving and adapting its 17th Century fittings. Author of 'The Royal Tribes of Wales' (published in 1799), he fitted up an emblematic Tribes Room in the basement, and initiated an Erddig tradition of assembling portraits of household servants, annotated with descriptive verses.
The Yorkes were, on the surface, a typical comfortably off family, but underneath they were rather unconventional. Many were vegetarians, a tradition started by Philip Yorke (I), who, in 1749, at five years old, 'chused chiefly to dine on vegetables'. A few of the family were teetotallers, and the last two Squires, Simon (IV) and Philip (III), both led reclusive and rather eccentric lives.
All members of the family shared an interest in antiquity and were archivists, hoarding everything - no matter how trivial. The family preserved the feel of the 18th Century house, choosing not to install electricity, gas or mains water until well into the 20th Century.
A Tour of Erddig
© NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
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Visitors are introduced to the history of the servants and their workshops before they encounter the large, square, main house building, with its lavish interiors. This manner of introduction sets the scene for the unusual story behind Erddig.
There are a large number of out-buildings and yards dedicated to the upkeep of the estate. Repairs to the farmhouses, cottages, roads and bridges were undertaken by the estate foreman and his staff of up to thirty workmen. The Laundry Yard was the preserve of the female staff and contained a bakehouse, scullery, and wet and dry laundries. Outside the estate yard there is a dovecote dating from the 18th Century, which would have supplied a valuable source of food.
The New Kitchen has a large Venetian window and three great arches -'one of the grandest rooms at Erddig', perhaps reflecting on Philip I's regard for his staff. Originally the kitchen was detached from the main house in an effort to reduce the risk of fire, which had destroyed many contemporary buildings; it is now joined to the main house by a linking block, erected in the 19th Century.
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