The fireplace in the West End lounge was blazing, its smoky, crackling crackle warming the room and flickering over the stacks of books and works of art. Next to it is a basket the size of a barrel, packed with logs, ready to feed the flames.
William Gladstone – 214 years old today, born on December 29, 1809 – would certainly have approved. Those logs may not have been chopped by this colossus of Victorian politics – who loved swinging axes, literally and figuratively – but his spirit was palpable nonetheless.
I stayed at Hawarden Castle, the 18th-century Flintshire manor house, later with Gothic-style turrets, that the Liberal Prime Minister inherited through his wife in the mid-19th century. Even during his four non-consecutive premierships, when this great reformer was concerned with taxation, free trade, voting rights and Irish relations, he spent a lot of time here. It is where he worked, read and cut down trees; it is also where he died, in 1898.
Now, following a transformation by William’s great-grandson Charlie and his wife Caroline, a wing of Hawarden has just opened as perhaps the country’s largest holiday let. Although there is a dismembered Gladstone bust on the table and a portrait of him hanging on one wall, the West End is very much Charlie and Caroline’s vision.
‘When I took over Hawarden I never had any interest in my family history,’ Charlie Gladstone told me when we met (he lives on the east side of the castle). “I learned it by trying to make progress on it. As a real estate owner, I want to be relevant. To employ people, to welcome visitors. We bring it to life.”
This creative couple, with a background in music, hospitality, homewares and interiors, has a voracious appetite for things – “I love things,” said Charlie. But not old things – beautiful, interesting things, rich in personality and provenance that, when brought together (that is, carefully curated), produce something joyful and unique. The West End is, they think, a pure distillation of their taste.
Fortunately, their taste is great. Richly painted walls are shared by an eclectic ensemble: David Shrigley, JMW Turner, Julian Opie; bells, pillars, portraits of Gladstone women. It can take a good half hour, shuffling at museum pace, to get from the lounge to the loos (which are of course also filled with art). The same goes for the five bedrooms of West End. In mine, one wall was swallowed up by a huge 18th-century oil of Don Quixote – “I bought it specifically for the room,” Charlie explained. “It took eight men to get it in.”
It seemed almost intimidating to stay with so much (expensive) stuff in a building where history oozes from the eaves. But despite all that, the West End was extremely relaxed and pleasant. I quickly felt at home, with my feet on the sofa, sunk into Welsh wool cushions, a book open, Miles Davis on the record player. There are no televisions.
Indeed, you could easily stay in it. Thanks to a basket delivered by Hawarden’s farm shop, the kitchen was stocked with goodies, including sourdough baked on site and estate honey. And one evening, chef Adam Williams came along to cook: a candlelit treat of roast scallops, Tamworth pork and a sticky almond cake with toffee, plus no washing up.
The West End also has its own woodland garden, where you can roast a marshmallow or soak in the wood-fired bath, as well as access to a lake, if you fancy a wild dip. But there is more to do than that.
Outside the West End windows loom the remains of an earlier pile, a 13th-century castle, possibly built on Iron Age foundations. However, in keeping with the estate’s forward-looking ethos, it can also double as a yoga retreat.
Earlier in 2023, Hawarden opened the Walled Garden School, a cool, covered space in the Victorian ornamental garden where you can take classes in everything from sign writing to butchery; this is also where Hawarden’s Summer Camp micro-festivals are held.
A group of us met yogi Emma Garland at the school headquarters, before she took us outside, across the grass, over the moat and up inside the ruined walls of the old castle. Emma led us through stretches and balances – challenging with the winter gusts – and told us to close our eyes, imagining the world. I tried to imagine Dafydd ap Gruffydd attacking here, as he did in 1282. But between soothing, deep breaths and the soothing hum of the trees, a bloody story was hard to imagine.
But the history – it stayed in my head. As Hawarden moves into the future, it remains deeply rooted in the past. As I followed footpaths into the estate’s Bilberry Woods, I thought of Gladstone wielding his axe; A thousand people would come to watch him cut down these trees: both ordinary workers and uprooters of corruption! It was a physical and political display that earned him the nickname ‘People’s William’. (The current Prince of Wales may have something to say about that.)
And as I walked into the village of Hawarden I was drawn by the Gladstone Library, built on William’s bequest and containing 20,000 books which he brought there himself in a wheelbarrow.
But there was something even better. On the floor below the West End is the Temple of Peace, Gladstone’s own library. It is usually closed to the public, but West End guests can take a look if they wish. Charlie and Caroline let me in.
For the most part, the room looked as if William had just left. Shelves with important gilt-backed volumes protruded from the walls. His two desks – one for private work and one for public – still held his objects, from Downing Street letterheads to a hedgehog paperweight. Charlie opened a cupboard and took out a yellowed box: Gladstone’s business cards. And in the fireplace an arsenal of axes, some of which have clearly been well used.
It wasn’t all old, though. Among the antique thoughts and furnishings were works by three contemporary artists, each asked to respond to the room. A scrawled map of the British Empire by activist Adah Parris raised the specter of imperialism, racism and William’s father, John Gladstone – owner of more than 2,500 enslaved people.
Rather than shy away from this dark legacy, Charlie apologized in August 2023 for the family’s historic role in slavery and is funding research into its consequences. Again, future-oriented.
“All we can do is make change in our own way,” Charlie told me. Whether it’s tackling a problem or developing a place like Hawarden so it can be enjoyed in new ways.
Essentials
The West End (07818 246118; hawardenestateholidays.co.uk) costs from £3,300 per three-night weekend stay, £5,600 per week, for 10 people. The West End can also sleep four, from £1,320 per three-night stay, £2,240 per week. Midweek stays are also possible. Private dinner with Adam £90 pp. Yoga classes at Walled Garden School from £35pp; see agenda for lesson overview.