Cornelia Bayley once confessed to becoming a “slave” to the sprawling Jacobean mansion she rescued from ruin. For decades she struggled to keep Plas Teg going, often at huge physical and emotional cost to herself.
To keep warm, she would retreat to the kitchen and light the gas rings on her hob. As the boiler had packed in, washing herself and her bedding was difficult. Often she didn’t see a soul for days on end.
All the while she pursued with single-minded zeal her goal of restoring the 400-year-old country pile near Pontblyddyn, Flintshire. In turn it became a showcase for her collectables amassed from her years as an antiques dealer in Notting Hill. Over time, this desire to add to the property’s furnishings became close to an obsession.
Businesswoman Ruth Watson was once charged by Channel 4’s Country House Rescue with getting Plas Teg back in business. She told Cornelia she was near the point at which “eccentricity slips into madness”. If evidence was needed, it lay in the room full of parrots that were fed on hundreds of pounds worth of fruit and nuts a week.
Yet she endured, and the result was incredible. Almost four decades after buying the property, its remarkable interiors have dazzled those lucky enough to see inside.
Now those contents are to go under the hammer. Colwyn Bay auctioneers Rogers Jones & Co are handling a series of a sales, news of which has fuelled social media speculation over what’s happened to their mysterious owner.
Auctioneer Ben Rogers Jones, a director of the company, said Cornelia had entered a care home. Acting under Power of Attorney, solicitors were trying to raise funds to pay the fees. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now
He said: “There has been enormous interest locally, from across the UK and even overseas in the sale of the Plas Teg collection. With that comes the inevitable speculation on why the sale is taking place and the personal situation of Plas Teg’s renowned owner.
“The auctions of the Plas Teg contents are to help pay for care costs, therefore we are acting as quickly as possible to raise as much funds as possible. We hope that the Plas Teg factor will help prices as collectors and interested parties seek to claim for themselves a Plas Teg memento.” Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox