THE FAMILY that has lived in Chirk Castle for more than 400 years is selling their historic collection and ancestral archives to National Trust Cymru.

The Myddelton family has concluded negotiations with the conservation charity to sell the most significant remaining items including furniture, paintings and unique historic manuscripts.

The purchase of high-value items in the collection has been possible through the Private Treaty Sale scheme which allows private owners to sell items to national organisations without recourse to an auction process and with prices beneficial to both.

Guy Myddelton said: “Chirk Castle has been owned and managed by the National Trust since 1981 and is no longer appropriate as a private family residence.

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“I am pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement with the National Trust that secures the Myddelton family legacy at Chirk, as well as the remainder of the Chirk collection for future generations to view in the most appropriate setting.”

Items that will be sold include portraits of Myddelton family ancestors by Sir Peter Lely, Michael Dahl and Sir Geoffrey KnellerMany, a rare 18th century pier glass mirrors and a 17-foot long oak table in the Servants’ Hall, and also a fragile leather hat ‘for the Baronet’ noted in the castle’s 1668 accounts, that will also be sold.

As part of the purchase agreement, the Myddelton family is vacating their remaining private spaces of the castle, as well as the East Wing which has only intermittently been available for public access.

Lhosa Daly, director for Wales, National Trust Cymru said: “Chirk Castle is an iconic place in Welsh history, and we are thrilled to have been able to secure this last and most significant part of the collection on loan to us from the Myddelton family with items spanning hundreds of years.

“These objects speak of political, commercial and social history among generations of the family, but also of other families and individuals connected to the castle.

“This purchase agreement cements the Myddelton family’s legacy as we continue to tell these stories.”

Chirk Castle, at the head of the Ceiriog valley, was completed around 1310 and was one of several fortresses along the Welsh-English border constructed to maintain the conquests of Edward I.

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In 1595 it was purchased by Sir Thomas Myddelton, a merchant adventurer originally from Denbighshire, who transformed it from a fortress to a family home.

Through the centuries that followed, the Myddelton family has had an unbroken connection to the castle, and their histories are reflected in the wealth of collections that remain.

The Trust will be considering how best to use and display these spaces and will share plans in the months to come.

 For opening times and further information on Chirk Castle visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/chirk