1911 - 1929 Private House :: Colonel Henry Hughes
Colonel Henry Bodvel Lewis Hughes (1864-1940) was the second son of Hugh Robert Hughes. He inherited Kinmel Hall at 46 years old following the death of his father on 29 April 1911.
His elder brother Hugh Seymour Bulkeley Hughes had previously been disinherited by their father following an affair with an actress which had caused some scandal.
He eventually married the actress and they had a son, but this branch of the family never inherited Kinmel Hall or the Kinmel Estate. Hugh Seymour Bulkeley Hughes died in 1918 aged 56.
Colonel Henry Hughes served in WW1 (1914-1918) and it is likely Kinmel Park Military Camp was established because of his military connections.
After WW1 ended in 1918, Colonel Hughes returned to Kinmel Hall. Unlike his father he did not enjoy being a public figure. The extravagant lifestyle led by his father had left behind significant debts. As a result Colonel Hughes started to sell off chunks of the Kinmel Estate to pay them.
By 1925 and with increasing age related illnesses, Kinmel Hall became too much for Colonel Hughes. In 1926 work began on a house called Hendre Gyda which was extended and renamed Kinmel Manor. The Nesfield fireplace from the entrance to Kinmel Hall with the Hughes family heraldic symbols carved on it was moved there, along with other familiar items.
In spring 1929 Colonel Henry Hughes moved out of Kinmel Hall, marking the end of the Hughes family ownership of Kinmel Hall as a private home. Colonel Henry Hughes died aged 76 in 1940.
He left what remained of the Kinmel Park estate (excluding Kinmel Hall) to his sisters grandson, Major David Fetherstonhaugh. The Fetherstonhaugh family still own Kinmel Park.
In time, Kinmel Manor became The Kinmel Hotel and the Nesfield fireplace and overmantel can still be seen in what is currently the dining room.
Kinmel Hall was set to become Kinmel School for Boys which opened in September 1929.