The Jeffreys were originally from Shrewsbury and had moved to Ceredigion in the mid-18th century to develop lead smelting mills. Edward Jeffreys bought the Ynyshir estate, which included the site of the present castle, in 1792. He died in 1801, his son Robert died in 1802, and his other son, another Edward, was killed in the Peninsular War in 1812. The estate therefore passed to his brother, George, a lawyer, who began to build the castle immediately on his inheritance. In 1819 Jeffreys was made High Sheriff of Cardiganshire and the following year his close friend, Thomas Love Peacock, married Jane Griffith, an event celebrated by their reception at the castle. Jeffreys died in 1868 and the death of his second son, Charles, in 1906 saw the sale of Glandyfi. In the first half of the 20th century it passed through various owners until bought by BSA in 1949. Bernard Docker and his second wife, Norah Collins, were known for their extravagant lifestyles, generally funded from the assets of Docker's companies, rather than their own. Their profligacy saw Docker's abrupt removal from the chairmanship of BSA, and the sale of Glandyfi, in 1956. The castle was later used as an hotel, a wedding venue and a bed-and-breakfast establishment. That usage ended in September 2019 because the property was listed for sale. Since the Docker era, it had undergone another restoration and refurbishment.
Architecture and description
The Agrarian and Industrial revolutions of the mid-18th century saw the emergence of Gothic Revival architecture, which began to challenge the dominance of the Baroque. This saw an explosion of castle-building; notable examples within Wales were Penrhyn in the north and Cyfartha in the south. Glandyfi is on a much smaller scale, but stands comparison with Stanage Park at Knighton, just over the border in Powys. Stanage was designed by John Hiram Haycock and the connections are such that Pevsner suggests Haycock as the architect for Glandyfi, although Cadw notes the lack of documentary evidence to support this. The castle consists of a two-storey central block, with a three-storey tower to the left and a large buttress to the right. A dining room and a small tower are later additions. Battlements crenellate the whole. The interior contains imported wood panelling. The castle is a Grade II listed building, its listing record noting that it is "the only example Georgian country house in picturesque castellated style in the county".
