This day visit to Portmeirion will concentrate on the Portmeirion Hotel, situated at the quayside of the village created by visionary architect Clough Williams-Ellis between 1926 and 1976, and will include other points of interest. In a previous life, the hotel was an extravagantly furnished marine villa in a place formerly known as Aber Iâ, built in the 1840s by Henry Seymour Westmacott. Rachel Hunt, Collections Curator will introduce us to the house and to recent research into its furnishings, particularly work by Johann Martin Levien. Two elaborately carved doors have recently been identified as being the work of Levien, thanks to Serena Newmark (author of Levien's biography on BIFMO). Levien introduced New Zealand timbers into British furniture making, showcasing them in a prize-winning sideboard at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The sideboard was also acquired by Westmacott for Aber Iâ, (though it was later sold). The Levien doors were probably commissioned to complement the sideboard, and had ornately carved frames, possibly by Westmacott’s cousin, James Sherwood Westmacott.

We will then have a tour of other items of interest at Portmeirion including the early seventeenth-century 'Hercules' ceiling rescued in 1936 from the about-to-be-demolished Emral Hall, a behind the scenes look at a store of furniture and other objects, and two Eisteddfod chairs.  Members will be able to explore the rest of the village after the visit (closes 5.30 pm).

COST: £70 (includes lunch and afternoon tea).  Travel and accommodation not included.

LIMIT: 18

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Friday, 7 March 2025

The Library at the Portmeirion Hotel, showing the door frames, and one of the Levien doors. Following a fire in 1981, the doors were restored and are wall-mounted; the original frames now accommodate mirrors. Photograph courtesy of and © John Hammond.