Carvings

The carvings in the house are taken from pieces of furniture, although there are many older carvings. Very few were done on site - they are mostly rescues from older buildings. The house, decorated in the Gothic style, could be said - especially if one takes account of the stained glass as well - to be an early example of recycling, albeit on an architectural scale. The carving of the hare is just a part of the mass of carvings in the Oak Room, originally the kitchen in the time of the Ladies of Llangollen (1780 - 1831).

The carving at the top of the stairs is dated 1678, meaning that it refers to King Charles II (reigned 1660 -1685). Referring to the King of England (and Scotland - Charles was a member of the house of Stuart) as King of Ireland and France was an old phrase, dating from the Hundred Years' War, used to emphasise the English King's claims to the French throne.

In 1814 Sarah Ponsonby noted that the Ladies had "the oak carving mania". However, this was continued by their successors in the property, and it is now almost impossible to separate later work from that brought in by the Ladies.