Richard Parry (d.1828), was the son of Robert Parry and Miss Hart-Cotton, sister of Sir John Hart-Cotton and heiress of Warfield Hall, Berkshire. He married Mary, daughter of Dr Hugh Thomas, Dean of Ely and in 1775 he was made High Sheriff of Denbighshire. He inherited the estate of Warfield Hall after the death of John Hart-Cotton in 1784, who had leased No. 1 Royal Terrace, Adelphi (by the Adam brothers) in 1773. Parry also owned an estate with 116-125 enslaved people in St Kitts, between 1817-1828. During his life, he sold many of his Welsh estates including Llanrhaeadr Hall, Hafod y Bwch, Hendref Fawr and Pwll Halawg.

Llanrhaeadr Hall was first built in the sixteenth century. Parry inherited the site in 1759 and re-landscaped the garden, possibly to designs by William Esme in 1771. In c.1771, Parry asked Robert Adam to make designs for an entirely new house to the south of the existing one at Llanrhaeadr. Two variant Adam office designs have survived and show a simple and attractive three-storey house with flanking quadrant links terminating in deep pavilions.

These designs were not executed. A southwest extension along with outbuildings and stables was added instead. It has been suggested that these additions could also be by Robert Adam, however there are no known surviving drawings that relate to these additions. The house was extended and remodelled in the neo-Jacobean style in 1842 to designs by Thomas Penson for John Price.

Literature:
J. Y. W. Lloyd, The history of the princes, the lords marcher, the ancient nobility of Powys Fadog..., 1882, p. 83; A.T. Bolton, The Architecture of Robert and James Adam, Volume II, Index, 1922, pp. 21, 83; D. King, The Complete Works of Robert & James Adam and Unbuilt Adam, Volume 2, 2001, p. 128; UCL, Legacies of British Slavery Database, online, [accessed 6 March 2024]; CADW, Llanrhaeadr Hall List Description, online, [accessed 6 March 2024]

Louisa Catt, 2024