to enjoy Myddleton's company, remarking that he was "the only man who in Wales has talked to me of literature", he was less impressed by the monument itself suggesting, "it looks like an intention to bury me alive". In the late 19th century, the Gwaenynog estate was bought by Fred Burton, whose wife Harriet was Beatrix Potter's aunt. Potter spent many holidays at Gwaenynog and its gardens, particularly the walled kitchen garden, provided inspiration for her story, The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, published in 1909. Potter undertook many drawings of the gardens which formed the basis of her illustrations for the book. Mr Macgregor's potting shed still stands and is itself a Grade II listed structure, along with the kitchen garden walls. Gwaenynog remains the private home of the Burton family although the gardens generally open in the summer. Architecture and description The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales describes Gwaenynog as a "rambling 19th century mansion", its Tudor elements concealed under later renovations and enlargements. Cadw notes the house's "complex and irregular plan." Of two main storeys, the house was greatly altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. Edward Hubbard, in his Clwyd volume of the The Buildings of Wales series, suggests that the 18th century styles retain greater presence in the interior, while the exterior is largely encased in a Tudor Gothic makeover of the 1870s. The house is listed at Grade II*. The gardens are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, and the walled kitchen garden, and the column commemorating Dr Johnson's visit have their own Grade II listings. Notes References Sources Grade II* listed buildings in Denbighshire Registered historic parks and gardens in Denbighshire