History
A late sixteenth century gentry house, the earliest part of which was built in 1576 as a lateral chimney, storeyed house, a high-status example of a building-type favoured by the gentry of Meirionydd at that time. The ambitions of its owners continued to be reflected thereafter in a series of remodellings and extensions, beginning in 1592, and culminating in a major expansion of the house in the later nineteenth century under the auspices of its then owners, the Corbett family.
There was an earlier house of Cors y gedol, and though its precise location and form remain unknown, it was clearly already important by the later fifteenth century at least. By the early C16, this property was the seat of the Vaughan family, who had assembled a substantial estate by 1525 and who were prominent in the county from the C15 until the late C18 century. They traced their descent here from Osbwrn Gwyddel, who came from Ireland in the time of Llewelyn the Great, became governor of Harlech Castle, and is said to have married the heiress of Cors y gedol. Thus began an process of estate building, culminating in the building and progressive enlargement of the present house. Successive generations of Vaughans held high office in the counties of Merioneth and Caernarvon, both as sheriffs and members of Parliament. The estate passed to the Mostyn family in 1791, was sold in 1858 to the Corbett family, under whose patronage the house was doubled in size. The property was sold again in 1891 and 1908, and was for a time a school and a hostel. Acquired by the present owners in 1951.
The earliest part of the present house was built by Richard Vaughan, in 1576. The original 3-unit plan of hall with outer room beyond passage to west, and inner room to east, survives only in outline, since both inner and outer rooms were later substantially rebuilt, though the hall itself survives. Gruffudd and Katherine Vaughan added the storeyed porch in 1593, and the inner room was also remodelled at this time. The western unit was reconstructed in 1660 by William Vaughan (and remodelled again in the later C18 for Edward Lloyd Vaughan). At some time the original single pile range was extended to the rear, and perhaps by the early C18, a further range set back from and west of the original was added. This was itself extended to west and north-west in the nineteenth century. The history of the house is well-documented, not only in date-inscriptions, but also in written accounts: in one of these, Richard Vaughan (inherited, 1697, died 1734), was said to have modernised the house by thorough repair, including wainscotting and new flooring, replacing the old mullioned windows with sashes, and adding new rooms to the house. The interior panelling is very likely to be his wainscotting, and perhaps the gabled range in parallel with the hall, and the rear wing, provided his new rooms.
Cors y gedol played an important part in Welsh literary life even before the accession of the Vaughan family to the estate. From the later C15, the estate provided patronage to poets not only from Merioneth, but also from further afield. Later, William Vaughan (builder of the gatehouse) numbered Ben Johnson amongst his friends.