William Randolph Hearst
(from Wikipedia)
St. Donat's Castle
After seeing photographs of St. Donat's Castle in Country
Life magazine, the Welsh Vale of Glamorgan property was
bought and revitalized by Hearst in 1925 as a love gift to
Davies. The Castle was restored by Hearst who spent a
fortune buying entire rooms from castles and palaces in
Europe. The Great Hall was bought from the Bradenstoke
Priory in Wiltshire and reconstructed brick by brick in its
current site at St. Donat's Castle. The road haulage work
was carried out by freight brokers Holme & Simpson, later
North British Transport Ltd. From the Bradenstoke Priory he
also bought and removed the guest house, Prior's lodging,
and great tithe barn; of these, some of the materials
became the St. Donat's banqueting hall, complete with a
sixteenth century French chimney-piece and windows; also
used were a fireplace dated to c. 1514 and a fourteenth
century roof, which became part of the Bradenstoke Hall,
despite this use being questioned in Parliament. Hearst built
34 green and white marble bathrooms for the many guest
suites in the castle, and completed a series of terraced
gardens which survive intact today. Hearst and Davies spent
much of their time entertaining, holding lavish parties, the
guests at which included Charlie Chaplin, Douglas
Fairbanks, Winston Churchill and a young John F. Kennedy.
Upon visiting St. Donat's, George Bernard Shaw was quoted
as saying: "This is what God would have built if he had had
the money." When Hearst died, the castle was bought and is
still owned and used by Atlantic College, an international
boarding school.
SNAPSHOT | BIO | EARLY LIFE | PUBLISHING BUSINESS | EXPANSION
INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICS | PERSONAL LIFE | MARION DAVIES
CALIFORNIA PROPERTY | ST. DONAT’S CASTLE | THE FAMILY CLUB
CRITICISM | IN FICTION | OTHER WORKS
William Randolph Hearst in 1906