When The Quinta School closed in 1980 it was the first of many closures of this type of school. Ironically one of the main reasons given was the remoteness of the area.  

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Although in the 1970's The Quinta felt rural and remote, throughout history its locality has been part of the national scene. A few miles south is one of the best-preserved British iron age hill forts. This was in use for almost 1,000 years. A mile east of The Quinta at Rhyn Park was a strategic Roman Army Camp and Fortress for up to 4,000 soldiers.  It guarded routes into Wales being halfway between Chester and Viriconium.  A somewhat tenuous, but nonetheless tantalising theory is that the name "Quinta" derives from this time as being the 'meeting of five Roman ways' or a 'Roman market place'.

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Being on the edge of the Welsh Hills, the immediate area has had militarily significance. Its western boundary is Offa's Dyke built during the reign of Offa, King of Mercia from 757 to 796. Weston Rhyn is recorded as Westune in the Doomsday Book.   Remnants of Motte & Bailey Castles probably built around 1100 can be found close by either side of the adjacent Ceiriog Valley.  The Battle of Crogen was fought here in 1165 during Henry II of England's summer campaign against a number of Welsh princedoms led by Owain Gwynedd.  Chirk Castle was built in 1295.

Transport links have always been a feature with routes into Wales and from Chester to Cardiff. Canals and railways all pass close by. Thomas Telford was heavily involved.  Nearby the Llangollen canal with its spectacular aqueducts has been designated a World Heritage site. Now, once again, The Quinta is relatively well connected.  There is good access to Liverpool and Manchester airports with Birmingham not that much further away. It is a great venue for people from the conurbations of the Midlands and the North West and it is one of a number of venues that host national events.

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Another theory for the origin of the name was that someone who had travelled anglicised the Portuguese / Spanish name for a county estate: La Quinta. 

There are several 'Quintas' across the UK.  A final theory for the origin of the name is that it was the fifth part of an inheritance or large estate.  The Quinta is referred to in Chirk Castle accounts towards the end of the seventeenth Century as a 'gentleman's seat'. In the early 1800's The Quinta was owned by The West family.  The West's were an aristocratic family of some standing: including the Earls De La Warr, the Sackville-Wests  and the Cornwallis-Wests. Their main family estate was Buckhurst Park in Sussex. The family was connected to Admiral William Cornwallis active in Nelson's time but not at Trafalgar.   The USA state of Delaware was named after the Delaware River which in turn derived its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1577-1618), the governor of the Colony of Virginia at the time the river was first explored by Europeans.

The Myddleton's of Chirk Castle, owners since 1593, also owned the Ruthin Castle estates in North Wales. The last surviving male heir died in 1796 leaving three daughters. There was a long legal battle between the Myddelton sisters over the inheritance resulting in an act of Parliament in 1819. One married Frederick West 1767-1852. His son was Fredrick Richard West 1799 - 1862. His son was Fredrick Myddelton West who died in 1868.It is said that his drinking habits and debts had led to some sales of property. One of these may have been The Quinta.

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I have been unable to clarify which of the Fredrick Wests lived at The Quinta and for how long. Many aristocratic families did not always live in one place all the time but circulated around their estates. The complex family situation was compounded by a contest between Middleton spouses to become the local MP for Denbigh. It is possible that The Quinta was further developed in  the early 1800's as a residence in anticipation of success in the political battle which Fredrick West lost to Robert Myddleton Biddulph. One theory ascribes the building of the Stonehenge Folly to this time.   This political failure may have been another factor which led to the sale of The Quinta Estate in 1850's.   At this time Quinta Hall had not been built. There was a Quinta House and another smaller house Ty Newydd.

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It is noteworthy that a later relative, George Frederick Myddleton Cornwallis-West from Ruthin, was the second wife of Winston Churchill's mother, Lady Randolph Churchill. George's names give away the connection with the Fredrick Wests at The Quinta, Chirk and Ruthin Castles.  

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