Chirk Castle, occupied for over 700 years, was purchased by the state via the Land Fund in 1978, administered by the Welsh Office, and conveyed to the National Trust in 1981 who acquired some contents, others having been transferred in lieu of tax to the National Museum of Wales but remaining in situ. The Myddeltons were not active collectors and Chirk contains an array of family portraits but those of the servants, particularly Welch Wilkes, the Chirk Castle Scullion, pulling the bell in the courtyard at half-past three, are of vernacular interest. The greatest treasure of the collection, acquired from Captain David Myddelton with grants from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the National Arts Collection Fund (Art Fund), and the Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund in 1993, is the ebony and silver Antwerp cabinet adorned with scenes, on copper, from the life of Christ and the Seven Acts of Mercy from the studio of Frans Francken II, reputedly given by Charles II to Sir Thomas II Myddelton (1586–1666) for his role in the Restoration.