Aberglasney House and Gardens is a medieval house and gardens set in the Tywi valley in the parish of Llangathen, Carmarthenshire, West Wales. It is owned and run by Aberglasney Restoration Trust, a registered charity. [1] The house is a Grade II* listed building andd the gardens are listed, also at Grade II*, on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. [2] [3]
Aberglasney is located just off the busy A40 road between Llandeilo and Carmarthen town, 3 miles (4.8 km) from Llandeilo.
The site was owned for ten generations of a family which by tradition could trace its origins to Elystan Glodrydd "Prince between Wye and Severn," and Gwenllian, granddaughter of Hywel Dda. After the triumphant return of Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth, then owner William ap Thomas who was knighted by the king for his service, gained formal responsibilities in both North and South Wales, and decided to move permanently north to Coed Helen on the North Wales coast. [4]
He sold what was then known as Llys Wen to members of the Rudd family sometime around 1600. [5] Funded by the recently appointed Anthony Rudd (c. 1548–1614), Bishop of St David's Cathedral from 1594, the house was reconstructed in 1603, a time when it also probably gained its still standing Elizabethan promenade garden, the best preserved of its type in all of Great Britain. The house stayed in the family's hands for a few generations, but allegiance to the crown during the English Civil War and high hearth tax (with 13 chimneys, the highest paid in all of Carmarthenshire), the house was eventually bought by Robert Dyer, a successful Carmarthen lawyer, in 1710.
Dyer who was thought to have been living in the property at this time, had the house "rebuilt," although later investigation suggests he improved it greatly including the additional of a Queen Anne style facade. Dyer died before the works were completed in 1720, succeeded by his eldest son Robert, who married Frances Croft of Croft Castle, descended from Owain Glyndŵr. Pictures of the couple within the house are thought to have been painted by his brother, then painter and poet John Dyer. In 1726, John published two poems referencing Aberglasney: "The Country Walk" about Aberglasney, and "Grongar Hill" describing the Tywi valley. After ownership under mounting debts, the estate was put up for sale in 1798. [6]
In 1803, the house was bought by John Philips, a lawyer from Llandeilo, on behalf of his brother Thomas, a surgeon returning home after a 30-year career as a surgeon with the East India Company. He and his married mistress lived in the house, and dying childless in 1824 left the property to his sister's son John Walters, who added Philipps to his surname and a portico to the Queen Anne façade. He had a son who died in childhood and three daughters, two of whom died leaving the property to be inherited by the middle daughter. Her daughter Mary Anne (also known as Marianne), inherited the property, while her father John Pugh Pryse of Bwlchbychan remarried Decima Dorothea Rice of Llwynybrain, after the death of Mary Anne's mother. The Yew tree promenade was the subject of a Gardeners' Chronicle article in 1860. [7]
Marianne Pryse married soldier Charles Mayhew, and moving with him to Derbyshire, Aberglasney was let out. After his retirement in 1902, they moved to Aberglasney, where Colonel Mayhew planted the rare specimen trees that remain in the grounds. The couple were the local co-ordinators for the teetotalism movement, holding Temperance rallies, giving Llangathen its Temperance Hall, and turning out tenants who declined to sign the Pledge. Colonel Mayhew died in 1907, and in 1908 Marianne moved to London, where she spent the rest of her life, refusing to let out Aberglasney. [8]
Aberglasney was commandeered at the outbreak of World War II, becoming a mobile laundry for the RAOC. As the build-up to D Day occurred, the house was used as a holding-station for troops of the US Army, which included the sparring partner of Joe Louis, Top Sergeant Dawson. A stray Luftwaffe bomb fell on the property, after a raid on Swansea docks, in a field towards Lanlash. [8]
After the end of WW2 and the death of Marianne in 1939, a descendant of Decima Dorothea Rice, Eric Evans and his young family took up residence. But on his death in 1950 aged 30, the family trustees decided that the property was not economic, and hence decided to sell it. [8]
In 1955 the estate was broken up, with tenant farmers acquiring their rented land, while the house and farm was bought by Carmarthen lawyer David Charles. The house remained unoccupied, used occasionally for dances and balls, allowing the damp and decay that had set in under Marianne Pryce's ownership to accelerate. A further sale in 1977 reduced the size of the surrounding lands, in part to fund what became a short-lived effort to restore what was now a vandalised property that was subject to regular architectural theft. When the owners joined this effort by trying to sell the portico legally via Christie's auctioneers, the Welsh Office stepped in with a full prosecution to preserve the listed building. [8]
In 1995 a transfer was agreed with the Aberglasney Restoration Trust. As the house restoration had already started, it was ineligible for the BBC's Restoration series, and so director William Wilkins appealed to United States horticulturalists and benefactors Frank and Ann Cabot. [9] The 10 acres (4.0 ha) gardens opened to the public in 1999, with several walled gardens:
The gardens were the site of the BBC's Antiques Roadshow in 2009. [9]
Carmarthenshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as the "Garden of Wales" and is also home to the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
Carmarthen is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. 8 miles (13 km) north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, down from 15,854 in 2001, but gauged at 16,285 in 2019. It has a claim to be the oldest town in Wales – Old Carmarthen and New Carmarthen became one borough in 1546. It was the most populous borough in Wales in the 16th–18th centuries, described by William Camden as "chief citie of the country". Growth stagnated by the mid-19th century as new settlements developed in the South Wales Coalfield.
Llandeilo is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The town is served by Llandeilo railway station on the Heart of Wales Line.
Abergwili is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, near the confluence of the rivers Towy and Gwili, close to the town of Carmarthen. It is also an electoral ward. The community includes the settlements of Peniel, Llanfihangel-uwch-Gwili and White Mill. The grounds of the former Bishop's Palace are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom represented since 2010 by Jonathan Edwards of Plaid Cymru. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was created in 1997, mostly from the former seat of Carmarthen.
Llansteffan Castle is a privately owned castle in Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, Wales, overlooking the River Tywi estuary in Carmarthen Bay.
Brechfa, situated between Llandeilo and Carmarthen in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales, is a village that has existed since the 6th century at the top of the Cothi Valley. Brechfa village is set in countryside, as well as being located by the Brechfa Forest
Llansadwrn is a small village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
Newton House is a Grade II* listed country house situated just to the west of the market town of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is partially owned and maintained by the National Trust and lies within Dinefwr Park and the grounds of Dinefwr Castle. The park and gardens are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The original house was built during the Medieval period on a site which has been occupied for at least two millennia. The current house was built by Edward Rice in the Jacobean style in 1660, though extensive changes were made in the 1850s in the Venetian Gothic style. The house played a role in the Rebecca Riots of 1843, when the occupant of the house at the time, Colonel George Rice, received a death threat with an empty grave dug in the ground. After 1956 the property fell into turbulent times when two owners died within the space of a few years. It was sold in 1974, and later fell into disrepair; it was occupied by squatters and thieves who removed beams and furniture.
Cynwyl Elfed is a village and community in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. The community includes the villages of Cynwyl Elfed, Blaenycoed and Cwmduad. It is situated about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Carmarthen and had a population of 953 in 2001, increasing to 1,044 at the 2011 Census.
Llangathen is a community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The population taken at the 2011 census was 507.
Paxton's Tower is a Neo-Gothic folly erected in honour of Lord Nelson. It is situated on the top of a hill near Llanarthney in the River Tywi valley in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is a visitor attraction that can be combined with a visit to the nearby National Botanic Garden of Wales. Its high location provides views over the Botanic Gardens and the Tywi valley. The tower, a grade II* listed building, is under the care of the National Trust. The surrounding parkland is registered at Grade II* on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Ffairfach is a village one-half mile (0.80 km) south of the market town of Llandeilo in the eastern part of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is located close to the confluence of the Afon Cennen and the River Towy. Population is 516 according to 2017 census.
Dinefwr Park National Nature Reserve is an 800 acres (320 ha) estate about a mile from the centre of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire owned by the National Trust, with a mansion in the centre. The highest point is occupied by the ruined Dinefwr Castle, ancient castle of the Deheubarth kingdom. It is a grade I Historic Park and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Ffarmers is a village near Lampeter, in the north of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was named after the old "Farmers' Arms" public house, which is now closed. The double "f" in the name comes from the Welsh language spelling of the "f" sound in "farmers". The village stands on the old Roman road, Sarn Helen, which was used by cattle drovers to take their livestock from Wales to Smithfield market in London.
Gelli Aur is a country park in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with 60 acres (240,000 m2) of wooded parkland surrounding Golden Grove mansion. It was once the home of the Vaughan and Cawdor families. The park featured a number of nature trails, a 20-acre (81,000 m2) deer park, a 10-acre (40,000 m2) Aboretum planted in the 1860s. The park was managed for many years by Carmarthenshire County Council. The park is registered at Grade II* on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Known as The Garden of Wales, Carmarthenshire is a county of rich, fertile farmland and productive seas and estuaries, that give it a range of foods that motivate many home cooks and restaurateurs. There is a local tradition in brewing, milling, gathering shellfish from the coasts and meat production. Carmarthenshire has been described by The Daily Telegraph as a "worthwhile destination for foodies" with the county having a modest matter of fact excellence. Carmarthenshire has ambitions to become the premier food-producing county of Wales, based on its strong reputation for first-class products. and Carmarthenshire County Council produces its own on-line and hard-copy recipe book called Taste from Carmarthenshire, for those interested in learning more about the county's cuisine.
Golden Grove is a mansion and estate in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire, located 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Llandeilo.
The Welsh Historic Gardens Trust is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation. Established in 1989, the trust exists to support the conservation of historic parks and gardens in Wales.
Carmarthenshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. It covers an area of 2,370 km2 (920 sq mi). In 2021 the population was approximately 188,200.
