Clydach House, Llanelly

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Clydach House
Clydach House, Llanelly.jpg
"a remarkably well-preserved ironworks manager’s house"
TypeHouse
Location Llanelly, Monmouthshire
Coordinates 51°49′06″N3°06′49″W / 51.8184°N 3.1137°W / 51.8184; -3.1137 Coordinates: 51°49′06″N3°06′49″W / 51.8184°N 3.1137°W / 51.8184; -3.1137
Built1693
Governing bodyPrivately owned
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameClydach House
Designated19 July 1963
Reference no.6667
Monmouthshire UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Clydach House in Monmouthshire

Clydach House, Llanelly, Monmouthshire is a house dating from 1693. Constructed as the home for the manager of an ironworks in the nearby Clydach Gorge, it remains a private residence and is a Grade II* listed building.

Contents

History

Clydach Gorge became an important centre for ironworking in the 17th century. Clydach House was built in 1693 for Francis Lewis, manager of the Llanelly Furnace. Lewis's arms are above the front door, together with the date of 1693. [1] Sir Bartle Frere, colonial administrator and son of the manager of the Clydach Ironworks, was born at the house in 1815. [2]

Architecture and description

The architectural historian John Newman describes Clydach as a "symmetrical, double-pile house". [3] It is of three storeys, constructed of white rendered stone. [3] The building has original casement windows and a contemporary internal staircase. [3] The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust describes it as a "gentry house", indicating its size and relative sophistication. [4] It has been described as being "in the Tudor style. [5] [lower-alpha 1] Clydach is a Grade II* listed building, its listing record describing it as "a remarkably well-preserved ironworks manager’s house". [1]

Footnotes

  1. This source incorrectly gives the date of construction as 1603.

Related Research Articles

Llanelly is the name of a parish and coterminous community in the principal area of Monmouthshire, within the historic boundaries of Brecknockshire, south-east Wales. It roughly covers the area of the Clydach Gorge. The population of the parish and ward at the 2011 census was 3,899.

Clydach, Monmouthshire Human settlement in Wales

Clydach is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales. Its nearest neighbours are the village of Gilwern and town of Abergavenny.

Gilwern Human settlement in Wales

Gilwern is a village within the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, Wales. Historically in Brecknockshire, it extends to either side of the River Clydach on the south side of the Usk valley. Its position beside the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal led to it being an important industrial centre at one time.

The Clydach Gorge is a steep-sided valley in south-east Wales down which the River Clydach flows to the River Usk. It runs for 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) from the vicinity of Brynmawr in Blaenau Gwent eastwards and northeastwards to Gilwern in Monmouthshire. The Gorge was one of the first locations in the region to be industrialised though it still retains its natural environment. It has long been an important transport corridor between Abergavenny and the lowlands of Monmouthshire and the northeastern quarter of the South Wales Coalfield. It is now exploited by the A465 Heads of the Valleys trunk road which runs between Abergavenny and Swansea and which serves the Heads of the Valleys sub-region.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Listed Buildings – Full Report – HeritageBill Cadw Assets – Reports". cadwpublic-api.azurewebsites.net. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  2. "History & Description of Llanelly Parish, Breconshire Wales". thomasgenweb.com. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Newman 2000, p. 280.
  4. "Clydach HLCA001". Ggat.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  5. "Clydach Ironworks – Brynmawr Historical Society". www.brynmawrhistoricalsociety.org.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2018.

References