Great Porthamel Farm and Gatehouse

Last updated
Great Porthamel Farm and Gatehouse
Gatehouse tower at Great Porthamel near Talgarth.JPG
The gatehouse to the fore with the farmhouse behind
TypeGatehouse and farmhouse
Location Talgarth, Powys
Coordinates 52°00′32″N3°13′33″W / 52.0088°N 3.2259°W / 52.0088; -3.2259
Builtlate 15th century
Architectural style(s) Vernacular
Governing bodyPrivately owned
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameGatehouse at Porthamel Farmhouse
Designated28 September 1961
Reference no.6641
Official namePorthamel Tower
Reference no.BR047
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameGreat Porthamel Farmhouse
Designated28 February 1952
Reference no.6652
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameFarm building at Porthamel Farm
Designated14 August 1995
Reference no.16303
Powys UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Great Porthamel Farm and Gatehouse in Powys

The farm at Great Porthamel, at Talgarth in Powys, Wales, comprises a range of buildings including the farmhouse, the gate tower and an agricultural building. They form the remnants of a major medieval manor that was the principal seat of the Vaughan family. The complex has been described as "one of the more remarkable mediaeval houses of Wales". The gatehouse is a Grade I listed building, and a scheduled monument, while the farmhouse is listed at Grade II* and the agricultural building at Grade II.

Contents

History

The estate at Great Porthamel [lower-alpha 1] was established by Sir William Vaughan, created the first High Sheriff of Brecknockshire in 1539. [1] [lower-alpha 2] The Porthamel Vaughans, a junior branch of the Vaughans of Tretower Court, came to prominence and wealth as minor personages at the Tudor courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII. Rowland Lee, Lord President of the Marches, wrote to Thomas Cromwell that William Vaughan was “a man to be cherished”. [2] Sir William began building at the end of the 15th, or the early 16th centuries, and a contemporary account records the gatehouse forming the entrance to a "a strong wall-embatteled" enclosure. [3] Cadw's Coflein record gives a date for construction of 1536. [4] The farmhouse also dates from this time, although reconstruction took place in the later Tudor era, including the addition of a two-storey porch. [5]

Robert Scourfield and Richard Haslam, in their 2013 volume, Powys, of the Buildings of Wales series, note that much of the Porthamel enclosure had been destroyed by the 19th century. [1]

The farm at Porthamel is the site of an anaerobic digester, [6] [7] following a controversial, but successful, planning application in the early 21st century, which saw the development opposed by the Brecon Beacons National Park authority. [8] [9] [10]

Architecture and description

The Porthamel complex has been described as "one of the more remarkable mediaeval houses of Wales". [11] The farmhouse is of two storeys and five bays. [1] The tower is approximately 8m in height. [12] It has an upper chamber with stairs leading to a castellated look-out point. [1] It is a Grade I listed building [3] and a Scheduled monument. [13] The farmhouse is listed at Grade II*, [5] while the agricultural building is Grade II. [14]

Notes

  1. There are many variants including Porthamal and Porth-Amel.
  2. The Vaughans were an ancient family who claimed descent from the Princes of Powys.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llansantffraed</span> Human settlement in Wales

Llansantffraed (Llansantffraed-juxta-Usk) is a parish in the community of Talybont-on-Usk in Powys, Wales, near Brecon. The benefice of Llansantffraed with Llanrhystud and Llanddeiniol falls within the Diocese of St Davids in the Church in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ewenny Priory</span> Former monastery in Wales

Ewenny Priory, in Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, was a monastery of the Benedictine order, founded in the 12th century. The priory was unusual in having extensive military-style defences and in its state of preservation; the architectural historian John Newman described it as “the most complete and impressive Norman ecclesiastical building in Glamorgan”. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, parts of the priory were converted into a private house by Sir Edward Carne, a lawyer and diplomat. This Elizabethan house was demolished between 1803 and 1805 and replaced by a Georgian mansion, Ewenny Priory House. The house is still owned by the Turbervill family, descendants of Sir Edward. The priory is not open to the public apart from the Church of St Michael, the western part of the priory building, which continues to serve as the parish church for the village. The priory is in the care of Cadw and is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powis Castle</span> Grade I listed castle in Powys, Wales

Powis Castle is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former having been described as "the most important", and the latter "the most magnificent", in the country. The castle and gardens are under the care of the National Trust. Powis Castle is a Grade I listed building, while its gardens have their own Grade I listing on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

Berriew is a village and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. It is on the Montgomeryshire Canal and the Afon Rhiw, near the confluence with the River Severn at grid reference SJ185005, 79 miles (128 km) from Cardiff and 151 miles (243 km) from London. The village itself had a population of 283. and the community also includes Garthmyl Hall and Refail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treberfydd</span> House in Powys, Wales

Treberfydd House is a Gothic Revival house, built in 1847–50 just south of Llangorse Lake in the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales, to the designs of architect John Loughborough Pearson. It remains a private home to the Raikes family and is a Grade I listed building. The gardens are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leighton Hall, Powys</span> Historic site

Leighton Hall is an estate located to the east of Welshpool in the historic county of Montgomeryshire, now Powys, in Wales. Leighton Hall is a listed grade I property. It is located on the opposite side of the valley of the river Severn to Powis Castle. The Leighton Hall Estate is particularly notable for the hall which was decorated and furnished by the Craces to designs by Pugin in his Houses of Parliament style, for the Home Farm, a model farm, which was to be in the forefront of the Victorian industrialised High Farming, and for the gardens which have their own Grade I listing on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. Leighton Hall was also the birthplace of the much disparaged hybrid Cupressocyparis leylandii hedge tree. The hall is in private ownership and is not accessible to the public, although it can still be viewed from the road. The home farm is currently under restoration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llangattock (Crickhowell)</span>

Llangattock is a village, community and electoral ward in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys, Wales. It lies in the Usk Valley just across the river from the town of Crickhowell. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal passes through the village en route between Brecon and Pontypool. It is in the historic county of Breconshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grade I listed buildings in Powys</span>

In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In Wales, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Cadw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire</span> List of buildings in principal area of Wales

Monmouthshire is a county and principal area of Wales. It borders Torfaen and Newport to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. The largest town is Abergavenny, with the other major towns being Chepstow, Monmouth, and Usk. The county is 850 km2 in extent, with a population of 95,200 as of 2020. The present county was formed under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into effect in 1996, and comprises some sixty percent of the historic county. Between 1974 and 1996, the county was known by the ancient title of Gwent, recalling the medieval Welsh kingdom. In his essay on local government in the fifth and final volume of the Gwent County History, Robert McCloy suggests that the governance of "no county in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century was so transformed as that of Monmouthshire".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plough Lane Chapel, Brecon</span> Church in Brecon, Wales

Plough Lane Chapel or Plough United Reformed Church is a historic building in Brecon, Wales. The chapel's foundation dates to the 17th century and the structure was rebuilt in 1841, then again in 1892. Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government, listed the chapel as a Grade II* historic building in 1976 for its "unusual porch" and "elaborate and fine interior".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaynor Park</span> Historic site

Vaynor Park is a country house in a landscaped park, standing on high ground to the south-west of Berriew village, in the historic county of Montgomeryshire, now Powys. The origins of the house date from the mid-15th century, but the house was extensively re-built in brick about 1640. The house was further re-modelled in 1840–1853 by Thomas Penson. The house is listed Grade II* and the garden and park is on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penoyre House</span> Country house in Powys, Wales

Penoyre House, Battle, Powys, Wales is a nineteenth century country house. Designed by Anthony Salvin for Colonel John Lloyd Vaughan Watkins, it was built between 1846-8. In an Italianate style, it is described by Mark Girouard as "Salvin's most ambitious classical house". The enormous cost of the house almost bankrupted the family and it was sold only 3 years after Colonel Watkins's death. From 1947, the house was in institutional use, and was converted to apartments in the early twenty-first century. The building is Grade II* listed The gardens are listed Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Issui's Church, Partrishow</span> Church in Powys, Wales

The Church of St Issui, Partrishow, Powys, Wales, is a parish church dating from 1060. The existing building was mainly constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries and was sensitively restored in 1908–1909. The church is most famous for its rood screen which dates from 1500. It is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bear Hotel, Crickhowell</span> Hotel in Crickhowell, Powys

The Bear Hotel, formerly the White Bear, stands on Beaufort Street, Crickhowell, Powys, Wales. A coaching inn from the mid 18th century, the building has older origins from the 17th and 15th centuries. It is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Anno's Church, Llananno</span> Church in Powys, Wales

The Church of St Anno in Llananno, Powys, Wales, is a redundant church dating from the 14th century. Its medieval rood screen is considered "one of the great treasures of Welsh craftsmanship". A Grade II* listed building, the church is now in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llandrinio Bridge</span> Grade I listed bridge in Llandrinio, Powys, Wales

Llandrinio Bridge, Llandrinio, Powys, Wales, is a road bridge over the River Severn. Constructed between 1769 and 1775, the bridge is attributed to John Gwynn of Shrewsbury, a noted local architect who designed a number of crossings over the Severn, as well as Magdalen Bridge in Oxford. The bridge is also the site of defensive structures dating to World War II, including a pillbox disguised as an agricultural cowshed and Dragon's teeth tank traps at its northern end. The bridge is a Grade I listed structure and a Scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Vyrnwy Straining Tower</span> Grade I listed structure in Powys, Wales

The Straining Tower at Lake Vyrnwy is an intake tower built to extract water from the lake. The tower stands on the north shore of Lake Vyrnwy, near the village of Llanwddyn, in Powys, Wales. The Lake Vyrnwy dam project was designed to provide a water supply to the city of Liverpool and work on the dam began in 1881. On its completion 11 years later, the lake was the largest reservoir in Europe and water was drawn from it into the straining tower and carried to Liverpool on a 110km-long aqueduct. The engineers for the project were Thomas Hawksley and George Frederick Deacon, although the straining tower was entirely Deacon's design. The tower is constructed in a Gothic Revival style, purportedly based on the tower of the castle at Chillon, Switzerland. It draws heavily on the contemporaneous work of William Burges, whose Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch are clear influences. The straining tower is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alban Square, Aberaeron</span> Terrace in Ceredigion, Wales

Alban Square, in the centre of Aberaeron, Ceredigion, Wales is a range of early 19th century townhouses. The town of Aberaeron was developed around 1810 as a port by the Rev. Alban Thomas Jones Gwynne, a local landowner. After his father's death in 1819, Colonel A.T.J. Gwynne engaged Edward Haycock Sr. to plan a major expansion. Leases were sold in the early 1830s and Alban Square was designed, but largely unbuilt, by 1834. The town grew as a centre for shipbuilding and commerce. The expansion of the railways, and their arrival in Aberaeron in 1909 brought these commercial endeavours to an end and the town became a seaside resort and a centre for local government. No.s 9-20 inclusive on Alban Square are Grade II* listed buildings, their Cadw listing records describing the square as "a well preserved terrace in a key location".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Registered historic parks and gardens in Powys</span> List of buildings in county of Wales

Powys is a county and preserved county in Wales. It covers an area of 5,180 km2 (2,000 sq mi) and in 2021 the population was approximately 133,600.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Scourfield & Haslam 2013, p. 571.
  2. Jones, Evan David. "Vaughan family of Porthaml". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  3. 1 2 Cadw. "Gatehouse at Porthamel Farmhouse (Grade I) (6641)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  4. "Great Porthamel Gatehouse (16103)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  5. 1 2 Cadw. "Porthamel Farmhouse (Grade II*) (6652)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  6. "Our History". GP Biotec. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  7. "Planning Applications and Inquiries - Great Porthamel". Judith Teasdale.co. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  8. "Great Porthamel" (PDF). Brecon Beacons National Park Authority. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  9. "National park's challenge to green energy plant is hard to digest". Wales Online. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  10. "Legal challenge to green scheme". BBC Wales. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  11. "Historic Landscapes - Middle Wye". cpat.org.uk. Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  12. Philip Davis. "Porthamal Tower (The Gatehouse Record)". gatehouse-gazetteer.info. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  13. Cadw. "Porthamel Tower (BR047)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  14. Cadw. "Farm building at Porthamel Farm (Grade II) (16303)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 29 September 2021.

Sources