Scethrog Tower

Scethrog Tower
Scethrog Tower is visible in the very centre of the image, to the south of the village and to the north of the river
Type	Tower house
Location	Scethrog, Talybont-on-Usk, Powys, Wales
Coordinates	51°54′57″N3°18′12″W / 51.9158°N 3.3032°W / 51.9158; -3.3032
Built	14th century
Governing body	Privately owned
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	The Tower, Scethrog
Designated	25 September 1951
Reference no.	6800
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name	Barn to the north of The Tower
Designated	17 December 1998
Reference no.	21191
Location of Scethrog Tower in Powys

Scethrog Tower stands to the south of the hamlet of Scethrog, in the Usk valley between Brecon and Crickhowell, in Powys, Wales. A tower house dating from the 14th century, in the late 20th century it was the country home of the musician and critic, George Melly. It is a Grade I listed building.

History and description

The earliest history of the tower is uncertain. Both Cadw and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales date it to the 14th century, and both agree that the site was developed in the 16th century into a larger Elizabethan manor, ^[1] of which the tower would have been a part. ^{[2] [3]} It has been suggested that it was also a part of an earlier, and larger, castle, although this is disputed and current archaeological thinking discounts the possibility. ^[4] The tower was subject to substantial alteration in the 16th century, and further reconfigured in the 18th century. ^{[lower-alpha 1]} It stands on an artificial mound, with a water feature to the west, which has been variously described as a moat, ^[2] and as an element of flood defences. ^[6]

In the later 20th century the tower was the country home of the musician and critic, George Melly, ^[7] who did much to support the development of the Brecon Jazz Festival. ^[8] For Melly, the tower's attractions included its proximity to the River Usk where he could indulge his passion for fly fishing. Joan Bakewell, a close friend of Melly's wife, Diana, recorded the many fellow fishing enthusiasts whom Melly entertained at the tower, although the limited number of bedrooms required Jeremy Paxman to sleep in a tent in the grounds. ^[9] Melly, a discerning art collector, sold pictures by René Magritte and Pablo Picasso bought for low prices in the 1950s and 1960s, to fund the purchase of a mile-long stretch of riverbank along the Usk behind the tower, facilitating his access to the river. ^[10] Another friend of Diana Melly was the writer Bruce Chatwin. Much of his novel, On the Black Hill , was written at Scethrog and it is dedicated to Diana. ^{[lower-alpha 2] [12] [13]} Melly sold the tower in 1999 when declining health meant he was no longer able to fish. ^[7] It remains a private home. ^[14]

The tower is a Grade I listed building. ^[2] A barn to the north, with 16th century origins, has a Grade II listing. ^[15] Robert Scourfield and Richard Haslam, in their Powys volume in the Buildings of Wales series, note that Scethrog is one of only two such tower houses in Powys, the other being that overlooking the square in Talgarth. ^[16]

Notes

1. The Vernacular Architecture Group gives tree-ring dates for timbers used in the structure to around 1580 and considers the building was largely reconstructed and expanded in the early 17th century. ^[5]
2. Chatwin was an inveterate house-guest, his friend, the fashion designer Loulou de la Falaise, called him a 'pique assiette' (plate thief). He stayed with a number of friends while writing On the Black Hill, leading to an argument between his publisher, Tom Maschler, and George Melly as to whether the majority of the book had been written at Scethrog or at Maschler's cottage at Llanthony. ^[11]

References

1. "Possible Garden Arrangements at The Tower Scethrog (86109)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 25 August 2024.
2. Cadw. "The Tower, Scethrog (Grade I) (6800)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 25 August 2024.
3. "Scethrog Castle (The Tower) (16271)". Coflein. RCAHMW . Retrieved 25 August 2024.
4. "Scethrog Castle (The Tower)". Gatehouse Gazetteer. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
5. "Index of tree-ring dated buildings in Wales" (PDF). Vernacular Architecture Group. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
6. "Scethrog" (PDF). Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust(CPAT). Retrieved 25 August 2024.
7. Jenkins, Saffron (12 November 2014). "Jazz legend George Melly's old home is up for sale - complete with a stretch of river where he used to fish". Wales Online . Retrieved 25 August 2024.
8. Johnson, Phil (6 August 1993). "Swinging in the valley: Phil Johnson reports on a small Welsh town bracing itself for a musical and on the voice of Julian Joseph". The Independent . Retrieved 25 August 2024.
9. Bakewell 2016, p. ?.
10. Williams, Sally (12 November 2014). "George Melly's former home in Brecon is up for sale for £650,000 - complete with a stretch of the River Usk". Wales Online . Retrieved 25 August 2024.
11. Shakespeare 2010, p. 387.
12. Phillips, Malcolm (Winter 2013). "On The Black Hill With Bruce Chatwin" (PDF). The Beacon: 30–34. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
13. Wyndham, Francis; Hollinghurst, Alan (4 August 1988). "Francis Wyndham talks about himself to Alan Hollinghurst". London Review of Books . 10 (14). Retrieved 25 August 2024.
14. "The Tower, Scethrog, Brecon, Powys" (PDF). OnTheMarket . Retrieved 25 August 2024.
15. Cadw. "Barn to the north of The Tower (Grade II) (21191)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 25 August 2024.
16. Scourfield & Haslam 2013, p. 565.

Sources

• Bakewell, Joan (2016). Stop the Clocks: Thoughts on What I Leave Behind. Boston, US: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN   978-0-349-00610-9.
• Scourfield, Robert; Haslam, Richard (2013). Powys: Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Breconshire. The Buildings of Wales. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0-300-18508-9.
• Shakespeare, Nicholas (2010). Bruce Chatwin. New York, US and London: Random House. ISBN   978-1-407-07433-7.