Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Issue 68

Cyfarthfa Castle
Cyfarthfa Castle is a castellated
mansion that was once the
home of the Crawshay family,
ironmasters of Cyfarthfa Ironworks
at Merthyr Tydfil.
The castle was designed in 1824
by the architect Robert Lugar for
William Crawshay II, and built at
a cost of approximately £30,000
using locally quarried stone.
Despite its appearance of a
fortified building, it is in fact a
house built in the style of a large
mansion. It includes a large
kitchen, a bake house and dairy,
a billiard room, a library, and a
mixture of reception rooms.
After the Crawshay family left
the castle in the late nineteenth
century, the building was
converted into a museum and art
gallery on the ground floor and
a school on the upper floors in
the early 20th century. It is still in
operation today.
The building also included a
brew house, an ice house, and
a range of storage cellars that
used to be home to over 15,000
individual bottles of wine.
Photo: John WIlson
Treowen
Treowen sits between Monmouth
and Raglan and is a Grade I listed
mansion.
Antiquarian Charles Heath wrote
of it in 1787:
"Over the entrance is a stone
square with the armorial bearings
of nine different noblemen and
other characters of high rank in
this County. A correspondent
dignity pervades the whole
of the interior. A staircase two
yards wide, of 72 steps, with
balustrades, the newels on the
quarterspaces two feet round,
the whole in solid oak, which still
remains perfect, stands unrivalled
in the Kingdom.”
His words still ring true today and
the property is used for holidays
and events.
All photographs used in this feature have been found in the public domain
Photo: Gareth James
Margam Castle
Margam Castle, is a late Georgian
country house built for Christopher
Rice Mansel Talbot. Designed by
Thomas Hopper, the castle was
constructed in a Tudor Revival
style over a five-year period, from
1830 to 1835. It sits within Margam
Country Park.
The house was built during
1830–40 at a cost of £50,000 and
used sandstone from nearby Pyle
quarry. Listed Grade I as a mansion
of exceptional quality, the castle
is home to some spectacular
features, including the vast
staircase hall and octagonal tower.
Until 1942, the Castle and estate
remained in the ownership of the
Talbot family when it was acquired
by a local landowner, Sir David
Evans Bevan, and subsequently, by
the County Council in 1974, when it
was in a ruinous state.
The castle is now in the care of
Neath Port Talbot County Borough
Council.
Newton House
Standing at the heart of the Dinefwr
estate is the Grade II listed Newton
House, not far from Llandeilo.
The residence was a family home
for over three hundred years to
the descendants of The Lord Rhys,
the powerful Prince of the Welsh
Kingdom of the Deheubarth.
Dinefor Castle was built during
the 12th century and the first
Newton House was originally
built during the medieval period
at some distance from the castle.
The current Newton House was
completed in 1660 under the
command of Edward Rice. Turrets
and battlements were added
during the 1700s to romanticise the
property.
During the 1970s, after a period
of turbulence, the estate fell into
disrepair, but Newton House
was restored by CADW and
The National Trust before being
reopened in 1990.
days out
Picton Castle
Further afield, down in west Wales,
Picton Castle is a medieval castle
that was built at the end of the 13th
century by a Flemish knight.
Situated near Haverfordwest, the
building is unusual in that it was
a former working castle that was
transformed into a stately home in
the 18th century. It was originally
built in 1280, at the behest of Sir
John de Wogan. It was passed down
through the generations and in the
late 1490s, became the centre of
the Philipps family estates. Sir John
Philipps, who inherited the castle,
Photo: Heigeheige
remodelled the building and created
a new entrance which remained until
the 1820s.
The castle remained in the Philipps
family until the end of the 20th
century when its owner donated it
and its grounds to the Picton Castle
Trust, a registered charity.
Insole Court
Llandaff's Insole Court is a Grade
II Listed Victorian Gothic mansion
built for wealthy businessman James
Harvey Insole, and dates back to
1855.
The Insole family lived on the site
from 1856 to 1938 and had extensive
coal-mining interests across the
South Wales coalfield,
The original building was designed
by W G & E Habershon. After its
many uses throughout the year, the
mansion fell into disrepair and was
closed in 2006 on health and safety
grounds. Following a long campaign
by The Friend of Insole Court, Insole
Estate Residents Association and the
Llandaff Society, it was re-opened in
November 2008.
Photo: Alan Hughes
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