Dolforgan Hall is a large

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

near

Kerry, Powys Kerry ( cy, Ceri) is a village and geographically large community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. The village lies on the A489 road southeast of Newtown and possesses two pubs — the Herbert Arms and the Kerry Lamb — a village hall, a bowl ...

Early history

A manor house was first built at Dolforgan in the 17th century, as the residence of the Fox family. In the middle of the 17th century the house was purchased by the Herbert family. Between 1790 and 1800, the house was extensively rebuilt and extended by John Herbert, essentially creating a new house. This new hall may have been designed by architect John Johnson. Some remains of the earlier building were left at the rear of the house. Between 1807 and 1818, an iron bridge was built to carry the main drive to the house. This is one of the earliest iron bridges in the world.

Victorian era

In 1846, Walter Long married 21-year-old Harriet Avarina Brunetta Herbert, the only daughter of Captain Owen Herbert, the owner of Dolforgan. Harriet died the following year as a result of complications during childbirth, and Walter died three months later, some say of a broken heart. Dolforgan passed to Walter's brother

Richard Penruddocke Long Richard Penruddocke Long JP, DL (19 December 1825 – 16 February 1875) was an English landowner and Conservative Party politician. He was a founding member of the amateur cricket club I Zingari. Long was appointed High Sheriff of Montgomerysh ...

in 1867. In 1868, James Walton purchased the Dolforgan Estate which included the Hall and of land to the north-west of Kerry. Walton moved into the Hall in 1870, and it was his primary residence until his death in 1883. Walton was also a High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire. In 1894, after Walton's death, Dolforgan was sold to

John William Willans John William Willans (c.1843-1895) was a British mechanical and electrical engineer, most known for his role as Chief Engineer of the Liverpool Overhead Railway. Early life Willans was born in 1844 in Hunslet, near Leeds to Benjamin and Ann Wil ...

, the Chief Engineer of the

Liverpool Overhead Railway The Liverpool Overhead Railway (known locally as the Dockers' Umbrella or Ovee) was an overhead railway in Liverpool which operated along the Liverpool Docks and opened in 1893 with lightweight electric multiple units. The railway had a number ...

. He died unexpectedly in 1895, and the estate passed to his son

John Bancroft Willans John Bancroft Willans (1881 - 1957) was an English landowner, historian, photographer and philanthropist Early life Willans was born on 27 May 1881 in Liverpool, the only child of John William Willans - the chief engineer of the Liverpool Overh ...

Modern history

John Bancroft Willans inherited the Hall and his father's significant wealth. he lived at Dolforgan until his death in 1957. J. B. Willans was a historian and photographer, and made an extensive photographic record of Dolforgan, which is now in the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...

. After Willans' death, Dolforgan was bought by the Jones family, who still own it. The Hall is currently divided into five

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Description

The hall has a three-storey

Regency style Regency architecture encompasses classical buildings built in the United Kingdom during the Regency era The Regency era of British history officially spanned the years 1811 to 1820, though the term is commonly applied to the longer perio ...

facade. The entrance has two full-height

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s, and four columns holding up an ionic

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

. There is a

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

sawmill on the grounds.

References

{{reflist

External links

Herbert Noel Jerman, who lived at Dolforgan
Grade II* listed buildings in Powys Country houses in Powys