Ffynone (Welsh: ''Ffynnonau'') is a mansion and estate near
Boncath
Boncath is a village, community and postal district in north Pembrokeshire, Wales, about west of Newcastle Emlyn.
The village stands at a cross-roads linking the nearby settlements of Newchapel (''Capelnewydd''), Eglwyswrw, Blaenffos and Bwlch ...
,
Pembrokeshire,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, in the parish of
Manordeifi
Manordeifi ( cy, Maenordeifi) is a parish and community in the hundred of Cilgerran, in the northeast corner of Pembrokeshire, Wales. The population of the community in 2001 was 478. It has an elected community council and is part of the Cilgerra ...
. The original
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
design was by
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
John Nash and later remodelled by
Inigo Thomas.
History
![Garden at Ffynone - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Garden_at_Ffynone_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1281748.jpg)
The name predates the mansion and its Welsh name ''Ffynnonau'' reflects the existence of a number of
wells in the district.
The Ffynone estate belonged at one time to the Morgan family of Blaenbwlan, from whom it was purchased by Captain Stephen Colby in 1752. The house, completed in 1799, was repaired in 1828 by W Hoare and Son of Lawrenny. In the 1830s the estate extended to 237 acres in Manordeifi parish with further lands in adjacent parishes. The parkland around the house was some 30 acres. There were many additions and improvements over future years to both house and estate.
The property was passed down the Colby family to John Vaughan Colby, whose wife in 1902 commissioned architect and garden designer
Inigo Thomas to remodel the house and lay out the terraced gardens, which was completed in 1907.
John Vaughan died in 1919 and, having no sons, left the estate to his daughter Aline Margaret, who had married Captain Cecil John Herbert Spence-Jones, son of the Dean of Gloucester, in 1908; the marriage was a notable occasion, reported in great detail and an occasion for local celebration, despite there being no guests at the wedding and no reception owing to the bride's mother's state of health. Spence took the additional surname of Colby by royal licence in 1920 and subsequently sold the property in 1927 to a Glamorgan businessman.
The house, in of woodland, was bought and restored from 1988 onwards by
Owen Lloyd George, 3rd Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor
Owen Lloyd George, 3rd Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, DL (28 April 1924Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volum ...
and his wife, who are credited with saving the house.
After the death of the 3rd Earl in 2010 the house was put up for sale with a guide price of £2.5 million.
The asking price for the house and was reduced in July 2021 to £1.8 million and the property was subsequently sold for an undisclosed sum.
The estate records (to 1919) are held at the
National Library of Wales.
Architecture
John Nash was commissioned to design the house in the early 1790s; construction work began in 1794 and was completed by 1799. Materials included locally quarried stone as well as from other parts of Britain. The house was laid out to a classical Georgian plan. 60,000 trees were sourced from John Mackie, a Norwich nursery man, and hundreds of tons of topsoil were brought in.
Inigo Thomas, in contrast, remodelled the house in the style of an Italian
palazzo
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
. He added the east and west wings, creating a library, ornate dining room and music room with a cross vaulted tunnel roof.
The mansion itself is a Grade I
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 ...
,
while a number of elements on the estate are listed Grade I, II* or II. They are:
*Entrance gates and piers (Grade II)
*Game-Larder to N of Service Ranges (Grade II)
*Garden Fountain N of Walled Garden (Grade II)
*Gatepiers, Steps and Walls to N Court (Grade II)
*Large Arched Outbuilding on NW Side of Ffynone Farmyard (Grade II)
*Stable and Kitchen Court (Grade I)
*Sundial on W Lawn (Grade II)
*Terrace Wall and Balustrade to W Garden (Grade II)
*Terrace, Walls and Balustrades S of Ffynone (Grade II*)
*The Gazebo, at the Garden House (Grade II)
References
{{reflist
External links
National Gardens Scheme: Ffynone
Grade I listed buildings in Pembrokeshire
Grade II listed buildings in Pembrokeshire
Grade II* listed buildings in Pembrokeshire
John Nash buildings
Country houses in Pembrokeshire
Georgian architecture in the United Kingdom
Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales