Llanrumney Hall ( cy, Neuadd Llanrhymnu) is 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 ...
in
Llanrumney
Llanrumney ( cy, Llanrhymni) is a suburb, community and electoral ward in east Cardiff, Wales.
Llanrumney was in Monmouthshire until it was incorporated into Cardiff in 1938.
History
The land where modern Llanrumney stands was left to Keynsham ...
,
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. The Elizabethan mansion was built in 1450, rebuilt in 1852 and refurbished around 1900. Throughout its history it has been a
stately home
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
and more recently a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
. In the 1980s, the building fell into disrepair. In recent years a local businessman conducted renovation and repair work, which was completed in 2019.
History
![Llanrumney Hall in 1891](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Llanrumney_Hall_in_1891.jpg)
The area of Llanrumney was given to the monks at
Keynsham Abbey
Keynsham Abbey in Keynsham, Somerset, England, was a monastic abbey founded c. 1166 by William, Earl of Gloucester. The abbey was established as a house of Augustinian canons regular, and operated until the dissolution of the monasteries in 153 ...
, in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England, after the
Norman conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
. They built a small chapel on the site of what is now Llanrumney Hall.
The Elizabethan-style Llanrumney Hall and its estate was originally built in 1450 and is thought that it passed to the Kemys family of
Cefn Mably Cefn Mably is a district located approximately 6 miles north of Cardiff city centre and 5 miles south-east of Caerphilly.
It's mostly within the city and county of Cardiff but is also partly within the Caerphilly County Borough.
Notable Buildi ...
in the mid-1500s after the
dissolution of the Monasteries by
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
.
William Kemys left the estate to his daughter, who was married to Thomas Morgan.
Llanrumney Hall has since been occupied by five generations of the Morgan family,
whose ancestral home was
Tredegar House
Tredegar House (Welsh: ''Tŷ Tredegar'') is a 17th-century Charles II-era mansion on the southwestern edge of Newport, Wales. For over five hundred years it was home to the Morgan family, later Lords Tredegar; one of the most powerful and influe ...
in
Newport. Morgan Morgan was the last in the male line and the hall and estate passed by marriage onto the Lewis family in 1726.
In the mid-19th century, the hall was occupied by
Edward Augustus Freeman
Edward Augustus Freeman (2 August 182316 March 1892) was an English historian, architectural artist, and Liberal politician during the late-19th-century heyday of Prime Minister William Gladstone, as well as a one-time candidate for Parliament. ...
, the
Regius Professor
A Regius Professor
is a university Professor (highest academic rank), professor who has, or originally had, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Republic ...
of History at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
. It was purchased by Charles Crofts Williams of Roath Court in 1859,
who was the hall's last recorded Lord of the Manor. Around 1900 the hall was refurbished.
His family lived at the hall until the development of the surrounding housing estate, when it was occupied by Llewellyn Williams.
In 1952 the hall was compulsorily purchased by
Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...
and it became a remand centre. By 1956, it became a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, but the hall fell into disrepair by the late 1980s.
There was a plan has been developed by Cardiff Council and CMB Engineering to redevelop the hall into an education and sporting facility at a cost of about £1 million.
However, this did not happen and the Llanrumney Hall Community Trust Limited was established in January 2015, since when the building has been developed into a multi-purpose community hub.
Listing status
Many sources list Llanrumney Hall either as a Grade I or Grade II listed building.
However the official listing by
Cadw
(, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...
shows Llanrumney Hall PH (Public House) as Grade II*, and that it was first listed on 19 May 1975.
Myths and legends
Legend has it that the hall is haunted and many local children will not go near it.
It is also believed that the hall contains a masonry block with the decapitated body of
Llewellyn the Last. Stories also tell of how he was beheaded at the hall and chopped into small pieces and scattered around his house.
A common local belief is that
Sir Henry Morgan
Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming wea ...
, after whom
Captain Morgan
Captain Morgan is a brand of flavored rums (including, in Europe, some rum-flavored "premium spirit drinks") produced by British alcohol conglomerate Diageo. It is named after the 17th-century Welsh privateer of the Caribbean, Sir Henry Morgan. ...
rum is named, was born in the hall in 1635, but there is little evidence to substantiate this.
[''Harry Morgan's Way: The Biography of Sir Henry Morgan, 1635–84'', Dudley Pope, Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd, (1977); ] Morgan was born in
Rhymney
Rhymney (; cy, Rhymni ) is a town and a community in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. With the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney is ...
, near
Tredegar
Tredegar (pronounced , ) is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the In ...
, in the
South Wales Valleys.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Cardiff
References
External links
Official website* {{commonscat-inline, Llanrumney Hall
Grade II* listed houses in Wales
Country houses in Wales
Grade II* listed buildings in Cardiff