Machen House is a

country house 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 ...

in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Lower Machen Lower Machen ( cy, Machen Isaf) is a small hamlet of 19 houses on the A468 road at the very western edge of the city of Newport, South Wales. Machen itself lies further west in the county borough of Caerphilly, although both lie within the hist ...

, to the west of the city of Newport, Wales. The house was built in 1831 for the Rev. Charles Augustus Morgan, vicar of Machen and scion of the Morgan family of

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 the mid-20th century, Machen was the home of the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician

Peter Thorneycroft George Edward Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, (26 July 1909 – 4 June 1994) was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1957 and 1958. Early life Born in Dunston, Staffordshire, Thorn ...

, when he sat as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

. Machen House 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 ...

. A

bothy A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are found in remote mountainous areas of Sco ...

and a

bee bole A bee bole is a cavity or alcove in a wall (the Scots word ''bole'' means a recess in a wall). A skep is placed in the bee bole. Before the development of modern bee hives (such as the design published by Lorenzo Langstroth in 1853), the use of ...

in the grounds of the house are both listed at Grade II. The house remains a private residence and is not open to the public.

History

Machen House was built in 1831 for the Rev. Charles Augustus Morgan, vicar of Machen and the younger brother of

Charles Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar Charles Morgan Robinson Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar (10 April 1792 – 16 April 1875), was a Welsh Whig peer and a member of the House of Lords. He was the son of Lt.-Col. Sir Charles Morgan, 2nd Baronet, and his wife, the former Mary Margare ...

. The Morgans lived on the

estate, and were major landowners in South Wales. In the mid-20th century, Machen was the home of

for

, and

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

in the government of

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...

. It remains a private residence and is not open to the public.

Architecture and description

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 ...

notes the

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 ...

style of the house is supplemented by some

Gothic 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 ...

features. Machen House is a

. The architectural historian John Newman, in his ''Gwent/Monmouthshire'' volume of the Pevsner Buildings of Wales series, writes that "much remains of the Rev. Morgan's elaborate grounds". The gardens also have a number of Gothic features, including

castellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

walls and the remains of a Chinese

Willow pattern The Willow pattern is a distinctive and elaborate chinoiserie pattern used on ceramic tableware. It became popular at the end of the 18th century in England when, in its standard form, it was developed by English ceramic artists combining and ...

bridge, which crosses one of the two small lakes. They are listed at Grade II on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government. Th ...

. A

and a

in the grounds both have Grade II listings.

Notes

References

Sources

* {{Cite book , last=Newman, first=John , author-link=John Newman (architectural historian) , series=

The Buildings of Wales The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...

, title=Gwent/Monmouthshire , url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/gwentmonmouthshire/oclc/248110170?referer=br&ht=edition , year=2000 , publisher=Penguin , location=London , isbn=978-0-140-71053-3 Grade II* listed buildings in Newport, Wales Country houses in Wales Grade II* listed houses