![Nanteos (36850496943)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Nanteos_%2836850496943%29.jpg)
Nanteos (
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
: ''Plas Nanteos'', Nanteos Mansion) is an 18th-century former
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 Llanbadarn-y-Creuddyn, near
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
,
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...
,
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 ...
. 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 ...
, it is now a country house hotel. The gardens and parkland surrounding the mansion are listed on the
Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
The current building was constructed between 1738 and 1757 for the Powell family, with the Shrewsbury architect
Edward Haycock Sr.
Edward Haycock Sr. (29 July 1790 – 20 December 1870) was an English architect working in the West Midlands and in central and southern Wales in the late Georgian and early Victorian periods.
Biography
Haycock was the grandson of William Hay ...
designing the
stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
block in the 1830s, and
William Ritson Coultart designing the east wing and rear offices in 1841. The family occupied the house for some 200 years up until the last of the Powells, Margaret Powell, who died in 1951. At its peak the Nanteos estate comprised some 31,000 acres in 1800, covering most of what is today Aberystwyth, and was the major employer of the county. The name derives from the
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
for "brook" (''nant'') and "
nightingale
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...
" (''eos'').
The house was once the home of the
Nanteos Cup
The Nanteos Cup ( cy, Cwpan Nanteos) is a medieval wood mazer bowl, held for many years at Nanteos Mansion, near Aberystwyth in Wales.
Since at least the late 19th century, it has been attributed with a supernatural ability to heal those who dri ...
, a medieval
mazer drinking bowl that has been attributed with a
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
ability to heal those who drink from it; it was traditionally believed to be fashioned from a piece of the
True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
. A 1905 pamphlet declared it to be the
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
.
History
![Nanteos](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Nanteos.jpg)
The earliest recorded occupant of the estate was Colonel John Jones, a Royalist during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
and
High Sheriff of Cardiganshire
The office of High Sheriff of Cardiganshire was established in 1541, since when a high sheriff was appointed annually until 1974 when the office was transformed into that of High Sheriff of Dyfed as part of the creation of Dyfed from the amalgamat ...
for 1665. He had no sons and so the estate was inherited in 1666 by his daughter Anne, who had married a Dutch mining engineer, Cornelius Le Brun, who in turn became High Sheriff in 1676. Their only daughter Averina duly inherited, having married William Powell (1658–1738) of Llechwedd Dyrus, and passed it on in 1738 to their eldest son,
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
. Thomas had married a wealthy heiress, Mary Frederick, and started to build the present house soon afterwards. He was MP in turn for Cardigan Boroughs and Cardiganshire and died in a London street.
The property then descended in the family to the Reverend William Powell in 1752, who completed the building work. His son Thomas inherited and was High Sheriff in 1785; Thomas's son
William Edward was High Sheriff in 1810 and MP for Cardiganshire between 1816 and his death in 1854. The property passed to his son
William Thomas Rowland Powell
William Thomas Rowland Powell (8 August 1815 – 13 May 1878) was a Welsh landowner and Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament for Cardiganshire from 1859 until 1865.
Early life
Powell was born on 8 August 1815, son of Co ...
, who was also MP for Cardiganshire. In 1878 the property was inherited by his son
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
, an antiquary and collector. The property was inherited by his nephew William Beauclerk Powell and then by his son Edward Athelstan Lewis Powell, whose son and heir William Edward George Pryse Wynne Powell was killed in the First World War. The property passed to Edward Athelstan Lewis Powell's widow Margaret, who died in 1930.
She bequeathed the property in 1951 to Mrs. Elizabeth Mirylees, a distant relative of her husband, who moved in 1956. She sold it only 11 years later to Geoff and Rose Bliss, who lived there until 1983, opening the building to the public. Since then there have been several owners but the mansion now operates as a
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
. In 2004 it was purchased by the
Saxoncourt Group which completed a major refurbishment in 2012.
Nanteos 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 ...
. The gardens and park are designated Grade II* on the
Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Gallery
File:Nanteos, co. Cardigan - the seat of W.E. Powell, Esq. M.P.jpeg, ''Nanteos Mansion, the seat of W. E .Powell, Esq M.P.'',
File:Nanteos, Ceredigion 22.jpeg, Nanteos, Ceredigion. From Nicholls, ''Annals and Antiquities of Wales'' 1872. Vol 1,130
File:Nanteos%2C_Ceredigion._SE_of_Aberystwyth.jpg, Fireplace in former music room
File:Nanteos%2C_SE_of_Aberystwyth.JPG, Side of house showing extension at back and bay window added by Edward Haycock
File:Nanteos%2CCeredigion._SE_of_Aberystwyth._Staircase_ceiling.JPG, Staircase ceiling
File:Nanteos%2CCeredigion_SE_of_Aberystwyth._Staircase_Arcade.JPG, Arcade at top of stairs
File:Nanteos%2C_Ceredigion_SE_of_Aberystwyth.JPG, Corridor with Doric columns, probably by Edward Haycock
File:Rainwater_head_of_1757_at_Nanteos.JPG, Lead rainwater head, dated 1757
File:Stable_Block_Nanteos_Ceredigion.JPG, Stable block
File:Nanteos Lodge - guarding the entrance to the estate. - geograph.org.uk - 207932.jpg, Nanteos Lodge, by the architect R. K. Penson, 1857
References
Further reading
* Re-printed 2012. A series of articles; the main source for the history of Nanteos.
* Detailed architectural history of the building of the house.
*
*
*
External links
Nanteos Official WebsiteNanteos Mansion, Llanfarian– description on Coflein: National Monuments Record of Wales
Parks & Gardens UKwww.geograph.co.uk: photos of Nanteos Mansion and surrounding area
{{coord, 52.3882, -4.0291, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Grade I listed houses in Wales
Country houses in Ceredigion
Grade I listed buildings in Ceredigion
Houses completed in 1757
Registered historic parks and gardens in Ceredigion