Old Gwernyfed (Welsh: Hen Wernyfed) is a house dating from the medieval period in the
community of
Gwernyfed
Gwernyfed is a community in Powys, Wales, centred on the village of Aberllynfi. It takes its name from Gwernyfed Park, a medieval deer park within the community.
The community of Gwernyfed was established in 1985 through the merger of the for ...
,
Powys, Wales, close to the village of
Felindre. It remains a private home and is a
Grade I listed building. The gardens are listed on the
.
History
The Gwernyfed estate is of ancient origin; it is reputed to have been given by
Bernard de Neufmarché (), the earliest of the
Norman marcher lords, to Peter Gunter.
It came into the ownership of the Williams family at the end of the 16th century. David Williams (d.1613), made his fortune in the law, serving as
attorney general
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
for South Wales from 1581-1595,
Recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
of Brecon 1581-1604,
Serjeant-at-law in 1593 and a judge of the
King's Bench
The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions.
* Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of commo ...
in 1604. His earnings funded extensive land purchases including the Gwernyfed estate which he bought from John Gunter in 1600. He also built up a substantial estate centred on
Kingston Bagpuize in Oxfordshire where he died in 1613. Subsequent generations of his family served as
members of parliament and as
High sheriff. In the 17th century, the original medieval manor house was rebuilt. It contains a
screens passage on which
Charles I is said to have left a coded message for
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
when the king stayed at the house after the
Battle of Naseby in 1645. Charles was the guest of Sir Henry Williams (c.1603-c.1656), a staunch
royalist on whom the king had bestowed a
baronetcy the previous year. A later Williams,
Sir Thomas Williams, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas Williams, 1st Baronet (c. 1621 – 1712) was a Welsh medical doctor and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1675 to 1679. He was "Chymical Physician" to King Charles II.
Early life
Williams was the son of Thomas Williams, o ...
, served as doctor to the king's heir,
Charles II. A major fire gutted the main wing of the house in the 1680s, and this remains ruinous. In the 1730s, the Williams moved their main residence to
Llangoed Hall
Llangoed Hall is a country house hotel, near the village of Llyswen, in Powys, Mid Wales. It is known for its decoration in Laura Ashley fabrics and styles, and was owned by Sir Bernard Ashley, the widower of the designer. It is a Grade II* l ...
and the old mansion descended to the level of a farmhouse.
The baronetcy, and the male Williams line, ended with the death of
Sir Edward Williams, 5th Baronet Sir Edward Williams, 5th Baronet (1728 – 12 July 1804) was a Welsh landowner.
Early life
Williams was born in 1728 in Gwernyfed, Brecknockshire, Wales. He was the second surviving son of David Williams (1684–1739) and Susannah Witherstone (b. ...
in 1804. The estate passed to his daughter, Mary, and on her marriage to
Thomas Wood passed into their possession. In the 1870s, the family returned to the Gwernyfed estate, commissioning
William Eden Nesfield to build a new house, Gwernyfed Park, about 1 km north-west of the ancient manor, as a wedding present for
Captain Thomas Wood. Since the 1950s, Gwernyfed Park has been the main building of
Gwernyfed High School
Gwernyfed High School is a high school in the village of Three Cocks, Brecon, Powys, 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–Engla ...
.
After a period as a hotel,
Old Gwernyfed returned to a private residence
and has been undergoing restoration in the 21st century.
Architecture and description
Old Gwernyfed conforms to a ''E-'' plan, reputedly in honour of
Elizabeth I.
The original building was likely a
long house
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from timber and often rep ...
form, to which the additional wings were added in the 17th-century rebuilding. It is constructed of
sandstone rubble under a slate roof. The central porch block, and the two wings are
gabled, with the wings having large
chimney stacks. The interior retains much of the original medieval
hall plan, with a screens passage bisecting the house.
Many of the buildings on the estate have
listed building status. The house is listed at Grade I.
Three sets of gates framing entrances to the house are listed, two at Grade II* and one at Grade II. A range of former agricultural buildings also has a Grade II listing. Towers to the north and south of the main entrance gate are listed at Grade II*.
The quite separate building of Gwernyfed Park (now Gwernyfed High School) has a Grade II* listing,
while its stable block is listed Grade II. The
kitchen garden, the gardener's cottage, the greenhouses, a set of garden gates, and the lodge gates and walls, all have Grade II listings. The gardens are also listed, at Grade II*, on the
, and the
Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
earthworks are a
scheduled monument.
Notes
References
Sources
* {{Cite book
, last1 = Scourfield, first1 = Robert
, last2 = Haslam, first2 = Richard
, series=The Buildings of Wales
, title=Powys: Montgomeryshire,Radnorshire and Breconshire
, url=http://yalebooks.co.uk/display.asp?K=9780300185089&nat=false&sort=%24rank&sf1=keyword&st1=Powys&m=1&dc=1
, year=2013
, location = New Haven, US and London
, publisher=
Yale University Press
, isbn=978-0-300-18508-9
Country houses in Powys
Grade I listed buildings in Powys
Grade II* listed buildings in Powys
Registered historic parks and gardens in Powys