Scolton Manor is a Victorian

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 ...

and

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...

located in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

West Wales West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheuba ...

northeast of

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

and on the borders of the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of three national parks in Wales, the others bei ...

. Built as a home, it is now a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

and is a

Grade II* listed 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 ...

building. The stable court, some to the north, is also a Grade II listed building and both are owned by

Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Penfro) is the governing body for Pembrokeshire, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. Political control The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authorit ...

. The house, grounds and a number of exhibits are open to the public.

History

Designed by local architects William and James Owen, Scolton Manor was built in 1840 and occupied from 1842 by the Higgon family. The house replaced a former building owned by the same family which had burned down in the mid-eighteenth century. Prominent amongst Pembrokeshire society, three Higgon family members held the position of

High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Pembrokeshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilitie ...

, including the last resident, Lt Col John Henry Victor Higgon (1902-1987). It is a country house built in a neo-classical style, with unpainted stucco, with a slated, hipped roofs and flat overhanging eaves. Taken over by

, the grounds have become a country park and the house has been restored. Both are open to the public. Scolton Manor is home to Pembrokeshire's County Museum Service.

Exhibitions

House and outbuildings

The exhibition hall displays the broad-ranging history of Pembrokeshire including natural history, geology, employment and trade, life during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the Gwalia stores. The David Burton-Richardson Collection and Archive of paintings, drawings and artefacts relating to the artist's life is housed at Scolton Manor Museum. "From Now to Zero", a retrospective exhibition of David Burton-Richardson's works was held in 2005. The outbuildings display collections reflecting Pembrokeshire country life, including stables and carriages, the traditional skills of carpenter and blacksmith, the relationship between the

poacher Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

and

gamekeeper A gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper), or in case of those dealing with deer (deer-)stalker, is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g. areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure there is enough game for shoo ...

and a Gulbenkian-nominated VARDA gypsy caravan.

Grounds

The grounds include a Victorian walled garden, the Pembrokeshire Beekeeping Centre, opened in July 2014 at the same time as the inauguration of the walled garden, a pineapple house, which in 2018 produced what is believed to be the first pineapple grown in Wales for over 100 years and ''Margaret'', a Fox Walker & Co

0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangemen ...

locomotive supplied to the

Maenclochog Maenclochog () is a village, parish and Community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. It is also the name of Maenclochog (electoral ward), an electoral ward comprising a wider area of four surrounding communities. Maenclocho ...

and Rosebush railway in 1878.

References

External links

Scolton Manor at Pembrokeshire Cultural Services
{{coord, 51, 51, 38.27, N, 4, 55, 13.65, W, region:GB, display=title Victorian architecture in the United Kingdom Historic house museums in Wales Museums in Pembrokeshire Country houses in Pembrokeshire Grade II* listed buildings in Pembrokeshire