The Argoed,

Penallt Penallt (also spelt Penalt) is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales, set high on a hill south of Monmouth. In the centre of the village, by the village green, is the 17th-century village pub, the Bush Inn. Description Nearby, the ''Penallt Old Ch ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, Wales, 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 ...

dating from the 1860s, with earlier origins from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It 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 ...

and the garden is listed 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 ...

. The English meaning of 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 ...

word ''argoed'' is 'by a wood'.

History

In the 17th century the house was the home of the Proberts, local landowners,

members 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 ...

and

High Sheriffs of Monmouthshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Monmouthshire, an office which was created in 1536 but not fully settled until 1540. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, the shrievalty of Monmouthshire was abolished, and replaced ...

. Richard Potter, Chairman of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

and father of

Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociologist, economist, socialist, labour historian and social reformer. It was Webb who coined the term ''collective bargaining''. She ...

, bought the house in 1865 and undertook extensive rebuilding. Beatrice Webb was a founder member of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fa ...

and, in the later 19th and early 20th centuries, she entertained many prominent friends at the Argoed, including

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

. Shaw is rumoured to have written his plays ''

The Man of Destiny ''The Man of Destiny'' is an 1897 play by George Bernard Shaw, set in Italy during the early career of Napoleon. It was published as a part of ''Plays Pleasant'', which also included ''Arms and the Man'', '' Candida'' and '' You Never Can Tell.' ...

'' and ''

Mrs. Warren's Profession ''Mrs. Warren's Profession'' is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1893, and first performed in London in 1902. The play is about a former prostitute, now a madam (brothel proprietor), who attempts to come to terms with her disapproving ...

'' whilst staying at the house. In the 1980s, the Argoed was owned by

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

of the rock band

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Architecture

The architectural historian John Newman describes the Argoed as "a large, two-storeyed stone house (and) a tantalizing one." The central block is original and irregular, its "windows all 18th century sashes." Potter's re-building included a larger block to the south and a service wing to the north. The interior has been greatly reconstructed. The grounds are largely from the 19th and 20th centuries, though they include "17th century terraces of potential archaeological interest." The triangular plot has gardens which include wide gravel drives, formal lawns, terraces and

ha-ha A ha-ha (french: hâ-hâ or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view ...

s which look out over the Wye valley. The gardens are listed at Grade II on the

and are recorded by the

RCAHMW The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; cy, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectura ...

on their Coflein database.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Argoed, Monmouth History of Monmouthshire Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Registered historic parks and gardens in Monmouthshire Buildings and structures in Monmouthshire