Wenvoe Castle was a castle and country estate between

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

and

Wenvoe Wenvoe ( cy, Gwenfô) is a village, community and electoral ward between Barry and Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Nearby are the Wenvoe Transmitter near Twyn-yr-Odyn and the site of the former HTV Wales Television Centre at Culverhouse ...

, in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

, south

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 ...

. Today the former estate forms the

Wenvoe Castle Golf Club Wenvoe Castle Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course near Barry and Wenvoe in the Vale of Glamorgan off the A4050 road, situated to the south of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The club was founded in 1936 around Wenvoe Castle Wenvoe Castle was a cas ...

Goldsland Goldsland ( cy, Tregold) is a small hamlet and farm in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. It is located near the boundary of the Wenvoe Castle Golf Club in the parish of Wenvoe. It lies to the east of Dyffryn and south of St Lythans and the ...

lies on its western boundary.

History

In the later medieval periods, Wenvoe is recorded as having belonged to three families: De Sully, le Fleming and Malefaunt. However, according to Clifford Spurgeon, it wasn't until the late 1530s that a castle at Wenvoe was mentioned, when it appeared in Leland's Itinerary. After being

escheat Escheat is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a ...

ed to the crown, it belonged successively to the Thomas, Birt and Jenner families. The Thomas family inherited the estate in 1560 when Jevan ap Harpway of Tresimont, Hertfordshire married Catherine, the only daughter and heiress of Thomas ap Thomas. They were prominent figures in the history of Glamorgan, amongst them Edmund Thomas (1633–1677), politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in 1654 and 1656 and sat in

Cromwell's Upper House The Other House (also referred to as the Upper House, House of Peers and House of Lords), established by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Humble Petition and Advice, was one of the two chambers of the parliaments that legis ...

, Colonel Charles Nassau Thomas (died April 1820), vice chamberlain to the Prince of Wales (later

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten ye ...

) and Sir Godfrey-Vignolles Thomas, 9th Baronet (1856–1919). In 1774, the Thomas family fell into debts and sold the estate to

Peter Birt Peter Birt ( – June 1791) was a businessman from Airmyn, Yorkshire, England, who made his fortune from the Aire and Calder Navigation and used part of his wealth to build the mansion named Wenvoe Castle. He became High Sheriff of Glamorgan. Bu ...

, a coal magnate of Yorkshire. Birt ordered the building of a new castle in 1776–77, under the design of

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

, his only building in Wales. The Birts later passed the estate to the Jenner family in 1823/4, who were prominent in 19th century Glamorganshire, and give their name to a district of Barry today,

Jenner Park Jenner Park is a central district of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan 14 miles outside Cardiff in South Wales. It is home to the Jenner Park Stadium, which is the football ground of Barry Town F.C. Barry Town United Football Club ( cy, Clw ...

. Robert Francis Jenner (1802–1860) was High Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1827. Much of the building was obliterated by a 1910 fire. Nonetheless, restored in 1928 with its Georgian appearance, it is now used as the clubhouse. The

was established in 1936, by the owner of the manor, Hugh Jenner.

References

{{Vale of Glamorgan Country houses in Wales Houses in the Vale of Glamorgan Castles in the Vale of Glamorgan Georgian architecture in Wales Houses completed in 1777 Houses completed in 1928