Wyelands, sometimes styled The Wyelands or Wyelands House, 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
estate located about north of the village of
Mathern
Mathern ( cy, Matharn; older form: ''Merthyr Tewdrig'') is a historic community (parish) and village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, about south west of the town of Chepstow, close to the Severn estuary, the Bristol Channel and the M48 mot ...
,
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
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 ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and about west of the edge of
Chepstow
Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western ...
. It is a
neoclassical villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
designed by
Robert Lugar
Robert Lugar (1773 – 23 June 1855), was a British architect and engineer in the Industrial Revolution.
Although born in Colchester, England, Lugar carried out much of his most important work in Scotland and Wales, where he was employed by s ...
in the late
Regency period
The Regency era of British history officially spanned the years 1811 to 1820, though the term is commonly applied to the longer period between and 1837. King George III succumbed to mental illness in late 1810 and, by the Regency Act 1811, h ...
, and was completed around 1830.
The park surrounding the house is listed on the
.
History
The house was commissioned by George Buckle, a leading Chepstow shipbuilder and timber merchant who was
High Sheriff 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 replac ...
in 1819. There is some uncertainty as to the date of the house's construction. It was started, but is unlikely to have been finished, before Buckle's death in 1824. The
date it as "closer to 1819 than 1846",
and it was probably built by 1834, when George Buckle's son John (c.1796-1845), also a shipbuilder and merchant, was appointed Sheriff of Monmouthshire.
The property was sold first to
John Russell (1788-1873), a
colliery
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
owner and magistrate, who in turn became Sheriff of Monmouthshire in 1855. Following Russell's purchase of the neighbouring estate of Piercefield, Wyelands passed to Major General Sir Edmund Keynton Williams, whose son sold Wyelands to Rev. Robert Vaughan Hughes; he lived there with his family until his death in 1901.
His son, Gerald Vaughan Hughes, who was Sheriff of Monmouthshire in 1919, then occupied the house; in turn, his son, Brigadier Gerald Birdwood Vaughan-Hughes (1896-1983), became Sheriff in 1960.
[
Wyelands was put on the market in 2009 with a price of £4.5 million.][ The house was refurbished during the ownership of John Ward, who offered the property for rent.][ "Magnificent Mansion Makeover", Herefordshire Life, 15 November 2012]
Retrieved 24 September 2013 Most recently, the estate was bought by the industrialist Sanjeev Gupta
Sanjeev Gupta (born September 1971) is an Indian-born British businessman, and the founder of Liberty House Group. He is the CEO and chairman of GFG Alliance, an international conglomerate that operates primarily in the steel and mining indu ...
.
Architecture
The villa is described by the RCAHMW as "a compact classical Regency villa" of two storeys, built of Bath stone
Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of ...
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
. The main entrance, on the north side, has a shallow porch and doorway flanked by pairs of Ionic column
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...
s. The east wing is slightly lower, originally contained the service and children's rooms, and is rendered. A stone conservatory was added to the wing in the 19th century. The house has several false windows, as the internal arrangement of walls and fireplaces is unrelated to the design of the exterior. A covered swimming pool, to the east of the service wing, was added in 1999. The architectural historian John Newman describes the ensemble of the buildings as "remarkably complete and beautifully preserved."
The garden, to which formal balustrade
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
s and a stone summer house
A summer house or summerhouse has traditionally referred to a building or shelter used for relaxation in warm weather. This would often take the form of a small, roofed building on the grounds of a larger one, but could also be built in a garden ...
were added in the 19th century, is to the south of the house. There are also stables. The North Lodge is contemporary with the main building. The whole estate covers some .["Become the master of all you survey with Wyelands...", Western Mail, 19 September 2009]
Retrieved 24 September 2013
The Vaughan-Hughes family sponsored the building of estate cottages, including an almshouse
An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...
, for their workers and former workers, in the Newton Green area of Mathern village. The almshouses are dated 1891.
Wyelands was given 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 ...
status on 10 October 2000. The park is listed Grade II on the .
References
{{Reflist, 2
Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire
Houses in Monmouthshire
Registered historic parks and gardens in Monmouthshire
Chepstow