Abbey-Cwm-Hir Hall is a neo-

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 personific ...

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 peop ...

in 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 peopl ...

county of

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

History

The hall was built in 1833 for Thomas Wilson, a London lawyer, on the site of a Tudor style house built for the Fowler family, which was later owned by the Hastings family, Earls of Huntingdon. Wilson purchased the 3000-acre estate and landscaped the grounds, building the hall on a steep south facing slope overlooking the ruined abbey and creating a lake so the village would have water power for the sawmill. Having ruined himself financially in the process he emigrated to Australia, where in 1842 he became Mayor of Adelaide. Eventually the hall and grounds fell into a state of disrepair. Wilson's house was extended and altered as a Victorian

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

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 ...

, decorated with polychromatic bands and elaborate

bargeboard Bargeboard (probably from Medieval Latin ''bargus'', or ''barcus'', a scaffold, and not from the now obsolete synonym "vergeboard") or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to ...

s, by Poundley and Walker of

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in 1867–69 for the Philips family. The house was doubled in size in 1869, and they added the

snooker room A billiard room (also billiards room, or more specifically pool room, snooker room) is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table. (The term "billiard room" or "pool room" may also be u ...

in 1894. In 1837 Francis Philips (1771–1850) J.P., D.L., of Bank Hall,

Heaton Norris Heaton Norris is a suburb of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is part of the Four Heatons, and neighbours Heaton Chapel, Heaton Mersey and Heaton Moor. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lanca ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, purchased the Abbeycwmhir Estate, which had fallen into a state of disrepair, and did much to improve it. His eldest son and heir, Francis Aspinall Philips (1793–1859), inherited both of his father's estates. Although he lived at Bank Hall, he spent much time at Abbeycwmhir, eventually becoming

High Sheriff of Radnorshire History The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 ...

. In turn, his eldest son succeeded to Bank Hall and it was Francis' younger son, George Henry Philips (1831–1886) J.P., D.L., of who inherited and lived at Abbeycwmhir. Presumably it was George Henry sculpted the house as it is seen today. The Philips were an old

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

family who had held manors there since the reign of King

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

. Francis Philips' ancestors had been seated at The Heath House in that county since the early seventeenth century, and it is still owned by the Philips family today. In the mid-eighteenth century the family built the Tean Hall Mills and soon became well known as major cotton manufacturers in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

. Francis Philips was a first cousin once removed of

Sir George Philips, 1st Baronet Sir George Philips, 1st Baronet (24 March 1766 – 3 October 1847) was an English textile industrialist and politician. He was closely associated with Manchesterism and has been described as the "unofficial member for Manchester", though not fo ...

. Paul and Victoria Humpherston bought the Hall in late 1997 and have spent the subsequent years restoring it. Their results have been featured on

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...

History

See also

References

Sources

External links