Clytha Park
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Clytha Park, Clytha, Monmouthshire, is a 19th-century Neoclassical country house, "the finest early nineteenth century Greek Revival house in the county." The wider estate encompasses Monmouthshire's "two outstanding examples of late eighteenth century Gothic", the gates to the park and Clytha Castle. The owners were the Jones family, later Herbert, of Treowen and Llanarth Court. It is a
Grade I 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 ...
. Although owned by the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, as of April 2021 the house is occupied by tenants and is not open to individuals, but may be visited by "heritage or conservation-based groups" by prior appointment. The park surrounding the house is listed Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales as a “very fine example of a late 18th-century landscape”.


History

The original house on the site, Clytha House, was built by the
Berkeley family The Berkeley family is an ancient English noble family. It is one of only four families in England that can trace its patrilineal descent back to Anglo-Saxon times (the other three being the Arden family, the Swinton family and the Wentwor ...
of
Spetchley Park Spetchley Park is a country mansion standing in 4500 acres of gardens and parkland in the hamlet of Spetchley, near Worcester, England. The house and park are separately Grade II* listed. The house is built in two storeys of Bath stone with a ...
in Worcestershire. It was subsequently purchased by William Jones the Elder, who constructed the gates and Clytha Castle. His son, William Jones the Younger, from 1862 Herbert, razed the Georgian mansion to the ground and replaced it with the Neoclassical Clytha Park. The Monmouthshire antiquarian Sir Joseph Bradney, in his multi-volume ''
A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans into Wales down to the Present Time ''A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans into Wales down to the Present Time'' is a study of the county of Monmouthshire written by Sir Joseph Bradney and published by Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke of London between 1904 and 193 ...
'', records that Jones's attempts to change his name to Herbert occasioned a long feud with his near neighbour, Lord Llanover, the
Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire. Before the English Civil War, the lieutenancy of Monmouthshire was held by the Lord Lieutenant of Wales, except for the period from 1602 to 1629, when it formed a separate lie ...
, who sought to block the change; "A long and acrimonious, and at times highly humorous, correspondence ensued in the newspapers and a debate on the subject took place 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. T ...
". Beginning work on his inheritance in 1820, Jones used the Shrewsbury architect,
Edward Haycock Snr Edward Haycock Sr. (29 July 1790 – 20 December 1870) was an English architect working in the West Midlands and in central and southern Wales in the late Georgian and early Victorian periods. Biography Haycock was the grandson of William Hay ...
. In the later 19th century, the house contained the painting, ''The Deluge'' by
Francis Danby Francis Danby (16 November 1793 – 9 February 1861) was an Irish painter of the Romantic era. His imaginative, dramatic landscapes were comparable to those of John Martin. Danby initially developed his imaginative style while he was the centr ...
. At the end of the
Second World War 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 opposi ...
the estate was inherited as part of the Pontypool Park Estate by
Richard Hanbury-Tenison Sir Richard Hanbury-Tenison, KCVO (3 January 1925 – 12 August 2017) was a Welsh-Irish diplomat, soldier and royal representative. Born on 3 January 1925, he was the son of Major G. E. F. Tenison and Ruth, ''née'' Hanbury. His father was from ...
, a former military officer who then pursued a career in the
Diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...
. In 1955 he married Euphan Wardlaw-Ramsay, and from 1957 with the architect Donald Insall, they undertook the restoration of the wider estate including demolition of the substantial rear service building to leave the present square plan house. In 1972 they donated Clytha to the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
in lieu of death duties, although the family retained a leasehold on the house where they still live today. The Clytha estate encompasses Monmouthshire's "two outstanding examples of late eighteenth century Gothic", the gates to the park and Clytha Castle. Overlooking the house, on a prominent hill, stands the folly of Clytha Castle, constructed by William Jones the Elder in memory of his wife. Long attributed to John Nash, recent documentary discovery has shown that it was designed by John Davenport, who also laid out the grounds, a "well-preserved (example of) a late eighteenth century landscape park". The original canal in the grounds by Davenport was extended in the early 19th century to create the present lake, the spoil from the excavations being used to create a raised platform for the new house. The park was further developed by
Henry Avray Tipping Henry Avray Tipping (22 August 1855 – 16 November 1933) was a French-born British writer on country houses and gardens, a garden designer, and Architectural Editor of '' Country Life'' magazine for 17 years. Early life Tipping was born in the ...
in the early 20th century. On the old Abergavenny-to- Raglan road stand the entrance gates, again reputedly by John Nash, who did undertake work in South Wales. A lodge is set to one side. They are earlier than the house, of 1797. The entry in Mee's '' The King's England'' suggests that the gateway came from the ruined mansion of Perth-hir near Rockfield but this is disputed.


Architecture and description

The architectural historian John Newman considers Clytha, "the finest early nineteenth century Greek Revival house in the county", while John V. Hiling, in his study ''The Architecture of Wales: From the first to the twenty-first century'', describes it as "the most robust and gracious example of the neo-Grec movement in Wales". Peter Smith, in his 1975 (2nd edition 1988) study, ''Houses of the Welsh Countryside'', concurs, calling it "the best of the Greek revival". The building is a square in the Greek Doric style, of ashlar with sandstone dressings. It is of two storeys and has a "fine centr(al) sandstone Ionic
tetrastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
portico". The interior is pure
Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...
, with a circular vestibule leading to a spacious, top-lit, staircase hall. The court was designated a
Grade I 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 ...
on 1 September 1956, the gates have their own
Grade II* 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 ...
listing, while the lodge is today listed Grade II. Cadw's listing describes Clytha Park as "one of the best neo-classical houses in Wales". The gardens and park at Clytha are designated Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.


Footnotes


References


Sources

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External links

{{commons category, Clytha Park
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales entry for Clytha Park with photo gallery
Buildings and structures in Monmouthshire Grade I listed buildings in Monmouthshire Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Country houses in Monmouthshire Registered historic parks and gardens in Monmouthshire