Tredegar House

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Tredegar House from the northeast with the main portal

Tredegar House is a manor house in Wales . The estate, southwest of Newport , was the ancestral home of the Welsh aristocratic Morgan family for over 500 years . It is considered to be one of the most magnificent Welsh mansions and one of the most remarkable mansions of the Stuart Restoration period in Britain.

history

From around 1402 Tredegar was owned by Llywelyn ap Morgan . The Morgan family later claimed to be descendants of ancient Welsh princes. Around 1490 John ap Morgan began building a new mansion. The house, laid out around three courtyards, was made of quarry stone and contained a living hall in both the north-east and south-west wings. In 1645, King Charles I was a guest in Tredegar during the English Civil War . After the Stuart restoration, the late medieval mansion was largely replaced by Sir William Morgan between 1664 and 1672 by a new mansion in the classicist Baroque style . The architect is unknown, possibly the master carpenters Roger and William Hurlbutt of Warwick , who also worked at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire and Bradley House in Wiltshire , were responsible for the construction . In the 19th century, the roof and the southeast wing were rebuilt, and the main portal was relocated from the northwest to the northeast side. In 1951 John Morgan, 6th Baron Tredegar , the last male member of the Morgan family, sold Tredegar. The house was then used as a boarding school before it was acquired by Newport Borough Council in 1974 . The mansion was restored and parts of the furnishings could be bought back before it was opened for viewing. On March 16, 2012, Newport City Council transferred the operation of Tredegar House to the National Trust , which carried out further restoration work. The Friends of Tredegar House , a development association, supports the National Trust in the operation and maintenance of the property. On March 3, 1952, the mansion was placed under monument protection as a Grade I cultural monument.

The mansion served, among other things, as a backdrop for scenes from the TV series Doctor Who .

The northwest facade of Tredegar House with the former main portal

investment

Exterior

The mansion consists of four wings that enclose a small courtyard. Parts of the south-west wing still come from the late medieval building, but the majority of the property was built in the 17th century in the classical Baroque style with French and Dutch influences. The main sides are the northwest and northeast sides of the house. These two two-story, brick-built wings over a cellar have slightly protruding pavilions on the sides that stand out from the main part with rusticated corners. The slate hipped roof from the late 18th and early 19th centuries is pierced by dormer windows. The windows are arranged axially on the two main facades, and a continuous stucco frieze runs over the windows on the ground floor. The main portal is on the northeast side, which is three-axis with three-axis pavilions on the sides and a central single-storey, column-framed entrance porch. The northwest facade is seven-axis with a portal on the ground floor and two-axis pavilions. With the exception of the corner pavilions of the main façade, the two rear wings, which are kept simple, are irregularly designed. The ground floor of the south-east wing is plastered, and above it there are two further storeys made of brick. The late medieval, also three-story south-west wing is made of quarry stone with only small double windows.

The wood-paneled New Hall

inside rooms

The manor house has a number of exceptionally lavishly decorated state rooms. The rooms to be visited include the dining room with its Victorian furnishings, the oak- paneled New Hall with portraits from the 17th century and the Brown Room , which is also oak-paneled and decorated with intricate carvings. The Gilt Room has partly gilded paneling and a stucco ceiling with a ceiling painting from the 17th century. There are also other living rooms and bedrooms, but also the kitchen with side rooms, the butler's apartment and the hall that served as the dining room for the servants.

Orangery, stables and other outbuildings

To the northwest of the manor is a paved courtyard with the orangery and the former stables on the side . The courtyard is separated from the mansion by Edney Gate . This magnificent, partially gilded wrought iron grille was made for John Morgan between 1714 and 1718 . Like the main house, the mighty, two-story stables are made of bricks and have two slightly protruding pavilions on the sides. There is a simple triangular gable above the central main entrance . The orangery was added on the south side at the beginning of the 18th century. It still serves as a wintering place for tropical plants, and there is a table in the room over twelve meters long, which is considered the longest table in Great Britain made from a board. The table was originally made for Cefn Mabli House in the first half of the 17th century . The stables and the orangery are protected as a Grade I cultural monument, the Edney Gate as a Grade II * cultural monument.

To the south of the manor house there are other farm buildings such as the brewery and a large barn. These buildings, originally erected in the 17th century, are protected as Grade II cultural monuments.

The stables with Edney Gate from the early 18th century

Garden and park

The mansion is surrounded by a garden that is divided into three parts: the Orchard Garden , the Cedar Garden and the Orangery Garden . All three gardens were originally laid out in the 18th century. A landscape park , which is freely accessible as a county park , adjoins the garden to the north and east .

Orchard Garden

The largest garden is the Orchard Garden, south of the manor house, which is now maintained in cooperation with the non-profit organization Growing Space from Newport. The garden is a wild garden with several paths, stretched glass houses, a garden shed and an orchard with apple trees.

Cedar Garden

To the southwest of the mansion is the rectangular, walled Cedar Garden bordered by flower beds. The lawn of the garden is dominated by the eponymous Lebanon cedar planted around the middle of the 18th century . The garden was probably originally the family's private garden. The current facility dates from the 19th century. The stone obelisk in the garden commemorates Sir Briggs , the horse with which Geoffrey Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar, took part in the light brigade attack during the Crimean War in 1854 . Sir Briggs was allowed to stay in Tredegar after the war and died in 1874. In addition, three stones remind of dogs of the Morgan family.

Orangery Garden

The Orangery Garden, located south of the orangery, is the smallest of the three gardens. The walled garden was restored in the form of a baroque garden with box-tree-lined, symmetrically laid out lawns and a broderie parterre .

The stone circle laid out in the park in 1988 for the Eisteddfod

Landscape park

To the north of the gardens is a landscaped park of over 36 hectares, which is only the remainder of what was originally a much larger complex. A large part of the park was lost as a result of the construction of the M4 and residential developments. The former main driveway in the north-west of the manor house, which is now on the M4, has been preserved. It is framed by two single-storey pavilions, which may have been built around 1890. The lattice fence and gate also date from the 19th century. From this driveway the driveway leads along the approximately 400 m long Tredegar House Lake to the northeast side of the manor house. The lake is artificially created and is fed by an inflow and outflow from the Afon Ebbw . In addition, one of at least seven oak avenues leading to the manor house has been preserved. The avenue serves as a line of sight to Ruperra Castle , over two kilometers away on a hill , which was built in the 17th century as the summer home of the Morgan family. Another visual axis, which had been built up in the meantime, was oriented towards Tredegar Hillfort , north of Tredegar . Not far from the mansion is a modern stone circle created for the 1988 Eisteddfod held in Newport .

literature

  • Emily Price: Tredegar House, Newport: A Souvenir Guide . National Trust, 2012

Web links

Commons : Tredegar House, Newport  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Newport City Council: Tredegar House. Retrieved October 30, 2017 .
  2. Welcome to Great Britain: Tredegar House. Retrieved October 30, 2017 .
  3. ^ British Listed Buildings: Stable Block including Orangery. Retrieved October 30, 2017 .
  4. National Trust: The Orangery Garden at Tredegar House. Retrieved October 30, 2017 .
  5. ^ Elisabeth Whittle: Glamorgan and Gwent . HMSO, London 1992. ISBN 0-11-701221-1 , p. 46

Coordinates: 51 ° 33 ′ 41.8 "  N , 3 ° 1 ′ 41.2"  W.