Gwaelodygarth House CF47 8EX

Heritage Plaques

- Structures

Gwaelodygarth House

CF47 8EX

Richard Crawshay probably built Gwaelodygarth House in about 1809 for his son-in- law Benjamin Hall, then living in Abercarn. The building was owned by “Crawshay and Hall,” the name of the company later to be known as Cyfarthfa Ironworks.

Records from 1815 show that the house and a great deal of associated farmland, were rented to a Mr Overton, son of an Ironmaster at Hirwaun. After Halls death, William Crawshay II lived there until he went to live at Cyfarthfa Castle in 1852.

Gwaelodygarth House was later sold to a Mr Meyrick, a local lawyer for £2,500. Meyrick died in 1852 and left the property to two friends. Meyrick's will, however, was successfully contested and the property was awarded to his great-grand daughter. She sold it to Henry Seymour Berry, later Lord Buckland of Bwlch.

Gwaelodygarth House was Lord Buckland's home until 1922.Then it was bought by Guest Keen and Nettlefolds, who allowed it to be used as a domestic training institution and a wartime school for girl evacuees.

After the war the Hospital Board for Merthyr General Hospital acquired it. Dr. Creswell of Dowlais opened Gwaelodygarth House in 1950 as a training school for State Registered and Fever Nurses. In 1953 the training school was united with the Aberdare General Hospital. It was used as a residential unit until 1975.

The plaque read:

Gwaelodygarth House Built 1809-1810 by Richard Crawshay for his son-in-law Benjamin Hall, although shunned by William Crawshay I. The house was occupied by W. Crawshay II for ten years prior to the building of Cyfarthfa Castle.

Grade II Listed

History

Richard Crawshay probably built Gwaelodygarth House in about 1809 for his son-in- law Benjamin Hall, then living in Abercarn. The building was owned by “Crawshay and Hall,” the name of the company later to be known as Cyfarthfa Ironworks.

Records from 1815 show that the house, and a great deal of associated farmland, were rented to a Mr Overton, son of an Ironmaster at Hirwaun. After Halls death, William Crawshay II lived there until he went to live at Cyfarthfa Castle in 1852.

Gwaelodygarth House was later sold to a Mr Meyrick, a local lawyer for £2,500. Meyrick died in 1852 and left the property to two friends. Meyrick's will, however, was successfully contested and the property was awarded to his great-grand daughter. She sold it to Henry Seymour Berry, later Lord Buckland of Bwlch.

Gwaelodygarth House was Lord Buckland's home until 1922.Then it was bought by Guest Keen and Nettlefolds, who allowed it to be used as a domestic training institution and a wartime school for girl evacuees.

After the war the Hospital Board for Merthyr General Hospital acquired it. Dr. Creswell of Dowlais opened Gwaelodygarth House in 1950 as a training school for State Registered and Fever Nurses.

In 1953 the training school was united with the Aberdare General Hospital. It was used as a residential unit until 1975.

Description
Main symmetrical exterior in simple classical style with two-storey three-window pedimental frontispiece, heraldic cockerel within gable panel. Thin Bath stone facings (painted) in channelled rustication with plain bands over ground and first floor windows and with plinth band. Upper level windows have residual Tudor dripmoulds and ground floor windows have cornices on scrolled volutes. Large architraved doorway under cornice in setback range to right and second doorway under modern porch to setback range to left. Gutted and roofless at the time of inspection and upper floor of left-hand range collapsed; modern brick chimneys. Earlier roughcast brickwork can be seen behind the Bath stone facings. Some panelled window splays remain, though the small-pane sash windows have now gone.