Aberpergwm House
Encyclopedia
Aberpergwm House is an abandoned and ruinous country house located in Glynneath
, Wales
. Within the grounds of the house sits the church of St. Cadoc
, which is possibly of late medieval origin.
was related, and so the house was saved from pillage during the English Civil War
. The Williams family were one of the few Welsh gentry
families to remain faithful to the Welsh language
.
” In 1876, the house was remodelled by Morgan Stuart Williams, who later went on to restore St Donat's Castle
This ‘overwhelmed’ the work of 1850, and included the addition of a new front range dominated by a ‘remarkable top heavy Elizabethan gallery
across the whole front’ of 94 feet. The gallery was added in the spirit of the ancient Glamorgan
hall
s, such as Llantrithyd Place. A further castellated wing was added along the hill. In 1868, Williams had rejected earlier plans by John Norton
for a new house in Gothic style
with a tower. Williams, by rejecting Norton’s Victorian High Gothic appeared to be playing safe. An elaborate central door surround (now missing)could be a 17th century Jacobean
survival, or may be a convincing replica. The house is built of Pennant Sandstone with Bath stone
dressings.
n School at Gorleston-on-Sea was evacuated to the house during the summer of 1940 and for the rest of the Second World War the house was used as a school. After the War it was leased to the National Coal Board
and used as offices; the surrounding park land was mined for coal
. At some time the house finally suffered a disastrous fire, and was not rebuilt. The Elizabethan gallery on the third storey has since collapsed leaving a seven-bay front of two storeys, with a small part surviving of the third.
Some of the medieval tracery
from the original house has since been reincorporated into Penhow Castle.
s and the folksong collector Maria Jane Williams
was a member of the family. Her older brother, Rees Williams, was involved in establishing the Bank of Williams and Rowland
. The Williams family motto
: 'A ddioddefws a orfu' ('He who suffers triumphs', in English
) became the motto of Glamorgan County Council.
The house is listed Grade II* by Cadw
and is undergoing extensive building work to conserve its important historical contents and structure. Vale of Neath Parish.
The church is a Grade II* building which is being restored.
Glynneath
Glynneath , also spelt Glyn Neath, is a small town, community and electoral ward lying on the River Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Within the grounds of the house sits the church of St. Cadoc
Cadoc
Saint Cadoc , Abbot of Llancarfan, was one of the 6th century British Christian saints. His vita twice mentions King Arthur. The Abbey of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorganshire, which he founded circa 518, became famous as a centre of learning...
, which is possibly of late medieval origin.
Origins
The present house is a remodelling of an older house known as Neuadd Pergwm. The house came into the ownership of the Williamses of Blaen Baglan in around 1560. It is said that Oliver CromwellOliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
was related, and so the house was saved from pillage during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. The Williams family were one of the few Welsh gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
families to remain faithful to the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
.
Remodelling
By 1850, the house was ‘playfully crenellated’ with a central pedimentPediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
” In 1876, the house was remodelled by Morgan Stuart Williams, who later went on to restore St Donat's Castle
St Donat's Castle
St Donat's Castle is a medieval castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, overlooking the Bristol Channel in the village of St Donat's near Llantwit Major, and about 25km west of Cardiff...
This ‘overwhelmed’ the work of 1850, and included the addition of a new front range dominated by a ‘remarkable top heavy Elizabethan gallery
Long gallery
Long gallery is an architectural term given to a long, narrow room, often with a high ceiling. In British architecture, long galleries were popular in Elizabethan and Jacobean houses. They were often located on the upper floor of the great houses of the time, and stretched across the entire...
across the whole front’ of 94 feet. The gallery was added in the spirit of the ancient Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
hall
Hall
In architecture, a hall is fundamentally a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age, a mead hall was such a simple building and was the residence of a lord and his retainers...
s, such as Llantrithyd Place. A further castellated wing was added along the hill. In 1868, Williams had rejected earlier plans by John Norton
John Norton (architect)
John Norton was an English architect who designed country houses, churches and a number of commercial buildings. He was born and educated in Bristol...
for a new house in Gothic style
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
with a tower. Williams, by rejecting Norton’s Victorian High Gothic appeared to be playing safe. An elaborate central door surround (now missing)could be a 17th century Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
survival, or may be a convincing replica. The house is built of Pennant Sandstone with Bath stone
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 warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
dressings.
Later use and fire
The former East AngliaEast Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
n School at Gorleston-on-Sea was evacuated to the house during the summer of 1940 and for the rest of the Second World War the house was used as a school. After the War it was leased to the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
and used as offices; the surrounding park land was mined for coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. At some time the house finally suffered a disastrous fire, and was not rebuilt. The Elizabethan gallery on the third storey has since collapsed leaving a seven-bay front of two storeys, with a small part surviving of the third.
Some of the medieval tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
from the original house has since been reincorporated into Penhow Castle.
Cultural importance
In the fifteenth century, Aberpergwm House was the home of Rhys ap Siancyn and his descendants, the most prominent of the poets’ patrons in Glamorgan during the period. Dafydd Nicolas, a Williams family descendant, was among the last of the Welsh household bardBard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
s and the folksong collector Maria Jane Williams
Maria Jane Williams
Maria Jane Williams was an 18th century Welsh musician and folklorist born at Aberpergwm House, Glynneath in Glamorgan, south Wales.-Life:Maria Jane Williams was born in 1794, or 1795, at Aberpergwm House, Glynneath...
was a member of the family. Her older brother, Rees Williams, was involved in establishing the Bank of Williams and Rowland
Bank of Williams and Rowland
The Bank of Williams and Rowland was a bank established in the 19th century and operating in Neath, in south Wales.The Bank was formed as a result of a business association between Rees Williams of Aberpergwm House, Glynneath, and John Rowland, both well respected local businessmen, in around 1821...
. The Williams family motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
: 'A ddioddefws a orfu' ('He who suffers triumphs', in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) became the motto of Glamorgan County Council.
The house is listed Grade II* by Cadw
Cadw
-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
and is undergoing extensive building work to conserve its important historical contents and structure. Vale of Neath Parish.
The church is a Grade II* building which is being restored.
External links
- Welsh Ruined Mansions site
- Geograph site
- Aberpergwm Estate Records: 1605-1910
- Aberpergwm Estate collection held by West Glamorgan Archive Service
- Aberpergwm (coat of arms sketch) in the Elis Jenkins papers held by West Glamorgan Archive Service
- Haunted Aberpergwm
- Genuki genealogy site
- School days at Aberpergwm, with photographs of the house before and after the fire
- Biography of the Williams family of Aberpergwm
- Architectural Heritage Fund site