Hafod Uchtryd
Encyclopedia
The estate of Hafod Uchtryd (summer mansion of Uchtryd) is located in Ceredigion
, Wales
in the Ystwyth valley near Devil's Bridge
, Cwmystwyth
and Pont-rhyd-y-groes
off the B4574 road, described by the Automobile Association
as one of the ten most scenic drives in the world. It is the ancient location of a dwelling on the side of the hill above the river Ystwyth
, looking to the east. First used as a hunting lodge for Welsh
Chieftains
, it then became home to landed gentry
and nobility
.
by Henry VIII (1536–1540) during the English Reformation
the abbey's holdings were divided and awarded to new tenants. Some of the Strata Florida lands were granted to the Herbert family, who came to Ceredigion
during the reign of Elizabeth I. Sir Richard Herbert of Pengelly and Cwmystwyth
was High Sheriff of Cardigan
from 22 November 1542.
The estate lies within the parish of Llanfihangel y Creuddyn
. St. Michael (Hafod), Eglwys Newydd, Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn was a chapel-of-ease in that parish, and was rebuilt for Thomas Johnes
by James Wyatt
in 1801. It is near Llanddewi-Brefi.
, with oak and beech on the lower, more fertile land. In spite of two months of little rain, of 80,000 larch planted in April 1796, only 200 died. Following a visit to the estate in 1798 by Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk
, the President of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA)
, Johnes was encouraged to offer himself for the awards made by the Society for silviculture. He was awarded five Gold Medals as follows:
Approximately three million trees were planted on the estate during the tenancy of Colonel Johnes.
with that of the Trawsgoed estate
.
who, in partnership with the Hafod Trust, is managing a conservation and restoration projects with public and private funding. In 1998, the Hafod Estate received a grant of £330,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. A detailed Management Plan has been prepared and is now being implemented.
The Estate employs one full-time and two part-time management and administrative staff, a horse logger, various contract workers and has recently appointed two crafts-people. Their roles are to ensure that the management plan is carried out to the highest standards.
Visitors to Hafod today can follow many a waymarked walk that capture the ‘Spirit of Place’ which is Hafod. The Estate is very popular with tourists who wish to enjoy some of the most picturesque views and pleasant walks in Wales. The walk are named with titles such as: ‘The Gentleman’s Walk’, ‘The Bedford Monument Walk’ and ‘The Alpine Bridge Walk.’
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
, 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...
in the Ystwyth valley near Devil's Bridge
Devil's Bridge, Ceredigion
Devil's Bridge is a village in Ceredigion, Wales.- Description :The bridge spans the Mynach, a tributary of the Rheidol. The bridge is unusual in that three separate bridges are coexistent, each one built upon the previous bridge...
, Cwmystwyth
Cwmystwyth
Cwmystwyth is a village located in Ceredigion, Wales near Devil's Bridge, and Pont-rhyd-y-groes.The Ordnance Survey calculates Cwmystwyth to be the Centre point of Wales, - History :See Cwmystwyth Mines...
and Pont-rhyd-y-groes
Pont-rhyd-y-groes
Pont-rhyd-y-groes is a village in Ceredigion, Wales located near Cwm Ystwyth and Pont ar Fynach. The village takes its name from the bridge and ford over the River Ystwyth....
off the B4574 road, described by the Automobile Association
The Automobile Association
The Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
as one of the ten most scenic drives in the world. It is the ancient location of a dwelling on the side of the hill above the river Ystwyth
River Ystwyth
The River Ystwyth is a river in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. Its source is a number of streams that include the Afon Diliw, located on the border of Ceredigion and Powys in the Cambrian Mountains....
, looking to the east. First used as a hunting lodge for Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
Chieftains
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
, it then became home to landed gentry
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
and nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
.
History
The lands of the Hafod Uchtryd were within the boundaries of the Cistercian Abbey Strata Florida (Welsh: Caron-Uwch-Clawdd). After the dissolution of the monasteriesDissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
by Henry VIII (1536–1540) during the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
the abbey's holdings were divided and awarded to new tenants. Some of the Strata Florida lands were granted to the Herbert family, who came to Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
during the reign of Elizabeth I. Sir Richard Herbert of Pengelly and Cwmystwyth
Cwmystwyth
Cwmystwyth is a village located in Ceredigion, Wales near Devil's Bridge, and Pont-rhyd-y-groes.The Ordnance Survey calculates Cwmystwyth to be the Centre point of Wales, - History :See Cwmystwyth Mines...
was High Sheriff of Cardigan
Cardigan, Ceredigion
Cardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Mid Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire. It is the second largest town in Ceredigion. The town's population was 4,203...
from 22 November 1542.
A rent roll dated 1540 for the granges of Mevenith, Cwmystwyth and Hafodwen (‘newe leases’) reveals that W[illia]m Herbert and Morgan Herbert were tenants of several properties formerly belonging to the Abbey of Strata Florida, including significantly:
Havodychdryd Doleygors Pantycrave Bwlch Gwalter parcell of Ty Loge [...] 4 parte of Pwll Piran parte of Pregnant(sic) Prignant Isaf and Blaenmerin and Alltgron. Havodychdryd or Hafod Uchtryd is the name of the house and demesne and the other properties.
The estate became famous in the late 18th century when its owner, Thomas JohnesThomas JohnesThomas Johnes , born in Ludlow, Shropshire, England was a Member of Parliament, landscape architect, farmer, printer, writer and social benefactor...
(1748-1816), developed it as a showpiece of the PicturesquePicturesquePicturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
idea of landscape; the estate and the GothicGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
house were the subject of many descriptions and images produced by contemporary visitors. The history of the estate is the subject of several books, most notably Peacocks in Paradise by Elizabeth Inglis Jones, and the Hafod Landscape by Jennifer Macve.
The estate lies within the parish of Llanfihangel y Creuddyn
Llanfihangel y Creuddyn
Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn, |hundred]] of Ilar, Ceredigion, West Wales, 7 miles south east from Aberystwyth, on the road to Rhayader, comprising the chapelry of Eglwys Newydd, or Llanfihangel y Creuddyn Uchaf, and the township of Llanfihangel y Creuddyn Isaf. It was also known as Lower Llanfihangel y...
. St. Michael (Hafod), Eglwys Newydd, Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn was a chapel-of-ease in that parish, and was rebuilt for Thomas Johnes
Thomas Johnes
Thomas Johnes , born in Ludlow, Shropshire, England was a Member of Parliament, landscape architect, farmer, printer, writer and social benefactor...
by James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
in 1801. It is near Llanddewi-Brefi.
The Golden Years
Between 1790 and 1810 were the golden years at Hafod. Between 1782 and 1813 approximately 405 to 485 hectares (1000-1200 acres) of forest, mainly European Larch and Scots Pine were planted on high ground by the estate owner Colonel Thomas JohnesThomas Johnes
Thomas Johnes , born in Ludlow, Shropshire, England was a Member of Parliament, landscape architect, farmer, printer, writer and social benefactor...
, with oak and beech on the lower, more fertile land. In spite of two months of little rain, of 80,000 larch planted in April 1796, only 200 died. Following a visit to the estate in 1798 by Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk
Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk
Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk , styled Earl of Surrey from 1777 to 1786, was a British peer, the son of Charles Howard, 10th Duke of Norfolk and Catherine Brockholes....
, the President of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA)
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
, Johnes was encouraged to offer himself for the awards made by the Society for silviculture. He was awarded five Gold Medals as follows:
- 1800 - The Gold Medal, being the Premium offered for planting Larch – Trees was this Session adjudged to Thomas Johnes MP of Hafod.
- 1801 – The Gold Medal, being the Premium offered for sowing, planting, and inclosing Timber-trees, was this Session adjudged to Thomas Johnes MP of Hafod.
- 1802 - The Gold Medal, being the Premium offered for sowing, planting, and enclosing Timber-trees was this session adjudged to Thomas Johnes MP of Hafod
- 1805 – The Gold Medal of the Society was this Session adjudged to Thomas Johnes MP of Hafod, in Cardiganshire, for his plantations of Oaks.
- 1810 - The Gold Medal of the Society was this Session adjudged to Thomas Johnes, Esq. MP of Hafod in Cardiganshire, for his Plantations of Larch and other trees.
Approximately three million trees were planted on the estate during the tenancy of Colonel Johnes.
Notable neighbors
The estate shares a border along the River YstwythRiver Ystwyth
The River Ystwyth is a river in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. Its source is a number of streams that include the Afon Diliw, located on the border of Ceredigion and Powys in the Cambrian Mountains....
with that of the Trawsgoed estate
Trawsgoed
Trawsgoed Estate located eight miles east of Aberystwyth in Ceredigion, Wales has been in the possession of the Vaughan family since the year 1200...
.
Ownership
- On 13 March 1833, the estate, surrounding structures and land were purchased by the Duke of NewcastleDuke of NewcastleDuke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a title which has been created three times in British history while the title of Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne has been created once. The title was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1664 when William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne...
. - The property was sold to Sir Henry de Hoghton, 9th BaronetDe Hoghton BaronetsThe Hoghton, later Bold-Hoghton, later de Hoghton Baronetcy, of Hoghton Tower in the County of Lancaster, is a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 22 May 1611 for Richard Hoghton, Member of Parliament for Lancashire...
, Hoghton TowerHoghton TowerHoghton Tower is fortified manor house near the village of Hoghton in the Borough of Chorley to the east of Preston in Lancashire, England. It has been the ancestral home of the De Hoghton family since the time of William the Conqueror. It features a mile long driveway to the main gates...
, LancashireLancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
in 1846. - William Chambers, Esq. acquired Hafod on 1 June 1857. A £63,000 (and interest) mortgage was secured from Rt. Hon. Baroness Margaret Willoughby de Broke
- 27 April 1871, Lady Willoughby sold the estate to John Waddingham, Esq (d. 1890).
- Thomas James Waddingham owned the estate from 1890-1940. He adopted Wales and Hafod as his home. He learned Welsh, sat as a JP and was involved in local affairs for the rest of his life. He leased the Myherin Forest area of the Estate to the Forestry Commission in 1929. After he and the Estate ran out of money, he lived in Aberystwyth from 1932 to his death in 1938, aged 98.
- Between 1940 and 1946 Hafod changed hands three times and was owned in turn by W. G. TarrantWalter George TarrantWalter George Tarrant was a builder born in Brockhurst, near Gosport, Hampshire, England. He is best known as a Surrey master builder and developer of St George’s Hill and the Wentworth Estate in Surrey....
, T. E. Davies and J. J. Rennie.
Demolition
The mansion was declared vacant in 1946. By 1958 the house was derelict and it was demolished that year. Only the stables remain, as the current estate offices, and a large pile of rubble. Other isolated buildings and cottages also survive, at least one of which may be rented as holiday accommodation.Today
Today the Hafod estate occupies some 200 hectares of the Ystwyth valley and surrounding hills. Most is owned by the Forestry CommissionForestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
who, in partnership with the Hafod Trust, is managing a conservation and restoration projects with public and private funding. In 1998, the Hafod Estate received a grant of £330,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. A detailed Management Plan has been prepared and is now being implemented.
The Estate employs one full-time and two part-time management and administrative staff, a horse logger, various contract workers and has recently appointed two crafts-people. Their roles are to ensure that the management plan is carried out to the highest standards.
Visitors to Hafod today can follow many a waymarked walk that capture the ‘Spirit of Place’ which is Hafod. The Estate is very popular with tourists who wish to enjoy some of the most picturesque views and pleasant walks in Wales. The walk are named with titles such as: ‘The Gentleman’s Walk’, ‘The Bedford Monument Walk’ and ‘The Alpine Bridge Walk.’