Insole Court is a Victorian Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 mansion

Mansion

A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...

 in Llandaff

Llandaff

Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...

, Wales, dating back to 1856. It was owned by the Insole coal-mining family, and was originally named Ely Court.

Building

The building was started in 1856 by James Harvey Insole, but had two major extensions that drastically changed its appearance in the 1870s and 1900s. The first of these major alterations to the house involved the construction of a clocktower, reminiscient of the work by William Burges

William Burges

William Burges may refer to:* William Burges * William Burges...

 on Cardiff Castle

Cardiff Castle

Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman keep erected over a Roman fort in the Castle Quarter of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The Castle is a Grade I Listed Building.-The Roman fort:...

.

Insole Court is currently used for a variety of classes and societies, as well as being open to view by the public on certain days. It has large gardens which are also open to the public.

Insole family

The Insole family lived on the site from 1856 - 1938. They had coal-mining interests across South Wales which paid for the two lavish extensions to the property. The last of the Insoles to live at Insole Court were Eric and Violet Insole and their mother,Jessy. Cardiff Council

Cardiff Council

The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...

bought the house and estate by compulsory purchase order in 1932, and after living in the house as tenants for a period, the Insole family finally left in 1938.