... 12 | FRIDAY,JUNE 26, 2015 INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES properties

A Welsh estate makes the most of its Roman past

CAERLEON, WALES a hidden entrance and that King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were laid to rest inside,’’ Mr.Greenhaf said. Ancient castle mound ‘‘They revealed a ruined Roman wall towers above vestiges but did not get far enough in to discover whether the knights might have been of history at the Mynde buried there.’’ The Greenhafs’ house was built on the BY ABIGAIL SALTMARSH grounds in 1928 and has evolved over the years. In 1938, it was transformed in- Set behind a high stone wall, right in the to a sophisticated property of status and center of the Roman town of Caerleon, in recent decades has been further ex- in Wales, the Mynde has ahistory of its tended and upgraded by the Greenhafs. own that spans the ages. Today it features five bedrooms, four Home to Terry and Jenny Greenhaf bathrooms and seven reception rooms, for more than 37 years, the property, allwith ornate features, including which is on the market for 1,795,000 plasterwork detail and fireplaces. Mr. pounds, or $2.8 million, comprises not Greenhaf estimates having spent more only an 8,100-square-foot house but also than £500,000 on the improvements, grounds of 3.5 acres, including an an- which have included remodeling the cient castle mound, where Roman re- whole house and adding a 376-square- mains were once discovered. foot drawing room, a 435-square-foot ‘‘We fellin love with the house be- conservatory and a sizable new wing, cause it was right in the middle of the featuring a 284-square-foot utility room, town, yet had beautiful gardens and was a 412-square-foot snooker room or gym private and peaceful,’’ said Mr.Green- and a 203-square-foot study. haf,acivil engineer and propertyde- The grounds of the Mynde cover 3.5 acres On the first floor, accommodation was veloper,who did not wish to disclose and include an archaeological site and new reorganized to allowfor the arrange- what he paid for the propertyin 1978. features like a large ornamental pond, left. ment of three bedrooms, each with an ‘‘But we also liked the idea of owning Above, the entrance to a tunnel where ar- en-suite bath or showerroom, and two our own little piece of history.’’ chaeological investigations were carried bedrooms sharing accessto afourth Situated on the RiverUsk, Caerleon out in the 1800s. Below left, the 435-square- showerroom. The249-square-foot mas- was once a bustling port and the site of a foot conservatory; below right, the kitchen. ter bedroom includes a dressing area notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca and captures the view out across the Augusta. Substantial Roman remains, parkland gardens, toward the mound. including a military amphitheater, ‘‘All the work we have carried out has baths and barracks, can stillbe seen in been designed to complement the build- the town. ing that was herealready,’’ Mr. Green- Nowcontained within the boundaries haf said. ‘‘Looking back up towards the of the Mynde, the former castle mound house from the end of the garden, the is believed to have been an Iron Age hill conservatory looks as if it has always fort and to have seen Roman activity. been there.’’ Todayitis aScheduled Ancient Monu- External enhancement work has also ment, an archaeological site, which is been considerable, with the construc- protected from change under law. tion of a 762-square-foot garage and a ‘‘It is thought the Castle of Caerleon 541-square-foot pool house, with a bar, wasthen in existence on the site some changing rooms, sauna and showers. time before 1086,’’ said Mr. Greenhaf. The outdoor heated swimming pool has ‘‘It was probably founded during the ini- been refurbished, and a large entertain- tial Anglo-Norman advance from Chep- ing terrace overlooks the lawn. Mr stow in 1067 to 1075. Although you can Greenhaf has also created a large orna- stillsee one of the towers of the draw- mental pond, complete with abridge bridge, nothing remains of the keep.’’ across to the mound. The 90-foot mound is now wooded and ‘‘The grounds here are so beautiful, makes a striking featurein the grounds likeagreen oasis in the middle of the of the house. A footpath spirals up to its PHOTOGRAPHS BY KATE ADAMS FOR CHEWTON ROSE town, where we often see tawny owls, summit, from which there are far-reach- buzzards and herons,’’ he said. ing views in alldirections. ‘‘We climb erty, which is 20 feet high in places, was iffof Monmouthshireand, fearing an up- ernment’s historic environment service. than some pillar bases, which were used Craig Berrow,assistant branch part- the mound most days and often still find built by a man named John Jenkins in the rising by membersofthe Chartist move- ‘‘In the middle of the 19th century, Mr. to decorate the path up the mound.’’ ner of the real estate agency Chewton remains, such as pieces of pottery and early 19th century. Mr. Jenkins, who lived ment, decided to wall the property in. Jenkins also made substantial altera- A subsequent owner, Robert Woollett, Rose, in South Wales, said of the Mynde: shells from the oystersthat would have in another large house, which was also on Stone from nearby Roman and Medi- tions to the grounds, and the extensive attempted to carry out archaeological ‘‘There is nothing else quite likeit in the been an important part of the diet in the grounds at the time, was part owner eval ruins wasused, and the wall has a remains of a Roman villa were un- investigations by tunneling into the area. It is unusual to find a home with centuries gone by,’’ Mr. Greenhaf said. and manager of anearbytin works. He Grade II conservation listing for its ‘‘spe- covered,’’ Mr. Greenhaf said. ‘‘Nothing mound in 1878. such an interesting past, in a town which The protective wall around the prop- later became a magistrate and then sher- cial interest’’ from Cadw, the Welsh Gov- can be seen of them now today, other ‘‘He had heard stories that there was is itself steeped in so much history.’’ Fresh start for a storied part of city

LONDON Long wait for opening of Greenwich Peninsula was a blessing in disguise

BY LAURA LATHAM NOVEMBER 17–18, 2015 VERSAILLES In 2004, a proposal to rehabilitate an empty former industrial site on a south- east stretch of the River Thames in Lon- don, opposite Canary Wharf, was grant- ed the go-ahead. JOIN VANESSA FRIEDMAN and acompelling line-up of high profile speakers Plans for the mixed-use project, from across the industryand beyond, as theydebate the imperatives of Luxurybeyond called Greenwich Peninsula, included the cleanup of contaminated land on the Product, and the challenges of connecting with consumersinanincreasingly site of 121 hectares, or nearly 300 acres, turbulent and competitivemarket. and would bring at least 10,000 new homes to the area, as well as office space and retailing and leisure facilities. The plan also included converting the ...... CONFIRMED SPEAKERS INCLUDE ...... distinctively shaped Millennium Dome, a large, government-funded community exhibition space, into ahigh-capacity performance venue. Thefirst steps were taken with the construction of Greenwich Millennium Village, acommunity of sustainable, ar- chitect-designed homes. Over the next few years, however, the project slowed Victoria Beckham Marco Bizzarri Maureen Chiquet and much of the available land remained Founder C.E.O. Global C.E.O. unused. Only the Millennium Dome sta- VICTORIA BECKHAM GUCCI CHANEL dium, now a privately operated venture called the O2 Arena, achieved large- scale commercial success. In 2012, the developer Knight Dragon, owned by the Hong Kong-based Cheng family and already active in the London property market, saw the site’s poten- Ariel Emanuel Adrian Joffe Michael Kowalski Humberto Leon tial and bought 60 percent of the project. Top, the designer Tom Dixon was responsible for the look of 41 units at Upper Riverside. CO-C.E.O. C.E.O. Chairman of the Board Co-Owner &CreativeDirector Since then, Knight Dragon has ac- The Greenwich Peninsula project includes five new districts on the River Thames, above. WME|IMG COMME DES GARÇONS TIFFANY &CO. OPENING CEREMONY quired full control of the remaining 90 INTERNATIONAL Co-CreativeDirector hectares of the Greenwich Peninsula re- KENZO generation zone at a cost of 186 million ally in Britain, purchases are limited to pounds, or $288 million. It is nowwork- ‘‘We want to create a genuine one property per buyer. ‘‘We don’t want ing in partnership with the Greater Lon- community and give owners to sell multiple units to private land- don Authority, which has approved the a sense of place.’’ lords or investors,’’ Ms. Sibson said. overall master plan. ‘‘We want to create a genuine communi- ‘‘We had ambition for this area, and ty and give owners a sense of place.’’ what we wanted in terms of infrastruc- alongside residential blocks. Twenty- Alongside the perceived value of the Maurice Lévy RichardMille Grayson Perry ture and to control the overall look and five percent of the housing stock will project, much of the attraction to buyers Chairman and C.E.O. C.E.O. ARTIST PUBLICIS GROUPE RICHARD MILLE feel for the site,’’ said RichardMargree, consist of low-cost and social housing is in the ease of access. Transport links chief executive of Knight Dragon. ‘‘It for local residents and workers in essen- to the city center include the London was a rare opportunityto create a new tial services like medical care and edu- Underground Jubilee Line and the area of London.’’ cation. Thames Clipper riverboat service. Lon- Plans include the creation of five new The first available units were intro- don City airport is five miles away and districts, or neighborhoods. Allwill duced in September 2014, with more re- the new Crossrail service will operate Save €500 by registering before June 30 have architect-designed, midrise apart- leased in March this year,and sales from Canary Wharf starting in 2018. Use INYTB when youbook your place ment buildings of 10 to 40 stories and a have been brisk: Of the 377available The delay in completion of Greenwich mix of boutiques, restaurants, leisure units, 348 have been sold. Properties Peninsula kept housing stock from the amenities and outdoor spaces. The range from studios starting at £300,000 market, but there maybe benefits, in luxury product.com number of proposed residential units to three-bedroom, 230-square-meter that the development has been de- beyond has increased to 15,500. properties at £1.95 million. signed to meet current expectations re- Threedistricts, Upper Riverside, The low entry-level prices have at- garding the supply of public space, qual-

...... HEADLINE SPONSOR ...... Lower Riverside and Marina Quays, tracted buyers from both Britain and ity amenities and services designed will have direct riverfront locations. other countries. ‘‘When we launched, around residents’ needs. Parkside willinclude a large area of re- people queued overnight to reserve ‘‘Our job is to catch up the last 10 creational land called Central Park, and units,’’ said Kerri Sibson, sales and mar- years of much-needed development,’’ @INYTLUXURY Brickfields is being developed as acre- keting manager for the development. Mr. Margreesaid. ‘‘People live very dif- ative hub, with a film and media studio Thefirm aims to build 500 homes a ferently nowto when this project was and the potential for arts workshops year for the next 20 years and, unusu- first discussed.’’