Abbey Cwm Hir, Powys

Probus Club of Cardiff, Llanishen Visit to Abbey Cwm Hir, Powys Wednesday 19th June 2019 Abbey Cwm Hir Hall is a Grade II* listed Victorian Gothic historic house situated 7 Miles north west of Llandrindod Wells in Mid Wales. Built in 1834 by Thomas Wilson, the great Victorian improver, the house was doubled in size by the Philips family in 1869, who then added the billiards room in 1894. The current owners, Paul and Victoria Humpherston have restored the house and gardens and their work has been featured on a number of TV documentaries. The visit will include a tour of all 52 rooms, conducted by the owners starting at 2 pm. Each of the 52 rooms contains their original features. These include 23 fire places, rococo and stained glass ceilings; a Maw & Co tiled floor and original slate surfaces in the formal domestic areas and the cellarage. The house bursts with innovative and creative interior design ideas complimented by thousands of collectable items, all used as furnishings. They include, enamel signs, clocks, phonographs and radios, a boy & girls’ adventure story library, toys and vehicles, the Abbey Cwm Hir art collection, and items related to Arthurian legend. The gardens and grounds have also been restored and include many Victorian features some of which have been uncovered, through the restoration including a 1.5 acre walled garden, lawns and terraces, 4 courtyards, a lake and waterfall and some splendid mixed woodland. The grounds overlook the abbey, and give wonderful views along “The Long Valley". The village is named after Cwmhir Abbey, a Cistercian abbey built in 1143 which was designed as the largest Abbey in Wales but was never completed. Its fourteen bay nave was longer than those in Canterbury and Salisbury Cathedrals and twice as long as that at St. David’s. It was a daughter house of Whitland Abbey, and constructed at the behest of three sons of Madog, the then Prince of southern Powys. The first community at Dyvanner (Welsh: Ty faenor, "Manor House") failed because of the intervention of Hugh de Mortimer, Earl of Hereford but in 1176, Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth re- established the Abbey on land given by Cadwallon ap Madog. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd is buried near the altar in the nave (see picture below). The abbey was burned by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr in 1401. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in March 1537 only three monks lived in the abbey. The Abbey was slighted in 1644, during the English Civil War, although some ruins still remain. There is a memorial stone to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last native Prince of Wales of direct descent, whose body is buried there. Travel: We have booked a 33 seater coach from JR Coaches of Taffs Well and will use our usual pick up points of Lisvane Memorial Hall at 9.15am and Westminster Crescent / Cyncoed Road at 9.30am with a stop for coffee at the Nant Ddu Lodge on the A 470 north of Merthyr (included in the price). We will probably leave the hall at around 4.00-4.30pm and be home by 6.00pm. Entrance The price for the two hour tour for groups of 10 or more is £14 per head. The entrance fee includes full access to the 12 acre grounds. Lunch: lunch will be at around 12.00 noon in the form of the superior Hall finger buffet at a cost of £10.25pp. Assuming we take up at least 28 of the coach seats, the total cost of the trip is £40 per person. Name(s)....................................................................My mobile phone number is.................................. Please secure me.............. place(s) on the trip to Abbey Cwm Hir with lunch on Wednesday 19th June at a cost of £40 per person. My preferred pick up point is Lisvane Memorial Hall or Westminster Crescent / Cyncoed Road. (Delete as appropriate). Cheques should be made payable to the Probus Club of Cardiff Llanishen and sent to me by June 8th at Malcolm McGreevy, Cilmeri, 24 Hardwicke Court, Llandaff, CF5 2LB, 02920 555150 / 07780 682874 or by. BACS payments to the Probus account 40-16-30 a/c no 51099396 .

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