Held at:	Private collection
Reference:	RS
Source:	Internet
Title:	Digital Archive - Sale Particulars: The Wiral
Place name:	Llanthony
Date:	2021

Description:

Sale particulars for The Wiral were issued by the agent, Nigel Ward & Co

 

 

The overall description given in the particulars is as follows:

This uniquely attractive property of considerable historic interest, is set in an equally unique setting on a level shelf, at 1140 feet, high above Llanthony Abbey.  It commands almost completely unspoilt far-ranging outlooks over the valley and the Black Mountains with barely a clue to indicate that we are now in the second millennium.  Notwithstanding its secluded location almost a mile up a farm track, the property is located within about 7 miles of the main A465 Abergavenny to Hereford road giving convenient access to principal routes and the motorway system. A rarely occurring opportunity to acquire a courtyard range of buildings completely hidden from general view; which has been little altered over numerous generations, having a distinct atmosphere of years gone by and enjoying an unrivalled setting well in the eye of the sun, but sheltered from the north and east winds.

The house backs onto the courtyard, the front elevation facing the mature gardens. It is constructed of attractive local stone and stands under a felted, part stone tiled and part Welsh slated roof.

HISTORIC NOTES

The Wiral was originally a tenanted farmstead, part of the Llanthony Abbey Estate, set on the eastern slopes of the valley above the un-cleared forest land in the bottom of the valley. Llanthony was a Priory of Augustinian Canons founded in 1108 by the de Lacy family, local Anglo Norman Marcher Lords. The Abbey survived until 1538, when it was dissolved by Henry VIII; then in 1547 it was granted to Nicholas Arnold, a courtier, who had been his Lord Deputy in Ireland.  Arnold descendants later sold it to the Harley family, Earls of Oxford, (connected with the origination of Harley Street). In 1809, the estate was purchased by Walter Savage Landor, an impetuous romantic poet, writer and republican who frequently wrote in Latin to circumvent the libel laws of the time. Landor invested heavily in Llanthony, became financially bereft and left for Italy in 1814, though the Estate remained in the Landor family until 1966. The last estate tenant came to The Wiral in 1959 and sold it to the present owner in 1968.

 The original lease from Elizabethan times still exists and is dated in the 34th year of the reign of Elizabeth I, equating to 1592.

 The dwelling would not have been constructed of stone originally and the existing house is believed to date from around 1789, whilst the Threshing Barn across the yard is dated 1840, a time of increasing agricultural prosperity.

 The Wiral is set on the line of the old parish road; which linked farms up and down the east side of the valley between Capel-y-Ffin and Cwmyoy, following the boundary of the pastoral land with the open Hill/Moorland above.

Interestingly, also at this level, is a thin band of limestone amongst a set of very thick sandstones.  This limestone was used to adjust the pH of the pastures in the locality to improve the productivity of the grassland.  The local stone features prominently in most buildings in the valley including in Llanthony Priory itself.

 The Wiral and its setting were considered sufficiently inspirational to have been the subject of a painting in 1932 by the Swansea born but much travelled artist and horticulturist Sir Cedric Morris (1889-1982). The painting remains in a private collection in Wales and the property appears to have changed very little during the intervening 90 years.

Full particulars including detailed descriptions of the accommodation, a selection of photographs and the floor plans can be downloaded here in PDF file format.

 

Observations:

None