North of the small
Carmarthenshire village of Cilycwm and surrounded by beautiful countryside
stands Neuadd Fawr, a classically fronted grade II listed mansion set within
its own parkland. The house was originally built in 1784 and was subsequently
enlarged and remodeled in the 1820s to the neo-classical house we see today.
The house remained with the original family until it was transformed into a
school in 1940. It then had a brief stint as a youth hostel before being passed
back to a distant member of the family. However the upkeep of the house was
ignored and the rot set in.
The house now stands in a field, fenced off
and open to the elements. The roof, although still in situ, now heavily
undulates and holes are appearing where the slates have slipped allowing the
wind and rain to penetrate deep into the fabric of the building. Trees have
sunk their roots into the masonry, pushing the cast iron ionic columns of the
porch out of line. Inside, the staircase with its Egyptian lotus leaf banisters
has long gone and so too have the fireplaces and panelling. The first floor has
largely collapsed, leaving the upper walls and doors seemingly floating in
space. My initial impression, that this building seemed to be in fairly good
order, were now gone! The precarious state of the inside shocked me; I would
not be venturing in! It left me with a feeling that time is running out for
this fine building. It will just take a single part of the roof to collapse and
the process of decay will dramatically speed up. The out buildings surrounding
the mansion are in a similar state, apart from the main stable block. They are
now roofless and have cracks appearing in the walls and look in a desperate
state.
In 1996 the owner applied for permission to
demolish the house, but this was turned down. The building was then transferred
into the ownership of a limited company to reduce any impact to the surrounding
farmland should the house be the subject of a compulsory purchase order. The
house is landlocked with no direct access. What will the future hold? Surely
the best option for this building is to revert back to its original use as a
large family house. I have no doubt at all that if Neuadd Fawr was to be placed
on the open market it would be snapped up in no time at all. Few houses evoke
emotions like this one. Let's hope that someone steps in to save this glorious
building.....before it's too late.
