Thursday 28 November 2013

Neuadd Fawr: A classical beauty



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.
 
-Tim James (http://crumbling-houses.com/)

Thursday 21 November 2013

Liz Bolloten, a Conwy artist

I had the very real pleasure of visiting Plas Brynkir earlier this year. I had already put together some watercolours of the site, and when there was opportunity to visit, I jumped at it. Just experiencing it in all its faded grandeur inspired me further. Two important books are out this year. Mark Baker's book: Y plas (on the Welsh Country House) and Timothy James book: Crumbling Historic Houses. These books are very relevant in drawing attention to what is our heritage, and history, and if these sites are lost forever, we ourselves are diminished. As for me I am always looking for excuses to paint old buildings and would welcome opportunities to do so. I feel a great need to record their beauty as a historic reference: that they were indeed here and have absorbing stories to tell.

 These beautiful paintings are available from Love My Wales as postcards for £2.50 and as prints ordered from Liz directly for £30 plus £5 postage. Originals are £250 each
 

Thursday 14 November 2013

Four Elms, Adamsdown- A restored building at risk





An interesting project has recently come to a close at Four Elms, a Grade II listed school building in Adamstown, Cardiff. The redevelopment of this beautiful building was undertaken by NoFit State, a 27 year old circus company. The redevelopment of this beautiful building was to facilitate NoFit State’s venue on a permanent basis.

Four Elms was originally built by the United Methodist Church and was opened on 5th September 1896 and was owned by the church until 1978 when it was sold to the Cardiff County Borough Council, it later became nearly derelict and at risk. Then wonderful news came for Four Elms when No Fit State stumbled upon it in 2007, who started to look into the possibilities of acquiring it from the Cardiff County Council. It was then awarded by a long lease, then with the help of funders such as the Big Lottery Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation and Admiral Insurance, have restored it to a fully functional, entertaining and a fulfilling community venue. This is exactly the sort of thing that Love My Wales encourages and to them we say “well done!”

“For me this is an amazing regeneration project.  I love the fact that it is actually going to belong to people and not just a private firm.  Making something really beautiful from a building that has been so neglected.”
- Zoe Munn, Four Elms Development Officer

If you would like to see more from NoFit State, please visit their website: www.nofitstate.org