History

Built 1825. Plas Bedwellty, which was a small house belonging to the Morgans of Tredegar Park was purchased in 1800 by the Merthyr Ironmaster, Samuel Homfray of Penydarren. Homfray rebuilt the house in 1825 (a basement column is dated), and his son made additions when he became manager of the Tredegar Ironworks, the house achieving its present form by 1842, when shown on a survey by William Adams of the Ebbw Vale and Tredegar Ironworks. These additions presumably included the addition of the two rear wings. From the mid C19, the house was again the property of the Morgan family, who reserved it for the managers of the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company: one manager was R.P.Davis, whose wife initiated the building of the town clock 1858-59. In 1901, the Morgans gave the house and grounds to the people of Tredegar for public recreation: the house was remodelled inside for offices for the Urban District Council.

Exterior

Two storey stuccoed elevations, scribed to imitate ashlar. Slate hipped roofs; deep eaves with paired brackets. House plan consists of main block with two deep rear wings. Rendered band at first floor sill level. Rendered chimney stacks: two to ridge of garden (S) side; two to ridge of E side; also two to W side ridge. S front is of three bays with deep centre bow. Twelve-pane sash windows. Bow has three sashes to each storey, taller to ground floor with six-over-nine glazing. Entrance front faces E. Long eight-bay elevation with twelve-paned sashes. Parapet-roofed porches in third bays from left and right. Left porch has panelled doors above flight of steps with curved flanking walls. Right porch has large sixteen-pane sash facing E with door to N and narrow eight-pane sash to S. Red granite plaque to right corner erected 1918 to commemorate Alderman Henry Bowen, who was instrumental in obtaining the house and the park for public use. W elevation of five bays, twelve-pane sashes; single storey matching addition with low-pitched roof and two similar sashes facing S. N (rear) elevation has ends of wings (deeper to left) with altered stair window in recessed centre. Left wing has twelve-pane sash to first floor; similar sashes to its W side. Recessed centre has tripartite sash to ground floor and former stair window above, altered to form fire escape with metal stair. Elevation of right wing has hipped projection to left with two sashes above door: to right is tripartite 4:12:4-pane sash. Similar tripartite sash below, with twelve-pane sash to right. Single storey service range to right with corrugated roof. Central door with twelve-pane sash to left and altered window to right.

Interior

Largely of 1901. Wide staircase with pylonic timber newels. Half-glazed doors off main hall with Art Noveau leaded glass. Bow-fronted room to S has early C19 ceiling: cornice with acanthus leaves, and repeated flowers to frieze. Square central compartment with floral frieze and centre rose. Council chamber forms SW room with Jacobean style plaster ceiling: acanthus cornice and lozenge-shaped central frame. Early C19 panelled dado. Rear wall with arched recess. 1901 oak seating arranged in cramped semi-circle facing dais. Long ground floor NE room has panelled window reveals.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a well-preserved early C19 large industrialist’s suburban house, set within a contemporary landscaped park. Important historical association with Tredegar Ironworks.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Bedwellty House at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q4879469

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)