Llanerchaeron
Encyclopedia
Llanerchaeron, known as "Llanayron House" to its nineteenth-century occupants, is a mansion on the River Aeron
, designed and built in 1795 by John Nash
for Major (later Colonel) William Lewis as a model, self-sufficient farm complex located near Ciliau Aeron
, some 2½ miles south-east of Aberaeron
, Ceredigion
, Wales
. There is evidence that the house replaced an earlier mansion. A later owner, William Lewes was the husband of Colonel Lewis's inheriting daughter.
The estate is now in the care of the National Trust
. The neighbouring parish church of St Non—also redesigned by Nash—has registers of baptisms and burials dating from 1730 and marriages from 1754.
The service facilities include a large laundry and linen-care room, spaces for brewing (pictured), butter and cheese making, preparation and salting or smoking of meat and fish, preservation of fruits and vegetables and a full range of crafts. The estate employed carpenters and a full-time stonemason who designed and built whole buildings as well as overseeing the construction of walls, drying platforms and other farm requisites.
has now mostly been sold but the house and a considerable area of farm, garden and parkland are opened to the public at limited hours for most of the year on Wednesdays through Sundays, and on other days in a late-summer high season. The Dylan Thomas Trail
also passes the estate.
2010 eisteddfod
Llanercheron estate hosted some 100,000 visitors to the 2010 youth cultural festival, the Urdd National Eisteddfod
, held between 31 May and 5 June 2010. This compared with the normal attendance rate of about 35,000 visitors annually.
Archeological find
Work in preparation for the Eisteddfod was temporarily halted by the discovery of medieval relics below the ground. This tallied with established knowledge of a large medieval settlement. (See reference below.) There were also anxieties over the possibility of disturbing the habitat of otters.
.
River Aeron
The River Aeron is a small river in Ceredigion, Wales, that flows into Cardigan Bay at Aberaeron. It is also referred to on some older maps as the River Ayron.- Source :...
, designed and built in 1795 by John Nash
John Nash (architect)
John Nash was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London.-Biography:Born in Lambeth, London, the son of a Welsh millwright, Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor. He established his own practice in 1777, but his career was initially unsuccessful and...
for Major (later Colonel) William Lewis as a model, self-sufficient farm complex located near Ciliau Aeron
Ciliau Aeron
Ciliau Aeron is a small village 4 miles from Aberaeron in Ceredigion, Wales on the left bank of the River Aeron.The word Ciliau comes from the Welsh for corners. Aeron Corners in English refers to the many bends taken by the river through this area.The village post office has long gone, but Ciliau...
, some 2½ miles south-east of Aberaeron
Aberaeron
Aberaeron |Aeron]] being a Welsh god of war) is a seaside resort town in Ceredigion, Wales. Situated between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, it is home to the headquarters of Ceredigion County Council. The population was 1520 in 2001.-History and design:...
, Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. There is evidence that the house replaced an earlier mansion. A later owner, William Lewes was the husband of Colonel Lewis's inheriting daughter.
The estate is now in the care of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. The neighbouring parish church of St Non—also redesigned by Nash—has registers of baptisms and burials dating from 1730 and marriages from 1754.
Service facilities
What gives Llanerchaeron its unique historical value is the fact that later owners allowed the farm and household service outbuildings to languish out of use, with no attempt to demolish or renovate them. As a result, we can clearly see exactly where and how essential tasks were performed with considerable attention to quality standards, and often aided by advanced technology, including electricity generated by a water-wheel.The service facilities include a large laundry and linen-care room, spaces for brewing (pictured), butter and cheese making, preparation and salting or smoking of meat and fish, preservation of fruits and vegetables and a full range of crafts. The estate employed carpenters and a full-time stonemason who designed and built whole buildings as well as overseeing the construction of walls, drying platforms and other farm requisites.
Walled gardens
Llanerchaeron's walled gardens are home to dozens of veteran fruit trees, some 200 years old, which are part of the working farm's ongoing organic production. These trees are also important hosts for all kinds of insects, mosses and lichens and, coupled with the traditional vegetable and herbaceous flower beds, they are a significant wildlife habitat.Public access
The estate's former tenant farmlandTenant farmer
A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management; while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying...
has now mostly been sold but the house and a considerable area of farm, garden and parkland are opened to the public at limited hours for most of the year on Wednesdays through Sundays, and on other days in a late-summer high season. The Dylan Thomas Trail
The Dylan Thomas Trail
The Dylan Thomas Trail runs through places associated with the poet, Dylan Thomas in Ceredigion, west Wales. It was officially opened by Aeronwy Thomas, Dylan’s daughter, in July 2003. The trail is marked by blue plaques and information boards in Lampeter, Aberaeron and New Quay...
also passes the estate.
2010 eisteddfod
Llanercheron estate hosted some 100,000 visitors to the 2010 youth cultural festival, the Urdd National Eisteddfod
Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Urdd Gobaith Cymru
Thr Urdd National Eisteddfod is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. Arguably Europe's largest youth festival, it is usually held during the first week of May. Locations alternate between north and south Wales and the...
, held between 31 May and 5 June 2010. This compared with the normal attendance rate of about 35,000 visitors annually.
Archeological find
Work in preparation for the Eisteddfod was temporarily halted by the discovery of medieval relics below the ground. This tallied with established knowledge of a large medieval settlement. (See reference below.) There were also anxieties over the possibility of disturbing the habitat of otters.
St Non Church
The parish church of Llannerch Aeron dates back to at least 1284 in the reign of Edward I, when there was a large medieval village in the adjoining parkland which seems to have been deserted around 1500. The cost of the church's remodelling (forty pounds) was met by parishioners, underwritten by Major Lewis. There is no documentation to prove the work was designed by John Nash but it was discussed by a minuted public vestry meeting in 1796, within a year of the completion of Llanayron House. Nash is known to have at least aided design of other peripheral buildings, a minister's house and a coachman's house not far from the church. The internal restoration of the church was paid for in 1878 by Mary Ashby Lewis, the daughter-in-law of William Lewis, who was widowed for 62 years and died in 1917 aged 104. When her husband John had been interred in the family vault on 13 July 1855, it was diaried by an Aberaeron chemist that "There were nine other coffins there; some had been there over 100 years". Since the 1920 disestablishment, the church belongs to the Church in WalesChurch in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
.
Principal sources
- Evans N, The Llanerchaeron Estate; The built environments, building descriptions and evaluations (1998): unpublished document, National Trust
- Laidlaw R & Palmer C Historic park and garden survey, Llanerchaeron (1998): unpublished document, National Trust
- Lloyd T, Untitled paper (1990): with Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, Cardiff
- Tithe Award Survey and Schedule of Apportionments (1839): National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
- Evans Mair Lloyd Llanerchaeron, a tale of 10 generations 1634-1989 (1996).
Further reading
- Gammack, Helene Components of the self-sufficient estate National Trust publication
- Cambrian News articles on the 2010 Llanerchaeron Youth Eisteddfod
External links
- Llanerchaeron information at the National Trust
- Heritage assessment Ten detailed pages by an unnamed assessor for the Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (Coflein)
- Online images of the house at Coflein
- Llanerchaeron deserted medieval settlement at Coflein
- Gardens of Wales Contains description and photo of Llanerchaeron Gardens