Abbey Cwmhir Hall facts for kids
Abbey-Cwm-Hir Hall is a grand country house in Powys, Wales. It was built to look like a large English house from the Elizabethan era, even though it was constructed much later. This historic home has a long and interesting story.
Contents
The Hall's Story
Building the First Hall
The first version of Abbey-Cwm-Hir Hall was built in 1833. A lawyer from London named Thomas Wilson had it constructed. It was built on the site of an even older house from the 1600s. Wilson bought a huge estate, about 3,000 acres, and worked hard to design the grounds. He built the hall on a steep hill that looked over a ruined abbey. He also created a lake to power a sawmill for the nearby village.
Changes in Ownership
Building the hall cost Thomas Wilson a lot of money. He eventually ran out of funds and moved to Australia. There, he became the Mayor of Adelaide in 1842. After he left, the hall and its grounds started to fall apart.
In 1837, a man named Francis Philips bought the Abbeycwmhir Estate. He worked hard to fix up the property. His grandson, George Henry Philips, later inherited the hall. George Henry made big changes to the house. Between 1867 and 1869, he hired architects Poundley and Walker to make the house much bigger. They added fancy decorations and even a snooker room in 1894. The house became a large Victorian mansion.
The Philips Family
The Philips family was an old and important family from Staffordshire, England. They had owned land there for a very long time. In the 1700s, they became well-known for making cotton in Manchester.
Recent Restoration
In late 1997, Paul and Victoria Humpherston bought Abbey-Cwm-Hir Hall. They have spent many years carefully bringing the house back to its former glory. Their amazing work has even been shown on TV shows like BBC's "Discovering Welsh Houses" and "Wales Today."
Visiting the Hall
For several years, the hall was open for people to visit and take tours. However, it permanently closed to visitors in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic. The beautiful gardens around the hall are also very special. They are listed as Grade II on the official register of historic parks and gardens in Wales.
See also
- Obituary of Francis Philips of Abbeycwmhir, 1850
- Report on the Abbeycwmhir estate, 1847
- Cwmhir Abbey
- Abbeycwmhir
- List of gardens in Wales
