Treago Castle facts for kids
Treago Castle is a cool old house that looks a bit like a castle. It's found in a place called St Weonards in Herefordshire, England. It was built around the year 1500. This building is so important that it's officially listed as a "Grade I" building. This means it's one of the most special historic buildings in the country! It has a unique old design, with a square shape and towers at its corners. People used to think it had a moat (a water ditch around it), but digging showed it didn't.
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What is Treago Castle?
This amazing building was probably built by a man named Sir Richard Mynors. He was a tax collector in Wales. The name "Treago" comes from two old words: "Tre" means "homestead" or "farm," and "Ago" comes from the Welsh name "Iago" (which is like "James"). So, it might mean "James's farm."
The house was built to be very safe, almost like a fort. It was meant to keep out people from Wales, but it was never actually attacked. When it was first built, it had a central courtyard and no windows facing outside. This made it very secure. Later, the courtyard was covered, and new windows were added to the outside walls. This made it look more like a regular house.
Some special marks found on the walls of Treago Castle are similar to marks found at Raglan Castle. This suggests they might have been built by the same skilled workers! Treago Castle is still a private home for a family. However, sometimes they have special events like wine tastings or charity gatherings. This lets people get a peek inside this historic place.
Exploring the Gardens and Land
Around the main castle building, there's a large area of parkland. This park was likely designed in the late 1700s. Even though there's no moat, old maps show a small water channel that ran across the land. For a while, between the 1790s and 1840s, the parkland wasn't looked after very well.
But after 1840, four big improvements were made:
- A Walled garden was built near the road. It was separated from the house by a collection of bushes called The Wilderness.
- A walled kitchen garden was made. It had lots of fruit trees and is now where the vineyard is.
- A beautiful garden in the Tudor or Italianate style was created. It had gravel paths, grass, flower beds, and tall, clipped Irish yew trees.
- A long driveway was added. This became the main way to enter the property from the east.
Since 1991, many of the roses planted in the gardens are special English roses from a famous grower named David C. H. Austin.
Recent Changes and Updates
In the 1990s, the old stables were changed into three cozy holiday cottages. They are called Hollyhock, Coach House, and Looseboxes. People can now rent these for holidays. At the same time, a modern indoor heated swimming pool was added. Other parts of the castle were also updated, including a grand piano.
Behind the cottages and the main building, there's a shared garden and a small quarry. You can also find traces of a Japanese garden and a vineyard. This vineyard makes award-winning red, white, and sparkling wines that are sold under the "Treago" brand.
A fountain was added in 1990. It was designed by Vanessa Marston and uses ideas from the Mynors family crest. A crest is like a special symbol for a family. The Mynors' crest shows a man's hand holding a bear's paw. This comes from a French phrase that sounds like "bear hand."
Around 2009, people started working on heating the castle in a more "green" way. They wanted to use natural energy from the ground and compost. A new porch was also added to the north side of the castle. This has helped make Treago a comfortable home all year round.
The Mynors Family and Treago Castle
Treago Castle is still owned by the Baskerville Mynors family. Today, Sir Richard Mynors (born in 1947) lives there with his wife, Lady Fiona Mynors. Sir Richard is a vintner, which means he makes wine. Lady Fiona is an educational consultant. They have lived in the main part of the castle since 1989 with their three daughters. When they moved in, a lot of work was done to restore and update the castle.
Even though some of the family's history goes back to the 11th century, their direct connection to the St. Weonards area started around the mid-1400s. This was about the same time the current castle building was constructed.
Treago Castle's Name in Other Places
In 1932, a steam engine was named Treago Castle. It was number 5019 and belonged to the Great Western Railway. This "Castle Class" train carried the name for 30 years before it was retired in 1962.
