Plas yn Rhiw
| Plas yn Rhiw | |
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National Trust | |
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| Grid reference: | SH236282 |
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Plas yn Rhiw is an early 17th-century manor house in Caernarfonshire, on the outskirts of the village of Rhiw, in the west of the Lleyn Peninsula. It was built an long enjoyed as a family house, and today is in the hands of the National Trust.
The estate consists of a small house of Tudor/Georgian style, a garden of just under one acre in size,[1] and many wooded acres. It stands at the base of Mynydd Rhiw Mountain and overlooks the long beach of Porth Neigwl (Hell's Mouth) on Cardigan Bay.
The house was built in the early 17th century; an inscription of I.L. on a window lintel is dated 1634.[2] Since then, the manor house witnessed many a historical family saga, which finally ended in the 1940s when the three spinster sisters who lived in the house donated it to the National Trust in memory of their parents, Constance and William Keating. Before their donation, they had refurbished the garden and restored the manor house to its old glory. The three Keating sisters lived their whole lives at Plas yn Rhiw and are buried in the churchyard near Porth Ysgo, about 3 miles from their home.[3]
Plas yn Rhiw is one of only three organic National Trust gardens. The original garden was expanded by the trust to include 150 acres of surrounding woodland.
History
When the first manor house was built here, history does not record. “The Caernarfon Quarter Sessions Calendar” in the 16th century makes mention of the manor house as “Plas yn Rhiw” in the village of Rhiw. The residents of the manor house lived as respected gentry of the town, also participating in jury duty in the judicial system of the town. However, at that time, they did not have a traditional surname but were known by their father’s name. They eventually adopted the surname Lewis.
A French window in the present house, which was remodelled in 1820, has an inscription dated 1634 and attributed to John Lewis, presumed to be the owner of the house at that time. His son, Richard Lewis, was married to Rector Richard Glynn's daughter. The hierarchy that followed consisted of two sons of Richard Lewis, the second son inheriting the property after his father's death, who lived with his wife Jane in the house. They had a daughter, also named Jane, who married William William and they had a son who was also named William William who was married to Mary Jones, the daughter of the Rector of Llaniestyn. They had only a daughter named Jane Ann who became the sole heiress of the property, in 1816. She married an army gentleman by the name of Lewis Moore Bennet. It was during this time that the house underwent further expansion.
The Bennet's only child was also a daughter who became an heiress and married a very ambitious attorney, Cyril Williams, who was the son of the Rector of Llanbedrog. They had a son but the mother died soon after child birth. In 1846, Cyril Williams became the Mayor of Pwllheli but his ambitious plans to develop the place and to build a railway line from Worcester to Porthdinllaen by way of Ludlow, Tremadog and Pwllheli, and then linking it to a ferry service to Ireland, did not come to fruition as he could not muster enough support for his plans in the House of Commons. After Cyril William's death in 1859, his son William Lewis Williams, an army officer, inherited the property but he died a bachelor, and the house, along with the estate, was sold for £8,000.
The property was purchased by Thomas Edward Roberts of Hendre, Aberdaron who lived in the manor house with his wife and children. But his son did not have interest to live in the house as he was residing in Harlech. He, therefore, released the house and the land to Lady Strickland of Sizergh Castle in Westmorland, who lived in the manor house for two summers. She was instrumental in fixing a modern bathtub in the house; it is now a water display item in the garden. After her, one of the daughter's of Williams lived in the house for some time and then moved to Abergele in 1922. Then the house was deserted and remained untended till the Keating sisters bought it who, as children, had moved with their mother to Rhiw in 1904 and taken residence in a rented house.
In 1939, the Keating sisters, Eileen, Lorna and Honora, along with their mother, Constance, who traced their ancestry to the original owners of the manor, purchased the manor house. They embarked on a serious refurbishing process in which they improved the garden setting, acquiring more land to enhance the environmental setting of the house and brought back the old glory of the manor.[3]
Buildings
The walls, of a thickness of 6½ feet in places, were built of large stones.[2] A third storey was built as an extension to the old manor house built in the 17th century. A stair-wing was added to the rear. It was extended laterally, also. The front elevation, as well as the doors and windows were redesigned with a Georgian façade. Sixteen pane, sash windows, and an above ground floor veranda were added. There is a stone, spiral staircase. The house was restored by the Keating sisters in 1939, with advice from Clough Williams-Ellis,[3] which included removal of the ca. 1816 Regency style stucco to reveal the original grey stone walls.[2]
Located on the grounds, and adjoining the manor home, a two storey former gardener's cottage is available for rent. It has its own kitchen, sitting/dining room, fireplace, bedrooms, and a bathroom.
There are several Grade II listed buildings on the estate, such as the cartshed which was listed in 1971,[4] as well as the manor house itself and the detached cottage. There is also a summerhouse and a tool shed. An old mill next to a stream was granted Royal permission to grind its own corn.[5]
Grounds
Garden
Set away from prevailing winds and benefiting from the microclimate,[5] the garden lies below the house and is terraced into the slope, divided by hedges into several small compartments. There are native and cultivated plants in the garden.[1] In spring and summer, there are displays of snowdrops and bluebells. Rhododendrons, azaleas, and magnolias are also part of the garden setting.[3] The garden is accessible via grass paths and cobbled paths. Stone gateposts and seats,[2] as well as old, unused buildings, and parterres are included in the landscaping. The parterre is referred to as Lady Strickland’s Garden.[1] A slate plaque is situated outside the entrance to the garden and contains an epitaph.[1]
The earliest known planting plan was developed in 1966 by Mildred Eldridge, an artist and the wife of poet R. S. Thomas. This was followed in 1994 when an improved plan was drawn by the garden designed John Hubbard.[1]
Tim Walker, head gardener of the manor garden, boasts: "It's the only organic National Trust garden in Wales, and one of only three throughout England and Wales – although the other two, Trengwainton, near Penzance, and Snowshill Manor, in Gloucestershire, "haven't got the same pedigree as Plas".[3]
Woodlands
After the manor house, gardens and over 400 acres of countryside were given to the National Trust, the Trust added 150 acres of surrounding woodland that includes a Snowdrop Wood (Oxalis magellanica).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Price, p. 3
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Price, p. 2
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Plas yn Rhiw". British Broadcasting Corporation. December 16, 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/outdoors/placestogo/gardens/plasynrhiw.shtml.
- ↑ Plas yn Rhiw - British Listed Buildings
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Price, Corrie (Summer 2006). "Gardening at Plas yn Rhiw". The Bulletin (Ymddiriedolaeth Gerddi Hanesyddol Cymru -Welsh Historic Gardens Trust) 14 (43): 1. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:QBOktvp8kYMJ:www.whgt.org.uk/documents/bulletin/bulletin43.pdf+%22Plas+yn+Rhiw%22&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShLAWY1oe-KBkPHgbALZ7g7FeykOL9RRiVEDtPmKEkipKT9WtUjyXbKggbMJ38YP9OqRqBz11g98yJsft0Czak7egI7NtneTZ2XXzb3nYsuEiPy6UyF63QmNtJ7z-OONAFWMh_d&sig=AHIEtbSnOeZMnrJ_zpCrNPEIUSznm1gL_g.