Sir Fynwy Y Ty Cymreig

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-This programme takes us so far east,

-we're only just still in Wales.

-Until recently...

-..the people of Monmouthshire didn't

-consider themselves to be Welsh.

-That has no effect

-on the quality of the houses.

-In fact, Monmouthshire is home...

-..to some of the best-preserved

-early homes in Wales.

-Welcome to Y Ty Cymreig.

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-In this programme,

-a fine 17th-century gentry house.

-An old farmhouse

-which has a remarkable barn.

-A romantic castle

-with echoes of the Taj Mahal.

-One of Monmouthshire's best

-Tudor manors.

-When I think about Monmouthshire,

-I think of heavy industry...

-..in the Newport area.

-But, in essence,

-it's an agricultural county.

-Yes, and it's beautiful too.

-The architecture is splendid.

-Its wealth came from sheep and the

-wool industry, in the highlands...

-..and from grain production

-here, in the lowlands.

-The status of the farmhouses

-reflects this.

-Has Monmouthshire

-always been a part of Wales?

-Yes, it's always been a part

-of Wales but that's been disputed.

-That's because it was omitted from

-the second Act of Union in 1543.

-It's definitely a part of Wales,

-for our purposes!

-Yes, we'll see Welsh houses today.

-This is a wonderful way

-to start the programme, Greg.

-You must love it!

-You must love it!

-

-Yes, it's great.

-Who built this

-and where did he make his money?

-This money was made in London.

-William Jones

-lived here in an ordinary house...

-..but he inherited a fortune from

-his uncle Philip, a London merchant.

-He demolished his home and built

-a new one, in the latest style.

-It has

-a fancy Renaissance-style porch.

-One glance at that roof tells me

-a few alterations have been made.

-Yes, look at the chimney and you'll

-see the outline of an old gable.

-There were four attic rooms

-on the front of this house.

-It was traditional to build a sunken

-stone wall to keep cattle away.

-Yes, it's called a ha-ha.

-You can't see the ha-ha

-from the house...

-..so it feels as if the house

-is sitting in its natural landscape.

-They were fashionable

-in the 18th century.

-It would be no laughing matter

-if you fell off!

-No, but it keeps Minti off the lawn!

-This is a very baronial room.

-Baron Samuel!

-Baron Samuel!

-

-Baron Greg and Minti!

-This is the main reception room.

-If you had the money to build a

-huge house, you needed a party room.

-That's what the banqueting hall was.

-Was it a reception area

-as well as a banqueting hall?

-There was a raised platform there,

-on which was the top table.

-There would have been a huge table

-running the full length of the room.

-That's why they needed

-two sets of double doors.

-Tell me about this screen.

-This screen has always been here...

-..but it was moved to Llanarth Court

-during the Victorian era.

-The owner was worried because

-he rented the house to farmers...

-..and they stored grain in here!

-There was grain up to here

-and the screen was rotting.

-The present owner purchased it back

-during the past decade...

-..and fitted it

-back in its original place.

-We're at the back of the house

-to see my favourite feature.

-A splendid 17th-century staircase.

-It's so high!

-This is the tallest staircase from

-this period in the whole of Wales.

-It covers four floors.

-The posts aren't load bearing,

-from what I can see.

-That's right - it's cantilevered.

-The sheer scale of it

-is breathtaking.

-Look at this newel post.

-I'm nearly six feet tall

-and it dwarfs me.

-The balusters are the same.

-It's all over-the-top.

-Was this commonplace, at that time?

-Was this commonplace, at that time?

-

-No, not at all.

-I've never seen a staircase

-on this scale before.

-It's as if the carpenter

-got his measurements wrong!

-It's amazing.

-It isn't very comfortable either.

-When you walk upstairs,

-the rail is really high.

-You look like a child!

-This is the great chamber

-above the main hall.

-The dimensions of the rooms

-are exactly the same.

-Look at that magnificent ceiling!

-I've never seen one

-quite like that before.

-Only this section has survived

-but it's hugely impressive.

-There's something about windows

-where you must crane your neck...

-..to see over the window sill.

-You can view

-the whole estate from here.

-Where did Dadi Greg go, Minti?

-Greg?

-Greg?

-

-Aled! Aled! I'm down here.

-What are you doing?

-Having a laugh!

-I'm told this is a priest's hole.

-Lots of people

-claim to have a priest's hole...

-..but almost without fail,

-what they really have is a cupboard.

-I think this is a priest's hole.

-We know the Jones family was

-Catholic, back in the 17th century.

-During the 1950s renovation

-of this property...

-..a picture of Mary Magdalene

-in Jacobean dress was found in here.

-It seems highly likely

-this was a genuine priest's hole.

-Where is the picture you mentioned?

-It's down here.

-Aled!

-It's an entirely different

-landscape from yesterday.

-We're in the highlands,

-among the Black Mountains.

-I've just read the Bruce Chatwin

-novel - On The Black Hill.

-I imagine the brothers in the book

-lived on a farm such as Ty Mawr.

-Ty Mawr means Big House

-but you've brought me to a barn.

-We're here because this

-is an interesting barn.

-It's twice the size

-of the main house...

-..and it explains

-the history of this valley.

-This valley is dotted

-with 16th and 17th century houses.

-Income from the wool industry

-paid for it all.

-We won't see much through this hole

-so let's go around to the bottom.

-This barn is built on a slope

-for a good reason?

-Yes, these are called

-Monmouthshire Bank Barns.

-They're always

-set into the slope of a hill.

-The grain was loaded into the barn

-through the hole at road level.

-This is a threshing barn, hence

-the double doors on either side.

-They did the threshing here

-and the cattle were down there.

-For most of the year,

-it was used to store wool.

-The construction work is amazing.

-The quality of the stonework

-on the gable is incredible.

-That's local, red sandstone.

-It's perhaps the best

-building material in Wales...

-..because when cut,

-it gives you such flat edges.

-It looks like a perfect wall.

-Why was the wool produced here

-so valuable?

-It was top quality wool.

-In the 16th century,

-the people of Flanders...

-..were happy to pay high prices

-for the world's best wool.

-The wool left here and was

-taken to market in Abergavenny...

-..then on to Bristol, from where it

-was exported to Spain and Flanders.

-This is called Ty Mawr but, with all

-due respect, it isn't a big house.

-No, this isn't a big building.

-The name comes from the house

-which stood here prior to this.

-We're standing on what was

-the Ty Mawr farmhouse.

-Those low walls are the foundations

-of the original hall house.

-That was the old gable end

-of the Ty Mawr large house.

-This is the new part of the house,

-which was built in around 1630.

-It was completely different

-from the open, cold hall house.

-Here we have a fireplace

-and a very fancy ceiling.

-There are two windows in here.

-It's a light, warm room.

-How big is this new unit?

-This beam is one pole's length -

-that was the measurement.

-Aled,

-let's use this old tape measure.

-Yes, it measures 16 feet and 6

-inches, which is one pole's length.

-The room isn't this size by chance.

-Carpenters cut beams

-to the same length every time.

-This is one of the pantries.

-It's a very practical room.

-It's great to have one.

-The stonework is wonderful around

-what was the hall house front door.

-It's the only house I've seen with

-a 15th-century door in the pantry!

-Yes, and this house

-has not only one but two of them!

-There's another doorway

-in the buttery, next door.

-It dates back to around 1500.

-Here we are, on the first floor.

-Again, the ceiling

-is very well made.

-The shape of the doorway is lovely.

-It's a characteristic

-of Monmouthshire architecture.

-That's remarkable too.

-Yes, and here's the third one,

-leading to the attic.

-Look at these tree trunks!

-Yes, aren't they great?

-They're huge!

-Here we are in the attic.

-The oak structure is obvious.

-It was extended at some point.

-The pitch of the roof was adjusted

-to create more space.

-They've created a comfortable,

-modern home in an old house.

-Houses like this suit modern life.

-Houses like this suit modern life.

-

-Yes, and it's in a great location.

-This is an enchanting valley.

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-Welcome back to Monmouthshire.

-If Walt Disney had been an architect

-in Georgian times...

-..he'd have come up with something

-as ridiculous and romantic...

-..as Clytha Castle.

-Welcome to Disneyland Clytha!

-I've never seen

-anything like this before.

-What's this castle's history?

-Wales is famous for its castles

-but I'm very fond of this one.

-It isn't a real castle but a folly

-which was built in 1790.

-There's a sad story

-behind its creation.

-William Jones of Clytha House

-built it...

-..to remind him

-of his late wife's beauty.

-She died in 1786.

-This was a memorial to his wife,

-Elizabeth Morgan of Tredegar.

-This is Wales's Taj Mahal.

-Did William Jones live here?

-No, he lived in the mansion.

-This was something to look at,

-on the brow of the hill.

-He had picnics on the lawns, maybe.

-It was mainly a quiet place

-where he could remember his wife.

-There can't be a better view than

-this in the whole of Monmouthshire.

-That's probably why

-he built this on the hill.

-Let's have a look inside.

-It's a huge door!

-The door is interesting.

-The front looks like

-an old, studded castle door.

-The inside looks like

-an ordinary, Georgian door.

-Many of the features are pieces

-you'd find in a Georgian parlour.

-I know the exterior is misleading

-and it isn't a real castle...

-..but I didn't expect

-to see a parlour.

-It's an interesting blend.

-The architect designed

-Gothic-shaped windows...

-..fitted with ordinary,

-Georgian sash windows.

-It was fashionable at the time.

-This is the master bedroom,

-with six Gothic-shaped windows.

-Has it always been a bedroom?

-Yes, it seems William Jones

-slept here occasionally.

-The fireplace makes it a cosy room.

-There was Gothic-shaped furniture

-in here.

-We know from receipts

-that he bought silk...

-..French chintz and handmade

-wallpaper for this room.

-It probably felt more ornate

-than it looks nowadays.

-Monmouthshire, in all its glory!

-That's Sugar Loaf Mountain.

-That's Clytha House,

-the home of William Jones.

-It's a very fitting tribute

-to William Jones's wife.

-She inspired this folly.

-Yes. We must also pay tribute

-to the Landmark Trust...

-..which now manages this building.

-The Landmark Trust has renovated

-the house and preserved its spirit.

-You couldn't build

-something like this today.

-You'd never get planning permission

-for a fake castle.

-The fun has been lost

-from architecture.

-This is so much fun,

-it has a ha-ha in the garden!

-Nicholas Arnold, a 17th-century MP

-for Monmouthshire, built this house.

-He was a man

-who took his horses seriously!

-He built

-a truly splendid home for them!

-Yes, he built a home for them,

-not a stable block!

-This building dates back to 1630,

-during the reign of Charles I.

-It's amazing...

-..that there were luxury stables

-such as this in 17th-century Wales.

-Cadw has made this

-a Grade I listed building.

-Just this stable block?

-Just this stable block?

-

-Yes.

-It's a brick-built building,

-using up-to-the-minute technology.

-Londoners built brick houses

-but he built brick stables!

-They're visible from the house.

-It would have been an essential part

-of a tour of the house.

-He imported horses from Flanders

-and put them in this palatial home.

-That's what I call a warm welcome.

-That's what I call a warm welcome.

-

-Yes, straight into the hall.

-Is this

-the largest room in the house?

-Yes, and it's the most important

-room in the house.

-You walk in and you see

-his fancy Tudor fireplace.

-Who redesigned

-this part of the house?

-The Arnold family did the work

-and you see their dates everywhere.

-What's the date on this? 1694.

-There's also a date

-on the charcoal oven in the kitchen.

-It was an early version

-of the Rayburn!

-People were proud of the work

-they carried out...

-..when they renovated and extended

-their mansions.

-The style is important.

-We can look through the open door

-out across the fields.

-That sense of balance

-is obvious throughout the house.

-Yes, as you can see

-in the painting of the estate.

-If all houses had a picture such as

-that, our job would be easier!

-We leave the hall...

-..and enter what we think

-is the oldest part of the house.

-Yes - what a mood change!

-It feels like a private family room.

-A drawing room, perhaps.

-Another amazing ceiling!

-Another amazing ceiling!

-

-Yes, that's right.

-That's what makes this an important

-part of Welsh architectural history.

-The collection of ceilings here,

-in itself, makes this worth seeing.

-This splendid staircase

-leads to the bedrooms.

-Yes, it's made of yew

-which is unusual.

-Yew is a difficult wood to carve,

-so why use it?

-It reflected the family's status.

-It's expensive and it's quite rare.

-People used oak,

-or pine if they were poor.

-Let's go and see the bedroom.

-Before we go upstairs,

-I'll call Minti down.

-Come here, Minti!

-These are original

-17th-century gates.

-Their function is to keep

-dogs downstairs, where they belong.

-Sorry, Minti!

-What happened to the ceiling?

-In a house

-full of interesting ceilings...

-..this is the only one

-without the original plaster.

-It's great to see the structure used

-to create arched ceilings.

-You can see how it looked

-in the next room.

-There's some great plasterwork in

-the great chamber above the hall.

-What makes this room special?

-What makes this room special?

-

-Its history.

-It's known as the Charles I Room.

-It's said Charles I slept here...

-..and this panel

-is actually from the bed he used.

-There's an inscription.

-There's an inscription.

-

-"Kofia Dy Ddechre"...

-..which means

-"Remember Your Origins"

-In Monmouthshire,

-the most Anglicized Welsh county...

-..people used Welsh inscriptions

-in the 16th century.

-Considering it was Charles I, it

-should have read "Keep Your Head"!

-Is this an English house

-rather than a Welsh house?

-"Kofia Dy Ddechre", Aled!

-It goes back 400 years.

-This is definitely a Welsh house.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

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