Coedarhydyglyn or Coedriglan, formerly Old Coedarhydyglyn (meaning 'the wood along the glen'), is a private Grade I listed neo-classical regency villa and estate on the western rim of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, less than half a mile from

Culverhouse Cross Culverhouse Cross ( cy, Croes Cwrlwys) is a district straddling the boundary between Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, in the community of Wenvoe. The district is centred on a major traffic roundabout that links West Cardiff to the M4 mo ...

, southeast

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It is accessed via the

A48 road The A48 is a trunk road in Great Britain running from the A40 at Highnam, west of Gloucester, England, to the A40 at Carmarthen, Wales. Before the Severn Bridge opened on 8 September 1966, it was a major route between England and South ...

between Cardiff and

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

at the top of "The Tumble" hill leading up from Culverhouse Cross and Coedarhydyglyn Lane which leads to

Drope Drope is a hamlet in the valley of the River Ely in Vale of Glamorgan, southeast Wales, just beyond the territorial border of western Cardiff. It lies immediately east from Michaelston-super-Ely, west of Ely, Cardiff and southeast of St Georges- ...

to the north. The estate lies between the villages of St Georges-super-Ely (to the northwest) and Downs (to the south) just inside the boundary of the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

History

Set in extensive gardens, the house, made of stone with stuccoed elevations and stone plinth, was built in 1820 for Llewelyn Traherne (1766–1841), replacing an earlier 18th century building, Old Coedarhydyglyn, which lay on the high ridge to the southwest to the east of the present walled garden. The earlier house had been built in 1767 and was owned by John Llewellin, who married Edmund Traherne of

Castellau Castellau ("fortifications"; alternate: Castella) is a hamlet, with a country house of the same name in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. Historically, it lies within the parish of Llantrisant, just north-west of Beddau. I ...

's sister. When John died in 1786, the estate was inherited by Llewelyn Traherne, the son of his sister (who had married Edmund Traherne), and Coedarhydyglyn became the principal seat of the Traherne family. The old house was demolished in 1823, although parts remain. The replacement building was said to be "in the style of

Edward Haycock Snr Edward Haycock Sr. (29 July 1790 – 20 December 1870) was an English architect working in the West Midlands and in central and southern Wales in the late Georgian and early Victorian periods. Biography Haycock was the grandson of William Hay ...

, of Shrewsbury, who designed Clytha House, Monmouthshire". Its owner, Reverend John Montgomery Traherne, during the 19th century, was a notable scholar and collector of scientific manuscripts. During the 1880s, Coedarhydyglyn was reportedly a breeding centre for the

golden oriole The Eurasian golden oriole (''Oriolus oriolus'') also called the common golden oriole, is the only member of the Old World oriole family of passerine birds breeding in Northern Hemisphere temperate regions. It is a summer migrant in Europe and P ...

. Sir Cennydd Traherne, born here on 14 December 1910, was a notable owner in the 20th century; he was Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan from 1952 to 1974.

Architecture

The site contains four listed buildings, listed on 13 September 1994. The main house and outer buildings are Grade I listed, the Coach-house and stables are Grade II* listed, and the Gate and Gatepliers beside the South Lodge and the Gate and Gatepliers midway along the drive are Grade II listed. The house and estate are also listed on the Cadw/Icomos Register of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales by the

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; cy, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectur ...

. The main house is a square, white stuccoed two-storey building. It contains sash windows and "a central single-storey green sandstone portico with four unfluted Doric columns" at the main entrance. The roof is made of slate, while the eaves are wide and bracketed. Outside the canted central three bays on the west front is a verandah. A fretwork

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

is located at the top of the building.

Grounds

The property is situated in the centre of a park which is designated Grade II* on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. Secluded and quiet, the parkland is on rolling ground facing away from the trunk road and contains partially fenced pasture. The highest part of the grounds are in the area of Old Coedarhydyglyn and its walled garden. Below this is a dry valley that has a stream in what is known as the " Dell" area. The stream is culverted at one point before emerging in a woodland section that, flowing to a pond near the standing house. On the south-west side of the garden is a wooden Japanese tea-house. Other features include a pinetum, terraced garden, as well as a walled kitchen garden. A small court, located on the east side of the property, is partly closed by a rubble wall, while a wall with arched opening is situated on the east side in the area separating the house from the service range. A gravel drive, gravel yard, stable block and coach house are also located on the grounds. A woodland of conifers and rhododendrons were mainly planted in the 1940s and 1950s, possibly by Alfred Parsons and partners. There are single trees, clumped areas, as well as beech tree belts. Other plantings include pines and large sycamore. Oaks and limes are situated along the drive. The property is one of many sites used for the filming of the '' Doctor Who'' series, along with other programs such as '' Torchwood: Children of Earth'', '' Sherlock'' and ''

A Discovery of Witches ''A Discovery of Witches'' is a 2011 historical-fantasy novel and the debut novel by American scholar Deborah Harkness. It follows Diana Bishop, a history of science professor at Yale University, as she embraces her magical blood after finding ...

''. The Cardiff Naturalists Society has an outdoor meeting near the house in the summer months. A neolithic flint axe head was unearthed near Coedarhydyglyn during the ploughing of a field.

References

External links

Further informationPhotograph
{{Vale of Glamorgan Country houses in Wales Houses in the Vale of Glamorgan Houses completed in 1820 Parks in the Vale of Glamorgan Grade II* listed buildings in the Vale of Glamorgan Grade I listed buildings in the Vale of Glamorgan Grade II listed buildings in the Vale of Glamorgan Registered historic parks and gardens in the Vale of Glamorgan