Dingestow Court
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Dingestow Dingestow (pronounced , ) is a small village in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located south-west of Monmouth and approximately the same distance north-east of Raglan, Monmouthshire, Raglan in rural Monmouthshire. The River Trothy passes through ...
,
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
, Wales, is a
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
with earlier origins and later additions. The architectural historian John Newman describes it as "one of the county's major houses" and
Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...
notes its "entertaining confection of styles". The court is a
Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.


History

The court has an "unusually complicated building history". Its earliest origins are recorded by the Monmouthshire antiquarian
Sir Joseph Bradney Colonel Sir Joseph Alfred Bradney, (11 January 1859 – 21 July 1933) was a British soldier, historian and antiquarian, best known for his multi-volume ''A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans into Wales down to the Present T ...
as being a manor owned by John ap James, a descendant of Sir Guyan le Grand, "a
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
adventurer who came into Wales at the conquest of Glamorgan". The James family, later Jones, constructed the precursor to the present building in the early sixteenth-century. Part of the
gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...
range of this building survives. The Joneses continued to occupy the court until the deaths in 1789 of Richard Jones, known as "Happy Dick" on account of his "liberality and geniality", and, a few years later, of the last heiress, Mary, who died "a nun at
Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
". The estate was then bought, and the main house rebuilt by James Duberley. Bradney records that Duberley (whom he dubs Duberly) was the son of a tailor from Monmouth and "amassed a large fortune" as a supplier of clothing to the
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
. In 1801, the estate was acquired by Samuel Bosanquet of
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. Bradney records that the Bosanquets were French
Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
who had come to England following the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...
in 1685 and established themselves as successful bankers. In the mid-nineteenth century, Sir John Bosanquet commissioned
Lewis Vulliamy Lewis Vulliamy (15 March 1791 – 4 January 1871) was an English architect descended from the Vulliamy family of clockmakers. Life Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 17 ...
to extend and restore the house. This enlargement was followed, some twenty years later, with limited further additions, although much more extensive plans, by
John Prichard John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales. Personal history John Prichard ...
and
John Pollard Seddon John Pollard Seddon FRIBA (19 September 1827 – 1 February 1906) was a British architect, working largely on churches. Life His father was a cabinetmaker, and his brother, Thomas Seddon (1821–1856), was a landscape painter. Born in London, ...
, prepared for Sir John's son, another Samuel. An east wing and interior re-modelling were undertaken, with the kitchen wing being added in 1927. Dingestow was for a century and a half the home of ''
Brut y Brenhinedd ''Brut y Brenhinedd'' ("Chronicle of the Kings") is a collection of variant Middle Welsh versions of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. About 60 versions survive, with the earliest dating to the mid-13th century. Adapt ...
'' a thirteenth-century Welsh version of
Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...
's
Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...
, currently deposited at the
National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...
, Aberystwyth. The court remains the private home of the Bosanquets and is not open to the public, although the grounds are occasionally opened for charitable events.


Architecture and description

The varied building history of the court is reflected in its rather disjointed appearance and its "entertaining confection of styles (such as would have warmed the heart of
Osbert Lancaster Sir Osbert Lancaster (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian, stage designer and author. He was known for his cartoons in the British press, and for his lifelong work to inform the general publi ...
)". Despite this, John Newman still considers it one of Monmouthshire's "most important country houses". Vulliamy's south front is a near copy of that of the mansion of Franks Hall, Horton Kirby,
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, in a
Tudorbethan Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...
style. Prichard and Seddon's ambitious plans for Sir John's son, Samuel, came to little, beyond a south-west extension and the stable court. The west front includes the original sixteenth-century gatehouse. The interior is little more co-ordinated but contains some "significant" nineteenth century rooms. These include the hall, remodelled by Richard Creed in 1888, and the drawing room/library undertaken by Vulliamy in a
Jacobethan The Jacobethan ( ) architectural style, also known as Jacobean Revival, is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the Engli ...
taste. The dining room is another exercise in historical revivalism, this time with a "Tudor-style" ceiling copied from one in the
Queens Head, Monmouth The Queens Head is a public house located at 1, St James Street, Monmouth, Wales. It has also known as The Queens Head Hotel and formerly Queens Head Inn. History The building itself has been a Grade II listed building since 27 June 1952. The b ...
. The house is a
Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. The grounds were laid out by Edward Milner in the nineteenth century. They are a largely complete example of a nineteenth-century park. Bradney describes the pre-Milner gardens as comprising "meadows of considerable extent" which led to a large lake, and records that, during the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
soldiers drained the lake, removing "fish to the value of 50 shillings". The gardens are listed at Grade II on the
Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales Register or registration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller (musician), Travis Miller ...
.


Notes


Sources

* * {{Cite book , last=Newman, first=John , authorlink=John Newman (architectural historian) , series=The Buildings of Wales , title=Gwent/Monmouthshire , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knRf4U60QjcC&dq=The+Buildings+of+Wales%3A+Gwent%2FMonmouthshire&pg=PA2 , year=2000 , publisher=Penguin , location=London , isbn=0-14-071053-1 Buildings and structures in Monmouthshire Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Registered historic parks and gardens in Monmouthshire History of Monmouthshire Country houses in Monmouthshire Bosanquet family