Llanerchaeron, known as "Llanayron House" to its nineteenth-century occupants, is a grade I listed mansion on the

River Aeron The River Aeron () is a small river in Ceredigion, Wales, that flows into Cardigan Bay at Aberaeron. It is also referred to on some older maps as the River Ayron. Etymology The name of the river means "battle" or "slaughter" and derives from th ...

, designed and built in 1795 by John Nash for Major (later Colonel) William Lewis as a model self-sufficient farm complex located near

Ciliau Aeron is a community and small village 4 miles from Aberaeron in Ceredigion, Wales on the left bank of the River Aeron. The community includes the village of Cilcennin. The word ''Ciliau'' comes from the Welsh for ''corners''. ''Aeron Corners'' in ...

, some miles south-east of

Aberaeron Aberaeron (), previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. Located on the coast between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, its resident population was 1,274 in the 2021 census. The name of the town i ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. There is evidence that the house replaced an earlier mansion. A later owner, William Lewes, was the husband of Colonel Lewis's inheriting daughter. The estate is now in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. The gardens and the parkland are listed on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and ...

. The neighbouring parish church of St Non – also redesigned by Nash – has registers of baptisms and burials dating from 1730 and marriages from 1754.

Service facilities

Much of the historical value derives from the indifference shown by past owners to the farm and outbuildings, which were allowed to remain unimproved and generally untouched with no attempt to demolish or renovate them. As a result it is easy to see and infer exactly where and how essential tasks were performed, often aided by advanced technology, including electricity generated by a water-wheel. The service facilities include a large laundry and linen-care room, spaces for brewing, butter and cheese making, preparation and salting or smoking of meat and fish, preservation of fruits and vegetables, and a full range of crafts. The estate employed carpenters and a full-time stonemason who designed and built whole buildings as well as overseeing the construction of walls, drying platforms, and other farm requisites.

Walled gardens

Llanerchaeron's walled gardens are home to dozens of veteran fruit trees, some 200 years old, which are part of the working farm's ongoing organic production. These trees are also important hosts for all kinds of insects, mosses and lichens, and, coupled with the traditional vegetable and herbaceous flower beds, they are a significant wildlife habitat. The gardens and the parkland are designated Grade II on the

Public access

The estate's former tenant farmland has now mostly been sold but the house and a considerable area of farm, garden, and parkland are opened to the public at limited hours for most of the year, but pre-booking is recommended, especially at busier times such as weekends and bank holidays. The

Dylan Thomas Trail The Dylan Thomas Trail () runs through places associated with the poet Dylan Thomas in Ceredigion, west Wales. It was officially opened by Aeronwy Thomas, Dylan's daughter, in July 2003. It also featured in the celebration in 2014 of the centen ...

also passes the estate.

2010 eisteddfod

Llanerchaeron estate played host to some 100,000 visitors during the 2010 youth cultural festival, the

Urdd National Eisteddfod The Urdd National Eisteddfod ( or ) is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. It is the youth counterpart to the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Arguably Europe's largest yo ...

, held between 31 May and 5 June 2010. This compared with the normal attendance rate of about 35,000 visitors annually. ;Archaeological find Work in preparation for the eisteddfod was temporarily halted by the discovery of medieval relics below the ground. This tallied with established knowledge of a large medieval settlement. (See reference below.) There were also anxieties over the possibility of disturbing the habitat of otters.

St Non Church

The parish church of Llannerchaeron dates back to at least 1284 in the reign of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

, when there was a large medieval village in the adjoining parkland which seems to have been deserted around 1500.Mair Lloyd Evans ''St Non Church Llannerch Aeron in the Diocese of St David'', official 12-page booklet, c. 2008
National Trust Annual Archaeological Review
'' (2000-2001), at p. 59 relates that limited

magnetometry A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...

and excavation mmediately around the churchproduced evidence for "thirteenth and fourteenth-century domestic occupation and industrial activity on this site." The cost of the church's remodelling (forty pounds) was met by parishioners, underwritten by Major Lewis. There is no documentation to prove the work was designed by John Nash but it was discussed by a minuted public vestry meeting in 1796, within a year of the completion of Llanayron House. Nash is known to have at least aided design of other peripheral buildings, a minister's house and a coachman's house not far from the church. The internal restoration of the church was paid for in 1878 by Mary Ashby Lewis, the daughter-in-law of William Lewis, who was widowed for 62 years and died in 1917 aged 104. When her husband John had been interred in the family vault on 13 July 1855, it was diaried by an Aberaeron chemist that "There were nine other coffins there; some had been there over 100 years". Since the 1920 disestablishment, the church belongs to the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

Footnotes

Principal sources

*Evans N, ''The Llanerchaeron Estate; The built environments, building descriptions and evaluations'' (1998): unpublished document, National Trust *Laidlaw R & Palmer C ''Historic park and garden survey, Llanerchaeron'' (1998): unpublished document, National Trust *Lloyd T, Untitled paper (1990): with Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, Cardiff *Tithe Award Survey and Schedule of Apportionments (1839): National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. *Evans Mair Lloyd ''Llanerchaeron, a tale of 10 generations 1634-1989'' (1996). *{{cite web, url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-10715-llanerchaeron-including-rear-service-cour/photos, title= Llanerchaeron, including rear Service Courtyard Ranges (previously listed as Llanaeron House), Ciliau Aeron, publisher= British Listed Buildings, access-date= 23 August 2014

External links

Llanerchaeron information at the National Trust

Heritage assessment
Ten detailed pages by an unnamed assessor for th
Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
(Coflein)
Online images of the house
at Coflein
Llanerchaeron deserted medieval settlement
at Coflein
Gardens of Wales
Contains description and photo of Llanerchaeron Gardens Houses in Ceredigion Museums in Ceredigion Country houses in Ceredigion Gardens in Wales Historic house museums in Wales National Trust properties in Wales Agriculture museums in the United Kingdom Grade I listed buildings in Ceredigion Registered historic parks and gardens in Ceredigion Houses completed in 1795