Llanrumney Hall
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Llanrumney Hall () is 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 ...
in
Llanrumney Llanrumney () is a suburb, community and electoral ward in east Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal ...
,
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
,
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 ...
. The Elizabethan mansion was built in 1450, rebuilt in 1852 and refurbished around 1900. Throughout its history it has been a
stately home 300px, Oxfordshire.html" ;"title="Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire">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 To ...
and more recently a
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
. In the 1980s, the building fell into disrepair. In recent years a local businessman conducted renovation and repair work, which was completed in 2019.


History

The area of Llanrumney was given to the monks at
Keynsham Abbey Keynsham Abbey in Keynsham, Somerset, England, was a monastic abbey founded c. 1166 by William, Earl of Gloucester. The abbey was established as a house of Augustinian canons regular, and operated until the dissolution of the monasteries in 15 ...
, in
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, England, after the
Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
. They built a small chapel on the site of what is now Llanrumney Hall. The Elizabethan-style Llanrumney Hall and its estate was originally built in 1450 and is thought that it passed to the Kemys family of
Cefn Mably Cefn Mably () is a district located approximately 6 miles north of Cardiff city centre and 5 miles south-east of Caerphilly. It's mostly within the city and county of Cardiff but is also partly within the Caerphilly County Borough. Notable Buil ...
in the mid-1500s after the dissolution of the Monasteries by
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. William Kemys left the estate to his daughter, who was married to Thomas Morgan. Llanrumney Hall has since been occupied by five generations of the Morgan family, whose ancestral home was
Tredegar House Tredegar House (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Tŷ Tredegar'') is a 17th-century Charles II of England, Charles II-era mansion in Coedkernew, on the southwestern edge of Newport, Wales. For over five hundred years it was home to the Morgan family, late ...
in Newport. Morgan Morgan was the last in the male line and the hall and estate passed by marriage onto the Lewis family in 1726. In the mid-19th century, the hall was occupied by
Edward Augustus Freeman Edward Augustus Freeman (2 August 182316 March 1892) was an English historian, architectural artist, and Liberal politician, a one-time candidate for Parliament. He held the position of Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, where he tut ...
, the
Regius Professor A Regius Professor is a university Professor (highest academic rank), professor who has, or originally had, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Republic ...
of History at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
. It was purchased by Charles Crofts Williams of Roath Court in 1859, who was the hall's last recorded Lord of the Manor. Around 1900 the hall was refurbished. His family lived at the hall until the development of the surrounding housing estate, when in 1934 it was left by his nephew Charles Crofts Llewellyn Williams who died in 1952.FindMyPast: Illustrated London News, 12 Apr 1913, p.494, col.1, "Wills and Bequests" https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001578%2F19130412&page=36&article=125&stringtohighlight=williams+charles+crofts+llewellyn In 1952 the hall was compulsorily purchased by
Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff () is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Administrative divisions of Wales, principal areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...
and it became a remand centre. By 1956, it became a
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
, but the hall fell into disrepair by the late 1980s. There was a plan has been developed by Cardiff Council and CMB Engineering to redevelop the hall into an education and sporting facility at a cost of about £1 million. However, this did not happen and the Llanrumney Hall Community Trust Limited was established in January 2015, since when the building has been developed into a multi-purpose community hub.


Listing status

Many sources list Llanrumney Hall either as a Grade I or Grade II listed building. However the official listing by
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 ...
shows Llanrumney Hall PH (Public House) as Grade II*, and that it was first listed on 19 May 1975.


Myths and legends

Legend has it that the hall is haunted and many local children will not go near it. It is also believed that the hall contains a masonry block with the decapitated body of Llewellyn the Last. Stories also tell of how he was beheaded at the hall and chopped into small pieces and scattered around his house. A common local belief is that
Sir Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan (; – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh people, Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, the List of governors of Jamaica, lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those unde ...
, after whom
Captain Morgan Captain Morgan is a brand of flavoured rums (including, in Europe, some rum-flavoured "premium spirit drinks") produced by British alcohol conglomerate Diageo. It is named after the 17th-century Welsh privateer of the Caribbean, Sir Henry M ...
rum is named, was born in the hall in 1635, but there is little evidence to substantiate this.''Harry Morgan's Way: The Biography of Sir Henry Morgan, 1635–84'', Dudley Pope, Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd, (1977); Morgan was born in
Rhymney Rhymney (; ) is a town and a community (Wales), community in the county borough of Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshir ...
, near
Tredegar Tredegar (; ) is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the Industrial R ...
, in the
South Wales Valleys The South Wales Valleys () are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run northsouth, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys" (), they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the ...
.


See also

* Listed buildings in Cardiff


References


External links


Official website
* {{commons category-inline, Llanrumney Hall Grade II* listed houses in Wales Country houses in Wales Grade II* listed buildings in Cardiff