Maesmawr Hall is a historic

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

house, situated to the southeast of

Caersws Caersws (; ) is a village and community (Wales), community on the River Severn, in the Wales, Welsh county of Powys; it was formerly in Montgomeryshire. It is located west of Newtown, Powys, Newtown, halfway between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. ...

, in the historic county of

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

, which now forms part of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

in Wales. It is currently run as a hotel. A long avenue approaches the front of the property from the south.

History

The area around Maesmawr was occupied during Roman times. Due to its location near the banks of the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

, the Romans built a road through the area. A Welsh Long House was once located in the grounds. The hall has the date 1535 painted at the top of the gable over the porch, but this date is likely to be a fairly recent overpainting of the date, which was previously 1717. While the date of construction of Maes Mawr is uncertain, on stylistic grounds it is likely to be either late 17th century or early 18th century. In the early 19th century, it became a notable sporting estate for shooting game. In the 1870s, it was known to have been owned by John Pryce Davies and was owned for many years by his family, and by the Davies sisters in the 1900s. In August 2008, the hall was purchased by John Garner and Nigel Humphryson.

Hotel

Today the hall is used as a hotel with 20 bedrooms and is often hired for wedding receptions, proms and social evenings. The original rooms from the 1535 building have the original beams and uneven floors. In the Victorian period, a wing was added to the hall; those rooms are larger and brighter.

Reputed haunting

The hall has featured in the TV series ''

Most Haunted ''Most Haunted'' is a British paranormal reality television series. ''Most Haunted'' was first shown on Living TV between 2002 and 2010. However, it has since been revived on TV and online, via an official mobile app and YouTube Channel. Pres ...

'' with reports of paranormal activity.

References

Literature

* Pryce T E, ''Half Timbered Houses of Montgomeryshire'', Montgomeryshire Collections XVII. 1884 pp 152–157; * Smith P, and Owen, C E . ''Traditional and Renaissance Elements in some late Stuart and early Georgian Half-Timbered Houses in Arwystli'' Montgomeryshire Collections LV-LVI. 1957–60, pp 101–124. Plan at Fig. 4; * Smith P, ''Houses of the Welsh Countryside'' 1975, p 230 and Maps 10, 19, 30, 33, and 39; * Scourfield R and Haslam R, (2013) ''Buildings of Wales: Powys; Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Breconshire'', 2nd edition, Yale University Press pp 92–3.

Maes Mawr Gallery

File:Maes Mawr, Llandinam 04.JPG, Maes Mawr, South front showing original house File:Maes Mawr, Llandinam 05.JPG, Maes Mawr, Date over porch which has been changed from 1717 to 1535 File:Maes Mawr, Llandinam 12.JPG, Maes Mawr, West wing by W Eden Nesfield, with Dining Room bay window. File:Maes Mawr, Llandinam 07.JPG, Maes Mawr, East gable and porch- jettied upper storey and quatrefoil decoration. File:Maes Mawr, Llandinam 02.JPG, Maes Mawr, Interior ceiling with corner dragon beam. File:Maes Mawr, Llandinam 01.JPG, Maes Mawr, Arts and Crafts fireplace by Eden Nesfield File:Maes Mawr Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1524272.jpg, Maes Mawr Hall - Drive with beech avenue. File:Maes Mawr, Llandinam 15.JPG, Maes Mawr, Specimen trees in garden. File:Maes Mawr Hall grounds.jpg, Maes Mawr Grounds

External links

Hotel website

on CPAT Archwilio * {{usurped,
Revised entry
} on CADW Listed Building Database
Listing Entry
on British Listed Buildings Hotels in Wales Houses in Powys Grade II* listed buildings in Powys Timber-framed houses in Wales Buildings and structures in Powys Reportedly haunted locations in Wales Grade II* listed houses in Wales