Sker House is a historic building in

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 ...

. Originally built as a

monastic grange Monastic granges were outlying landholdings held by Monastery, monasteries independent of the Manorialism, manorial system. The first granges were owned by the Cistercians, and other orders followed. Wealthy monastic houses had many granges, mo ...

of the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

order over 900 years ago, it is situated just outside the town of

Porthcawl Porthcawl () is a town and community in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales. It is located on the south coast, west of Cardiff and south-east of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the South ...

, near

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

. Little remains of the original structure and it was completely rebuilt in the late sixteenth century. Its residential form appears to have been determined by the preceding monastic grange. The house was made famous as the basis of R. D. Blackmore's book '' The Maid of Sker''.

History

Sker House was constructed about 900 years ago as the

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * The Grange (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, built in 1817 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to ...

Neath Abbey Neath Abbey () was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath in South Wales, United Kingdom, UK. It was once the largest abbey in Wales. Substantial ruins can still be seen, and are in the care of Cadw. Tudor period, Tudo ...

. There would have been a farm with outbuildings and barns, accommodation for the

monks who worked there and a chapel. Not much of the medieval house remains but one of the buildings may be preserved as part of the nearby large barn, Tŷ yr Ychen, which is also medieval. In 1543, after the dissolution of the monasteries, the property was purchased by Richard Williams, and soon afterwards repurchased by Christopher Turberville. The original house had a single storey but in the late sixteenth century, under the ownership of Jenkin Turberville, substantial rebuilding took place, probably retaining the layout of the original building. The house now became a gaunt grey three-storey building with attics. The east wing had two large, symmetrically arranged turrets, where the main doors were and through which all the storeys could be accessed. The west wing had several more randomly-placed turrets and towers, one of which housed a staircase to all floors. The great hall occupied the central part of the house on the first floor, and extended upwards into the second floor. There was a parlour on one side of this and living accommodation on the other, while the ground floor housed the kitchens, offices and servants quarters.

Modern times

After the Turbervilles left the property, it was held by absentee landlords and let to a series of tenants and its condition declined. It belonged to the Margam Estate until 1941. After many years of abandonment, the south wing eventually collapsed. Beginning on 31 March 1999, the building underwent a significant restoration. The project ended in July 2003. The house's troubled history continued when the contractors for the restoration ran into massive overspending and went into receivership at the end of 1999. In 2003, the house was sold to

Niall Ferguson Sir Niall Campbell Ferguson, ( ; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson

. It now stands whitewashed in yellow against the backdrop of the barren sands of Kenfig Burrows and the sea. It is a

Grade I listed 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 ...

building, 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 ...

describes it as "one of the major Elizabethan houses of South Wales".

In fiction

Sker House was made famous through a novel written by R.D. Blackmore, '' The Maid of Sker'', published in 1872. It is also reputed to be haunted. Another novel, '' Sker House'' by

Ronald Welch Ronald Oliver Felton TD (14 December 1909 – 5 February 1982), who wrote under the pseudonym Ronald Welch, was a Welsh novelist. He is best known for children's historical fiction. He won the 1956 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association fo ...

, was published in 1955.

References

External links

Building Conservation case studyCutaway drawing of Sker house1990 photos of Sker HouseCountry Life article
{{Authority control Houses in Bridgend County Borough Grade I listed buildings in Bridgend County Borough Reportedly haunted locations in Wales Grade I listed houses in Wales