Wenvoe Castle was a castle and country estate between

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

and

Wenvoe Wenvoe () is a village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward between Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry and Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Nearby are the Wenvoe Transmitter near Twyn-yr-Odyn and the site of the former HTV Wales T ...

, in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

, south

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 ...

. Today the former estate forms the Wenvoe Castle Golf Club.

Goldsland Goldsland () is a small hamlet and farm in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. It is located near the boundary of the Wenvoe Castle Golf Club in the parish of Wenvoe. It lies to the east of Dyffryn and south of St Lythans and the road leadin ...

lies on its western boundary.

History

In the later medieval periods, Wenvoe is recorded as having belonged to three families: De Sully, le Fleming and Malefaunt. However, according to

Clifford Spurgeon Clifford may refer to: People *Clifford (name), an English given name and surname, includes a list of people with that name *William Kingdon Clifford *Baron Clifford *Baron Clifford of Chudleigh *Baron de Clifford * Clifford baronets *Clifford fam ...

, it wasn't until the late 1530s that a castle at Wenvoe was mentioned, when it appeared in Leland's Itinerary. After being

escheat Escheat () is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied t ...

ed to the crown, it belonged successively to the Thomas, Birt and Jenner families. The Thomas family inherited the estate in 1560 when Jevan ap Harpway of Tresimont, Hertfordshire married Catherine, the only daughter and heiress of Thomas ap Thomas. They were prominent figures in the history of Glamorgan, amongst them Edmund Thomas (1633–1677), politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1654 and 1656 and sat in

Cromwell's Upper House The Other House (also referred to as the Upper House, House of Peers and House of Lords), established by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Humble Petition and Advice, was one of the two chambers of the parliaments that legi ...

, Colonel

Charles Nassau Thomas Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

(died April 1820), vice chamberlain to the Prince of Wales (later

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

) and Sir Godfrey-Vignolles Thomas, 9th Baronet (1856–1919). In 1774, the Thomas family fell into debts and sold the estate to Peter Birt, a coal

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

of Yorkshire. Birt ordered the building of a new castle in 1776–77, under the design of

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

, his only building in Wales. The Birts later passed the estate to the Jenner family in 1823/4, who were prominent in 19th century Glamorganshire, and give their name to a district of Barry today,

Jenner Park Jenner Park is a central district of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan 14 miles outside Cardiff in South Wales. It is home to the Jenner Park Stadium, which is the football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degre ...

Robert Francis Jenner Robert Francis Jenner (13 January 1802 – 8 April 1860) of Wenvoe Castle was High Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1828. Family The name "Jenner" is said to be the same as Genor or Genore. The Jenners of Wenvoe traced their ancestry back to Thomas Jen ...

(1802–1860) was

High Sheriff of Glamorgan This page is a list of High Sheriffs of Glamorgan. Sheriffs of Glamorgan served under and were answerable to the independent Lords of Glamorgan until that lordship was merged into the crown. This is in contrast to sheriffs of the English shires w ...

in 1827. Much of the building was obliterated by a 1910 fire. Nonetheless, restored in 1928 with its Georgian appearance, it is now used as the clubhouse. The Wenvoe Castle Golf Club was established in 1936, by the owner of the manor, Hugh Jenner. The castles gardens and park are designated Grade II 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 ...

References

{{Vale of Glamorgan Country houses in Wales Houses in the Vale of Glamorgan Castles in the Vale of Glamorgan Georgian architecture in Wales Houses completed in 1777 Houses completed in 1928 Registered historic parks and gardens in the Vale of Glamorgan