The Big House , also known as Landshipping House , is a house in Landshipping, Pembrokeshire on the banks of the Cleddau River originally built in 1750 and owned by Owens from Orielton who is an Agent Coal Landshipping. The house was built using stone and roofing material from an older and ruined inland mansion. The building will be a simple rectangular design with an entrance facing South-West, before some changes take place. The last change occurred in 1830 by architect William Owen. Owen adds the third floor to the west wing and moves the entrance to the Northern Facade, between two arcs being added at the same time to face the Cleddau River. The design is inspired by Slebech Hall and Picton Castle. The house remained in place until the late 1800s when the house was damaged and in 1890 it became a ruin. However the cottages in the back remained alive until the 1970s. In 1922, Landshipping Estate, including Big House, was sold at auction.
A document from 1857 describes the Great House as a Bed, Hall, Living Room, Dining Room, Picture Room, Nursery, Library, Waiter's Office, Setting Range, Trainer, Saddle Room & amp; Barns on Top of the Page, External Walled Garden, Gardens, and wooden sets on nearly 6 acres. The current property is set about 2 hectares.
Video Big House, Landshipping
Keluarga Owen
The original house was built around 1750 by the Owen family of Orielton who owns a coal mine in the area. Map 1785 shows Landshipping Estate. This house was drawn as a residence near the river (red arrow) while Owens a much larger residence called "Big House" is on his right.
The Landshipping Estate was passed in 1809 to Sir John Owen (1776-1861). He inherited the property from his cousin, Sir Hugh Owen who died young and unmarried. At this time, the Great House which was once a magnificent house has no roofs and ruins. The problem had begun long before this when Sir Hugh's mother who for years was the guardian of the Estate found that he did not have or would not provide sufficient funds for the maintenance of Landshipping homes. Therefore, in 1790 he arranged for the main rooms of the "Great House" to be closed and the furniture covered with dust sheets. Cooks, housekeepers and other domestic helpers and gardeners and farm laborers are dismissed. A woman Catherine Davies was hired to act as a keeper of the property.
In 1830, Sir John Owen commissioned an architect to make major and additional changes to a smaller house near Quay (red arrow). It is believed that he used the stone from the "Big House" which is now collapsing to make this change. The third floor is added to the west wing, and the entrance is moved to the North facade between two high-full extensions of the front arc. A court service with stables and auxiliaries added back. This change is very similar to the larger Picton Castle on the opposite side of the river.
The house converted into the home of Sir John Hugh Owen's son (1803-1891) Hugh Owen was born in 1803. In 1825 he married the daughter of Angelia Maria Cecilia Morgan, Sir Charles Morgan of Tredegar House, Newport. The 1841 census shows families living in "Big Houses" with their two children and seven helpers. Unfortunately Angelia died in 1844 and Hugh married again in 1845 Henrietta Fraser Rodney's daughter Captain Edward Rodney. The 1851 census shows him at Landshipping with his new family.
Although Sir John Owen is the owner of many plantations, his wealth is declining. He and his son, Hugh, are both Members of Parliament and need a lot of money to keep their seats. In addition there was a disaster mining accident at Landshipping in 1844 which claimed the lives of 40 people. As a result in 1857 they were forced to sell most of their land including Landshipping. Ads for Big House describe it in the following terms.
- "Beautifully situated on the banks of the Cleddy River and opposite Picton Castle which contains - Bedroom, Hall, Living Room, Dining Room, Drawing Room, Nursery, Library, Maid Office, Various Determination, Coach House, Saddle Room & Lumbung Pekar, External Walled Garden, Garden, Wood etc. "
Some time after this sale, Landshipping Estate was bought by the Stanley family.
Maps Big House, Landshipping
Stanley Family
The property was purchased and stored under Sir Edmond Stanley's deceased belief in 1843. The beneficiaries of this Trust are Mary Ann Stanley, daughter of Sir Edmonds and her two sons, Edmond and James. Mary Ann Stanley (1801-1881) is the subject of a recent article by Naomi Clifford. At the age of 14 Mary Ann, the only son and rich heir of Sir Edmond Stanley escaped with Captain Edward Trant Bontein to Gretna Green where they married. The full story can be read here. The couple had two sons Edmond who was born in 1818 and James Talbot was born in 1819. Unfortunately her husband, Captain Bontein died in 1820 and he returned to live with his parents. His sons were named Stanley and he called himself Mary Ann Bontein Stanley.
Sir Edmond Stanley's trust was able to buy property and one of them was Landshipping Estate. For several years in the early 1860s John Talbot Stanley, one of the beneficiaries of the Trust lived in the Big House (later called Landshipping House) and started some mining activities. However this ended in 1865 when he experienced serious personal financial difficulties. Shortly after the lease was awarded by Trust to John Maule Sutton for mining activities. Apparently he stayed at home for several years while he was digging. But in 1867 his company Landshipping Colleries Company was injured by bankruptcy.
In 1868 Isaac John who was a farmer was reported in a newspaper to stay home and in 1878 John Thomas was a resident of the property. But none of them seem to have long lived there.
In 1875 Edmond died and in 1881 Mary Ann died. In 1883 the Landshipping Estate appeared to be owned by two grandchildren Mary Ann, Captain then Major Edward Stanley (1853-1896) and James Douglas Talbot Stanley but still subject to control of the Trust. In 1888, new coal seams were found at Landshipping but little was done to reactivate mines. In 1896 Major Edward Stanley died and James Douglas Talbot Stanley appeared to have become a property owner. In 1914 he gave a lease for the company to mine but this also did not seem to work.
James died in 1918 and in 1922 the Estate is divided into many and sold at auction. By this time, the Great House had been completely destroyed and had not been inhabited for decades.
Media
In 2002, Big House appeared in This Land, a network of BBC TV series directed by Richard Traylor-Smith, when Alun Lewis and then partner Sarah Hoss and their children moved to the scene to start the project; then again in 2005 the family was shown with their project on the BBC Magic Harbors TV series presented by Jamie Owen.
In 2011 The project was featured on episode six of the BBC television series Restoration Home, presented by Caroline Quentin.
In 2012, the house was re-featured in an episode of "Home Restoration: One Year On", Episode Three when the second bay was partially restored.
The website for Big House shows that progress has largely stalled since 2012, due to financial constraints; and, the proposed bed and breakfast is still unopened. The house is a private and private residence. The photos on the website from across the river, and on the Facebook page for the area, show the current state of the building.
References
External links
- http://www.bighouselandshipping.info
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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