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The Argoed, Penallt
House in Penallt, Monmouthshire From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Argoed, Penallt, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a Victorian country house dating from the 1860s, with earlier origins from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It is a Grade II* listed building and the garden is listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The English meaning of the Welsh word argoed is 'by a wood'.
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History
In the 17th century the house was the home of the Proberts, local landowners, members of parliament and High Sheriffs of Monmouthshire.[a][2] Richard Potter, Chairman of the Great Western Railway and father of Beatrice Webb, bought the house in 1865 and undertook extensive rebuilding.[3] Beatrice Webb was a founder member of the Fabian Society and, in the later 19th and early 20th centuries, she entertained many prominent friends at the Argoed, including George Bernard Shaw.[4] Shaw is rumoured to have written his plays The Man of Destiny and Mrs. Warren's Profession whilst staying at the house.[5] In the 1980s, the Argoed was owned by Robert Plant of the rock band Led Zeppelin.[3]
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Architecture
The architectural historian John Newman describes the Argoed as "a large, two-storeyed stone house (and) a tantalizing one."[6] The central block is original and irregular, its "windows all 18th century sashes."[6] Potter's re-building included a larger block to the south and a service wing to the north.[6] The interior has been greatly reconstructed. The grounds are largely from the 19th and 20th centuries, though they include "17th century terraces of potential archaeological interest."[4] The triangular plot has gardens which include wide gravel drives, formal lawns, terraces and ha-has which look out over the Wye valley.[4] The gardens are listed at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales[7] and are recorded by the RCAHMW on their Coflein database.[8]
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Notes
References
Bibliography
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