Wenvoe Castle

The erstwhile Wenvoe Castle was a large and imposing Georgian mansion set within extensive grounds and landscaped parkland on the outskirts of the village of Wenvoe. Constructed in the 1770's by Yorkshire magnate Peter Birt, Wenvoe Castle and gardens attracted considerable attention from Birt's peers and provoked mixed feelings. Little now remains of this once grand eighteenth century building, which was gutted by fire during the early part of the twenty first century, save for one of its pavilions and stable block. 

The site of Wenvoe Castle is an ancient one. Leland records during his tour of Wales in 1536-1539 that the remains of a medieval castle once stood within in the vicinity. Leyland stated that: ‘the buildinges of Wenuo castelle stonding on a litle hille is downe saving saving one toure and broken waules.' There are other, later sixteenth century references to an apparent castle at Wenvoe, or at least the remains of one. 

                                                               (Wenvoe castle front lawn)

Peter Birt's grand mansion was built upon the site of an earlier mansion constructed by the Thomas family during the early seventeenth. The mansion was complete before the man credited with its construction, Edmund Thomas’s death in 1638. No visual records survive of the seventeenth century Wenvoe Castle. An estate map dating to 1762 however shows us its layout, depicting the house as a substantially long and rambling structure. We also know from the Glamorgan hearth tax records of 1670, that Wenvoe Castle contained 24 hearths, or fireplaces. Not many other houses within Glamorgan could boast this number of hearths.

One James Grimston writing in 1769, has left us with a rather unflattering description of the rambling  seventeenth century Wenvoe Castle recording that: 'Wenvoe, is not at all worth seeing.' James however felt differently about the gardens and stated that: 'the grounds about it being laid out in the modern taste are rather pleasing.' These grounds, which were laid out by Sir Edmund Thomas (1712-67), are in part cited as the cause of the Thomas family’s financial difficulties, with James stating that they, 'show the genius of the father of the present possessor, who, fired with the zeal of electioneering and improving his place, spent here more than the income from his estate would allow; the ill consequences of which the son now experiences in such a manner that he is obliged to pay the debt’s of his father and part with his inheritance.' This must have been a bitter pill for Edmund’s son, also called Edmund Thomas, to swallow, but pay off his father’s debts he did in 1774 when Wenvoe Castle and its estate was sold to wealthy Yorkshire businessman Peter Birt for £41,000.

The unprepossessing seventeenth century Wenvoe Castle was not to Mr Birt’s liking and he had it demolished in 1776-7, replacing it with a new mansion based upon designs drawn up by celebrated architect Robert Adams - his only project in Wales. This new mansion was architecturally unusual in that it deviated from the fashionable neo-classical style of architecture which was popular at this time. Wenvoe Castle was instead built in ‘Georgian Gothic’ style, complete with half-fronted octagonal towers and castellations. 

                                               (A charming effort of bad taste and burgesity) 

The design of the new house elicited mixed feelings from Birt’s peers. The Hon John Byng writing in regards to Birt’s efforts 1787 stated that (Wenvoe Castle), 'exhibits a charming effort of bad taste and burgeosity.' Another contemporary, Benjamin Heath Malkin wrote: 'It is a very large, handsome and commodious house' but finding the Gothic design too Avant-guard stated: 'But I do not, on the whole, accede to the good taste of building modern castles in a county abounding with such magnificent specimens of that architecture.' William Turner on his tour of south Wales in 1798 however felt that Wenvoe Castle was worth taking time to sketch, and it was described by Samuel Lewis in 1833 as being a 'stately mansion-with the grounds laid out in much taste.'

It has been speculated that horticulturalist Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown might have been responsible for the landscaped garden at Wenvoe but, there is no firm evidence for this claim. It is possible that Brown did visit Wenvoe Castle as he was engaged at Cardiff Castle in 1778. Henry Holland was commissioned to design Wenvoe Castle’s stable block and courtyard.

                                               (The surviving pavilion and former gardens)

In 1807 the Jenner family inherited the Wenvoe estate and occupied it into the early twentieth century until a fire destroyed the majority of Wenvoe castle in 1910. The east pavilion of Wenvoe Castle as well as the mansion’s stables have survived, the former of which is now in use as a club-house for Wenvoe Castle Golf Club. Although much of the landscaped garden was altered during the construction of the golf course, it still retains is basic form laid out in the eighteenth century, as well a number of interesting features located within nearby Bear Woods including a serpentine stream and grotto. 

A number of years back an elaborately designed gold seal was found within the vicinity of the house. The seal, which is of rococo design appears to belong to the mid to latter part of the eighteenth century and was perhaps once the possession of Peter Birt himself. 

©Jonathan and Mark Lambert 2019

The right of Jonathan and Mark Lambert to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted, reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic means, including social media, or mechanical, or by any other means including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the authors.