The Lost Mansions of Llantwit Major

Ham House

For over four centuries Ham house stood alone within a secluded spot near the coastline on the outskirts of Llantwit Major. Ham house was the comfortable and spacious home of the Nicoll family who owned the house from its construction during the early sixteenth century right up until the early twentieth century.

We know plenty about the history and deeds of the Nicholl family. For example, many of its members were involved in such upper middle-class professions as law, the clergy and medicine. What we don't know much about however what the original Ham House looked like, although documentary evidence does help to provide clues. For example, by the time of the Glamorgan hearth tax in 1670, one IIItyd Nicholll was taxed for the use of four hearths. IIItyd Nicholl also charitably left a sum of forty shillings to the poor of Llanwit to be distributed upon his death. Various subsequent members of the Nicholl family also it seems bequeathed sums of money to the poor of the parish.

The only image of the original Ham House dates from the mid nineteenth century and depicts the house as positioned on a short elevation. The main entrance is comprised of a steep flight of steps set between two sets of gate piers, both of which are topped with ball finals. The front piers support an elaborately wrought iron gate-a fitting entrance for a house belonging to a prominent gentry family. The house is shown with two gables and sporting a series of eighteenth century sash-windows, suggesting that the original Ham house had been modified somewhat since it was built to keep up with the architectural style of the eighteenth century.

                                               (Ham House C 1850)

Ham House is depicted on a map of Llantwit Major drawn by Iolo Morganwg in the late eighteenth century but, this is unlikely to be an accurate depiction of Ham House owing to the crude way in which all of the buildings have been sketched. Iolo however saw fit to exaggerate Ham house's proportions within the sketch, thereby placing emphasis on the building-and thus the family's importance to the locality.  

                                           (The rebuilt Ham mansion)

The original Ham House was demolished in 1859-63 and re-built on a larger scale in Gothic style designed by architect Sir Digby Wyatt, complete with an ornate garden. A cottage called Ham Lodge was also built at the same time which probably served as a house for one of the Nicholl family’s many employees.

                                  (View of the Ham showing the surviving pool)

In 1921 the Nicholl family after approximately four hundred years of occupation sold their Ham mansion to one Lewis Turnbull. Lewis was a devout Catholic who held regular masses at the Ham. Lewis was the first person to hold open masses within Llantwit Major since the Reformation of the sixteenth century.

Ham House was badly damaged by fire in 1947 and demolished shortly after. The site of the house now comprises a caravan park with the only remnant of the Nicholl family residence left being the lodge and a small piece of its ornate Italianate garden and pond, or as it has recently discovered to be have been, a ‘wallowing pool’. Many of the Nicholl family are buried with the churchyard of St IIIyd’s church where some of their memorials can still be seen.

(View of the Italianate garden at Ham house. The pergola, pool, and loggia remain)

Dimlands House

Ham House is not the only mansion in the vicinity of Llantwit Major to have disappeared within recent memory. Dimlands House, a handsome looking gentry mansion built in mock Tudor style-perhaps to reflect the mass of Tudor architecture to be found within Llantwit Major, once stood off Dimlands road within its own private grounds.

                                          (Dimlands House circa 1850)

Dimlands House was built by the Rev Robert Nicholl Carne who was born at nearby Ham House in 1763. Robert was the sixth son of Whitlock Nicholl (1720-1788). Upon his father's death, Robert was bequeathed 99 acres of land on which he built Dimlands House during the late eighteenth century. Dimlands House was both comfortable and spacious containing two sitting rooms and an impressive Tudor-style staircase-a fitting residence for a gentleman.

The Rev Carne was a keen antiquarian who wrote an early account of the history of Llantwit Major and whom was in regular contact with fellow antiquarian Iolo Morganwg. The Rev Carne was also in possession of a small hoard of Roman silver coins which were accidentally discovered by farm labourers in nearby Eglyws-Brewis in 1798. Rev Robert died at Dimlands House in 1849 and bequeathed Dimlands to his son John Whitlock Nicholl Carne. John was born at Dimlands House, but at the time of his father's death resided at nearby Tresilian house. John undertook a number of modifications to Dimlands during the early 1850’s such as adding a porch, library, the addition of Minton tiles and the construction of a castellated lodge.                        

                        

                           (Dimlands House during the early twentieth century)

Upon the death of John, Dimlands House was subsequently leased to a number of local worthies. These included Sir Mathew Digby Watt in 1875, the architect who designed the newly re-built Ham House, and Tudor Crawshay, a member of the Crawshay Ironmaster family from Merthyr Tydfil; Tudor's family played an integral part of the Industrial Revolution in south Wales. Tudor and his wife resided at Dimlands from 1900 to 1921. Dimlands House was destroyed by fire in 1948.

The lodge at the entrance to the grounds of Dimlands house can still be seen. A part of the coach house and various other features also survive within the former grounds.

©Jonathan and Mark Lambert 2020

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.