Cefntilla Court
Cefn Tilla Court is a 19th-century country house (with 17th-century origins) in Llandenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, which was substantially rebuilt by Thomas Henry Wyatt [1] for Richard Somerset, 2nd Baron Raglan. The house is a Grade II* listed building.[2]
| Cefn Tilla Court | |
|---|---|
 "an important Victorian country house" | |
| Type | House |
| Location | Llandenny, Monmouthshire |
| Coordinates | 51.7218°N 2.8618°W |
| Built | 1858, with earlier origins |
| Architect | Matthew Digby Wyatt |
| Architectural style(s) | Tudorbethan |
| Governing body | Privately owned |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Cefn Tilla Court |
| Designated | 31 January 2001 |
| Reference no. | 24741 |
  Location of Cefn Tilla Court in Monmouthshire | |
Richard Somerset's father FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan commanded the British forces during the Crimean War.[3] He died in 1855 and Richard succeeded him, his elder brother having died earlier.[4] In 1858, a large group of the late Lord Raglan's "friends and admirers and comrades"[1]purchased the house and estate as a memorial to him and presented it to Richard and his heirs in perpetuity. Richard engaged Thomas Henry Wyatt to undertake complete rebuilding of the court in a Tudor style.[1]
The house is built of Old Red Sandstone.[1] The interior retains the original Jacobean architecture in the hall; it has an "unusual early Renaissance" hall frieze[5] which came from Usk Priory. The frieze was decorated in the 1930s by FitzRoy Somerset, 4th Baron Raglan, the antiquarian and historian of Monmouthshire, and the author, with Cyril Fox, of the major study of vernacular architecture in the county, Monmouthshire Houses.[5]
FitzRoy Somerset, 5th Baron Raglan died in 2010, and the court, its estate, and its major contents were left to his nephew Henry van Moyland of Los Angeles, while the title passed to the 5th Baron's younger brother Geoffrey.[6] There was a legal dispute between family members in 2014,[7] after which the Raglan collection of military memorabilia from Waterloo and the Crimea was sold at auction by Moyland, for just over £2 million.[8][9] In Spring 2015, the house itself was under offer with a guide price of £1.6 million[10] and was sold in June 2015.[11]
Memorials to members of the Raglan branch of the Somerset family can be seen in Church of St John, Llandenny.[12]
Notes
- Newman 2000, p. 272.
- Good Stuff IT Services (31 January 2001). "Cefn Tilla Court – Raglan – Monmouthshire – Wales". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- Bradney 1992, p. 41.
- Bradney 1992, pp. 41-42.
- Newman 2000, p. 273.
- Devine, Darren (8 February 2011). "The disinheritance of Lord Raglan's nephew and future title holder causes split in family – Monmouth – Local Welsh News – News". WalesOnline. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- Tim Walker (3 August 2012). "Duke of Wellington's treasures in jeopardy". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- "Lord Raglan's collection fetches £2m at auction (From Free Press Series)". Freepressseries.co.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- "The Raglan Collection: Wellington, Waterloo and the Crimea and Works of Art From the Collection of the Marquesses of Londonderry". Christies.com. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- "Property for sale – Llandenny, Usk, Monmouthshire, NP15 | Knight Frank". Search.knightfrank.co.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- "'Why I sold my listed house in Wales, and Wales needs to rethink its approach to historic buildings' by Henry van Moyland". WalesOnLine. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- Mary in Monmouth (8 March 2010). "Mary in Monmouth: LLANDENNY- The Church with the Mystery Saint". Maryinmonmouth.blogspot.com. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
References
- Bradney, Joseph (1992). A History of Monmouthshire: The Hundred of Raglan, Volume 2 Part 1. Academy Books. ISBN 1-873361-15-7.
- Newman, John (2000). Gwent/Monmouthshire. The Buildings of Wales. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-071053-1.