Tredegar House is a red brick house that dates from the 17th century (during Charles II), and it is located near Newport in Wales. It was owned by the Morgans, one of the most important families in the area. There are nintey acres of grounds to explore at this property, which is maintained by National Trust, and I visited it over the sunny Easter period.
There is a pleasant stroll through the gardens in order to get to the house, although there appears to be a one-way system, and if you go through the house without first going to the stables and orangery, then you have to walk all the wall around the walled estate to get back in. I saw some people going back through the house the opposite way so that they could get back, but I did not realise this.
The spring flowers were in bloom; I am sure that summer is a nice time to visit.
I headed to the house and entered the first room, which was a hall with fine wooden panelling and beautiful carvings.
The dresses on display in the first room were created by volunteers based on a portrait of Rachel wearing the dress. In the early 1700s, pastoral dresses (shepherdess) were fashionable with the wealthy women.
In this golden room, stairs were placed out the window by Courtenay Morgan as an easy way to escape the house to visit the gymnasium that was located in the Orangery.
We saw some 1920s-style dresses in another room.
One of the rooms toward the back of the house was set up as a Punch and Judy room.
The King's Bedroom, draped with a yellow bedspread, was Evan Morgan's room. He inherited the house in the 1930s and was the last owner. He was considered one of the "Bright Young Things" in the 1920s and interested in art, the occult/magic, and Catholicism. He worked with carrier pigeons during World War II but got into trouble for telling secret information to Girl Guides. He was openly gay so never produced an heir, despite being married twice, and the property went to Newport Council in 1951. In 2012, it is on lease to the National Trust.
In one of the storage rooms were old appliances, such as a Hoover vacuum that reminded me of the one my grandmother owned that always frightened me.
The red bedroom belonged to actress Lois Sturt, who married her friend Evan in 1927. They eventually separated in 1937, and she died soon after as she wanted to restart her acting career but took drugs.
The other lady who married Evan was Olga Dolgorouky, child of a Russian aristocratic family who fled Russia. She was a society girl and married Evan, who was 22 years older than her, for financial gain. They had a short marriage, and she lived in the house during World War II. She did contribute to the war effort and volunteered at the hospital.
Tredegar House has an interesting series of rooms that help to document the lives of the workers who lived and worked at the house.
The Game Larder, which was closed...
The Still Room was where the maids worked on creating jams, pickles, scones, and fruit cakes for the afternoon tea. This room was located next to the Maid's Sitting Room to ensure that they could keep an eye on the jams so that they would not boil over.
The pictures above and below are the maid's sitting room.
The above picture shows the expensive spices and other ingredients, which could only be opened by the head house keeper.
The Servant's Hall is in the courtyard, and it was large enough to accommodate the servants and their families and friends as well as servants belonging to other house guests. The grandest servant dance was Servant's Ball on Twelfth Night. It was even attended by tenant farmers and tradespeople of the estate. It was always opened by head of the family who entered at the stairs, and Lord Tredegar would take the Housekeeper on the first dance. (Above is the servant's hall.)
There was a courtyard outside with a shop and some flower beds with some modern buildings.
The Orangery is pictured above.
The view of the house above is taken from outside and about three-hundred meters from the side of the lake where there is a boathouse.
The other side of the Orangery contains the stables.
Below is a view walking toward the entrance to the house.
I hope to visit Tredegar House again sometime to see the gardens and to visit more of the rooms of the house that were not open during my visit.
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