Welsh Journals

Owen25, High Sheriff in 1908, whose family remained at Glansevern until 1950. His son, Stephen P. F. Humphreys-Owen (1908-1960) served during the Second World War with the Royal Air Force, being mentioned in despatches. A distinguished crystallographer in the Birkbeck Laboratory in the University of London, he died unmarried and the family became extinct in the male line. In April 1951 the house and 110.9 acres were sold to Mr Robert Gordon Barker, a timber merchant, during whose ownership a proportion of the timber was sold and parts of the house let out as flats. In May 1965 the house and part of the land (some 83 acres had been sold to Mr W. E. Jerman of Garthmyl Farm in January 1964) were sold to Mrs C. J. Handley whose family lived there for about five years. It was sold again in September 1970 to Mr and Mrs R. A. Pele-Massy, who also bought back some land from Mr Jerman, making the estate up to 431/2 acres. It has changed hands twice since- in July 1977 when it was acquired by Mr and Mrs A. G. Jones, and in 1982 when it was bought by the present owners, Mr and Mrs R. N. Thomas. Ever since the days of Sir Arthur Owen successive generations have discussed and planned innumerable alterations to the house, many of which were never carried out. Servant quarters were added in 1849, and a nursery was installed over the kitchen in 1850. 'The mansion' it was recorded in 187526, 'was much enlarged and improved by its late possessor' (William Owen), but the details of the improvements are unrecorded. In 1913 it was proposed to insert a bay window above the porch, add an extension wing for a dining room and surround the whole frontage with a low wall27. In 1922 the Llandyssul architect, E. Holford Mills, talked of converting the kitchen into something of the style of an Elizabethan hall, but 'the local council won't advance any money out of their accounts, and the Ministry apparently haven't a loan, but insist on local authorities levying a penny rate — a matter about which the latter are very indifferent.' So the plans, perhaps fortunately, came to naught. Some of the original contents of the house are now at St Fagan's: much else was sold by auction in 1951; but the library has retained the Elizabethan oak panelling which may have come from Montgomery Church and parts of an even earlier screen29 which certainly came from Llangurig Church in 1836. Little seems to be on record concerning the layout of the gardens. The plan for the walled kitchen garden was agreed in 1805 and the wall still stands. There is a plan of the gardens as a whole, dated November 1880, and a small sketch listing the various plants envisaged, dated 18 December in the same year. Both are signed by Edward Milner who 'as the colleague for many years of Sir Joseph Paxton was concerned in all the latter achievements carried out by that distinguished man'.30 It would appear that these plans were for a proposed layout rather than of what already existed. At a later stage the grounds fell into neglect, but this was subsequently rectified, the lake being cleaned at the same time. During more recent ownership much has been done to restore both house and grounds to a state approaching their original beauty. 25See Mont. Coll. vol. 70, p.54. 26T. Nicolas. 'Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Familis of Wales', 1875 ed:, p.826. 27The original iron railings which still mark the boundary of much of the front garden were made in sections 6 feet long and 2 feet 10 inches high for 9/6d a section. 28Including a 6'12 feet carved oak open bookcase for £ 3-10/- and a pair of framed sheriffs banners for 30/ "Illustrated in Mont. Coll. vol. 2, p.252; and vol. 32, p.27. 30Milner's son, who worked closely with his father, described him with filial piety as having 'designed and completed many of the finest works of the kind that have ever been produced, not only in this country, but in various notable places on the continent of Europe. By the prosecution of his art in such extended practice, he attained a purely exceptional experience, the opportunity for which ripened his artistic powers; and without question he was enabled to illustrate by his works a steady advance of the art which is essentially English.' — Henry Ernest Milner. 'The Art and Practice of Landscape Gardening.' 1890, Preface.