There’s a packed weekend of stories of Wales with live music, traditional crafts, a family trail, and delicious Welsh food at this mansion house
We love a historic manor house and luckily there are plenty of grand abodes to visit in Wales, including a beautiful property in Newport that’s open to the public.
Cared for by the National Trust, Tredegar House is one of the architectural wonders of Wales and one of the most significant late 17th-century houses in the British Isles.
Situated on 90 acres of glorious gardens and parkland the delightful red-brick house provides an ideal setting for a family day out.
This weekend you can visit Tredegar House for free St David’s Day celebrations. Join the Tredar House team for a packed weekend of stories of Wales with live music, traditional crafts, a family trail, and delicious Welsh food, funded by the Welsh Government.
Some of the free events and entertainment over the weekend include Love Spoon Clay Craft, Sally’s Angels Choir, Welsh Folk Dancing, harpist Loraine Lutman, bilingual storytelling with Christine Watkins, and Border Lacemakers.
This event and access to the parklands are free but there is an admission charge to step inside the mansion house and gardens. A family ticket (two adults and up to three children) costs £38.50 and dogs are welcome almost everywhere on a lead.
It’s worth visiting the mansion house and gardens to learn more about the property and the family that lived there.
According to the National Trust the large house was home to one of the greatest Welsh families, the Morgans, later Lords Tredegar, for more than 500 years.
At the end of the 18th century the Morgan family owned more than 40,000 acres in Monmouthshire, Breconshire, and Glamorgan. Their lives affected southeast Wales socially, economically, and politically and also influenced the area’s heritage. Never miss a Newport story by subscribing to our newsletter here
In 1951 Tredegar House, with most of its contents and surrounding estates, was sold to the Catholic Church. It was first used as a convent school and later became a comprehensive school.
For more than 20 years,Tredegar House served as a school until 1974 when Newport City Council bought it. In 2012 the council leased the house to the National Trust, which now cares for its historic buildings, unusual gardens, and vast parkland.
Since then Tredegar House has been restored and re-furnished with many original pieces.
Today its historic walls feature portraits of the family and the rooms are dressed to reflect different points in the house’s history, from the late 17th century to the 1930s.
Step inside and you can wander through the 17th-century rooms, which feature fine oak panelling with exceptional carving and ornate plasterwork, moulding, and gilding.
In the glistening Gilt Room, you can look up at the only surviving 17th-century plaster ceiling. Visit the New Parlour where you can play games, create your own stories with shadow puppets, or even dress up as one of the Morgans.
Then there are the oak panel carvings in the Brown Room where you should look out for serpents, lions, griffins, and weird and wonderful creatures.
In the Great Kitchen you can imagine all the work that went into preparing one of the many Morgans’ lavish feasts. You can also take a peek at 1930s bedrooms including the Best Chamber, which has the best views of the whole estate.
One of the biggest draws, though, is the vast parklands and gardens, which include sweeping lawns, towering woodland, orchards, and an ornamental lake.
The largest of the three gardens, the Orchard Garden, is worth a wander and has a bountiful orchard full of apple trees and a hidden pathway.
This eye-catching Orangery Garden is bordered by topiary, and the sweet scents of citrus and pear blossoms are available to enjoy as you wander.
For kids the shaded woodland is popular for hide-and-seek while the lake is home to swans, grebes, moorhens, and ducks.
You may fancy a wander down Oak Avenue, stretching out from the 17th-century house gates and over the crest of the hill towards Ruperra Castle, once a summer home of the Morgan family. Dogs are also welcome.
There’s also a second-hand bookshop where you can browse a selection of donated books and it’s also possible to visit the charming Brewhouse café.
Originally the home of the Morgan family’s horses the building was later transformed into a brewery for the Morgans.
Seasonal and locally-sourced menus are freshly prepared daily and all profits go back into conserving Tredegar House.
For more information about the free events visit the website.