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Wales (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Wales => Radnorshire => Topic started by: Ruth Gibson on Sunday 15 March 15 22:35 GMT (UK)
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My great grandfather was born in 1834. On the 1841 census the family were living at the Rock House Llanellwedd . Would anyone know anything about this place?
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It is shewn on this map
http://maps.nls.uk/view/101604869
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Now I am back on the tablet I can add a bit more, it is on the left hand edge of the map, find llanelwed and move in a little bit.
It is still shown on the 1949 map, it seems to be a little way up a steep hillside which means I cannot find it on google street view, it would have had good views over the river Wye valley though.
Mike
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Also a bit of intrepid googling shows that the 'Rock House' was used as accomodation for the Victorian Spa Industry.
"Formerly the Rock-house Inn (1825), it was built of stone and had two parlours, one for dining and the other the withdrawing room for the ladies. In 1862, the Rock House Estate was purchased by Mr. Dansey Green"
Did the Thomas family own Rock House at any point, they seem to have been the principal family in this area.
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Hi Mike
Thanks for your help with the Rock House .I am sure my Thomas family did not own this property.
Great great grandfather Peter Thomas was always an ag lab on the census.
Ruth
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HI Ruth,
I thought I posted this reply a couple of days ago but I can't see it here, so off I go again.
I grew up in Llanfaredd, parish neighbouring Llanelwedd. 1/2 a mile from the house in question. I think the house you are taking about is also known as Rock View. The house marked on the map that Mazi has posted is the one I'm calling Rock View. The house is a pair of semi-detached sitting alone on the hillside below the current Llanelwedd Granite Stone Quarry.
When I grew up (1960's) Sid James(he worked in the quarry) & family lived in one of the houses, my mum was a bridesmaid to his daughter when she married in 1947. After Sid, a Mr Jones (quarry manager) lived in one of the houses & his son(Headmaster to Llanelwedd Primary School) lived next door & still lives there. All these people are dead now other than the retired headmaster, who I think owns both houses.
I recently found online a picture of Rock View House, taken sometime in the 1920's by a local Mid-Wales photographer (Percy Benzie Abery 1877-1948), many of his photos are stored in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. You can access the pic' on-line. I put Rock View, Llanelwedd into a search engine (G...le) & it should take you straight to the pic, you can also try National Library of Wales catalogue number: vtls004488737, Notes (acquisition): PBA 13/11.
The house/s looks the same today but with more growth around it & it would mostly be hidden by a roadside hedge from the road when passing.
I don't know anything about the house's history but it is likely to have been owned by one of a local estate owners during the 19thC. In my time, the quarry grounds & this house is built on the quarry hill grounds was owned by the Gwynne-Howell's family, I understand that they did/do? receive a percentage of every ton of stone that leaves the quarry.
Just looked up, Howell Gwynne Howell of Llanelwedd Hall was the High Sherriff of Radnorshire in 1858. Llanelwedd Hall isn't there now but it was where the current Royal Welsh Agricultural Show takes place every July. The quarry wasn't behind Rock View in 1840's, I don't know the date it started but when it did it was to the right (right as in looking at house) of the house, between Rock View & Gellicadwgan Farm. By the 1960's the first quarry area wasn't worked & filled in with water. I understand that my grandfather's job had been to go to work early to pump out the water so quarrying could take place for the day.
Up to 1960's when the local railway line was closed, the quarry was behind Rock View & the stone was sent on elevated belts across the road to below Rock View to be transported by rail. It must have been a very dusty place to live for Sid James family. That's enough babbling!
Any questions?
Ithon
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I've just looked on Google-earth & you can see Rock View with the old quarry with it's blue-green lake filling it in to the right, the massive current quarry behind & the area in front & across the road is where the stone came to access the railway line. You can see the route of the old railway line, it's the straight line running through the fields. The local farmer uses that section as an access road to his fields now.
If you put Llanelwedd Primary School into Google-earth you should get a map. You will see the Royal Welsh show grounds & roadways to the left of the school, zoom in & move right on the map & you will see Rock View standing alone above the A481 road. It looks like it's surrounded by woodland but it's bushes, brambles & overgrowth. Trees tend to be stunted by all the quarry dust & pollution.
Ithon
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Hi Ithon
Thank you for all the information about Rock House. I have looked at the photograph of Rock View and am not sure if this property is old enough for my family to have been living there in 1841. It does seem to be in the right place though. I have found Rock House on Old Maps online from about 1880 to about 1950 but it disappears after that. Thank you again for your help.
Ruth.
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Abery's photo of the house was taken in the 1920's. The house stood there in the 1960's & today is exactly the same building as in Abery's photo.
Since the 1960's there has not been a different house near to the current Rock View house.
I walked most of the quarry grounds from the 1960's. There may have been ruins of buildings along a pathway running parallel with the road, on the north side of the road, between the current Rock View & Llanelwedd corner (junction of A481 & A483) but those ruins could also have been old quarry buildings?
You should be able to judge if it's the same house from the location of the building on the old maps to the location of the current house.
The house was probably well built with local granite stone from the quarry behind! Maybe the house was newly re-built on the original site soon before Abery photographed the house in the 1920's?
Ithon
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Hi Ruth,
This is somewhat delayed from when you first posted your question about Rock House Llanelwedd. Since I last wrote I have been looking through the council records that cover Llanelwedd (Colwyn Rural District Council). I came across the following item & remembered your post on Rootschat. The council meeting minutes for the 9th September 1963 record an item titled 'Re: Rock Cottage, Llanelwedd'.
'The Council considered the condition of the above mentioned house under the provisions of Section 16 of the Housing Act 1957 and the Owner, having through his Solicitors, offered an Undertaking, it was proposed by Councillor A.A. Higginbottom, seconded by Councillor D.E.M.Worts, and CARRIED that the Council accept an Undertaking that the house known as Rock Cottage, Llanelwedd, shall not be used for human habitation until the Council are satisfied that it has been rendered fit for that purpose and cancel the Undertaking'.
Basically the Council were condemning the property. I believe that a later entry indicated that the owner did not challenge the Council order. So it must be from that date that the property slowly fell down.
Rock Cottage/House is clearly not the property I was describing. That semi-detached property which is still standing & occupied I now believe to be called Sunnyside.
I believe that I used to walk past Rock Cottage ruins as a child in the 1970's. The derelict building sat above and very close to the road. About 100yds to the left of Sunnyside & closer to Lugano Bungalow (also still there) which sits below the road. There used to be a very steep set of steps near these ruins that went up from the road to a walkway behind the hedgerow that locals & quarry workers used to use.
Ithon