In 1881 the Head is William SIMONS barrister at law, b Pembrey, Carmarthenshire.
William was my g-grandfather; when he died in 1893 he was apparently the oldest working solicitor in Wales; he had transferred from the Bar at some time. He rented the house and was, so I'm told, very proud of the rose garden he set up. The family history says he moved out in 1888 when Morgan of Bolwood sold the house allegedly "to pay William Simons out for winning the case against me."
His daughter wrote of her memories:
In 1863 my parents moved to Gwainfarren on a lease of 25 years from Morgan of Bolgood, and enlarged the house, and started to make the gardens. How the work of the house was done with only 4 maids, the sewing maid, and laundress I can’t imagine. In the winter 17 fires — if cold 19 — as the passage fires were only lit in really cold weather. Always 12 people in the dining room, and frequently any number more for a ‘party’ and the place always ran on a buttered slide.Gwainfarren was a very old house. Legend said there was a red dragon and a white dragon asleep under the library and each night they woke and fought until daybreak and the curious thing was in certain winds there was a loud moaning noise just outside the windows – the hurt dragon. But as there was a sycamore one side of the house – guard against fairies and an ash the other to ward off witches, things were all right. The walls were about 4ft wide and the doorways from the hall each was in a recess 4ft deep. Library and drawing room had a connecting door as well, dining room had 2 doors the ‘social’ door out of the hall, the service door the other side of the ‘green baize door’ that cut off the schoolroom, girls sitting room, cloakrooms, backstairs, kitchens. 19 fires to be lit every day in winter, more if there were guests and there usually were.
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Topic: Gwaunfarren House (Read 4124 times)