Ewenny Priory House is a privately owned Georgian mansion located immediately to the south of Ewenny Priory church, at Ewenny, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Originally built in 1545 it was rebuilt in the early 1800s.[1] The house is Grade II* listed.
History and description
The original house was built after 1545 by Sir Edward Carne, who had purchased the Ewenny Priory buildings after it had been dissolved by King Henry VIII.[2] The two-storey Tudor mansion had fallen into disrepair by the 1780s.[1]
Between 1803 and 1805 a new house was built on the site of the south wing of its Tudor predecessor, with two storeys over a basement, five horizontal bays with a central projecting entrance porch reached by a flight of stone steps.[1] Well known London architect John Nash is put forward as the possible designer.[2] The west wing of the Tudor house was retained and, with other buildings, forms a courtyard to the rear of the main house. An arch leads through the wing. A third storey was added to the west wing in the 1890s.[1]
The interior of the main house is well preserved retaining its original features - ornate plasterwork, fireplaces, door frames, and a cantilevered stone staircase in the main entrance hallway.[2]
The mansion became a Grade II* listed building in 1963 for its "great historic interest of its origins, and for its particularly fine well-preserved interior".[2]
The house and grounds are currently used as a wedding venue.[3]
