Historic Residence in the Welsh Countryside
This property is on the market for £1,800,000, listed with Savills.
This 18th century mansion in Wales was designed by Royal architect John Nash.
Nash was one of the most prominent architects of the Regency and Georgian era, and he would go on to transform Buckingham House into Buckingham Palace in 1826, in addition to his work on Regents Park, and Trafalgar Square.
Ffynone is considered one of Nash’s “finest private works” and is one of 3 remaining Welsh estates designed by the architect.
He built the Georgian house in 1799 for Colonel John Colby. The property has 13 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and 6 lavish reception rooms, in addition to 3 separate staff apartments on the ground (2 x 3-bedroom, and 1 x 5-bedroom).
The 34 acre estate comes with stables and several greenhouses, with a picturesque setting in the Welsh countryside. The landscaped gardens and parkland are listed on the Cadw Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, the property is accessed through a lovely stone gate and woodland drive.
The house was further expanded in the early 1900s, when his grandson, John Vaughan Colby, went off to hunt bears in Siberia and told his wife, Annie, to update the house as she pleased.
She hired Edwardian architect and garden designer Inigo Thomas, who altered the facade and wings between 1904 and 1907, adding an Italianate Baroque style dining room and ballroom (now the music room).
Thomas transformed the gardens, planting over 60,000 trees on the property, in addition to adding a belvedere stone terrace with grottoes and water features.
The estate belonged to the Colby family for 175 years, until Alice Colby sold it in 1927.
The property was left abandoned until 1988, when the current owners purchased the estate, by then riddled with dry rot and damp.
The recent owners have spent the past 30+ years restoring the property until they sold it in 2018. Ffynone is now looking for a new custodian.
All photos belong to the listing agency.
