Aberglasney

The site was owned for ten generations of a family which by tradition could trace its origins to Elystan Glodrydd "Prince between Wye and Severn," and Gwenllian, granddaughter of Hywel Dda. After the triumphant return of Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth, then owner William ap Thomas who was knighted by the king for his service, gained formal responsibilities in both North and South Wales, and decided to move permanently north to Coed Helen on the North Wales coast. He sold what was then known as Llys Wen to members of the Rudd family sometime around 1600. Funded by the recently appointed Anthony Rudd (c. 1548–1614), Bishop of St David's Cathedral from 1594, the house was reconstructed…

In 1955 the estate was broken up, with tenant farmers acquiring their rented land, while the house and farm was bought by Carmarthen lawyer David Charles. The house remained unoccupied, used occasionally for dances and balls, allowing the damp and decay that had set in under Marianne Pryce's ownership to accelerate. A further sale in 1977 reduced the size of the surrounding lands, in part to fund what became a short-lived effort to restore what was now a vandalised property that was subject to regular architectural theft. When the owners joined this effort by trying to sell the portico legally via Christie's auctioneers, the Welsh Office stepped in with a full prosecution to preserve the…