A Tudor house, the home of a branch of the Kemeys family, once stood on this site, on high ground overlooking a meander in the River Usk. In the 1830s a new mansion was built in the Neoclassical style and the existing house, which had incorporated part of the original Tudor building, was repurposed as its service wing
1905 a disastrous fire destroyed most of the house, although Newport's fire brigade managed to save the oldest part - the service wing. In this contemporary illustration the owner, PE Morel, is seen watching on, with sundry rescued artifacts next to him
A local legend that a disgruntled and inebriated relative was to blame for the fire is unlikely to be true as only the owner and a handful of servants had been present
This photograph, taken in 1909, shows a person viewing the consequent dereliction. The shell of the building deteriorated much further over the following decades due to both natural and man-made causes
The house was set in a landscaped parkland, and the 19th Century gardens included a wild woodland garden, incorporating streams and footpaths, as well as a walled kitchen garden and small pleasure gardens. John Thorneycroft made this sketch plan of what remained in 1969 to accompany his photographs of the ruins and his survey of the site
Ivy and trees almost obscuring the shell of the building in 1969. The parkland had become farmland, and the service wing a farmhouse
The physical delapidation was further exacerbated in 1956 by the farmer quarrying stone from the facade to provide hard core for a driveway (1969)
Fallen stonework and large gaps in the facade (1969)
The estate's old cider mill and stable block (1969)
Beginning in 1999 the house was rebuilt as a private residence, omitting the second floor
The restored house and surrounding parkland in 2009
