TREDEGAR HOUSE Newport - South Wales

Tredegar House originally built in the 16oo's was the country home of the Morgan family who lived there for several hundred years until the 20th century. The Morgan family were very influential in South Wales and later became the Lords Tredegar.  The house was finally sold in 1951 and then became a Catholic convent school until 1974 when it was purchased by Newport Corporation Council.

The Guilt Room

National Trust took over management of the house and estate from Newport Council in 2012.
The house was Listed a Grade I property in 1952.



HEATING INSTALLATION
Despite the changes in ownership during the 20th century the the original wet heating system appears
not to have been updated. The original system was installed sometime before World war I. Radiators on
the lower floor are cast iron sectional pattern fitted under windows concealed within window seats.
Radiators on the upper storeys are 2 and 4 column cast iron sectional bearing the name 'Princess"
that were manufactured by the Beeston Boiler Company. A nameplate with J Jeffreys London is attached
to an upstairs radiator giving the company's name who installed the building's engineering systems.
     

The original boiler plant has been removed and replaced with two condensing pattern gas fired boilers of
French manufacture. All the earlier pipework was removed and renewed.

  

One remnant from the earlier system was found in the basement area.
The partial remains of an accelerator pumping unit with its non-return valve.


Any accelerator pumping unit is now a very rare item of 100 year old engineering history and should be preserved and protected.



FIREPLACES

  Below is a small selection of the open fireplaces that have very ornate pattern
Victorian tiled surrounds that heated several of the upper floor rooms.





VENTILATION

In the New Parlour ground floor room two brass ventilating grilles each complete with a
'hit & miss' type control damper are fitted in the timber floor. There is therefore the possibility
that these grilles could have formed part of an earlier warm air heating system fed by a solid
fuel stove sited in the basement below.







DOMESTIC HOT WATER SERVICES

A central hot water supply system with a cylinder fed the various sinks and wash hand basins.
Of particular interest is the drench shower installed over the bath in the COW Bathroom.

The drench shower was manufactured by	Royal Doulton Company of London

The various valved controls allowed the occupant to select hot or cold or mixed water temperature providing either a spray or full shower.


This towel rail was fabricated from brass tube and fittings and then
assembled using soldered fittings with union joints.

 

SANITARY WARE
Two of several decorative wash hand basins fitted in vanity units in first floor bathrooms

shallow ceramic sink on brickwork piers in the servants area

KITCHEN EQUIPMENT

main kitchen open fire with wall mounted spit and hangers

small kitchen stove, range and oven

solid fuel fired steam raising plant for process steam required in cooking

FIRE FIGHTING
A wet riser fire main installation using several cast iron water mains are sited around the building serving
hose reels and landing valves with a selection of nozzles. The property was therefore provided with a
high level of fire prevention should the need arise.


A very early example of a hand operated mobile four-wheeled fire pump with the wording TREDEGAR 1820 is sited in a lower floor room.





SERVANTS CALL SYSTEM

Two servants call systems are sited in their original locations in the building.

The earliest system used a network of wires and pulleys to operate bells fitted in the ground floor Bell Passage corridor.





The later call system was electrical with two annunciator panels also located in the Ground floor bell Passage corridor.
A third panel is sited in the servants area second floor level




PHONE BOX


A very unusual example for the time period of a telephone box sited inside a property.
Most likely to give the occupant secrecy when making / taking a phone conversation.
Manufactured by the Sterling Telephone Company London it must rate as an early
example of a Country House personal telephone kiosk 

blanked off wet riser with outlet valve in internal courtyard

hand operated water pump and gas standard in internal courtyard

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