Editing Gregynog Hall

{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}

{{Infobox building
| name             = Gregynog Hall
| image            = Gregynog Hall, Tregynon, near Newtown, Powys, Wales, UK.jpg
| caption          = Gregynog (pronounced "greh-gun-og")
| location         = Tregynon
| location_town    = Tregynon
| location_country = Wales
| coordinates      = {{coord|52|34|07|N|03|21|14|W}}
| altitude         = 200m
| map_type         = Wales
| map_caption      = Gregynog Hall within [[Wales]].
| map_dot_label    = Gregynog Hall
| map_dot_mark     = Cadw logo square.svg
}}

'''Gregynog''' ({{IPA|cy|ɡrɛˈɡənɔɡ}}) is a large country mansion in the village of [[Tregynon]], {{convert|4|mi|km}} northwest of [[Newtown, Powys|Newtown]] in the old county of Montgomeryshire, now [[Powys]] in mid [[Wales]].  There has been a settlement on the site since the twelfth century. From the fifteenth to the nineteenth century it was the home of the Blayney and Hanbury-Tracy families. In 1960 it was transferred to the [[University of Wales]] as a conference and study centre by [[Margaret Davies]], granddaughter of the nineteenth century industrial magnate and philanthropist, [[David Davies (industrialist)|David Davies 'Top Sawyer']] of [[Llandinam]].
[[File:Crygynnog house, watercolour.jpg|thumb|250px|Grygynnog house, before it was rebuilt in the 1840s]] The gardens and park surrounding the house are listed at Grade I on the [[Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales]].

==History==
The original mansion was rebuilt in the 1840s by [[Charles Hanbury-Tracy, 1st Baron Sudeley]]. Its concrete cladding, designed to replicate the black-and-white [[Timber framing|timber-framed]] architecture of Montgomeryshire farmhouses, is among the earliest examples of concrete use in building in the modern era. The Sudeleys were also pioneers of the use of concrete in the building of new cottages and farmhouses on the Gregynog estate, and many [[Cadw]]-listed examples can still be seen in Tregynon and the surrounding countryside. At its largest, the Gregynog estate was over {{convert|18,000|acre|km2}} in extent, but the estate was broken up in 1913, leaving the mansion with {{convert|750|acre|km2}} of farms, woodlands and formal gardens. The sunken garden and [[arboretum]] are of particular note.<ref>Hughes, Glyn Tegai (ed.) ''Gregynog''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1977</ref> The gardens and park are listed at Grade I on the [[Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales]].<ref>{{NHAW|uid=347|num=PGW(Po)33(POW)|desc=Gregynog|class=HPG|access-date=6 February 2023}}</ref>

==Gregynog and the Davies sisters==
[[Image:Gregynog Hall built in its present form in the 1840s.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Gregynog Hall built in its present form in the 1840s]]
Gregynog was bought by Margaret and her elder sister [[Gwendoline Davies]] in 1920 with the intention of establishing a centre of excellence for the arts, crafts and music which would enrich the lives of the people of Wales in the aftermath of the World War One.<ref>White, Eirene  ''The Ladies of Gregynog''. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985</ref> It became famous for music, fine printing and for the sisters' art collections which they bequeathed to the nation. These can now be seen in the Davies Galleries of the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.<ref>Ingamells, John ''The Davies Collection of French Art''. Cardiff: National Museum of Wales, 1967</ref> 

Theirs was one of the most important British collections of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting acquired before 1920.<ref>Sumner, Ann ''Colour and Light: 50 Impressionist Paintings in the National Museum of Wales'' Cardiff: National Museum of Wales, 2005</ref> Their advisor [[Hugh Blaker]] was the younger brother of their governess Jane Blaker.<ref>Meyrick, Robert 'Hugh Blaker: Doing his bit for the Moderns’, ''Journal of the History of Collections'', Vol. 16, No. 2, Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 173–189</ref> The French collection was only one aspect of their interests – it hung at Gregynog alongside Old Masters, prints by Dürer, Rembrandt and Whistler, Chinese and Islamic ceramics, contemporary hand-made furniture commissioned by the sisters, Welsh vernacular furniture as well as contemporary ceramics and crafts.<ref>MacIntyre, Beth ''Sisters Select: Works of Art on Paper from the Davies Collection"  National Museum of Wales, Cardiff 2001</ref> Seen as a whole, the sisters' collections are a tribute to the multiplicity and catholicism of their tastes.<ref>Fairclough, Oliver, Anne Sumner; Robert Meyrick, et al. ''Things of Beauty''. Cardiff:   National Museum of Wales, 2007</ref>

The [[Gregynog Music Festival]], Wales's oldest surviving classical music festival, was established in 1933 by the Davies sisters, with the advice of their friend and advisor, [[Walford Davies|Sir Henry Walford Davies]] (later Master of the King's Music). Many famous names are associated with the Gregynog Festivals, including [[Gustav Holst]], [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]], [[Edward Elgar]] and [[Adrian Boult|Sir Adrian Boult]]. The Festival is still held at Gregynog every June. In more recent years, leading international artistes have performed at Gregynog, including [[Benjamin Britten]] and [[Peter Pears]].<ref>Parrot, Ian ''The Spiritual Pilgrims''.  Pembrokeshire: H. G. Walters Ltd., 1968</ref> The sisters also established the [[Gregynog Press]], which still exists under the name of [[Gwasg Gregynog]], and is famous for its limited edition hand-printed books with fine bindings and exquisite wood-engraved illustrations.<ref>Harrop, Dorothy ''The History of the Gregynog Press''. Pinner: Private Libraries Association, 1980</ref>

Gregynog is also home to the annual [[Gregynog Young Musicians Competition|Young Musicians Competition]] which attracts participants from all over Wales and beyond.

;Photos taken in the 1900s by [[Percy Benzie Abery]]
<gallery>
Gregynog Hall, Tregynon (1293366).jpg
Gregynog Hall, Tregynon (1294525).jpg
Gregynog Hall, Tregynon (1294711).jpg
Gregynog Hall, Tregynon (1294304).jpg
</gallery>

==Gregynog today==

Since Margaret Davies's gift of Gregynog to the University of Wales in 1960, the hall has hosted  conferences, seminars and summer schools from every academic discipline. The growing understanding of the ecological importance of the grounds, especially the ancient woodlands, has led to their designation in March 2013 as a [[National nature reserves in Wales|National Nature Reserve]]. The training [[apiary]] of the Montgomeryshire Beekeepers Association is also situated in the Gregynog grounds.

The "Gregynog Statistical Conference" has been held annually over Easter at Gregynog Hall since 1965.<ref name="warwick1">{{cite web|url=http://www.warwick.ac.uk/gregynog/past |title=Past Gregynog Statistical Conferences |publisher=University of Warwick |date=15 September 2015 |accessdate=27 October 2015}}</ref> Established by [[Dennis Lindley]] during his tenure at Aberystwyth, Gregynog Hall has welcomed a number of internationally renowned statisticians, some of which include [[Henry Daniels (statistician)|Henry Daniels]], [[David Cox (statistician)|David Cox]], [[Peter Bickel]], [[David George Kendall|David Kendall]], [[George Alfred Barnard|George Barnard]], [[John Nelder]], [[Brad Efron]], [[Adrian Smith (statistician)|Adrian Smith]], [[Peter Donnelly]], [[David Spiegelhalter]] and [[Julian Besag]].<ref name="warwick1"/>

The Hall continues to operate as an historic house conference centre and now wedding venue, offering tourist accommodation for visitors to the gardens and grounds. Following institutional changes within the University of Wales the future of Gregynog as a national centre for excellence in the arts, education and culture of Wales is soon to be protected by its establishment as an independent charitable trust.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wales.ac.uk/en/UniversityConferenceCentre/GregynogHall.aspx |title=Gregynog |publisher=Wales.ac.uk |accessdate=27 October 2015}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Gregynog Hall.jpg|Gregynog Hall
File:Gregynog Hall2.jpg|Gregynog Hall
File:Gregynog Hall3.jpg|Gregynog Hall
File:Gregynog-House.jpg|Gregynog House
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of gardens in Wales]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.wales.ac.uk/en/UniversityConferenceCentre/GregynogHall.aspx Gregynog]
* [http://www.gwasg-gregynog.co.uk/ Gregynog Press]
* [http://www.aber.ac.uk/interpol  Aberystwyth University Department of International Politics]

{{Coord|52|34|03|N|3|21|08|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}}

{{University of Wales}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:University of Wales]]
[[Category:Culture of Wales]]
[[Category:Country houses in Powys]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Powys]]
[[Category:Registered historic parks and gardens in Powys]]