Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

WILLIAM RITSON COULTART AND THE LLANERCHAERON BILLIARD ROOM Llanerchaeron mansion, now in the custodianship of the National Trust is known chiefly for its importance as a villa by the architect John Nash. Several lines of evidence suggest the house was designed around 1792 and that the farm and stable buildings and many estate cottages were built or improved during the ensuing years. The impetus for this major redesign of the Llanerchaeron estate undoubtedly came from the marriage of William Lewis to the Nanteos heiress Corbetta Williama Powell in 1786 (a marriage which brought a dowry of £ 5000) and to his inheritance of the Llaniron estate in 1789 on the death of his ailing father, John. During William and Corbetta's married life together their new house was a focus of social activity involving many local gentry families, and home to their two children, Williama (who married William Lewes of Llysnewydd) and John, who eventually inherited on the death of his father in 1828.2 Billiards was not however among the entertainments available to the fam- ily and guests of William Lewis; they rode, shot, sailed, visited Bath and reg- ularly went to Aberystwyth for the races in August and September. John Lewis certainly partook of all the entertainments open to a young bachelor, and indeed was one of the Trustees who developed the Assembly Rooms at Laura Place in Aberystwyth.3 This handsome building by George Repton provided facilities for dancing and cards. It was after the marriage of Major John Lewis of Llanaeron in 1841 to the young Mary Ashby Mettam that the billiard room at Llanerchaeron was built. Estate rentals and accounts show that on 13 February 1843 stone mason David Price was paid £ 20 12s. for building it.4 The identity of the architect has been hitherto unknown. John Lewis' personal bank book with the National & Provincial Bank reveals that a single payment of £ 20 was made on 20 December 1845 to Mr Coultart.5 It is reasonably certain that this payee, who at no other time received a payment from Lewis, was William Ritson Coultart, Architect, who worked in Aberystwyth from 1836 to 1849.6 Coultart resided in North Parade, Aberystwyth, and baptised four children at St Michael's Aberystwyth between 1838 and 1844.7 His known works include Llanafan Church, Aberystwyth Town Hall in the Grecian style, and supervision of the implementation of Salvin's new wing at Hafod. He also drew up a number