The House from a circa 1840 steel engraving
Built / Designed For: Thomas Johnes
House & Family History: Thomas Johnes, for whom Hafod was built, was a cousin of Richard Payne Knight, one of the champions of the Picturesque Movement, which is why it's not surprising that Hafod was a poster child for the Gothic style Picturesque house. Johnes purchased some fireplaces from William Beckford's Fonthill Abbey that he installed at Hafod; when the Duke of Newcastle purchased Hafod in the early 19th century, he removed the Fonthill fireplaces and had them installed at his primary seat, Clumber Park (demolished 1938). The 1960 book, written by Elisabeth Inglis-Jones, "Peacocks in Paradise: The Story of a House-its Owners and the Elysiam they established there, in the mountains of Wales, in the 18th century," tells the history of Hafod.
Comments: Thomas Lloyd, writing in "The Lost Houses of Wales: A Survey of Country Houses in Wales Demolished Since Circa 1900," says that Haford was "...one of the greatest exercises of the Picturesque Movement."
Architect: Anthony Salvin
Date: 1846-51
Title: Lost Houses of Wales, The
Author: Lloyd, Thomas
Year Published: 1989
Reference: pg. 51
Publisher: London: SAVE Britain's Heritage
ISBN: 0905978277
Book Type: Softback
House Listed: Demolished
Park Listed: Destroyed
Past Seat / Home of: Thomas Johnes, 1786-1818. Henry Pelham Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, early 19th century. Sir Henry de Hoghton, mid-19th century. Waddingham family, early 20th century.
Current Ownership Type: Demolished
Primary Current Ownership Use: Demolished
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No