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."

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