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WELSH COUNTRY HOMES. ..

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WELSH COUNTRY HOMES. XLVI.-Nash Manor. — rt HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS. Carne Family Memoirs. COWBRIDGE SCENES IN TUDOR DAYS. Nash Manor, the home of the Carne Family, is one of the most interesting examples of ancient domestic architecture in the Vale of Glamorgan. There were Carnes of Nash in the 15th century, and Carnes are the possessors of the pretty old Manor House and its surround- ing landsto-day. It is not a large house, but what it may lack in respect of size it more than makes up in the matter of comfort. With the possible exception of St. Fagans Castle, we have been into no other ancient home in the County of Glamorgan, in which modern ideas of cosiness and comfort have been so skilfully introduced into a Tudor environment. NASH MANOR-THE SOUTH FRONT. (Ph<)lo. Mile< Bridgend. ) An Exposed Position. ] The main road across -1 the Vale," from the basin of Cowbridge, in a west and southerly direction, to ancient Llantwit, reaches its greatest altitude about midway, where for a space of nigh a mile, it is within the 300 feet contour line. It is a bleak, windswept region, with scant vegetation in most parts, so that you feel, as Carlyle did, somewhat inclined to quibble with the term "Vale." But here, on the highest part of the track, where you are above the level of Penlline, you mark, upon the left-hand side of the roadway as you drive south, a patch of unexpected verdure. Some, hardened old forest trees, and gaunt Scots firs, rise behind the ancient stone wall, which once marked the confines of a stately deer park. Hre, in the breeziest of situations, stands Nash Manor, the old home of the Came family. It. is well protected on its western side by this belt of trees, and the growth of the vegetation—for all the branches point east— is indicative of the fierceness of the wind, when westerly gales roar across from Wick and the Dunraven cliffs. j NASH MANOR-HE ENTRANCE HALL. (Photo. Miles, Bridgend.) Nash Manor in Ancient Days. Nash Manor was formerly known as Little Nash," Osmon's Ashe," and sometimes the name was Latinised as Parva Fraxina." It was a grange or farm, within the Lordship of Llantwit, pertaining to the Bishopric of Llandaff. The early Celtic inscribed stones at Nash may be taken as evi- dence of a pre-Norman religious foundation. At a later period also, a religious community was seated there, and the chapel remains to this day. There was, of course, a monastic establishment at Monk Nash, three milesaway in a south westerly direction, and traditonally, Nash was a sisterhood in connection with it. The exact period at which Nash ceased to be occupied as a religious house is unknown. but during the 14th century it was leased under the Bishops of Llandaff by a younger branch of the Giles family, who were for i Lenturies Lords of the Manor of Gileston, and who gave to the village, the name which it still bears. j ASH MAN 6R—THE DRAWING ROOM. Note the big Ceiling Beams and t the Tudor Fireplace. (Photo, iles, Bridgend.) The Carne Family. According to the old genealogists the family of Carne sprang from that Ynyr Fychan who, tradition says, succeeded his slain brother Ithel as Prince of Gwent, ajid whose descendants, though conquered by the Norman invaders, still retained a high social position and con- siderable landed property. It is believed that the surname Carne was given to one of Ynyr's descendants from Pen Carne, which may have been either his residence or birthplace. Eighth in descent from Ynyr Fychan was Sir Thomas Carne, Knight of the Sepulchre, of Nether Gwent, and three generations later in the early 15th century, Howel Carne of Cowbridge married a daughter of John Giles of Nash. Howell Carne ob- tained a further 'lease of the Manor of Nash from Bishop John WVlls in 1432, and his grand- son who bore the same name purchased the Manor in perpetuity from Bishop George Athequa, in 1521, The second Howell Carne espoused a Kemeys of Newport. Leland, who passed that way a decade later, refers to a place caullid the Assche, and there is a park of falow deere." The Carries in Tudor Times. Let us digress a few moments, to take a peep at the Carnes in Tudor times, utilising as our authority, some sidelights from the Star Cham- ber cases. On one occasion Sir Rice Mansell sent three of his servants to Cow- bridge, to the house of Davyth Thomas Lloyd," to wait for William Carne, and they assaulted and beat him grievously. This William Carne,though of Nash," is supposed to have also had a house in the Market Place at Cowbridge. A year later, George Herbert of Aberga- venny and Swansea, approached Cowbridge with his retinue of eight servants, when he turned aside at St. Hilary, to pay a short visit to Sir Rice Mansell, and sent on his servants into Cowbridge. Roger Carne, with some friends, appear to have been in the public room of a hostelry there, when the Herbert servants arrived-a swaggering crowd. A Fight at Cowbridge. Evidence, given afterwards by Roger Carne, was to the effect that the Herbert retainers first insulted and then assaulted them. Roger Carne, with the pluck of his race, soon roused his townsmen, and the Herbert servants were beaten and made prisoners. George Herbert expressed his entire ignorance of the affair, but Roger Carne roundly declared that it was all prearranged, and that George Herbert had only stayed behind at St. Hilary to save being personally implicated. Another example of the way in which in those days men carried their lives in their hands was furnished on an occasion at nine o'clock one morning. John Carne and Jenkin Turberville were standing chatting in the fields watching some ploughing when six or more armed men from Cardiff Castle suddenly appeared and attacked John Carne. Having killed him, they galloped in hot haste back to C-ardift. Landmarks in the Family History. The Carne family, during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, produced men who took a leading part in events not only within, but far beyond the confines of Morganwg. Members of the family were Sheriffs of Glamorgan in 1543, 1555,1561, 1572, 1581, 1584, 1588, 1601, 1621, 1629, 1645,1690,1703, and 1731. Sir Ed- ward Carne, who was the second son of Howell Carne, was a member of Parliament and one of the Commissioners for the Crown for the suppression of the monasteries. He was Ambassador to Rome, in the matter of Queen Katherine, in the days of King Henry VIII. He died in Rome in 1561. and there is. in the Atrium of the Church of Sah Gregario in Monte Celi. a fine monument to his memory. Sir Edward purchased Ewenny Priory and from his marriage with Ann, daughter of Sir William Denis, sprang the Carnes of Ewenny. Richard Carne of Nash, the eldest brother of. Sir Edward, married an heiress of tihe Daldens. of Penarth andWenvol", and thereby augmented; the family estates. His son, John Carne, who was living in 1561, probably rebuilt and en- larged the older portion of the house at Nash. He had a family of seven daughters, and was succeeded by his brother William, whose eldest son, Sir Edward Carne, was Receiver General of South Wales and a Teller of the Exchequer. He married a daughter of Sir Ed yi-ard Mansell of Margam, and it was he who erected the elaborate memorial to his parents, which still occupies a prominent position on the south wall of Cowbridge church. Sir Edward's grandson, Thomas Carne of Nash, married the daughter of Sir Edward Stradling of St. Donate. In the Nineteenth Centuiy. I John Carne of Nash, who represented the I thirteenth generation of the familv to reside at Nash died in 1798, leaving an only daughter, the wife of Thomas Markham, Esq., who died childless in 1842. The Nash estate then passed to her first, cousin Elizabeth, the daughter of Captain Charles Loder Ca»*ne, who had in 1800 married the Rev. Robert Nicholl of Dimlands, the youngest son of Whitlock NichoU, Esq.. of the Ham. The Rev. Robert Nicholl, his wife, and issue, as- sumed by Royal licence, the surname of Carne in 1842. They left two sons, Robert Charles Nicholl-Carne of Nash, who married but died without issue in 1869; and John Whitlock Nicholl-Carne (afterwards Stradling Came). of Dimlands and St. Donats Ca tie, D.C.L., whose son Mansel Carne inherited the Nash estate. The latter died without issue, and was succeeded by his brother, the late John Devereux Vann Loder Nicholl Carne of Nash. the father of the present representa- tive of the family, Mr Gilbert Stradling Nicholl Carne. So much for the past history of the Carne family, and their ancient Manor House. A few points now regarding Nash Manor to-day. Some Points About the Exterior. The house itself stands but a few yards from the roadway, but the trees and thick banks of evergreens screen it effectively. A short drive leads to the main front, on the way to which you pass the motor-house which was especially picturesque when wfe visited Nash. Manor a few weeks ago, in its garb of autwfmn foliage, for the big-leafed ampelopsis wfeich covers it was gorgeous in every shade .■•^m pals green and yellow to blood-red. Nash Manor faces'north and south, thr, ryain front being to the north, while the gardia ftront has a south aspect. The house is the of a letter H the cross piece and upper strokes of which form three sides of the fore court which is completed by two low walls connect- ing the east and west wings with a picturesque little gateway. A stone-paved footpath, flanked here and there by large pots of agapanthus traverses the gravelled forecourt from the en- trance gate to the front door. The east wing and the centre are the oldest portions of the house, the west wing having been added by the Jate Mr Carne about 18 or 19 years ago. Along the eastern side of the old wing there is an irregularity of outline and a picturesque succession of chimneys thoroughly Tudor in character. A Charming Environment To south, east and north the house is bounded by charming gardens. From the windows of drawing-room and the dining-room on the south front there is a broad stretch of well- trimmed turf extending on the right hand to a shrubbery, while to the east it is flanked by massive yew hedges and a fair rose garden. On the eastern side of the house, set upright against one of the numerous old walls of which there are several-and which are very necessary as a shelter from the wind-are two or three ancient Celtic inscribed stones, interesting evid- ence of occupation in pre-Norman days. A couple of decades ago these relics of old time had been allowed to suffer from neglect and one of them had actually been doing duty as a stepping stone across a ditch. Beyond the spacious and well-carei-for gar- dens are undulating fields, the groups of fine old trees in which mark the site of the former deerpark. Some Interests of the Interior. Let as leave this Arcadian environment and retrace our steps to the forecourt gateway, above which hangs a bell. A beam in this gateway bears date 1789. Passing along the stonepaved footway to the front door we note above the latter the Pelican which is the I*6. Car9f family. The entrance haU, with its low pitched roof, ceiling beams and oak panelling, at once strikes the key- note of the interior. Some alterations have taken place at Nash Manor within the last quarter of a century. What is now the western portion of the entrance hall was formerly the kitchen. The present drawing-room was, a century ago, the principle living room, and the former drawing-room, which is situate above the present one is now a bedroom. But of these and other alterations more anon. At the western end of the entrance hall which plan of the house is !represented by the cross of the letter H," is fireplace ov^r which is carved r?id Duwadigon," (God and enough). Old oak furniture, much of it carved, surrounds the entrance hall, and on the walls are one or two Pj^t-ings of St. Donets. fWT ri<Jorvr^J sp^h-westorn corner of the entrance hall leads to the new wing, a notable apartment in which is the dining-room, which has been exquisitely decorated in the Tudor style. The wall-panels have the lineh- pattern ornamentation, and the fireplace is finely carved. To the left of the latter stands a beautiful old oak cupboard which, to judge by its massive character and the restraint manifest in its decoration, dates from early Jacobean days. The Charm of the Drawing Room. The drawing-room, a large, oblong low- pitched apartment which opens out of the south-eastern corner of the entrance haU, and which is, of course, in the older wing, is the most interesting and charming room at Nash MAnor. Its appearance cannot have altered much within the past three centuries. The original massive ceiling beams remain. These beams extend both ways across the room, forming panels which are about 7ft by 8ft sqnare. The late 16th or early 17th century wall panelling remains in an excellent state of preservation. It is unfortunate that in the late 18th cen- tury the then owners of Nash saw fit to follow the debased tastes of that age by covering the old oak with a yellowish-drab colour. An interesting note concerning this is to be found in a manuscript book in the possession of the Nicholl family which contains an entry made early in the last century, to the effect that We have been to Nash to tea. They have painted^their dining-room a beautiful light oak colour In the greater portion of the room the paint remains to this day. The original Tudor stoue fireplace is a feature of the room, and the oak carving above this is especially noteworthy. Fluted pilasters with Ionic capitals rise on either side and there is a design of arcading with quaint figures. The beautiful light oak paint was re- moved from the wood around the fireplace by the late Mr Carne, and it is to be hoped that e'er long the present owner will take steps to restore the rest of this glorious old panelling to its pre-eighteenth century state. The Staircase and Library. One of the most picturesque corners of Nash Manor is the old oak staircase which, though small in size, is a beautiful piece of work, as may be seen by a reference to our illustration. There is a small landing at the top of the stair- case-a landing made especially picturesque by reason of the Tudor-headed doorways, one or two of which still retain their iron-studded doors, with ancient latches, which give access to the bedrooms. The library occupies the northern end of the west wing and this contains, among other interests, the original Tudor fireplace which had been for generations bricked up, and which was re-discovered by the late Mr Carne. This room, two or three decades ago, was utilised as a sort of store-room or outhouse, but since then it has been restored to the position which its anti- quarian interests deserve. Next Week-Caldicot Castle.

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