Henry Avray Tipping (1855-1933) was born in France, the youngest of four sons, to a family of prosperous merchants.

[a][4] While at Mathern he began his professional career as a writer, becoming editor of Country Life magazine, and developed his alternative career as an architect and garden designer, while expanding his circle of friends to include Edwin Lutyens, Edward Hudson, Gertrude Jekyll and Harold Peto.

[6] By 1922, with Tipping planning his retirement, he again moved north, and again employed Francis to design his last home in Monmouthshire, High Glanau.

[13] The pergola columns are the original stone, but the oak crossing beams have been replaced, a restoration funded by Cadw.

[14] The terraces are highly structured, with steps, walls and piers, although some architectural features, such as finials and urns were stolen in the 1990s.