Llancaiach Fawr

The semi-fortified house was built on the site of an earlier medieval structure, either on top of the previous dwelling or possibly incorporated within the eastern end of that building.

It is a Grade I listed building[1] and is now best known as the home of Colonel Edward Prichard (died 1655), who hosted a visit by King Charles I of England in 1645.

Llancaiach Fawr Manor was at one time thought to have predated the Acts of Union between Wales and England of 1536 and was talked about in John Leland’s Itinerary of 1537.

The house operated as a living history museum, but was permanently closed by Caerphilly County Borough Council in December 2024 as a result of budgetary restraints.

When the doors were securely closed, the Manor was effectively divided in two, ensuring that the inner east wing provided a self-contained place of refuge in case of attack.

The lesser roles, such as the outworkers, would be filled from those who offered their skills and labour at the hiring fair (held on Lady Day each year).

Consequently, they communicate with visitors entirely in period English (claiming that the Master of the House disapproves of the use of Welsh, a not uncommon attitude at the time), and feign unfamiliarity with post-1645 history and technological developments.

All the furnishings in the rooms are accurate reproductions of items from the time of the Prichards and many of the originals can be found in the St Fagans National History Museum, such as a cast-iron firescreen dating from the mid 17th century.

[10] The thematic setting for the museum is the year 1645, at the height of the English Civil War when King Charles I visited the house to persuade its owner, Colonel Edward Prichard, not to change his allegiance.

In 2013, it was announced that Caerphilly County Borough Council had been successful in obtaining £943,200 in funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to replace the roof, install a platform lift for better accessibility, and restore the attic, previously closed to the public, as servants' quarters; the addition of the slate roof was delayed by the presence of bats (a protected species) in the attics.

[12][13] Watercolour artist Thomas Frederick Worrall lived in nearby Nelson during the early twentieth century, and painted a depiction of the rear of the building from the kitchen garden in 1911 or 1912.