Sketty Hall - Swansea, Wales. - Pre-Victorian Historic Homes on Waymarking.com

The building is now owned by Swansea University.

"The oldest part of the house is where the two ground floor bays project. The walls were built in the 1720’s by Raleigh Dawkin, son of the squire of Kilvrough in Gower. The bay windows were added in 1780 and a few years later Swansea Architect, William Jernegan, built the western part of the frontage with its fine bow windows on behalf of Ralph Sheldon.

Charles Baring, a member of a family of London merchant bankers, made many changes during the 1820’s. He added an extra floor to Raleigh Dawkin’s house and a parapet which ran the whole length of the south front. This can be seen from Singleton Park at the rear of Sketty Hall.

After Baring came Lewis Weston Dillwyn, owner of the Cambrian Pottery in Swansea. In the early 1830’s, with Edward Haycock as his architect, he built the present entrance hall on the north side of the house and the large room on the west of it.

The next major building work came in 1881 when Frank Ash Yeo, Chairman of Swansea Harbour Trust, added the dining room to the east of Dillwyn’s entrance hall. In 1898, Richard Glynn Vivian, an art lover who gave the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery to Swansea, took Sketty Hall as his home for the remainder of his years. It was he who added the balconies and masks of Italian marble, laid out the ornamental gardens and built the fine gazebo tower above the roof, which provides panoramic views of Swansea and the surrounding areas.

During the Second World War the house served as an ARP area headquarters and afterwards it was used by the British Iron and Steel Research Association as a major research centre for the steel industry. Text source: (visit link)

Earliest Recorded Date of Construction: 01/01/1720 Additional Dates of Construction: 1780, 1785, 1820, 1830, 1881, 1898, & 1993. Architectural Period/Style: Georgian Architect (if known): William Jernegan, Type of Building e.g. Country House, Stately Home, Manor: Country/Manor House Interesting Historical Facts or Connections: Charles Baring, owned this property in 1820 you may think where have I heard that name - Barings Bank (1762 to 1995) was the oldest merchant bank in London until its collapse in 1995 after one of the bank's employees, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million ... Listed Building Status (if applicable): A grade 1 listed building, Main Material of Construction: Stone Private/Public Access: Public Access Admission Fee (if applicable): 0.00 (listed in local currency) Opening Hours (if applicable): From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 AM Related Website: [Web Link] Rating: Landscape Designer (if known): Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Tell us about your visit with any details of interest about the property. Please supply at least one original photograph from a different aspect taken on your current visit.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   09/10/2012 veritas vita visited it