Visiting Orielton House

Last week's column was devoted to the Lion Hotel, Pembroke, which was built by the Owens, of Orielton, a family that has played a large part in the history of Pembroke.

By coincidence, we had arranged to visit Orielton House, once home to the Owens, and now owned by the Field Studies Council.

We were met at the stable block by Chris Millicon, head of the centre, who gave us a most interesting presentation on Orielton: past and present.

We were given some background to the history of the house and the people who owned it, as well as information about the work of the Field Studies Council which offers a range of courses and activities to people of all ages.

Following the talk, we walked up to the house. First stop was the student common room for coffee and home-made cakes which was most welcome and then on to a tour of the house.

Chris proved a good guide, pointing out the interesting features which make the house a grade II star listed building. It has earned the star rating because of rare features like the wonderful cantilever staircase and authentic ceiling roses and marble fireplaces.

The tour of the house included a former ballroom which is now the dining room, the staff sitting room, which was once the drawing room, and the underground Elizabethan cellars, which now house a student games room.

The Owens of Orielton

Chris told us that the present building is actually the second or third house at Orielton and, while there may have been a structure here in about 1100, there was definitely a fortified manor house by 1200 owned by the Wyrriotts.

The present house, which dates back to the 1700s, was built on an earlier Elizabethan house, constructed when Orielton first came into the possession of the Owen family through the marriage of Hugh Owen to Elizabeth Wyrriott in 1571.

The Owens, of Orielton, played a prominent part in the history of Pembroke for three centuries; they were sheriffs of Pembrokeshire, Members of Parliament and Mayors of Pembroke.

The grandson of Elizabeth and Hugh, also named Hugh, represented Pembroke in Parliament through the years leading up to the Civil War, and was made a baronet in 1641; this tradition carried on through the generations.

His grandson, Arthur, famously rode to London in 1702 to give the casting vote for the Act of Settlement which secured the Hanoverian succession.

Despite the motto on the Family Coat of Arms, 'Honesty is the best policy', tales of bribery and election rigging in fiercely fought elections abound.

The direct line died out in 1804 and the estate was willed to John Lord, who changed his name to Owen, but it was his extravagances that led to bankruptcy and the sale of the estate in 1857. Many houses in Pembroke itself were also auctioned as the family owned much of Pembroke.

Orielton House

Chris told us that the original house was much bigger: it lost about a third to fire and the house was remodelled to assume its present shape.

The story goes that it had 365 windows, one for each day of the year!

Chris also said she hoped that the Pembroke and Monkton Local History Society could supply more information about the house.

Looking through my files, I came across an old photograph of Orielton House, taken around 1930, which was given to me by the late Joyce Colley, whose father bought Orielton for the timber - the house was thrown in!

The renovations to the house, which took place in the 1970s, robbed it of its tall chimneys which can be seen in the earlier photograph.

Please contact me if you have any information or photographs.

Future Events

Our next meeting will be a talk by John Evans, 'Pembroke Dock and its Flying Boats', which will take place next Friday evening, April 20, 7.30 pm, at Monkton Priory Church Hall. On Saturday morning, May 5, we will have a coffee morning with a film show and exhibition on the theme of Royal Pembroke.

Contact

If you have any stories or photographs for this column, please contact me, Linda Asman, on 01646 622428, email [email protected]">[email protected] and visit our website http://www.pembrokeandmonktonhistory.org.uk">www.pembrokeandmonktonhistory.org.uk