History of Llantrithyd Park

Llantrithyd Deer Park, located in the Vale of Glamorgan, is a historic estate with a rich Tudor history. The park is closely associated with Llantrithyd Place, a Tudor mansion built by John Thomas Bassett of Old Beaupre in 1546.

Llantrithyd Place, Home of Sir John Aubrey

The Bassetts and the Mansels

The Bassetts were the original builders of Llantrithyd Place. In 1586, the estate came under the ownership of the Aubreys when Thomas Aubrey married Mary Mansel, linking it to the Mansels of Margam. At its peak, the estate covered 7,000 acres in Glamorgan.

Establishment of the Deer Park

The deer park was established between 1645 and 1675, following the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 under King Charles II. The park spanned approximately 82 acres and featured a 7-foot-high wall, two entrances, man-made watering places, stone culverts, a walled race and culling pen, rolling countryside, bracken-covered slopes and ancient parkland trees.

The Llantrithyd Gate: the original entrance to the deer park

The Aubrey Family

Sir John Aubrey, the 6th Baronet, was a notable figure associated with Llantrithyd. He was a Member of Parliament, a Junior Minister, and known as the Father of the House of Commons. A Royalist during the Civil War, he authored 'Brief Lives'. The estate was abandoned in 1777 following the tragic death of Sir John's son by accidental poisoning. The oldest son was disinherited after fathering a child with a servant girl. The roof of the grand home, once described as "a Welsh paradise", collapsed in 1832, commencing the decline to the ruin we see today.

Later Developments

In 1967, during a house clearance in Bath, John Perkins’ diary, which spanned from 1788 to 1801, was providentially rescued from a bonfire. Perkins, a farmer at Pentra Farm in Llantrithyd, documented various aspects of his life, including his pastime of coursing fallow deer at the local deer park. His diary notably mentioned John Mumford as a park keeper and observed that the fallow deer wore brass bells.

During World War II, Llantrithyd Deer Park served as a camp for German and Italian prisoners. Major George Lindsay owned it in 1963, followed by John Volrath in 1990. In 2001, Anders and Adrianne Leijerstam took on the Park, and today it is run by their daughter Maria. The park is now 100 acres and home to herds of red, fallow and sika deer.

Infrastructure

extract from Paterson's Roads, 1826 edition

The park is located near an old coaching road to West Wales and the Aubrey Arms inn, as mentioned in Patterson’s Roads from 1822. The construction of the A48 road between 1799 and 1825 further influenced the area.

Llantrithyd Deer Park wall viewed from outside

Llantrithyd Deer Park remains an important historical site reflecting centuries of Welsh history and aristocratic life. Its landscape and surviving structures offer insights into its past grandeur and significance.

The "Glamorgan Gate" is a curious water feature for unknown purposes.

More on the WW2 POW Camp

Just inside the historic boundary wall of Llantrithyd Park, near the Pant-Ffynnonau Quarry, lay a World War II Prisoner of War camp that once housed German and Italian captives. During the war, these prisoners were integrated into the fabric of daily local life, working on nearby farms under minimal supervision. Their integration even went so far as to see them forming football teams!

1940 Ordnance Survey Map showing the POW Camp

Many of these prisoners were repatriated when the war ended, yet the connections formed were so strong that some chose to stay while others returned to visit. The camp’s legacy endured beyond its original purpose, as the huts that once confined men of war transitioned into homes for agricultural workers and returning families in desperate need of accommodation. The camp became known as “the Village.”

There is still evidence of the wartime camp—if you look hard enough. In the farmyard lies the concrete base of an eagle-themed fountain. The current farm buildings sit on the concrete foundations of the four buildings, and it was once possible to see the outline of the cubicles in the shower block. The most enduring and poignant sign of wartime occupation is graffiti on some of the trees in Hanger Wood and by the modern main gateway.