Gothic mansion house Swansea April 2016

Visited this place twice. Ill prepared the first time. Got in the second time. All the windows on the first two floors are boarded up a load of youths smashed the windows christmas time. Had to go in through the cellar, which is not locked to the stars from the house.

If it wasn’t for sex discrimination, Hendrefoilan House might have avoided its present purgatory. Commissioned by Welsh industrialist and MP Lewis Llewellyn Dillwyn, Hendrefoilan House was built in 1853 by William B Colling on the site of a medieval farmhouse of the same name. When Dillwyn died, his talented novelist daughter was not allowed to inherit; the house went to his nephew and thence to a series of private owners.

The Grade II* Hendrefoilan House was taken over by the university in the 1960s. It has been used for accommodation and teaching, and latterly for nothing at all. Water floods down the outside walls, leading to damp on the inside. victorian society.

Hope you enjoy.


IMG_1171 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1174 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1178 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1179 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1183 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1187 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1192 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1193 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1196 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1199 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1200 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1203 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1205 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1210 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1211 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1213 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1215 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1217 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

IMG_1223 by Andrew Lennox, on Flickr

Thats a corker mate - really good job on that - well done

tazong said:

Thats a corker mate - really good job on that - well done

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Thanks mate. Still need to get to the 3rd floor. Not time as set alarm off, will start at the top next time.

Top notch report mate!

Wow what a place! I love that sign to the children lol fantastic photos, and a great report andylen

dirge said:

Top notch report mate!

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Your coming next, Start at the top.

Rubex said:

Wow what a place! I love that sign to the children lol fantastic photos, and a great report andylen

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Thank you much appreciated.

andylen said:

Your coming next, Start at the top.

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Defo down for this place! We'll find a way.

Wow...cracking report that.

That's a beauty! Nice one, thanks for sharing.

That's awesome. Nice work mate.

What a lovely old building! Whoever is responsible for letting it go to rack and ruin needs a damn good kicking.

Very nice, but also very sad - My younger brother was an 'inmate' here when he attended the Uni. It was a really cracking place then, with the original grandeur of the place still very evident.

Top floor to come, with the revisit.

borntobemild said:

What a lovely old building! Whoever is responsible for letting it go to rack and ruin needs a damn good kicking.

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It's not unusual to see a fine old building left to decay until it reaches the point of being considered dangerous, then a demolition order can be granted and then you've got a valuable building site plus a lot of saught after salvage,
Lovely pics, Thanks

In many cases it is the fault of the actual listing that leads to the delays and actual decay. Just because a building is old, does not mean that it was built well or even maintained properly - especially in the later years of its habitable life. Some well meaning listing official comes along and lists a building, then immediately the owner is presented with a very restricted list of what he can do and use in the reconstruction. Simple example I came across a couple of years ago - restoring a top graded shell of a residence that is completely floor-less to make an family dwelling. Flooring was originally English Oak and in some rooms Maple boards, because in period all floors were exposed. In the restored home all the floors will be covered with fitted carpets or vinyl in 'wet' rooms. Why the hell should the person making this derelict shell into a beautiful home be force to suffer huge extra expense and delay in replacing like with like? If the history of this place had not been known and in writing, nobody would have been any the wiser. In the 50's and 60's Smiler's observations were very true and with the advent of Listing certain well known structures did continue to suffer - even when supposedly protected. The rules and regulations are much more stringent today thank goodness. As I have said earlier; I know this place well, but what one does with it now is very problematic. Turning it into multi occupancy luxury apartments will cause no end of problems, with the old standby of hotel or grand head office conversion, only seemingly viable these days when the building in question does not need major restoration before conversion. I will ruffle a few feathers and say that in the present housing climate in the UK, I would like to see really affordable housing on this site by whatever means. Conversion, new build, demolition or a mixture of all three, get the listing relaxed so that some good can made of the building and site - SOON!

Feathers unruffled DS, I agree with you listing could and should sometimes be eased, but I fear such common sense would be abused by less scrupulous folk than us.

Listing is a minefield. It resurects some fine buildings back from the brink of oblivion in spectacular fashion - others suffering from cronic damp spontaniously combust in the early hours of the morning.

The sad thing for me is holding on to the past in a vain romantic belief everything should stay as their place in history, reallity is entirely different. Good to see your show on this fine building... Thank you.

Bones out said:

. The sad thing for me is holding on to the past in a vain romantic belief everything should stay as their place in history,.

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What many people fail to realise - Listing Officials/Planners included; is that most of the old buildings we really take notice of today, are only still standing because through out their previous existence they have been altered to meet demands at certain particular times. The knowledgeable can trace the history of a process by looking at the the 'remains' standing today, so what is wrong in adding another chapter for the knowledgeable from time to time? Now if one wants to convert the building into a museum or 'walk into the past' attraction, by all means make sure the site is held in a suitable time warp. However; if somebody wants to make further use of a building that is in/will fall into ruination if not 'lived in', but this requires a few simple alterations - so what? Get the building used/inhabited again, because without an everyday footfall within the structure, it will soon fall prey to the braindead of this world and be lost for ever. In some of the best enlargement/extension done to old properties I have seen, the architect has made a clear distinction between the original and the new - either by choice of materials or design. In one the old and the new were two separate entities, joined by a glassed in courtyard containing multilevel open corridors - the outside view of the river on one side and the city scape on the other, contrasting with the beautiful plantings within the space. In the other a distinct choice of different materials allows the old and the new to blend in, but be clearly demarcated.

I live in a conservation area and yes; the overall look is very important, but should one not allow modern materials onto the area? Just because 200 and odd years ago the builder of my property used wooden guttering - which is a pain to maintain and costly to replace, why not replace it with modern extruded alloy guttering of exactly the same section, chemically coloured for life and if chosen correctly, corrosion (rot) proof? Still, I have been told that the 'must have wood' annoyance has moved on, so if my gutters need replacing anytime soon alloy, it will be!