HOUSE & HOME
F
ORMER teacher Mary Uzzell Edwards wandered around Swansea while a caretaker strike took place that had and closed St Joseph’s Cathedral Primary School. It is when she spotted her future home.
A small black and white photograph of the Victorian property in the Upper Swansea Valley was in the window of an estate agents and Mary knew straight away, back in 1977, that it was for her. The keen reader, writer and gardener and widow of the renowned Welsh painter John Uzzell Edwards, says: “I called John, who was working at the university at the time and we jumped in the car and raced up there. There was no one around. We walked in the garden, it was winter, and a bird, like a blackbird, was singing. I knew we had to have this house.” Plas Coedffaldau in Rhiwfawr dates back to 1876 and has terrific views of the Brecon Beacons from the front. The four bedroom house has many original features including an ornate staircase, attic rooms and a cellar. The property was built by a miner who had a limestone quarry in the Black Mountains, on the westerly side of the Brecon Beacons National Park, and could look out towards his work. John, who was born in Deri, and Mary both grew up in the countryside and wanted the same for their children Charlie (now a graffiti artist called Pure Evil), who was 8 at the time and Esther, who was 5. Both attended the local school and learnt Welsh. “We didn’t see them morning to night,” Mary adds. “They had so much fun in their childhood. “It has been the most wonderful home. Lovely for having people to stay. I have had a lot of opposition from friends about moving away. “It’s comfy, it’s a family home. It needs a family to run around in, make a noise and have fun. It’s great for grandchildren. “I love it all, even the cellar. My favourite rooms are those I can write or read in. “I’m longing to see who moves in next, it will be an adventure for them.” There is a room at the back of the house, currently a study, that Mary currently enjoys spending time in. John, who was at one time artist in residence at Swansea’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, did most of his painting in the attic upstairs. One of the attic spaces has been kept as it was, while another part has been converted into a spare room for guests. Plas Coedffaldau is a versatile home and Mary says she would consider moving the kitchen into one of the big reception rooms at the front of the house if she were living there longer.
The couple paid £17,000 for the property, which has one acre of land and have carried our work, particularly in the last five years, including stonemasonry and adding a new Welsh slate roof. The entrance hall is a striking space with the feature staircase and plenty of stylish, oak furniture. Either side of the hall is the sitting room and family room, both with original French doors to the garden and views to the front. Both have a feature fireplace, with a marble hearth and mantle in the sitting room and wood burning stove with slate mantle in the family room. A conservatory, next to the sitting room, has potted plants and a side door to a vegetable garden. It also provides access to a small but charming cellar, which is full of character. Also with a door onto the vegetable garden, is the kitchen and there is a lovely spot at one end to sit at a table. The study has an original feature fireplace with wood surround and alcoves for storage cupboards. Upstairs are the four bedrooms, two with feature fireplaces and the third with an original corner fireplace. There is an attic hallway with exposed beams and a family bathroom with a four piece suite and heated towel rail. Panoramic views of the Brecon Beacons can be taken in from the attic studio work space, which has exposed beams, two single panel windows to the front also with views and a vaulted ceiling. There is potential to convert the attic bedroom subject to planning consents and building regulations. A skylight window, exposed stone wall, exposed beams and a vaulted ceiling can also be enjoyed from the attic rear studio work space, which could also be converted. Outside, there is a double garage and a gated driveway providing parking for four or five cars. The garden, which wraps around the property, has two block built outhouses and a wood panelled summerhouse in the vegetable garden area. “There’s a neighbouring field with sheep that wraps around the house,” Mary adds. “There’s a little lane that runs beside as well. The house faces away from the road and towards the lovely view. It’s wonderful walking country. “It will be very hard to leave - it’s magical.”
Property: Plas Coedffaldau, Rhiwfawr, Swansea Price: In the region of £380,000 Bedrooms: 4 Agent: John Francis. 01792 864900
134 | www.swansealife.co.uk
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