:Glen Usk, Llanhennock

{{Infobox historic site

| name = Glen Usk

| image = Glen Usk, Llanhennock, Monmouthshire.jpg

| caption = "An exquisite, white-rendered Neoclassical villa"

| type = House

| locmapin = Wales Monmouthshire

| map_relief = yes

| coordinates = {{coord|51.6293|-2.9211|display=inline,title}}

| location = Llanhennock, Monmouthshire

| area =

| built = 1820

| architect =

| architecture = Neo Classical

| governing_body = Privately owned

| designation1 = Grade II* listed building

| designation1_offname = Glen Usk

| designation1_date = 4 March 1952

| designation1_number = 2697

| designation2 = Grade II listed building

| designation2_offname = Temple at Glen Usk

| designation2_date = 18 November 1980

| designation2_number = 2698

| designation3 = Grade II listed building

| designation3_offname = Stable Court and fountain at Glen Usk

| designation3_date = 22 April 2005

| designation3_number = 84372

| designation4 = Grade II listed building

| designation4_offname = Garden walls, steps and terracing at Glen Usk

| designation4_date = 22 April 2005

| designation4_number = 84370

| designation5 = Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales

| designation5_free1name = Listing

| designation5_free1value = Grade II

| designation5_offname = Glen Usk

| designation5_date = 1 February 2022

| designation5_number = PGW(Gt)36(Mon)

}}

Glen Usk, Llanhennock, Monmouthshire is a country house dating from 1820. It was built for Sir Digby Mackworth, Bt. in the Neoclassical style. The house is Grade II* listed and the adjoining temple, and other associated structures, have their own Grade II listings. The gardens are included on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

History

The Mackworth family's place on the lowest rung of the aristocratic ladder was secured by Sir Digby's father, Sir Herbert Mackworth, 1st Baronet, a lawyer and landowner from Glamorganshire, who was created a baronet in 1776.{{cite web | url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/mackworth-herbert-1737-91 |title=Herbert Mackworth, (1737-91), of Gnoll, Glam.|publisher = History of Parliament online|access-date = 9 May 2012}} Inheriting the title in 1795, on the death of his brother, Sir Digby began the building of Glen Usk circa. 1820. His architect is unknown.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=2697|desc=Glen Usk|grade=II*|access-date=22 February 2019}}

The house was remodelled in the 1840s, when the adjacent structure in the style of a Greek temple was added as a picture gallery. The architectural historian John Newman notes its "uncomfortably stout" fluted columns.{{sfn|Newman|2000|p=320}} The temple was converted to a billiard room and library in about 1900.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=2698|desc=Glen Usk Temple|grade=II|access-date=22 February 2019}} Apart from some alterations to the surrounding landscape in the early 20th century,{{Cite web|url=https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/glen-usk|title=Glen Usk|publisher=Parks and Gardens|website=Parks & Gardens|accessdate=9 March 2020}} the house is largely unaltered since this time. It remains a private residence, and was recently restored.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fourgreendevelopments.co.uk/portfolio/glen_usk/index.php|title=Fourgreen Developments Ltd Portfolio Glen Usk - Listed Building Refurbishment|website=www.fourgreendevelopments.co.uk|accessdate=9 March 2020}} The house was marketed for sale throughout 2022-4.{{cite news|url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/24185996.monmouthshire-mansion-gold-leaf-walls-sale/|first=Ruby|last=Qaimkhani|title=Monmouthshire mansion with gold leaf on the walls for sale|work=South Wales Argus|date=16 March 2024|access-date=23 August 2024}}{{cite web |title=Property for sale in Llanhennock, Newport NP18 |url=https://www.onthemarket.com/details/11025360/ |website=OnTheMarket|access-date=19 February 2022}}

Architecture and description

Newman describes Glen Usk as "an exquisite, white-rendered Neoclassical villa".{{sfn|Newman|2000|p=320}} Of three storeys, with three bays, the house is faced with rendered stucco and has replacement slate roofs. Writing of the house in the early 1950s, Tyerman and Warner described it as a "big, yellow stucco house, with a splendid terrace".{{sfn|Tyerman|Warner|1951|p=71}} It is a Grade II* listed building, its listing record noting the "high level of original or early detail, including good interiors". The surrounding landscape was remodelled in the 1920s. The temple, stable court,{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=84372|desc=Glen Usk Stable Court|grade=II|access-date=22 February 2019}} pergola,{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=84371|desc=Glen Usk pergola|grade=II|access-date=22 February 2019}} gate piers,{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=2699|desc=Glen Usk gate piers|grade=II|access-date=22 February 2019}} and garden terraces have their own Grade II listings.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=84370|desc=Glen Usk garden terraces|grade=II|access-date=22 February 2019}} The gardens themselves are listed at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.{{NHAW|uid=291|num=PGW(Gt)36(MON)|desc=Glen Usk|class=HPG|access-date=6 February 2023}}