:Treberfydd

The house was built for Robert Raikes (1818–1901), grandson of Robert Raikes (1765–1837), a Hull-based banker.{{sfn|Jenkins|2008|p=255}} Robert Raikes was a prominent member of the Oxford-based Christian Tractarian movement, and moved his family to Wales in order to promote his beliefs and assist in the development of the area.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|pp=164-165}} The house was designed by John Loughborough Pearson, a young architect who was just beginning to experiment with the revived Gothic style of architecture. Pearson had already done some work for Raikes in the Hull area, including a chapel for his grandmother.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|pp=164-165}} Pearson was also asked by Raikes to modernise the church at Llangasty and build a school – both of which are at the end of the lane which leads down to Llangorse Lake.{{sfn|Jenkins|2008|p=255}} The church, the interior of which is "an almost untouched Tractarian survival",{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=166}} is still in use, but the school is now a private house. Pearson became a well-known architect – he designed Truro Cathedral among other notable buildings.{{sfn|Caroe|1911|p=29}}

The Raikes involved themselves in local society, Raikes becoming High Sheriff of Brecknockshire in 1851.{{efn|While her husband undertook the traditional tasks of a local squire, Mrs Raikes trained a choir for their rebuilt church and accompanied the singers on the organ.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=164}}}}{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=170}} Their later years were challenging; the failure of Raikes Bank in the 1860s saw the house being leased for over twenty years, before becoming the family home again in 1895.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=170}} The most prominent tenants during that time were Abraham Darby 4th and his wife Matilda Frances, of Coalbrookdale, owner of the Ebbw Vale Steel Works. Abraham Darby died at Treberfydd in 1878. The house remains a private home and events venue,{{Cite web|url=http://www.treberfydd.com/|title=Weddings in Brecon Beacons|publisher=Treberfydd House|website=www.treberfydd.com|access-date=5 September 2021}} but is opened to the public for a limited number of weeks each summer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/treberfydd|title=Treberfydd|publisher=Parks and Gardens UK|access-date=5 September 2021}}

Treberfydd's gardens were designed by W.A. Nesfield.{{sfn|Scourfield|Haslam|2013|pp=522-523}} Elaborate flowerbeds were laid out in the pattern of the Raikes monogram, although these have not survived.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=167}}

In 2007 Treberfydd featured in "Human Nature" and "Family of Blood" in the BBC Wales series of Doctor Who and again in 2012 in the Christmas Special.{{Cite web|url=http://www.treberfydd.com/film_and_tv/|title=Treberfydd in Film & TV|publisher=Treberfydd House|website=www.treberfydd.com|access-date=5 September 2021}}

The architectural historian Mark Girouard notes the influence of Augustus Pugin on Treberfydd's design.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=166}} Robert Scourfield and Richard Haslam, in their 2013 revision of the Powys Pevsner Buildings of Wales series, follow Girouard, and consider that the house is "better than the massing of [Pugin's] Scarisbrick Hall or Alton".{{sfn|Scourfield|Haslam|2013|pp=522-523}} The house was built of stone dug out of the fields in front of the house, and is decorated with gargoyles, gables and stained glass windows. It contains a collection of furniture, numerous carved stone fireplaces and Minton floor tiles, all of which were designed by the architect.{{efn|Mark Girouard suggests that, while Pearson designed the furniture, the makers were likely John G. Crace and Son.{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=170}}}}{{sfn|Girouard|1979|p=170}} Treberfydd is surrounded by {{convert|11|acre|m2}} of landscaped gardens.

The house is Grade I listed, being an "outstanding early Tudor Revival house ...with excellent detail inside and out, the interior retaining almost all its original fittings." It is also the earliest surviving major work by John Loughborough Pearson.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=6757|desc=Treberfydd (also known as Treberfedd) |grade=I|access-date=5 September 2021}} The stable court has a Grade II* listing,{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=20284|desc=Stable courtyard at Treberfydd |grade=II* |access-date=5 September 2021}} and the entrance gateway,{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=20334|desc=Entrance gateway and wall at Treberfydd |grade=II|access-date=5 September 2021}} walled garden,{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=20289|desc=Walled garden at Treberfydd |grade=II|access-date=5 September 2021}} terrace walling and steps,{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=20291|desc=Walled terrace and steps in Treberfydd garden |grade=II|access-date=5 September 2021}} and a garden cottage are listed at Grade II.{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=20288|desc=Garden Cottage with front wall, gate and railings at Treberfydd |grade=II|access-date=5 September 2021}} The gardens are listed, at Grade II*, on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.{{NHAW|uid=323|num=PGW(Po)7(POW)|desc=Treberfydd |class=HPG|access-date=6 February 2023}}

• List of non-ecclesiastical works by J. L. Pearson
• List of gardens in Wales

{{notes}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite EB1911

|wstitle=Pearson, John Loughborough

|volume=21

|first=William Douglas |last=Caroe

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Girouard | first = Mark

| author-link = Mark Girouard

| title = The Victorian Country House

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dmt6QgAACAAJ&q=the+victorian+country+house

| year = 1979

| location = London

| publisher = Yale University Press

| isbn = 978-0-300-03472-1

}}

• {{Cite book

| last=Jenkins|first=Simon

| author-link=Simon Jenkins

| title=Wales: Churches, Houses, Castles

| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NFk3AQAAIAAJ&q=Powys+Scourfield+Haslam

| year=2008

| publisher=Penguin Books

| location=London

| isbn=978-0-713-99893-1

}}

• {{Cite book

| last1 = Scourfield|first1 = Robert

| last2 = Haslam|first2 = Richard

| series=The Buildings of Wales

| title=Powys: Montgomeryshire,Radnorshire and Breconshire

| url=http://yalebooks.co.uk/display.asp?K=9780300185089&nat=false&sort=%24rank&sf1=keyword&st1=Powys&m=1&dc=1

| year=2013

| location = New Haven, US and London

| publisher=Yale University Press

| isbn=978-0-300-18508-9

}}

• [http://www.treberfydd.com Treberfydd website]

Category:Country houses in Powys

Category:John Loughborough Pearson buildings

Category:Grade I listed buildings in Powys

Category:Registered historic parks and gardens in Powys

Category:Houses completed in 1852