Extract of the Sale Document by Christies of London -1801

"Gnoll Estate is diversified with hill; dale, wood and water in the most sublime and enchanting style, and environed by vast amphitheatres of hills and broken woody grounds intercepting a view of the sea and watered by numerous fine streams. Gnoll Castle crowns a superb eminence: the Mansion stands in the centre of the Estate. The Park and demesne are beautifully varied and decorated with pleasure grounds, woods, plantations and spacious sheets of water and the views from every part thereof are impressively delightful."

The Gnoll Estate is situated within one of the most picturesque valleys in south Wales. The valley is heavily forested and it contains beautiful waterfalls and magnificent scenery. It is steeped in the history of the early industries including coal mining, copper, brass and ironworks dating from nearly a century before start of the Industrial Revolution.

The major landscaping of the Estate, which is of national importance, was carried out in the 18th century. This landscaping reflects the surplus wealth which the early industries created. The site comprises many picturesque views with contours ranging from 50 to 600 ft. with many water courses, cascades, a reservoir, woodland and landscaped gardens.

During 1987 the Gnoll Grounds were designated a Country Park by the Countryside Commission.

The Gnoll House formed the focal point of the Gnoll Estate which was the successively the family estate of the Evans, Mackworth and Grant families. These families resided at the Gnoll from 1632 until 1921.

The earliest recording of a house at the Gnoll was in 1632 when David Evans, High Sheriff of Glamorgan, was recorded to be living at Gnoll House. Several extensions took place until 1791, when the house was at its greatest, when Sir Herbert Mackworth added the front portion of the house.

The 1632 house would have been a modest affair with, perhaps, a hallroom, scullery and with bedrooms reached via external steps. The steps and hearth wall still remain at the side of the house and are shown on the plan as a Bakery. The house was extended in 1658 and again in 1702 when Sir Humphrey Mackworth introduced the arch and made the house area into a courtyard with a coach house and servants quarters. The house was again extended in 1730 and reached its maximum size in 1791 when Sir Herbert Mackworth added the front portion of the house.

A separate stables and servants quarters were then built some 200 yards from the house. The house had a castellated roof at this time.

During the nineteenth century the house deteriorated and in 1881 the castellations were removed and the east wing was demolished for tax purposes. The house changed hands many times and finally Neath Borough Council bought the Estate in 1923 for £25,000 as a War Memorial to the men who fell in the Great War. The house was then used for several purposes, including a Health Clinic.

The house became unoccupied in 1921 when Neath Borough Council took over the ownership. The condition of the house gradually declined until 1957, when the house was demolished.

In May, 1986, a Manpower Services Commission Scheme, under the control of the Parks Department of the Neath Borough Council, was commenced. This scheme cleared the features of the house which remained and consolidated them with a view to their incorporation within the redevelopment and restoration of the estate.

Since 1986, further Manpower Services Community Programme Schemes have been run in the house area of the Gnoll estate. The cellars of the Gnoll House were completely covered by rubble from the demolition of the Gnoll House. They have now been excavated.

Manpower Services Community schemes have restored the formal traditional cascades which are situated in Fishpond Woods and have carried out landscaping of the industrial area of the Estate and have generally improved the footways and landscaping.

THE ICEHOUSE

The ice house was probably built in 1740 and is situated near the stables (now demolished). This building is 20ft. deep and was used to store the ice which was cut from the ponds in the depths of winter. The ice was removed from the ice house and taken to the house cellars where it was used to preserve the life of food stuffs.

These gardens were laid out in 1740 by Herbert Mackworth. It was a place of quiet, mystery and excitement, where one could wander gently along the many paths, constantly arriving at places of interest and enchantment. The first feature to be seen is the Mosshouse Reservoir. There is a footpath around the reservoir and this leads to the bottom of the cascades at the old stone bridge.

In 1952, areas of woodland within the Estate were leased to the Forestry Commission. These areas included the Mosshouse Woods.

In 1983 the Mosshouse Woods lease was surrendered by the Forestry Commission.

In 1984, restoration works were commenced by using Manpower Services Commission Community Programme Schemes at Moss House Woods. This work took two years to complete. 

During 1987 the Prince of Wales made an award to the Neath Borough Council for the work which has been undertaken at Moss House Woods in restoring the informal cascades.

The Mount

The Mount consisted of a spiral path climbing gently to the top of the hill. At the highest point there would be a gazebo or shelter. The path would have been lined with hedges. In the case of the Gnoll Mount, the paths were lined with laurel hedges.

This two-storey castellated tower was built by Mary (Molly) Mackworth in 1795 as a viewing tower overlooking the town and valleys of Neath and also viewing the Mosshouse cascades. The tower was used for banqueting and was eventually lived in by the gamekeeper of the Estate until 1910 when it was destroyed by fire.

It is said that in days gone by the water was stored above the cascade, and when there were visitors the host would signal for the sluice to be opened releasing a force of water in order to improve the spectacle of the cascades.

As the town of Neath expanded the need for a fresh supply of water grew. The Gnoll Estate already having several ponds was the obvious choice for increasing the town's supply. The water for Neath was originally supplied by St. Michael's well and it was also taken from the Gnoll and Llantwit streams.
In 1860 with the railway network in need of large quantities of water, a lease was granted by Henry John Grant to take water from Pond B via a 5" pipe. This pipe led directly to Neath Railway Station.

In 1868 the Neath Water Supplies Act gave the Neath Water Company the right to take and use water from the Gnoll ponds. In 1876 the filter beds were constructed on the Estate. The need for greater quantities of water continued and in 1899 a reservoir was opened at Moss House Woods, the capacity being 21 million gallons.

Under the Ystradfellte Water Acts of 1902, water was supplied to Neath from a large reservoir in the Brecon Beacons. The average daily water consumption in 1926 was 957,959 gallons which passed through the filter beds in the Gnoll Grounds. The Water Board finally surrendered the right to take water from the Gnoll Grounds in 1977.
The lower pond was extensively used by the Neath population as the local swimming pool with changing cubicles and diving boards. This pond continued in use until the Dyfed Road Baths were constructed.

Industries

The Gnoll was ideally situated for early industry with abundant supplies of water, coal and timber, and its close proximity to the Coast for easy import of the ore which came from Cornwall at that time.

Sir Humphrey Mackworth was the Innovator of the industries at the Gnoll, and with the use of reverberating furnaces and coal started a revolution in metal work. By the end of the 17th Century, and the beginning of the 18th Century, no works in the country were better known than the Mackworth works.

The plume of feathers was a distinctive mark of Welsh silver at this time and in 1703 Sir Humphrey presented Queen Anne with plumed coins. In 1702 there were many Mills making brass and iron mostly for kettles, wire, etc. The site of the industries was below the bottom pond. These were well placed for the gathering of water necessary to power the works. However, in the summer the industries ceased because streams dried up and it was at this time that the three ponds were built within the Gnoll to augment the supply of water. By 1796 the Works were closed because of the atmospheric pollution within the Estate.

The six coalmines on the Gnoll Estate were worked from the early seventeenth century. At this time King Charles II pardoned condemned prisoners provided they worked at the Gnoll collieries for five years. Coal output was maintained on the site until 1902.

In the early 1720's, 3,000 tons of coal was extracted with the industries within the Estate using 700 tons each year. In 1874, 64,000 tons was extracted.

It is unlikely that the initial Gnoll House had any large gardens. The first garden of any significance was in 1702 when Sir Humphrey Mackworth included features from the French tradition. These included a formal terrace, parterres, and an avenue of sweet chestnuts. He also installed the three ponds.

In 1730 Herbert Mackworth installed the broad vista running from the house area to the ha-ha and then on to the formal cascades in Fishpond Wood. These were built very formally in straight lines with clipped limes flanking the woodland. The remainder of a “goose foot” can be seen at the top of this allee.

This set of cascades reflect on the one hand the influence of the fashion for French formality, which was then passing, and also, the onset of the informal fashions with the use of the ha-ha. By 1740 the informal fashion had arrived. This led to the landscaping of the Moss House Woods where informal cascades were constructed. Also at this time an ice house and walled gardens were introduced.

In 1780 the gothic ruin at the top of Moss House Woods cascades was constructed and also a gatehouse in Gnoll Avenue.

In 1795 the Ivy Tower was built and also the grotto at the top of the Moss House cascades and the mock castellated temple in the middle wood.

During the early nineteenth century the rhododendrons and trees around the house were introduced as were the tennis courts and bowling greens.

Families of the gnoll

The Evans family was the original family to live on the Estate, the first resident being David Evans who was High Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1631. In 1680 Sir Humphrey Mackworth married Anne Evans and became the owner of the Estate moving to the area from Derbyshire. Sir Humphrey was the Member of Parliament for Cardiganshire. He was a very pious and religious man, and in 1700 he had his workmen's children educated. In 1703 he advocated the setting up of libraries.

Sir Humphrey, in a life of seventy years, achieved an incredible amount with his industries, copper, brass and coal, and his estate improvements as well as his parliamentary and charitable works. On his death he left debts of £10,000, but the seeds were sown for his heirs to reap the rewards.

The industries created by Sir Humphrey proved to be most successful and his heirs used some of the wealth created to embellish the estates with landscaped features which still remain on the site.

The Mackworth era ended when Sir Robert died in 1794 and his widow Molly remarried and moved away from Neath. In 1811 the Estate was purchased by Henry Grant. (Following the death of Henry Grant in 1831 a white ghost was said to appear in the Gnoll House in the dead of night calling out "Henry".)

Henry John Grant, son of Henry, was the first Mayor of Neath in 1836. On his death the Estate passed to his nephew, Charles Evan Thomas in whose family it remained until its sale to the Neath Borough Council and its eventual decay and demolition in 1957.

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