Hensol Castle: Lawyers, Lotharios and Leekes. 

An excellent account of the history of Hensol Castle. I had an interview in the Drawing Room in April 1979 for a Carpenter in Hensol Works Dept and worked there on and off in the Estates Department until the Hospital closed. The Castle now obviously has had a very large investment and upgrade as to how I remember it. I fondly remember working on the wards and always found the staff to be very professional in their duties. The residents were well looked after and some of them were great characters. As a matter of interest although before my time there the large lake was lowered by the construction of an overflow channel. I believe this was to relieve the pressure on the earth dam. This is why the Folly in the lake is very much to one side on the modern map compared to its original construction. The Sessile Oak Tree located in front of the clocktower is reportedly having the largest bow of its kind and is supported by steel cables. The clock mechanism in the clocktower was manufactured by the famous Vulliamy Clockmakers and was working when I was there. The majority of the wards were constructed in the 1930s with later additions such as a new kitchen block in the 1970s. Interestingly it's the older buildings that were converted by Leekes and the newer demolished. William Crawshay 11 was supposedly Living at Hensol when he built Cyfarthfa Castle and it's very striking to see the similarities between the two places. Finally that canopy, in my opinion, for the Distillery entrance does nothing to enhance the old courtyard entrance.

My favorite of all of the podcasts so far!! I want to be in the pub with you!! This one was exceptionally funny... gorgeous indeed, lol.. not only the Frances Scudamore and William Talbot story, but also George the 3rd and the horse backing up... cant remember the last time I laughed so hard

As always very informative, entertaining and joy to watch. Where are we going next?

One of your best, I think. I really enjoyed that. Do you really write murder mysteries for historic houses?

Great stuff. Thank you both. Earl Talbot was certainly an unpleasant individual when it came to women. About his affair he said: 'I heard the Duchess of Beaufort had a passion for me, and I thought it better to make use of her in that way rather than common women.' Charming. He was also probably a member of the Hellfire Club and was close to Sir Francis Dashwood.

So pleased to have you back! That was extremely interesting with lots of bits for me to go and look into further. Thank you both.

Well done. The puzzling double-height hall (now a bar) may have been built at a different time from (older than?) the outer parts of the building. The 'Romanesque' round-arched windows are distinctive from the 'neo-classical' rectangular and 'neo-gothic' traceried windows.

My mother worked as a nurse at Hensol Castle