7 Facts About Llwynywermod, the Welsh Home of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall

Llwynywermod, the Welsh retreat of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. Image from  princeofwales.gov.uk.

Llwynywermod is the charming Welsh home of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.  It seems modest by royal standards, but the Prince of Wales is perfectly alright with that. With its well-preserved landscape and beautiful gardens, this lovely retreat is definitely fit for a prince!

1. Its history can be traced back to the 13th centuries,  when it was owned by William Williams, a relative of Anne Boleyn.

2. The 192-acre property was originally called “Llwynywormwood”, which translates to Wormwood Grove. The name is said to have links to the Physicians of Myddfai, some of the earliest European healers who thrived during the 14^th and 19^th centuries. It is believed that the estate previously abounded in wormwood plant, which was then used as poison antidote.

3. One of Llwynywermod’s most famous owners was Sir Erasmus Griffies-Williams, who was then a St. David’s Cathedral chancellor. However, he suddenly died in 1870 just as when he was about to become bishop and while crafting a Welsh-English dictionary.

4. At the turn of the 20th century, Sir Erasmus Griffies-Williams’s eldest daughter was ostracized by the family for her “unhealthy” inclination toward spiritualism.

5. One of its lodges, the Penhill Lodge, is a witness to a tragic past. A Carmarthen Journal account tells of that time in 1845 when the two parent tenants needed to go out of the houses, leaving their three young girls all by themselves. When one of them went out to open the main gate for a visitor, the dresses of the two young ladies purportedly caught fire. The two eventually died from the said accident.

6. Llwynywormod’s decline started when Sir George Griffies-Williams’s wife, Anna Margareta, succumbed to influenza. The baronet is believed to have been plagued by guilt.

7. John and Patricia Hegarty bought Llwynywermod for £352,000 in 1998, which marked the property’s “renaissance”. They refurbished the estate before selling it in 2006 to the Duchy of Cornwall.