Craig-y-Nos Castle is a country house located in the upper Swansea Valley, in south Powys, Wales. It is the former estate of opera singer Adelina Patti. Part of the complex is now used as a boutique hotel, catering, conferencing and entertainment venue. The castle grounds are surrounded by a designated Country park which is now part of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
The building was an early Victorian country house built on parkland beside the River Tawe. The main building was built during the period 1841 - 1843 by Captain Rice Davies Powell. The family of the captain moved in, and Captain Powell settled to the life of a country gentleman, becoming a county magistrate and a High Sheriff of Brecknock. Although both he and his father married well, misfortune began to fall upon the family when cholera took his younger son in 1851. He suffered the loss of his wife and his daughter before he died in 1862.
Two years later, the eldest son was killed in a hunting accident on the Isle of Wight. Sarah, the eldest daughter, had married a Captain Allaway and the couple remained at the castle after the death of her brother, until tragedy struck once more when Captain Allaway died a few years later. His widow moved to Tenby shortly before the property was sold in 1875-76.
The Dutch family, Overbeek, of Calcutta and Capetown, were connected by blood and it was thought that the hint of their curse overshadowed the Powell family.
The estate then entered into Chancery and was finally brought by Morgan Morgan of Abercrave for £6000. Mr Morgan and his family settled at the castle where his son, also Morgan Morgan, joined him soon afterwards. Both families lived together happily for several years, each with a kitchen in what was the basement. A massive pillar stood in the middle of the larger kitchen, where a bottle containing a current newspaper and freshly minted coins were said to have been buried.
At the time of the sale a large plantation of fir trees stood between the castle and the quarries above. The trees were about 80 years old, of fine girth and length, with squirrels leaping from branch to branch.
As the decade grew toward it’s close, the current owners decided to leave, and a remarkable chapter in the history of Craig-y-nos was about to unfold.
In 1878, the castle and its setting captivated the leading opera star of that day, who felt she had found the home of her dreams amid the calm isolation of this beautiful valley. It’s name alone strikes a romantic note and in rough translation means ‘Rock of the Night’.
This small estate in the mountains of Wales appealed to Madam Adelina Juana Maria Patti, who brought the castle and surrounding park land for £3500. The prima donna had reached the soaring heights of a spectacular career and was to spend the rest of her life at Craig-y-nos, leaving to sing in the premier opera house of Europe and elsewhere, captivating the world with her flawless soprano voice.
For twenty five years she sang for Queen Victoria by private invitation and would surely have known many members of the Royal family. Many honours were bestowed upon the Diva and the Tzar Alexander II awarded her the Russian Order of Merit in 1870 Other sovereigns of state, including Franz Josef of Austria and Emperor Maximillian of Mexico, showed their appreciation in a similar manner. The theatre at the mansion was a remarkable addition and could hold 150 people. It was designed as a private auditorium where an international Queen of Song could enthral with her remarkable voice, all those who came to listen.
The opening ceremony took place on the 12th July 1891, when the list of guests included the Spanish Ambassador and Baron Julius Reuter, founder of the Foreign News Agency. Sir Henry Irving was to have given the opening address but was unable to attend and a leading actor, William Terris, deputised for him. This unfortunate man was assassinated by a ‘madman’ outside the Adelphi Theatre in London, some six years later The Diva made her last public appearance in October 1914 when she sang for the Red Cross and, once again, filled the Albert Hall with an adoring public that loved her still. Her life of travel was almost through, and she came to spend the greater part of the year at Craig-y-nos with her husband and a devoted staff.
Her theatre remains a time capsule, and the stage is probably the only surviving example of original 19th century backstage equipment. The sound of her recordings within the auditorium can often affect the people who hear it.
The winter garden was another architectural feature to be built for the Baroness at the end of the 19th century. A spacious building with a soaring roof and made mainly from glass, this was where the Diva would promenade with her guests among tropical plants whilst exotic birds flew within. A pair of iron fountains fashioned as cranes with multi-coloured plumage shed rainbow light from their falling waters and captivated all who saw them. Once again, time and the war brought change to the castle, and in 1918 the Prima Donna presented her winter garden to the people of Swansea where it became the Patti Pavilion and has been restored. One of the fountains stands in the forecourt of the castle and the other is said to exist in the grounds of Swansea University. When the contractors arrived to dismantle the winter garden they were told that all able bodied men had gone to war and they would have to find an alternative labour force.
Craig-y-nos was the first private house to be wired for electricity, and evidence of this was found some years ago by Mr J. A. Lea, the last Hospital Secretary, and someone from an electrical company engaged in relevant research. Power at 110volts [dc] was generated by an ‘Otto’ gas engine which was fuelled from a small gas works situated in the grounds.
The wiring consisted of planks with two parallel grooves that took a bare copper wire and covered with a corresponding piece of wood. This supplied power for ‘Swan’ lamps and an electrically powered ‘Orchestra’ organ which was controlled by a punched paper roll and situated in the Billiard Room. It was the pride and joy of Nicholini, thus dating it prior to his death in 1898.
Craig-y-nos was the first private house to be wired for electricity, and evidence of this was found some years ago by Mr J. A. Lea, the last Hospital Secretary, and someone from an electrical company engaged in relevant research. Power at 110volts [dc] was generated by an ‘Otto’ gas engine which was fuelled from a small gas works situated in the grounds.
The wiring consisted of planks with two parallel grooves that took a bare copper wire and covered with a corresponding piece of wood. This supplied power for ‘Swan’ lamps and an electrically powered ‘Orchestra’ organ which was controlled by a punched paper roll and situated in the Billiard Room. It was the pride and joy of Nicholini, thus dating it prior to his death in 1898.
The castle and the grounds were sold to the Welsh National Memorial Trust for £11,000 in March 1921, and it was called the ‘Adelina Patti’ Hospital at the request of the Baron. It functioned as a chest hospital and many were nursed back to health during this period until the scourge of tuberculosis was conquered. In its latter years, the patients were mainly elderly and infirm. During the Second World War an RAF pilot was brought to the hospital for treatment and met a young woman who was almost confined to her bed. They decided to wed but she was too ill to travel so the church granted them a special dispensation. They were married in the theatre and returned to the outside world after recovering their health.
The castle finally closed as a hospital on the 31st March 1986 after the transfer of remaining patients to the new Community Hospital at Ystradgynlais. The Welsh Office maintained Craig-y-nos Castle and its unique theatre until it was sold to a consortium of businessmen who formed the Craig y Nos Castle Company and began a process of restoration work on the buildings. The following decade it was purchased by SelClene Ltd, who continued the restoration and opened the castle as a hotel.
Madam Patti decided to erect a theatre in her Castle at Craig-y-Nos
in which she could give private performances. It was designed by Swansea
architects Bucknall and Jennings with input from Henry Irving, and was
based on Wagner's opera house at Bayreuth. The grand opening, held on
12th July 1891, was attended by many dignitaries and stars of the opera
world and it was said that 450 bottles of champagne were consumed at
the party.
The theatre could seat 150 people. There was also a mechanical floor
which raised the auditorium to stage level to allow it to be used as
a ballroom. At 40 feet long, 26 feet wide and 24 feet high the auditorium
was decorated in pale blue, cream and gold wall panels. Ten Corinthian
columns supported the ceiling and in between these were the names of
composers such as Mozart, Verdi and Rossini, all gilded and surmounted
by Madam Patti’s monogram. A member of her staff, Ethel Rosate-Lunn,
remembered that:
The Theatre, Craig-y-Nos Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery "It was a
lovely little theatre consisting of ground floor and circle and, of
course, dressing rooms. In my time all the seats were upholstered in
velvet of a soft blue colour and the walls were decorated in honour
of the great composers who had composed the opera's in which she sang."
The Organ at Craig-y-Nos Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery There was
also a magnificent organ which was given to her in the USA after one
of her tours there. This was dismantled in the 1920s when the buildings
became a hospital.
The back of the theatre housed a gallery where the domestics would sit, enabling them to enjoy the performances but would keep them away from the high society guests. The orchestra pit was separated from the seating area by a balustrade and held up to 24 musicians. The stage area was fronted by blue silk curtains and the most impressive back drop shows an illustration of Madam Patti riding in a chariot, dressed as Semiramide from the opera of the same name by Rossini. Months in advance of the 12th of August 1891 grand invitations were sent out as there were to be two types of guests, ones which were to be invited to stay and others which were invited just for the performance. The houseguests arrived several days before the grand opening. Among these were the Spanish Ambassador, The Baron and Baroness De Reuter (founder of the news agency), and Sir Henry Hussey Vivian Bart and Lady Vivian. Several journalists from international newspapers such as The Telegraph, Le Figaro and the Boston Herald had also been invited so that they could report on the opening.
August the 12th 1891, the day of the opening, the festivities were non-stop. Madam Patti was the ideal hostess making sure that the guests had everything they needed as well as overseeing the finishing touches to the evening concert. In the early afternoon the orchestra and chorus hired from a Swansea Opera Company had a final rehearsal. By late afternoon a specially chartered train from Swansea arrived in Penwyllt Station with the evening guests, they were conveyed to the Castle for light refreshments and preparation for the evening’s entertainment.
The programme was due to start by 8pm but had run behind schedule before it had even started and by the time everyone was seated and the orchestra ready it had reach 8.30. Before the performance a speech of inauguration was made by an actor by the name of William Terriss, who had stood in for an indisposed Henry Irving. He was full of praise for the ‘Queen of Song’ and rounded off his address by declaring the Patti Theatre open.
The orchestra roused into the prelude to act one of Traviata by Verdi. The chorus entered to loud applause but more was to come as Madam Patti arrived on stage wearing a pink satin gown, trimmed in white and embroidered with roses. Her performance was greeted by a standing ovation. In the second half Madam Patti sang the Garden Scene for Faust, one of her accompanists being her husband Ernest Nicolini. A standing ovation was given by the appreciative audience, with many a hat and hanky being waved. The audience, singers and players were invited to a buffet supper served in the conservatory.
The theatre was often used for performances which showcased local musical talent.
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