Have recent period drama smash hits such as Bridgerton, Sanditon and Mr Malcolm’s List got you yearning for a promenade down a classic Regency street?
England may be home to famous Regency towns like Bath and Cheltenham, but we have more than our fair share of historic regency sites in Wales that you can visit today.
So grab your bonnet, set your Sat Nav for beautiful West Wales and ready to immerse yourself in some of the best Regency sites in Wales.
Like your period dramas? Then don’t forget to check out the Hisdoryan period drama guide.
Aberaeron
Aberaeron is a charming Regency harbour town situated on the Ceredigion coast.
The architecture of Aberaeron is unusual in this part of rural Wales. It is a rare example of a town that was planned from the outset, constructed around a square of elegant Regency buildings grouped around the harbour.
The occupants of the pretty pastel-coloured houses that we see today were seafaring men who travelled the world during the Victorian age, often naming their houses after far off exotic places.
Aberglasney
Aberglasney in the beautiful Tywi Valley is most well known for it’s stunning historic gardens – some of the oldest in Britain – but there is a beautiful historic house to be visited too.
While a late medieval house at its core, the exterior of Aberglasney was remodelled in the Regency period – the classic Grecian design with portico and bay windows have remained ever since.
Llanerchaeron
Just outside Aberaeron you will find the National Trust property Llanerchaeron. This estate was remodelled in 1795 by famous Regency architect John Nash for Colonel William Lewis. He transformed a small farmhouse into an elegant villa in the Palladian style, which is still one of his most finest works in Wales.
Visitors can still see the laundry, brewing room and the dairy, and there is also a lovely walled garden with numerous old fruit trees – a great example of an 18th Century Welsh gentleman’s estate.
Nanteos
The mansion house of Nanteos near Aberystwyth was technically built in the early Georgian period and is still one of Wales’ most beautiful Georgian houses.
The home of the Powell family, the estate reached its zenith in the Regency era – and the gorgeous Bridgerton-like interiors (much like Berrington Hall and Attingham Park) really reflect that.
The National Botanic Garden of Wales
Within the grounds of the National Botanic Garden of Wales lies the site of Old Middleton Hall. The former Regency home was once described as ‘one of the most splendid mansions in South Wales’. Unfortunately, only the servant’s quarters survive.
However’ you also need to visit for the gardens. Part of the estate was subject to a five-year project which restored the features of one of the finest Regency waterparks in Britain.
Paxton’s Tower
A distinctive landmark in the Tywi Valley, Paxton’s Tower doesn’t immediately strike you as a Regency building an account of its Neo-Gothic design.
The folly was built c.1810 for William Paxton, banker and owner of Middleton Hall. Officially, it was designed to commemorate Lord Nelson. However, local legend says Paxton built the folly instead of a more useful bridge after the local electorate failed to vote him into parliament.
TOP TIP: Paxton’s Tower, Aberglasney and The National Botanic Garden all sit in the beautiful Tywi Valley and can be easily combined together for an historical day trip.
Tenby
Tenby is a Welsh town with a long history (it’s one of the Top 5 historic towns in Wales featured in my Welsh history travel guide). However, at the turn of the 19th Century, tourism took it in a new direction – much like a real life Sanditon!
Tenby’s own Sidney Parker came in the form of Sir William Paxton (him again!) Paxton saw an opportunity to turn Tenby into a resort to attract the tourists who couldn’t travel to Europe because of the Napoleonic Wars, and he started to invest a lot of his fortune in developing the town.
All these regency sites in Wales are well worth a visit when you are next here on your holidays. Why not tell us which one you are planning on visiting first in the comments below?
Like your regency sites? Then check out this post about beautiful Berrington Hall in Herefordshire.