Aberteifi / Plas Treforgan

You haven’t got to come far from town, just a mile of so, before you enter the estate lands that once surrounded this town. There is a surprisingly good choice of manor houses around Aberteifi, but Plas Treforgan stands out from the crowd.

The proportions, windows and roof shape tell us instantly that it is Georgian, and must date to the very end of the 18th or the early 19th century.

That is when the architect John Nash, famed for such buildings as Buckingham Palace and Brighton Pavilion, was working locally – he’d moved to west Wales from London.

Note the gently curved bay windows on the front elevation which are a popular Regency feature.

Like Llanerchaeron, there is a lovely walled garden – the aristocracy wanted to show off their productive farms and gardens as part of the tour of the house.

Inside the cantilevered staircase is both a feat of engineering and also extremely elegant.

In the drawing room, the hand-painted wallpaper is beautiful. This family was definitely following the latest fashions.