Huguenot Estate with links to the battle of Waterloo!

The origins of the estate are shrouded in mystery but it is generally thought that there was a dwelling of some sort at Glynhir in the middle part of the 1600's. At its beginnings the Estate was a small farm that was owned by the Powells. A clearer history starts in 1770 when Peter Du Buisson bought the estate.

The Du Buissons were Huguenots and records suggest that they were living in London and were involved with the printing and dyeing of fabrics. They paid £3000 for the property which, at that time, was a considerable amount of money when wages in the area were 7 pence per hour.

Glynhir was a self-supporting estate with its farm, brewery, laundry, slaughterhouse, smithy and carpenters shop, mill, dovecot, ice house, walled gardens and orchards.

The Du Buissons built a knife works on the estate for the manufacture of table cutlery and swords. Local tradition suggests that the family were in touch with their native France during the period 1789 - 1815 and that the 'arms' that were made in the factory were being smuggled into France. Similar traditions suggest that the Glynhir pigeons were used to 'maintain treacherous relations with the French'. (NB. There is no evidence available to substantiate this and it may well be just a good story)

One interesting aspect of the apparent close ties with France is that the family were the first to hear the outcome of the battle of Waterloo. Peter Du Buisson had two young nephews from France staying at Glynhir when the news came that Napoleon had escaped from Elba. The nephews were immediately recalled to France and took with them some pigeons from Glynhir. When the outcome of the battle was known the pigeons were released and returned to Glynhir. On receiving the news Caroline Du Buisson went on horseback to London. It is thought that the information was used to make a substantial financial gain.

The dominating figure at Glynhir during the early half of the nineteenth century was Caroline. She set up a school for girls on the estate together with a lending library, the education was free which was unusual at that time. Caroline was also involved in the re-building of Llandyfan church and the parish church of Llandybie.

The Du Buissons sold the estate in 1921. After this time there were a succession of owners and tenants at Glynhir who collectively allowed the estate to fall into decay. The farm buildings had become unusable due to neglect with walls and roofs collapsing. The Mansion House had deteriorated to such an extent that there was only one room that was habitable.

In 1965 Carole and Bill Jenkins visited Glynhir and fell in love with the Estate. They bought it and spent many years restoring the buildings and land. They ran the estate as a dairy and sheep farm but soon realised that they would need greater funds than the farm could provide if their work to renovate the estate was to continue. They embarked on a programme to convert some of the redundant outbuildings into self-catering accommodation.

Sadly some 10 years ago Bill Jenkins died. He left the continuing restoration and renovation work to Carole and their daughter Katy who, between them, run the thriving self-catering business and the Country House accommodation that the Mansion House provides.