Hayden Burns, Service Lead, writes: This was acquired in January 2021, following notice of its imminent sale from The National Archives Sales Monitoring Team. Carmarthenshire Archives is extremely grateful for the support of the Friends of the National Libraries, which has enabled it to add this wonderful document to our collection.
The mansion consisted of a marvellous Italianate four-storey tower and balcony over classical colonnades forming the entrance at the front. Along the roof was a finely carved stone balustrade interspersed by ornate capitals at regular intervals. Many of the windows were in the Venetian style of the day, while ornamental urns and statuary on the terrace balustrade emphasised its grandiose aspect. The house was situated on an elevation commanding panoramic views over the Cothi and the Tywi valleys. Among the last private residents associated with Pantglâs were Mrs Louise Madeline Maria Spence Jones, daughter of David Jones and her son, Major Cecil John Herbert Spence Jones.
In 1922 Pantglâs Hall was purchased by the Carmarthenshire County Council, which put it to use as an asylum. Sometime after this, Pantglâs Hall came under the control of St. David's Hospital, and together they formed the largest institution of its kind in the area. Pantglâs Hall Hospital was finally closed in 1965 following a devastating fire. It was demolished in the early 1970s. Fortunately, by this time most of its deeds and manuscripts were deposited with Carmarthenshire Archives.
What is particularly interesting about this document is that visitors who called at Pantglâs Hall were measured for their height and weight with the results (including their age) written into this specially made book. A rather unusual item, it will be of great interest to local and family historians. The item itself is bound in a black leather binding with gilt stamped lettering on upper cover. It has marbled endpapers with printer's label on the inside front cover. It contains numerous entries in ink and pencil and dates from 1869.
The Pantglâs Hall Reference Book for Height and Weight makes a welcome addition to the Pantglâs Hall collection and is available for public consultation at the Carmarthenshire Archives in Carmarthen. The catalogue is available online.
