Forty members of The Abertawe Society visited Kentchurch Court in June 2026. A non-National Trust property, a few miles from Abergavenny. They were welcomed in the dining room with the most scrumptious freshly made home-made cakes and tea/coffee, surrounded by paintings of the ancestors. This was the Scudamore family home. Their guide was a daughter of the family whose meticulous research of family letters and knowledge of her ancestors through the female descendants gave her talk a warmth and intimacy.

It is a wonder that the house and grounds were still in the same family as there were several male ancestors whose eccentricities, profligacy and extra-marital affairs could have easily led to bankruptcy. The informality of the house, the many Grindling Gibbons carvings, the John Adams staircase, the beautiful china and the stories from our charming guide were much admired. There was the recovery of the house from the 1959 flood which had been led by the female members and the passion to repair, restore and retain objects to the extent of learning the skills required which was so heart-warming. There was even a ghost who would not let guests get out of bed by pressing down on them.

The garden had a huge variety of plants which got many of the group looking for the name of the plants on their mobile apps. It certainly was a garden to enjoy and admire. A visit to Abergavenny completed the day with the option of visiting the castle museum. It was a memorable day out.