History
Country house, late C17 to early C18, much extended in 1860.
There was a house on the site from the C15. A 20' (6.1 m) beam from this date, richly carved with vine and bead decoration now at St. Fagan's Museum, is thought to have come from a mediaeval great hall. It is possible that part of the old hall survives in the late C17 house, and there are said to have been some re-used timbers in this part, found during works in 1949.
Owned by the Pryse family from at least the C15: the family being descended from Gwaethfod, lord of Cardigan in the C11. Gogerddan was the principal estate of the county, wealthy from lead-mining from the C17.
John Pryse was MP and High Sheriff in 1580, his son Sir Richard (died 1622-3) was MP and High Sheriff 1586 and 1604, his son Sir John was succeeded by his son Sir Richard, MP, High Sheriff 1639 and 1655 and baronet from 1641. Sir Richard, the 2nd baronet, was a supporter of the Parliament in the Civil War, married the window of the painter Sir A. Van Dyke. The house was assessed at 16 hearths in 1670, the largest in the county. An inventory of 1675 naming various rooms: cockloft, green chamber, red chamber, painted chamber, John Lewis's chamber, my Lady's chamber, Crasse chamber, Mr Middleton's chamber, Smithfield, and over Smithfield, does not suggest a newly built house. Sir Thomas Pryse, 3rd baronet, brother of Sir Richard, died 1682 and was followed by his nephew Sir Carbery, 4th baronet, MP, died 1694, for whom the house may have been rebuilt. The estate passed to a relation Lewis Pryse, MP 1701-16, died 1720. His son Thomas Pryse, MP 1741-5 died 1745. John Pugh Pryse MP owner in 1765, died 1774. An inventory taken in 1768 mentions the main rooms as being the big parlour, the old parlour, the hall and the drawing-room. There was also a servants' hall, a garret, a cellar, a meal-room, a dairy kitchen, back kitchen, room over the dairy, malt-house, smithy-house and two stables.
Lewis Pryse died 1778 and was succeded by his grandson Pryse Loveden (1774-1849) MP 1818-49. His son Pryse Pryse Loveden MP 1849-55, died 1855. His son Col Sir Pryse Pryse (1838-1906) was made baronet in 1866. He remodelled and extended the house in 1860 probably to designs by George Jones of Aberystwyth. The estate was sold by Sir Pryse Loveden Saunders-Pryse, 5th baronet, in 1949 to the University College of Wales.
The W part of the mansion is a late C17 L-plan house of the type of Plas y Wern at Llanarth or Lodge Park, Llangynfelyn, but the staircase is mid-C18, similar to the one at Nanteos. Stuccoed and altered in 1860, when the long range running E was added. In an 1822 view the house had 3 dormers on the S and windows that look like broad paired casments. There were two massive paired chimneys on the back of the E wing which had a lower parallel range behind.