Hanes The Forest
History of The Forest
The earliest deeds for the house date back to 1709 when it consisted of 2
small dwellings and was sold to John Griffiths. It remained
in their family until 1791 when it was sold to John Herbert. Shortly after 1822 the houses were converted
into one dwelling by Miss Herbert, sister of John Owen
Herbert, who occupied Dolforgan Hall. There Miss Herbert
died, since when the Forest was tenanted amongst others by Mr
Hensley and later Mr Siddeman both curates of Kerry. It is believed
that The Forest was the home of the Herberts, the owners of
Dolforgan estate, prior to the erection of Dolforgan Hall in
Kerry.
The Forest circa 1905
 During
the mid 19th century to house along with the Dolforgan estate
was owned by the Walton family. In
1881 the front was built by Burgess Woosman,
a solicitor in Newtown who took it on a 21 year lease. It is
not clear what portion of the house this represents.
Mr Willans at Dolforgan Hall
 It
then became the property of the Willans family who
purchased the Dolforgan estate from the Walton trustees.
John Bancroft Willans was a keen photographer and published a
book about the buildings of Montogmeryshire in 1905.
In 1912 The Forest was renovated and added to, and its
amenities greatly improved. Electricity was added from a
“Gilkes” turbine located at Kerry sawmills and an intricate
scheme of drainage was installed at great expense.
Montgomeryshire Express feature in 1914
 An
article in the Montgomeryshire Express of November 1914
detailed the improvements. "The
restored mansion had rare zoological specimens decorating its
entrance hall and then consisted of spacious dining, drawing
and morning rooms, a magnificent oak staircase, boudoir, four
bedrooms, three dressing rooms, nursery, two bathrooms,
butler’s and housemaid’s pantries, kitchen, scullery,
servants hall, dairy, larders, cellars, servants quarters on
top floor, laundry, and coalhouse in the kitchen yard. The
out offices comprised of a six-roomed gardener’s cottage,
stable for four horses, cow house, pig styes, kennels, wash
house, boiler house, two garages (one with pit), harness
room, tool houses, granary, hay loft, store rooms, potting
shed, fruit room, and all the sanitary essentials."
Click for full article
The Forest was sold away from the Dolforgan Estate in 1922 and passed through various
owners over the years who used it as a family home. The
outbuildings were variously used for a pig farm and later for
a poultry farm when 2 large new barns were added.
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Address: The Forest, Kerry, Newtown, SY16 4DW
Email: info@theforestkerry.co.uk
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