Percy Bysshe Shelley’s stay at Elan Valley
August 20, 2007
Percy Bysshe Shelley’s stay in the Elan Valley in 1811 and 1812 is commemorated by a sculpture in the grounds of the Elan Valley visitor centre.
Shelley stayed at Cwm Elan house for one of his stays at Elan Valley. There is a photo of this house in the Gathering the Jewels project, at http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/19732
According to Powys Council’s website : “The drowned valleys of the rivers Elan and Claerwen each contained a large and historic country house linked with the lyric poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. The estate of Cwm Elan, containing the Elan Valley mansion, was purchased in 1792 by Thomas Grove. It was described then as “10,000 worthless acres, which he is now converting into a paradise.” A local touring guide published in 1892, before the start of the dams project, noted that: …the Cwm Elan Estate was purchased early in the century by Mr Grove, a Wiltshire gentleman, and it is to his fostering care that a great part of its present luxuriant beauty is due.” This Wiltshire gentleman was Shelley’s uncle, and the poet, who came to stay at Cwm Elan on two occasions, was to become very attached to the rugged grandeur of the local landscape.
http://www.aberdareblog.co.uk/photographs/sculptures-and-monuments/shelley-elan-valley/
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