Sealyham House

Sealyham Mansion
Sealyham Mansion
General information
Location	Near Wolfscastle, Pembrokeshire
Country	Wales
Coordinates	51°54′48″N 4°57′33″W / 51.91333°N 4.95917°W / 51.91333; -4.95917Coordinates: 51°54′48″N 4°57′33″W / 51.91333°N 4.95917°W / 51.91333; -4.95917

Sealyham Mansion, overlooking the little River Sealy, is a Georgian country house in Pembrokeshire, Wales, near Wolfscastle and to the southeast of Letterston. Known for the creation of the Sealyham Terrier there in the 1800s, the house served as a sanatorium and medical facility from 1923 to 1964. Since 1986 it has been a children's activity centre.

King Edward III granted some land at Sealyham in Pembrokeshire (Wales) to Thomas Tucker in the fourteenth century. Tucker was a captain in the King's army about 1356. From that time “The Tuckers of Sealyham” remained identified with the manor until 1777. Tucker married Ursula del Holme and they built a house at this Sealyham property, which is some 200 miles (320 km) southwest of Liverpool. The house was rebuilt in the mid-18th century. In 1777 the heiress to the property, Mary Tucker, married John-Owen Edwardes. Their heir was William Edwardes (d. 1825), who was succeed by William Edwardes-Tucker. Captain John Edwardes was a descendant of this couple. In 1840, Tucker-Edwardes was married to Anna Jane Jones of Letterston (Wales) and their only son was John Tucker-Edwardes (1845) who married Hester Phillips. He died in 1891 (at 82 years of age) and his father also died in the same year. As they had no offspring Sealyham House became the property of John Owen's brother, Owen, who also died two years later in 1893; his son Charles Gustaves Whittaker Edwardes who inherited the property died in 1902 without any children.

John Edwardes bred the Sealyham Terrier rare Welsh breed dog. It turned out the last of the descendant family members to live at the Sealyham Mansion was Mrs Catherine Octavia Edwards. She married Victor James Higgon. In 1905, they moved to Treffgarne Hall. Around 1910, portions of the land were sold to the Pembrokeshire County Council.

In 1920, Sealyham Mansion and its immediate associated land were sold to the King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association. The estate was converted into a tuberculosis hospital with 30 beds. It continued to function as a tuberculosis hospital to 1954. In 1955, it was re-purposed for elderly patients, but was permanently closed as a medical facility in 1964. In 1970, the Sealyham Mansion was sold to Nancy Ellen Perkins. She converted it into an apartment building as rentals. In 1980, it was sold again to an investment firm that used it for an outdoor activities center. It was resold in 1986 to the Sealyham Activity Centre for young people as an educational facility.