Wyastone Leys

Wyastone Leys
Front elevation of the house
General information
Status	Grade II Listed Building (3 July 1985)
Coordinates	51°50′18″N 2°40′56″W / 51.8382°N 2.6823°W / 51.8382; -2.6823Coordinates: 51°50′18″N 2°40′56″W / 51.8382°N 2.6823°W / 51.8382; -2.6823
Opened	1795 (1795)
Renovated	1861
Design and construction
Main contractor	William Burn

Wyastone Leys is a country house estate and Grade II listed building situated near Ganarew, in the southwestern corner of The Doward, in Herefordshire, England. The house and estate has also been known as The Leys or Lays House. It is located 2 miles (3.2 km) from Monmouth and 8 miles (13 km) from Ross-on-Wye. The house is in close proximity to the River Wye and less than 50 metres (160 ft) from the county boundary between Herefordshire and Monmouthshire.

The house and its surrounding buildings are now occupied by Nimbus Records, who were the first producers of compact discs in the UK. In the woodland of Little Doward Hill above the house, the Forestry Commission planted, in 1953, a pattern of trees with contrasting foliage in the shape of the letters ER, to mark the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

The original house, The Leys, was built in 1795 by S. O. Attley of London.

It was purchased around 1820 by Richard Blakemore. The turnpiking of the road between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye in 1821, creating a new road higher up the hillside than the old road, allowed Blakemore to extend the estate. Blakemore also bought the Hadnock estate on the other side of the River Wye, demolished Hadnock House, and used the materials to rebuild and extend the Leys, between 1821 and 1838. He also demolished cottages on the estate, to improve the views; converted the old Ross road into a private driveway; planted woodland to screen the house from the new road; and added walls, railings and an entrance lodge. A 320 acres (130 ha) deer park was created on Little Doward Hill, stocked with deer brought in from Llantrithyd in Glamorgan, and an observatory was built on the hilltop.