Gregynog
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Gregynog (pronounced [grɛˈgənɔg]) is a large country hall 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Newtown in Powys, mid-Wales. Various halls have occupied the site since the twelfth century and it was the ancestral home of the Blayneys and the Traceys from the fifteenth century. It was given to the University of Wales in 1963 by owners and art-collectors, Margaret and Gwendoline Davies, the granddaughters of Victorian tycoon, David Davies Llandinam.
The current hall was built in the 1840s by Charles Hanbury-Tracy, 1st Baron Sudeley and is one of the earliest examples of a concrete clad building still in existence. The original estate was over 18,000 acres (73 km²) but is now set in 750 acres (3 km²) of mature formal gardens and rolling countryside. The sunken garden and arboretum are of particular note.
The hall is now used by the University of Wales as a conference centre and study centre for students. It is the host to the annual Crisis Simulation by Aberystwyth University's Department of International Politics. Since 1932, the Gregynog music festival has been held here and has attracted names such as Vaughan Williams, Holst, Britten and Elgar.
The hall is also home to Gwasg Gregynog, a private printing press producing limited edition, hand-bound books of the finest order.
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