| Nanteos |
Nanteos means the valley of the nightingale, and is a Georgian mansion house built for Thomas Powell in 1739.
The house is reputed to be haunted, and once held a cup thought to be the Holy Grail known as the 'Nanteos Cup'. There are a few stories about the Nanteos cup. It was generally believed that the cup had been carried over to Britain by Joseph of Arimethea, who is said to have founded a religious settlement at Glastonbury. The Grail then came into the safekeeping of a group of monks from Glastonbury, who brought it to Strata Florida Abbey, either at the time of the Reformation or before. On the closing of Strata Florida Abbey, the cup passed to the Stedman family, and then on to the Powells of Nantoes through marriage. The cup is an olive wood bowl in bad repair, it is thought to be very ancient although its real origin is unknown.
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The cup had a reputation for healing said to have been passed on by the Glastonbury monks. Water that had been poured from the cup was sent to sick people by the head of the family while it was in use, and this is probably where the legend grew up from.
The Nantoes cup is no longer at the mansion, as it went with the last member of the family when they moved out of Nantoes in the 1950's.
There are thought to be three ghosts that haunt the vicinity: The ubiquitous Grey Lady who appears when one of the Powell family is going to die, (she is thought to be a Miss Corbett who married into the Powell family during the 1700's); A phantom huntsman, and a lady who hid her jewels after leaving her deathbed called the 'Jewel Lady'. The latter ghost fulfils a folklore motif about the dead not being able to rest because they have hidden an object of value during life.
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| Map ref:SN 6178 |
| Directions: Approached from the B4340 |
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