Llanvihangel Court in Llanvihangel Crucorney is a Tudor country house. The origins of the house are medieval, with a traditional date of construction of 1471. The building was given its present appearance by a substantial enlargement and re-casing of circa 1600 by Rhys Morgan, of the family of the original owners. In the very early 17th century it was owned briefly by Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester.
In 1627 it was purchased by Nicholas Arnold and was further extended by him and by his heir John. Nicholas Arnold was a noted horse-breeder as well as Member of Parliament for Monmouthshire and was responsible for the construction of the Stable Block at Llanvihangel. His son was a notorious anti-Papist and Llanvihangel became a centre of the campaign against Monmouthshire recusants.
The court had a number of owners in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, including the Earls of Oxford and Earls Mortimer. It remains a private house that is occasionally opened to the public and is a Grade I listed building. The stable block has its own Grade I listing, and the garden house, originally one of two on the site of a former walled garden, is listed Grade II.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.