The Christmas event at Tredegar House is like taking a step back in time with different areas representing different eras
I didn’t expect a festive visit to Tredegar House to feel so personal – but it did(Image: WalesOnline)
I grew up in Newport, but walking into Tredegar House this week for its new 500 Years of Christmas event felt like stepping not just into the city’s past, but my own. With more than 100 decorated trees, thousands of lights and rooms transformed to reflect centuries of festive traditions, the house becomes a journey through time – one that feels strangely personal when you’ve known the place all your life.
Each space has been styled to represent a different era of Christmas at Tredegar House, from Tudor banquets and Victorian parlours to 1950s schooldays and 1980s nostalgia.
Moving between them, I found echoes of my childhood , reminding me of when I visited or the first time around 15 years ago as part of a primary school trip.
To be honest, returning to the house actually made me quite upset that I had not visited sooner. It is an incredible piece of history, right on our doorstep. I wondered how I ever left it so long to return here.
The house’s beauty never fails to amaze me(Image: WalesOnline)
As you travel through the rooms, there is so much information about its history, and lots of volunteers who will tell you everything you might want to know about the house and the Morgan family, who called Tredegar House home for centuries. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What’s On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here
Tredegar House isn’t just any old building. The mansion we see today was built in red brick between 1664 and 1672, during the Restoration era — making it one of the finest surviving 17th‑century country houses in Britain.
Its roots go back even further: a medieval manor once stood on the site, and some traces of that earlier age remain.
The entire estate has been wrapped in Christmas spirit.
For over five centuries, the estate belonged to the powerful and influential Morgan family (later known as the Lords Tredegar), who shaped much of the social, economic and political life of South East Wales.
Over generations, the house and its lands expanded — at one point spanning tens of thousands of acres — and played a significant role during the Industrial Age, when parts of the estate were leased for coal mining and iron works.
One of the most colourful figures in the house’s story was Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar (1893–1949). Educated at Eton and Oxford, Morgan was a poet, artist, mystic and soldier who inherited the family estate in the early 20th century.
Known for his flamboyant lifestyle, he hosted wild parties at Tredegar House, attracting artists, writers and high-society figures. His eccentric menagerie reportedly included a kangaroo, exotic birds, and even a honey bear.
I’d forgotten just how breath-taking Tredegar House’s architecture really is.
Morgan was also a Roman Catholic convert and held a position in the Papal household as Chamberlain of the Sword and Cape.
Despite his cultural and social influence, the upkeep of Tredegar House and the financial pressures of inheritance left the estate’s future uncertain. When Evan Morgan died in 1949 without heirs, the direct Morgan line at Tredegar ended.
The house soon took on a very different role. In 1951, the property was sold to the Catholic Church and converted into St Joseph’s Convent School, a girls’ boarding school run by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
The transition marked a dramatic shift from aristocratic grandeur to religious education.
Many of the house’s original furnishings and artworks were sold or relocated, some eventually finding their way into museums, including St Fagans National Museum of History.
You can still sense its layered history
The convent school operated for a couple of decades before the estate passed to Newport Borough Council in 1974. After years of restoration, the house came under the care of National Trust Cymru in 2012 and has since reopened to the public, interpreted as a living record of its centuries of history.
Walking through the house you can still sense its layered history — beautiful gilt rooms, carved woodwork, elegant plaster ceilings, and opulent interiors that recall the changing tastes of centuries past.
During my visit this week, the festive decorations made it feel like the house had become a time capsule.
It’s a perfect idea for a daytime or afternoon activity
But the magic isn’t limited to the house. The gardens, too, have been transformed: at night they glow under thousands of lights that frame ancient archways and pathways.
Even the cafés – warmed up with seasonal treats and festive décor – add to the sense that the entire estate has been wrapped in Christmas spirit.
Lizzie Smith Jones, general manager of National Trust Cymru in south east Wales, explained that the aim was to celebrate not just the season, but the long heritage of Tredegar House. “We’re inviting everyone to discover the stories and customs that have shaped Christmas here for generations.”
Just a walk through the gardens is worth the visit
The event runs on selected dates through December – including late‑night openings, visits from Father Christmas and even a ‘Twixmas’ window between Christmas and New Year.
For me, the visit was more than festive fun – it was a walk through living history. Tredegar House has always been part of Newport’s identity, but seeing it dressed for Christmas, layered with centuries of memory and tradition, felt deeply moving.
It is magical, and it’s a reminder of why heritage matters – not just as old and beautiful buildings, but as places that connect us to our own stories and shared past. For information on visiting times over the festive season, click here.
