A HISTORIC estate, dating back to a group of 12th century monks is currently up for sale in Ceredigion.

The Trawsgoed Estate is a historic piece of land which dates back to the 12th century. During that time, it was part of the Monastic Estate of Strata Florida Abbey, a Cistercian abbey based beside the banks of the river Teifi.

Post Reformation, the property was owned by the Steadman family and was later passed to the Vaughan family of Trawsgoed, with whom it remains today.

Home to the Earls of Lisburne, the Vaughan family have been the owners of the Trawsgoed estate for hundreds of years.

The manor and mansion of Trawsgoed came into the Vaughan family by marriage of Adda Vychan with Tudo, heiress of Evan the Red of Trawsgoed in the year 1200.

However, the family did not acquire the modern estate until the 16th century in which the 1st Earl of Essex was tasked with brokering Strata Florida Abbey during the English reformation and dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.

Much of the land was sold to the Steadman family however, following the marriage of Sir John Vaughn to the Steadman heiress; most of the abbey estate became the property of the Vaughan family.

Despite the impressive 5,572 acres accessible to the owners of the estate, in 1890 the Earls of Lisburne boasted 42,000 acres across the estate, the second largest landed estate in Wales at the time.

For those now interested in the property, the site sports a renovated Farmhouse, an extensive period arrangement of farm buildings, a farm, the old Llanafan school Yr Hen Ysgol, an unused school building fit for a potential conversion in its 200 acres of Freehold Property along with sporting, mineral and fishing rights across the further 5000 acres.

On top of this, the property also currently earns around £20,000 annually through sporting and rents however, the listing for the property proposes that there is also “further scope for more income from the school, grants and sporting.”

While to some this might seem to be an exciting endeavour, for others this could be a worrying prospect. Not only is this a great sum of land, it is also of great importance. Within its bounds, the estate covers stetches of the River Ystwyth, River Teifi and contains a number of lakes inhabited by brown trout. On top of this, the land has a long history during which has been cared for and the introduction of a new owner could jeopardise that.

Helen Palmer from the Ceredigion Archives said: “One cannot fail to be aware of the length of time the estate has belonged to the Vaughan family; it’s quite amazing that the land has been associated with the same family for eight hundred years.

“But when we remember that excavations nearby uncovered remains of a Roman villa, and there is also a Roman fort nearby, it puts into context the even greater length of time this land has been cultivated and cared for.”

Despite this impressive history, the extensive facilities and money-making possibilities come at a hefty cost, this being somewhere in the realm of £1,350,000.

The property is currently listed with Morgan and Davies and is open for enquiries.