Hafod enthusiasts will be excited to hear that an early and previously unknown drawing of the house has recently come to light.

It has been purchased for the Ceredigion Archives collections, adding to their already extensive collection of material relating to the history of the Hafod Estate, near Pontrhydygroes.

The drawing is unsigned and undated but found with other sketches of Welsh landscape views, some bearing the date 1829.

According to Hafod historian, Jennie Macve, a date of 1829 seems to fit the architectural details of this image.

She said: “The colonnade at the front of the house is shown enclosed by glass panels, a modification made by Thomas Johnes when rebuilding the house after the fire of 1807”, she explains. “later changes, though, are absent – such as the striking oriental dome on the octagon library, added after 1832 by the 4th Duke of Newcastle.”

There is no sign of activity around the house.

By 1829 Thomas Johnes had been dead for 13 years, and his widow, Jane, was living in Devon. The estate was in limbo, waiting for the Court of Chancery to resolve the problem of Johnes’s encroachment on Crown common land.

The drawing has been purchased with the aid of a grant from the Ceredigion branch of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust and generous individual donations.

County Archivist Helen Palmer said: “We’re very grateful to the WHGT and the individual donors who made this purchase possible. This is a very fine addition to the collections held at Ceredigion Archives.

Hafod has an enduring fascination for many people, and the archival collections help to provide a historic context for the magnificent landscapes we can still explore today.”

The original Hafod mansion was destroyed in a fire in 1807 before being rebuilt, but fell into ruin and was demolished in the 1950s.