Major investment! (From Penarth Times)

Major investment!

A VICTORIAN country estate near Dinas Powys that was once owned by the Morel shipping family has been put on the market for almost £2 million.

It underlines the Vale"s standing as one of the most desirable locations in Wales for homebuyers.

St Andrew"s House in St Andrew"s Major is up for sale at the price of £1,850,000.

The property was built for the Morel family, one of South Wales" leading shipping families, in 1892 as a summer residence.The Morel family came to Cardiff from Jersey in the 1860s because of their involvement with shipping.

Sir Thomas Morel was mayor of Cardiff in 1899 and played a leading role in promoting the city"s municipal pride and trading power.

The Morels exported Welsh coal and imported iron ore. In the early 1900s they were the owners of the largest fleet operating from the port of Cardiff with 32 ships.

When Sir Thomas Morel died in 1903 his estate, valued at £280,000, was divided equally between his five children. Sir Thomas"s grandson John Gibbs (1945-1996), a former owner of the Sea Roads property on Marine Parade in Penarth, became one of the most important collectors of modern and contemporary art in Wales, focusing on British modernism.

The property has been restored and retains many of the original features of grand Victorian living.

Upstairs, there is a principal bedroom suite, a guest suite, five family bedrooms and two bathrooms arranged around a grand landing.

The house has views across the Bristol Channel to Steep Holm and the West Country.

The grounds cover six acres of gardens and woodland, stocked with international and rare plants by the enthusiastic Victorian botanists who once owned the property.

The sale is being handled by the Penarth office of Watts and Morgan at 3 Washington Buildings, Stanwell Road, Penarth, CF64 2 AD Tel: 029 2071 2266.

* The nearby Cwrt Yr Ala estate in Michaelston le Pit is still on the market for £2.5 million.